Freelance Writing is a great career option where one works on a self-employed basis and not under a company or an organization. A freelance writer requires a perfect blend of dedication, mindful imagination, multi-tasking, and great management skills. Freelance writing can be done as a side hustle by taking on different projects or by simply turning it into a flexible, full-time career option.
Sometimes content writers leave their regular 9-5 jobs only to work independently. Are you also passionate about writing, researching, presenting your ideas, and working on your own terms? If yes, then the freelance writing career option might be the most suitable for you. Here is everything you need to know about freelance writing:
Tasks and work
As a freelance writer works independently, there are no fixed working hours and you can even work in the comfort of your home. The job of a freelancer includes offering your services to different clients or just working for yourself.
Understanding your niche and target audience is the first and foremost step in freelance writing. The key in freelancing is to sell yourself appropriately. Search for different writing jobs, magazines and guest opportunities to offer your services. There are so many opportunities for you to explore to get started in the freelance writing career including:
- Blogging
- Copywriting
- Content curation
- SEO writing
- B2B writing
How to start a career in freelance writing?
#1. Reach out to people in your niche
You can guest post for free on many websites or for bloggers that pique your interest. Connect with them to publish your articles.
#2. Pitch to clients who might like your work
You can proactively pitch your content ideas to various website owners and publications directly through e-mail or through social media.
#3. Work on your portfolio
A professional portfolio demonstrates your work that your potential clients should be aware of. It should contain all of your writing samples and guest posts.
#4. Start your own creative blog
You can build an online presence for clients to understand your work. You can present the ideas in your niche in the most creative ways on your blog.
#5. Get familiar with SEO fundamentals and other skills
As a freelance writer, you must have a fair amount of knowledge about search engine optimization, social media promotion, editing, proofreading, etc. These skills will help you generate traffic for your content.
A new business venture requires time combined with lots of hard work to grow. Invest a good amount of time to generate content ideas, build your network, and pitching to leads. There will be a lot of rejections and criticisms in this career but you need to develop a thick skin and take them positively.
Salary
A beginner freelance writer earns around Rs. 10,000-12,000 per month on an average while a relatively experienced writer is expected to earn around Rs. 20,000-60,000 on an average.
There is no specific qualification that you require to become a freelance writer. However, to increase the quality of your work and kickstart your career to another level, here is what you can do:
- Seek out training programs
- Attend creative writing workshops
- Enroll for good creative writing courses
- Take up writing projects
- Learn creative writing online
- Publish your work for free on websites
Pursuing a career in freelance writing is quite difficult but that does not mean that it is impossible. So, get out there and start writing!
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