Being a freelancer is almost every blogger’s dream job. No commute to work, no dressing up in your finest attire every day, and certainly no listening to Jenny at the office tell you for the tenth time why a Keto diet is the healthiest way to eat.
If you’re a freelancer, you can do it pretty much anywhere in the world with an internet connection, and you can work on your own terms (most of the time).
I’ve put together a quick guide, to show you how to earn money as a freelance whizz. You can do this!
How Do I Become A Freelance Writer With No Experience?
1. Decide what your passion is
The first step to becoming a successful freelancer (with a decent income) is deciding what it is that you’re actually going to do.
If you have a passion for writing, then that’s a good place to start as a freelancer. But you can also do a whole host of other things, from being an artist to a photographer. You do not have to limit yourself to just writing, unless you want to.
If you know what you love, take on clients based upon that.
Choose your niche or area of expertise, and market yourself based on that. Not only will that make writing and creating content easier and faster, you will also be able to charge more because you will become an expert in that field
Don’t agree to take on writing jobs about business or crafting if you can’t stand the thought of writing about it or know absolutely nothing about it. (although naturally, you will sometimes have to compromise).
2. Don’t quit your job just yet
The worst thing that you can do if you have an interest in freelancing is quitting your job before it gets off the ground.
If you have a stable income, keep it coming in until you get your own side hustle up and running. Or you could be in the position where you can’t even pay your rent, because the work isn’t coming in as fast as you imagined.
The good thing about keeping your current job going is that you can be picky about what work you do, and develop up a client base who understands what it is that you want to focus on.
3. Choose a variety of ways to secure an income
If you’re planning on going freelance as a writer or blogger, then use a variety of methods to get an income, to make sure that you have the ultimate in job security.
You can do this by monetizing your own blog, becoming a coach, or a selling services as a Virtual Assistant, just to name a few.
This will mean that even if you don’t manage to make money from the writing side of things, then you’ll still get a bit of cash from a number of different places, which you’ll be thankful for, especially if it’s an extra bonus on top of your salary.
4. Make a portfolio of your work
The best thing that you can do when starting out as a freelancer is building up a portfolio of your work.
You can do this by creating a website with all of your information on it, so that a potential client can browse through your work.
People will think that you’re serious about your work if you go that extra mile to showcase yourself and what you’ve created. So making a portfolio is also key to creating a professional image of yourself.
You may choose to create a PDF with links to articles you have written as well. This comes in handy when a potential client asks for referrals.
Just be sure to always ask permission from past clients to include them on your list. If you are ghostwriting for them, they may not want that disclosed.
Whether you choose to set up a site and/or a PDF, ask and include testimonials from past clients as well.
5. Choose your price
If you’ve gone out of your way to create a professional look for yourself, and your work is of a high quality, then you can choose a price tag that matches your abilities.
If you’re writing for websites and businesses, then they’re going to look out for the best of the best. I know you may think that there are a ton of freelancers out there. That is true. But really good writers are not in abundance. Trust me. I’ve gone through my share of very poor writers.
If they see your blog, or your portfolio, and decide that they want to work with you, then they’ll pay out for your skills.
Figure out how much time it takes you to write a 500, 1000 and 1500 word article as well as what you need to sustain your lifestyle. Then set a price accordingly, and see how it goes from there. You can always adjust up or down.
And of course as you gain a client base and more experience, don’t be afraid to up your prices again.
6. Talk to other freelancers
Aah, the internet. The best thing about it is that you can find people who are doing the same thing as you, and they can introduce you to people that they know.
This will create more profits for you, so make sure that you endeavour to make some connections online and meetups in person. Lots of local businesses in your area need freelancers too. Don’t miss the opportunity to work with them too.
Start off on sites like LinkedIn, and use it to showcase who you are.
This will create the traffic you need, and you’ll start chatting to people locally as well as all over the world who understand and appreciate what you’re doing. You could have a mutual friend with a client you want to work with, so make sure to use that wisely.
7. Get your name out there
If you’re a blogger, I can’t emphasize the importance of connections enough. If you can make some links with people who have great blogs and a large readership, then doing a guest post here and there will increase the traffic on your website and get you a few more regular readers.
Do what you can to get your name out there, and write for anybody who you think will increase your website visitors.
If you’re into photography or art, you can also work with people to get your name out there, so don’t underestimate the power of an Instagram post on a page with a lot of followers.
8. Find Freelance Writing Jobs
Freelance jobs are available everywhere if you just look and promote yourself and your services. Here are just a few places to put yourself out there.
- Facebook Groups
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Job Boards
- Other bloggers (Content creation is the biggest time suck for bloggers and many would pay to have that task taken off of their plate. Let everyone know you are a freelance writer.)
And lastly… work hard
The most important thing as a freelancer is keeping the motivation going.
Wake up, get dressed, and get hustling, as if there is a boss right behind you keeping an eye on what you’re doing. Because if you don’t keep the motivation going, it can be pretty easy to get into the habit of, well, not having any habits.
If it will help you to work in a coffee shop or library, then spend your day there.
The main thing to consider is that you need to have the drive and determination to make this work, if you want it to be your full-time job.
Nobody else is going to tell you, so be your own motivation. Good luck with freelancing, and earning money from doing what you love!
5 comments
So many people skip Step 2. Good read, Good points
Keeping that patience is so important – as you say, don’t quit your job just yet without being able to pay the rent! I think all the groundwork of laying that foundation, planning, working slowly, and making your goal… that requires patience! But what you’ve laid out is something so worthwhile… those who want it can do it!
I think one of the most helpful things is putting yourself out there, telling people and applying for freelance jobs. A lot of people want to write for a living but expect companies to just knock on their door. It doesn’t work that way. You really have to pursue it, embrace it and not be scared of rejection.
Reblogged this on Suzie Speaks and commented:
Looking to move into a different career path? Here’s some great tips from Elena about ideas for freelancing work. Please don’t like or comment on my reblog – hop on over to Elena and say hello!