How to be a freelance writer. Freelance writer tips with a practical guide.

How to be a Freelance Writer?

If you enjoy writing and have a way with words, freelance writing would be a lucrative career choice. Whether you write on various topics or prefer to stick to your niche, you can take up projects from different sources- websites, magazines, blogs, etc. While it sounds interesting and easy, establishing yourself in the market needs time, effort, patience, and planning. The answer to the question- how to be a freelance writer can be confusing if you don’t do your research. 

Also, having to heavily invest in becoming a freelance writer doesn’t make much sense, right? The aim is to earn some extra money, not spend even before you earn it. 

How To Become a Freelance Writer 

Take your time to understand the writing world. Know the different types of freelance writing types and see which of them suits you the best. 

1. Pick the Type of Writing 

Broadly speaking, freelance writing is classified into the following-

  • Copywriting 

This requires not only writing skills but also persuasive marketing skills. You should be convincing enough for the readers to buy the product you wrote about. There is more money in copywriting if you are good at it. 

  • Blogging

This is content marketing at its best, even if it’s your personal blog. You are using content to market the blog and promote (or expose) a business/ product/ service or just about anything. 

  • B2B writing

The target readers here are other businesses instead of consumers. The writing has to be more professional, accurate, engaging, and precise. 

  • Technical writing 

The term says it all. This is essentially heavy writing that deals in-depth with a certain topic. IT, medical, mechanical, etc. have technical writers who write guides, booklets, manuals, and blogs explaining complex things. 

How to be a freelance writer. Practical tips and guide to freelance writer.
How to be a freelance writer
  • SEO writing

This is the easiest of the lot and has gained popularity in recent times. You write short blog posts and articles promoting a brand/ business using the given keywords. The aim is to boost the rank of the business website and optimize it for the search engines.  

2. What’s Your Niche?

To become a successful freelance writer, it is important to identify your niche. A little of this and that might be good initially, but if you want to build a regular client base, the clients need to know what you are best at. You can choose your niche based on-

  • Your educational qualifications 
  • Your hobbies and interests
  • Your researching skills 
  • Access to data (online and offline) 

Don’t be afraid to try new industries or the lesser-known ones. Sometimes, that’s where the money is hidden. Popular topics already have a lot of freelance writers. You’ll end up being one of them. 

Also, it is not like you have to limit yourself to the same niche forever. As a freelance writer, you’ll have various opportunities to expand and grow. You can add more subcategories, remove some topics, or club two or more niches. People do it all the time. The trick here is to know as much as you can about the niche you picked. Always be informed and up to date. 

3. Find Clients to Establish the Freelance Writing Business 

What’s a freelance writer without clients? Of course, you can earn from your blog or website, but for that, you’ll need a larger reader base. When clients give you work, you don’t have to worry about building a reader base. 

Create a list of your target audiences. What kind of clients do you want to work with? How much work can take per day/ week? How much pay do you expect? How do you want to interact and communicate with the clients? 

This will help in deciding if you want to take up a particular project or not. Be as specific as you can about your writing strength so that you can attract clients who are equally specific in their requirements. If you write only book reviews, you cannot really work with clients who want movie reviews. 

4. Build Your Freelance Writer Portfolio 

There has to be a way for clients out there to know that you exist. You will need to be visible for them to approach you. Luckily, you can gain visibility in various ways-

  • Start a blog (if not a website) and post your sample work on it. Be regular. Promote the blog on social media. Interact with other writers and with the readers. 
  • Create a profile on business networking sites. Upload your credentials and share the link to your blog/ website. 
  • Join and register on platforms that allow you to meet clients and get freelancing work. Most sites allow you to create a profile for free.
How to be a freelance writer. Practical tips and guide to freelance writer.
How to be a freelance writer

Be persistent and stay focused. Freelance writing has helped many people establish their careers. Just follow these tips and you can become a great freelance writer too. 

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