THE ULTIMATE GUIDE ABOUT HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCE WRITER
Great! You ought to become a freelance writer?
Is your mind bouncing on different angles to know who is a freelance writer and what does he all do? I get to see a lot of people searching for how to become a freelance writer and never mind wherever you are on the earth, the tips to become a freelance writer are the same.
It is an exceptional way to receive extra money and can make a pleasant living out of it. Hence, I thought I could give some insight on how to start up with this business.
However, you may likely experience a lot of discouragement towards learning online courses, but you should strongly believe how can mentors and other experienced souls enlighten your path to make you shine on a dull day as well.
“Trust me! Anybody can become a content/freelancer writer provided only when you possess a high level of determination by writing organically and editing your worst content”.
Full-time bloggers, hermit, or who is unwilling to do a 9-5 work has a very good future with this job. Because this is also a money-making technique. Elna shares her fruitful journey of work-from-home experience by starting blogging as her full-time job without any prior experience in writing.
How to Become a Freelance Writer.
“Learn from all, Write from you”
It has been 3 months now I have been learning to become a freelance writer.
When I initially learned how can I be a freelance writer, I made a right way to approach many resources online by brainstorming various websites. With the right guidelines and focused learning, I could create my website.
It all started with my interest in writing. Do not be worried if English
is not your primary root. Vishal is a person who is an excellent teacher who has been serving students with his knowledge of English. Give it a try and grow big with your content.
With proper guidance, motivation, determination, and consistency, one can become whatever they aim to. So is the freelance writer.
I manage to be a freelancer apart from being a software programmer by developing a strong desire for the new skill. The lock-down has transformed me from being a dumb ass to an efficient skilled one. Had I been sober, had not I been writing this for you.
Here are the 7 steps on how to become a freelance writer:
Walk-in silence, let your success speak
We are sensible to choose a topic when we have decided to start writing about anything. The exciting part is you do not have to excel in your topic of perceiving a complete knowledge of everything. But if you give a new life to what you write intensely will be sufficient to start your work.
Here are a few ideas to walk you through different paths:
- Exploring on freelance writing
Do not worry if you are not knowing where to start. If you want to work along with some mentors to shape you into a skilled person, then first deal with injecting the drugs of content ideas into you by the following providers:
Wondering what/who are they? Yes, they are the guiding resources for the content writers to draw a baseline to kick-start your writing ways!
- IIM Skills have been the honest institute to teach you things transparently right from creating your website to write your organic content and make you grow brighter.
Of course, they are the paid institute as the things are learned from the base with a lot of assignments having 4 live online sessions and a 3-month internship with lifelong access to expensive tools and class recordings. The mentors are easily approachable and very genuine to you. You would love to work with them!
You believe me or not, I created my first website on the first day of my online tutor. With no surprise, you will feel you can do it by yourself without any programming or technical skill. You will feel grateful to you when you drop your first letter on your website.
The mentors will carefully listen and not miss any questions raised by you. Right from finding the right keyword using google keyword planner to SEO optimization, you will be taught.
You will learn how to create Press-releases, Newsletters, Mail chimp emailing process. You will be evaluated based on your assignments which the mentors will correct you if in case you need to improve. Also, you will be given a final exam to evaluate your potential and learning from the class. This course is worth enough to increase your skills and learn many new unknown terms that are used in Content marketing strategy.
- HubSpot Academy is one of the helpful academies who help you to organize your content with appropriate planning and methodology. You just have to sign up using your Google account and start their 6 hours tutorials to learn things and clear their exams. Your certificate can be directly shared on LinkedIn once you pass the exams.
You will be experiencing different methodologies like INBOUND MARKETING which is one of the best ways to attract and engage the customers. You will also learn the different organizational and blogging skills in the course. This course helps you in detail on how to track your ongoing work and plan for the long-term.
- Udemy is like a starter dish that you like to have before taking a full course meal. Like a ‘Cheese Balls’ starts giving signals to trigger for a larger meal, Udemy has their videos short and crisp to give you an idea of how the content writing works and what is needed for you to get it to start away.
You do not get hands of experience like assignments, but it is just a way to get started. There is a saying, “Something is better than nothing”. Try your first step to brainstorm your mind to know what you want.
- Discover your niche
“Choose your passion with the right decision.”
Discovering your niche would be an easy step for you to take up things and explore them. Once knowing your niche, will help you in making up writing things efficiently without having to spend a long time searching- Smarter people always glow.
