Beginning as a Freelance Writer

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Are you interested in freelance writing? Whether your interest is in a side gig, or full-time, getting started can be difficult. A lot of people throw in the towel early.

The difficulty level can deter a lot of people from trying to find a starting point. It takes a lot of work to begin down the “dream path” of freelance writing.

“You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic.” Stephan C. Hogan.

You need to put in what you want to get out of this. If you’ve heard, you reap what you sow, this is definitely a place where that phrase is true. So before we dive into ways to find work, we will begin with ways to prepare.

Start with your writing portfolio, a lot of jobs will want to see any previous work. This step is often skipped, despite its importance. This is the proof, the shiny golden ticket that can be the difference between getting the job and not getting it. If you have previous writing pieces to show, great! If not, that’s fine too. Either way, you need to get cracking down on this.

Create an online website for your portfolio. For articles, technical writing, or other writing pieces. (The pieces you put into your portfolio depend on what type of freelance writing work you will be doing.) I tend to use Wix for this but I’ve heard Showit is great for website building as well. Now you can create this portfolio and stop there. Or you can walk the extra mile and put together a blog to display it on (As well as work on posting consistently.) While that part doesn’t sound tempting. I mean, it’s extra work for free! In the long run, you’ll thank yourself for working hard for the future.

Skill check. If you’ve already looked through job boards and saw the experience requirements. Some might see this and be fine with it, others might not feel qualified for the job. That leaves the entry-level jobs that don’t give squat. I’m not saying consider yourself too good for entry-level jobs, but that you should sharpen your skills for the experience requiring jobs.

• Practice your editing, proofreading, and writing

• Consider Udemy or other online courses.

• Learn more on SEO (Search engine optimization)

• Learn to craft pieces that stand out: Amazing titles, clear purpose, and citations in work.

• Make sure your writing is suitable for your intended audience.

If you’ve written for a client before, be sure to get a testimonial or review! With this, you can put it on your writing website/blog, or put it on your job site profile. A good review can turn the tides and help you land the job. Just a few words telling that the client adored and was highly satisfied with your work. With this, you can continue to get writing jobs.

Learn to sell yourself. If you aren’t sold on the idea of you or your writing, how can anyone else be? Even if you write an article for free for your website or portfolio, or write one for an obscene amount of money, give each one the same amount of care and time. With this, someone might happen by this and be so charmed they want to hire you post haste for their next piece. If someone finds your writing site or profile, will your bio motivate them to dig deeper? Are your articles primed and ready for potential clients to see? Do you have professional social media for people to check out? All these things are important things to work on when preparing for freelance work.

Learn to write a good pitch. Essentially, you’re selling yourself and your work, if you don’t believe in it who else will? By writing a good pitch to a potential client, you have the upper hand over other wannabe freelancers. There are a few things to consider before writing that email:

• Research the client, and clients job

• Make sure to have the client's name to address them in the pitch.

• Be direct and to the point. This person could be reading hundreds of emails, if yours is long it might not keep their attention.

• Once again, sell yourself! They get so many emails like yours, so tell them what makes you different? Why they should hire you, instead of one of the twenty thousand other people?

Now that you know what to do to prepare, here are ways to step forward and find jobs.

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While job boards can be good and easy, its also bad because it is good and easy. Why does this make it bad? Well, anyone can search for jobs on here. Masses of people are trying to pitch and get the same easily accessed jobs. Unless you are willing to pitch for hundreds to get one, then it’s better to try these other ways of job search.

Use social media. Some social media allow the search of specific words. On these, search for writers, or editors wanted, etc.

Some people post on social media when they need a new hire, and this is the far less traveled road for job searches. Not all of these will be legitimate so research on them first.

Consider Facebook groups for writing jobs. There are a lot of groups for this category. You might not find jobs on here quickly, but you will find tips, inspiration, and ideas on here.

Cut to the chase, go straight to the source. If you follow a few blogs there is a chance you have a possible source for jobs. If they have the same niche writing you do, consider writing them a pitch, or contact them on social media.

Make connections. The more you spread your network by connecting, the better off you’ll be. Networking is like building a web, a bigger web can catch more flies. Knowing more people and connecting with them allows you to direct them, and them to direct to you. But to start just make connections in a way. Don’t expect anything in return because you won’t always get something back. Interact with their social media, share their posts, and commenting. All things that connect you to them. If you interact with influencers or bloggers as a beginning freelancer yourself, you’re essentially their student. Chances are, they want to see you succeed.

Ghostwriting. While ghostwriting isn’t considered very glamorous, it is still a useful outlet. You work hard and someone else takes the credit. Sounds like the bad end of a deal, huh? But consider this before you diss the idea.

• Ghostwriting pays better. Most people get paid far more for ghostwriting work, it makes sense, you work hard and can’t take credit, so instead of credit, you get extra cash.

• Ghostwriting falls into many categories. Blog posts, articles, novels, e-books, product descriptions, etc.

• Connections. The people you ghostwrite for are added to your connections, and through them, you could find a new client.

Ghostwriting isn’t good for fattening your portfolio, but for making connections it’s something to at least try. If pay and connections are your primary focus then this is the subject to further look into.

Pitch to groups you know. Is there a product you use frequently and live by? It could be your favorite coffee brand, hair salon, or book. Visit their social media, if they have reviews or a blog. Perhaps consider making a pitch! Do you think you bring something special that could help boost their blog, or website? As a regular consumer or user of their product, chances are you could write the best pitch to help them with an article, website polish, or editing.

With all of this done, now you have the good groundwork for freelance work as a writer. It takes a lot of work to build a solid foundation here, but once you do you’ve set yourself up for success.

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