How to Start Freelance Writing

Start a personal blog., Join an online content publishing community., Join more content development sites., Create an online portfolio or landing page for yourself., Follow successful freelancers., Focus on earning money., Look for unique...

7 Steps 3 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Start a personal blog.

    While blogging for a niche can be a great way to generate income, you will need to first familiarize yourself with the online publishing world.

    The best part about having a personal blog is that you can write about whatever you want, and you aren’t limited to one topic.

    Write about whatever you are passionate about and continually study your writing and how it can be improved.
  2. Step 2: Join an online content publishing community.

    One of the best places to do this is Associated Content owned by Yahoo!.

    Your first few articles will have to pass an editor’s review, but after that you will be able to publish articles on whatever you like or pick up articles from the assignment desk.

    Pay is low on this site, but it will give you great exposure to the online writing world and there are some great community forums and community guides to help you out along the way. , These can be paid or unpaid, but different sites have different regulations and will give you exposure and practice on different platforms.

    Some suggestions are Textbroker, Demand Studios, LifeGuide Hub, Break Studios, or Internet Brands.

    You can even reach out to niche sites that align with your areas of expertise. , Provide links to your site profiles where people can see your published work.

    You can also provide some personal information that will help in branding yourself, but you should stick to things that qualify you as a writer.

    For example, you can list your education and areas of interest and expertise, but avoid writing about your home life.

    While you may love it, the information comes across as unnecessary and annoying to potential clients or employers. , Whether it is in Twitter or your blog feed, find individuals who have made a career of freelance writing and read all about their successes and failures.

    This will help point you where to go and may even uncover some wonderful opportunities for you. , You will find that some sites pay much better than others.

    The goal of this step is not to earn a lot of money, but to gear yourself towards writing to a client’s detailed specifications.

    Chances are, the higher the pay, the pickier the editors are in publishing content.

    If you only want to freelance as a hobby, you can stick to the sites that are easier to publish on, but you will not receive nearly as much constructive criticisms on how to improve your writing. , Sites like Elance and The Freelance Writing Jobs Network are some good sites that display high quality jobs.

    You may only land a few or none at all at first, but it is a learning process that must be embraced and you will be surprised at how much you learn from just trying.

    The better and more established you become, the more money you will be able to earn.
  3. Step 3: Join more content development sites.

  4. Step 4: Create an online portfolio or landing page for yourself.

  5. Step 5: Follow successful freelancers.

  6. Step 6: Focus on earning money.

  7. Step 7: Look for unique assignments.

Detailed Guide

While blogging for a niche can be a great way to generate income, you will need to first familiarize yourself with the online publishing world.

The best part about having a personal blog is that you can write about whatever you want, and you aren’t limited to one topic.

Write about whatever you are passionate about and continually study your writing and how it can be improved.

One of the best places to do this is Associated Content owned by Yahoo!.

Your first few articles will have to pass an editor’s review, but after that you will be able to publish articles on whatever you like or pick up articles from the assignment desk.

Pay is low on this site, but it will give you great exposure to the online writing world and there are some great community forums and community guides to help you out along the way. , These can be paid or unpaid, but different sites have different regulations and will give you exposure and practice on different platforms.

Some suggestions are Textbroker, Demand Studios, LifeGuide Hub, Break Studios, or Internet Brands.

You can even reach out to niche sites that align with your areas of expertise. , Provide links to your site profiles where people can see your published work.

You can also provide some personal information that will help in branding yourself, but you should stick to things that qualify you as a writer.

For example, you can list your education and areas of interest and expertise, but avoid writing about your home life.

While you may love it, the information comes across as unnecessary and annoying to potential clients or employers. , Whether it is in Twitter or your blog feed, find individuals who have made a career of freelance writing and read all about their successes and failures.

This will help point you where to go and may even uncover some wonderful opportunities for you. , You will find that some sites pay much better than others.

The goal of this step is not to earn a lot of money, but to gear yourself towards writing to a client’s detailed specifications.

Chances are, the higher the pay, the pickier the editors are in publishing content.

If you only want to freelance as a hobby, you can stick to the sites that are easier to publish on, but you will not receive nearly as much constructive criticisms on how to improve your writing. , Sites like Elance and The Freelance Writing Jobs Network are some good sites that display high quality jobs.

You may only land a few or none at all at first, but it is a learning process that must be embraced and you will be surprised at how much you learn from just trying.

The better and more established you become, the more money you will be able to earn.

About the Author

G

Gary Gordon

Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow creative arts tutorials.

38 articles
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