If you want to know what are the different routines/domains that you want to choose, here are my few suggestions:
- Balanced and healthy life
- Food
- Fitness
- Travel and tours
- Photography
- Crafts and arts
- Education, Books, Writing
- Spiritual interests and facts
If you have discovered your niche correct, start your journey with knowing the relevance of your topic which your audience is looking for. The tools that can be used for doing these are:
3. Create your own website/blog
“Be your ambassador”
Being online and lively is an essential component for a freelance writer. If this should be achieved, then having your blog created helps to innovate your different ideas, share it with the audience, and receive the feedback.
If you do not have your website, then you can register it for free from WordPress or GOOGLE BLOGGER or WIX.
In the long run, it is highly recommended to buy the domains(websites) and host it on your server. Do not be panic if you are not familiar with these terms. I have mentioned a few top working sites below which is reliable to buy them.
Just one click on them and you can purchase your site and hosting the server. GODADDY can help you in both buying the websites and hosting the server. SITEGROUND is only a hosting server which will need your website to make it live.
- Commence your first specimen task
“A writer, I think is someone who pays attention to the world” –Susan Sonta
Begin with your sample work by writing a great article for the chosen Niche. Even before you organize your other plans about your website, one attractive sample work will gain a lot of people.
Many guest bloggers and freelance writers start their work on writing their sample work or ideas online and reach a lot of audiences.
If you gain a positive approach towards customers with your organic and interesting topic for your first work itself, then you can convert this as your resume to show how you are efficient when you are looking for a paid job.
In this phase, reach to your friends, family, colleagues, social media followers to share your experience and ask them to give them their opinion. Once your work has positive readers, then you can walk with a confident brim and start focusing on the next bigger edition.
- Learn more about tools and be confident with the writing:
“Learn from mistakes, keeping moving with small breaks”.
Although I said there is no need for prior knowledge to know about freelancing, in the long run, we need to know some terms and tools which can turn you into a better person for more readability and clarity.
I hope the following ways may help to know what skill one must develop:
- Management skills:
It is important to keep tracking your writing. You never know what you missed earlier and what you will miss later. It is always a good practice to keep your work saved or drafted.
Things like your projects, customer’s billing information, client details, meeting schedules for you, and sometimes for your clients.
Do not worry how can you do it. You can always track this information using the tools like Trello, Google Sheets or Asana
This is one of the examples that I use internally for tracking my work using google sheet:
Why I prefer this style is because:
- I can figure out what are the things to be done. Once done, I will formulate the sheet to turn green.
- If something is out of due date, I make it set red so that the team or I would be alerted to address them with high priority.
- If I need any additional information, it stays pending and turns it yellow just to differentiate that I address it with medium priority.
Now if a client gives me something new to add to my plate, or if I have to start a new project, I will enter the start date – today’s date and continue to enter the value up to the Internal deadline column.
Once my work is finished, I will log in back to fill the Saved date and start the editing part.
Practicing a good system for your work is crucial to develop your business steadily.
I will put down things together in a notebook or google sheets and check the list of what I plan right away.
Why this is helpful?
Initially, when you start your work, you will find it useful or may think it silly to see such a detailed report. But once you save these details and practice to review this on a timely basis which will help you in the long run when you may get multiple projects and clients parallel.
The first thing you got to do when you receive the first customer is:
- The customer’s information – Aim of project, output, the amount negotiated.
- Different subjects and progress of the work.
- Customer’s deadline and if want your deadlines- this helps when you have multiple projects and prioritize it.
- If you do need a proofreader to correct your faults, then keep in mind to sketch the date for him/her at least 2 days before the final release date is planned.
- What you earn and what you spend.
- Blogging/Writing skills
This is one of the good skills that we should develop as we aim to be a freelance writer. The primary knowledge is required when we deliver our content to the audience.
On the other hand, I had also no clue how to format the blogs until I wrote this one. One should walk on different blog posts to see how things should be represented in an organized manner.
It is high time to understand that the usage of lists, bulletin points, headings, subheadings, images, and videos play a vital role. For more help, please visit my Content Marketing website to get some of the tips and ideas.
Nevertheless, if you are a fairly good writer, you have to pay attention a little more on refining your writing. Write in the language your audience understands.
For editing your work make use of these 2 tools:
For copyright images, refer the following:
For better SEO, you can always rely on:
To gain confidence and honor your work start writing in your blog.
Make sure you know the differences between Content Writing and Blogging.
This process is very helpful because freelance is nothing to do as past-time work, but it is marketing. You are not just a writer, but you are the ambassador of your work.
Appreciate your work and keep going with your hard work as you have taken this journey to rule your future!
- Jump in everywhere
“Do not be stagnant like a lake, flow like a river”
You must have your first document ready by now. It is time for you to walk into many sites as possible.
Being in any job as a fresher does not shine your brighter like a sun. There are times where you glow better by holding a candle.
Never lose an opportunity to write about anything less paid or off paid as you can take this as your time to deliver your writing and prove that you can be the right person to turn customers into leads through your organic writing techniques.
The portfolio that you have created for your first work can reach a wider spectator as most of the freelance writers cleanly think this.
Try jumping into other websites if they are outsourcing any jobs or asking for somebody to unleash their writing skills. There are a few ways you can offer your service:
- Reach the audience or brand owners by telling them why what and how you do. Trust me, when you focus on “why you do”, you may be hired to any one of the big companies and grow with them. As they will be discovering a writer to deliver their products through content marketing.
- Volunteer yourself to the companies to speak what you offer for them either by writing for them or advertise their products on your website.
- You can be a part of the other freelancer group on the internet to develop a good relationship to share the available jobs in the common hub.
- Jump to different people by creating your press releases or magazines to editors calling them for your creative thoughts on the work you have done or will do.
- As I mentioned above, do not look to be paid for a high penny at the first hit. You may visit freelancer.com. Choose your area of interest and give a try to write on any of the topics provided by this website. This gives you the strength to write in many future works.
- Make sure your resume or LinkedIn or your constantly communicating social media websites is updated with your latest work to develop a trust factor between you and the end-user.
- Create a video portfolio of your niche and reach your audience. Most of the internet users today are comfortable learning things from videos than a website. Your number of subscribers will decide how far your audience trust you and follow you.
Do not limit your search within your country. Try exploring the international freelancer job sites whose first language is English.
You can also visit the following sites to look for jobs as Content writer and Freelancer:
- Educate yourself: this job is always not fascinating
You should be thinking if I am a good freelancer writing. But my
answer is I am just starting it and have a long way to speak about it. However, I am writing this article for people who have just joined like me and how can one become a freelance writer if they want to be.
I learned freelance writing by educating myself from my mentors to explore different sites and received a lot of information gathered with what I have penned the whole article in my own words.
This work can be fickler, working for odd hours, and sometimes you may end in choosing the topic just for the sake of income. But trust me, most of the time your work is appreciated even though the topic you have written/chosen is never yours but profits more.
But these writings may save you when dealing with huge men in the future when allowed to write for them. Never underestimate your work just because you are not honored by anyone else but keeping in mind to honor your craft every then and now.
If I had to conclude about this job, freelance writing requires a semi-emotional feeling of both good and bad times, full-time dedication, proper speech, or content to convert your customers into leads, unbounded curiosity.
Oh no! Wait. LUCK, LUCK, LUCK– matters a lot. But do not give up I would say! Even though it is not a small trip to just shine in a small-time but requires a long walk for the big journey which is exciting and surprising.
If you are planning to become a Freelance writer, then learn the Pros and Cons:
Being a freelance writer, I can give all my bits of advice but also, I should tell you the good and bad about this profession. I am not trying to disappoint anybody’s niche, but also trying to figure out the souls who are ready for the challenge.
Non-working women, fashion-freaks, travel bloggers take up this more to uncover their talent as online is the only source for them. No doubt, the media does. But we must remember, people are more on social media and YouTube, so blogging is preferred for most of us.
Let me start with the beauty of Freelance writing (PROS):
- Very timely and flexible
- You can sit anywhere on the earth with proper connectivity
- You can increase your exploration of different areas of subjects.
- You can excel in your creativity and writing if you are a masterpiece.
- No professional degree unless choosing a specialized or controlled subject.
On the other hand, you may walk on the uneven roads and feel comfortable which are (CONS):
- You cannot expect a fixed income. You may receive a bulk amount once but on the other side, you may wait for months to find one good source of income.
- You are your boss. You will not have anybody to put a time frame or draw deadlines for your work. This is a disadvantage because you are not observed or validated which may make you liberal and make the work unorganized.
- All works are iterative. You will feel bored of doing the same work but under different subjects.
Writing about terrace gardening may be thrilled for you the first time, but when your loop is executed at the 50th time, then you might not be having the same niche to excel that work.
- You may feel you are isolated. You just sit in front of your desktop and think you are brainstorming but all you do is scratch the same ideas or staring at them often.
Freelance writing has both pros and cons. One should be consistent and determined to sustain in this field.
Back to you– Are you interested in becoming a freelance writer?
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