Freelance Writing
Do you have what it takes to be a Freelance Writer?
What is a Freelance Writer?
Freelance writing is one of the most available online careers. An online freelance writer is someone who writes articles, eBooks, web content, newsletters, and anything else. They are paid to write up interesting, educational articles that capture their audience and to fill content on the web. All the writing that a freelance writer does is usually the buyers copyright forever. It is a very fun career if you like to write because you are always learning about new things. The greatest part of it is the fact that you get to make your own hours and work from the comfort of your own home. It is great for stay at home parents or housebound people. You write on your own time as long as you finish your projects on your due date. Depending on what you write, you could get paid about $500 for an eBook, not bad for doing something you love.
The world of freelance writing is wide open and can be done with almost no start-up costs. Expect to work a lot of long hours in order to establish your business. You also have to really enjoy writing, no matter what the topic, because you will do tons of it.
A freelance writer finds their projects many different ways, such as word of mouth or referrals, or online services. There are many sites where you can go to find work, some do charge a monthly fee but there are also plenty of free registration sites.
Some of the free registration ones are listed below.
Upwork – Upwork lists jobs available for freelancers in a range of categories. All you need to sign up is a computer and an Internet connection. Provide a professional looking profile picture with your well-written introduction and you’ll be on your way to finding jobs. So far I have managed to do reviews for apps. It’s a start :)
Freelancer This is the world’s largest freelancing marketplace by number of users and projects. With over 5000 jobs available in the writing and content category, here would be a great start to begin your freelance writing career.
peopleperhour Since 2007 peopleperhour have reached 189 countries and earnt freelancers so far $80m!! I have only just recently joined up with this site and haven’t written anything for them yet, but fingers crossed!!
Ezine Articles This is a great place to get your writing recognized and get your website noticed via the resource box at the end of the article. Articles submitted here must be of original content. I have got a few articles published through here and looking forward to getting more up and my work recognized.
The work that freelance writers submit should be fresh and creative and should never be plagiarized. A freelance writer will always spell check their work and make sure it sounds great. Having a portfolio of your work is an excellent idea because it shows how great of a writer you are under varied projects. Taking some online writing classes will also keep you learning new ways to write better. Details always count so make sure you keep up to date and always write from your heart, be yourself even in your writing style.
If you like to write and have some writing skills, then this job could be perfect for you. The only requirements needed to get a freelance writing job are a computer and a firm grasp on the English language.
You have to be able to write in a clear and concise manner. Your work should be easy to read and comprehend. To get a feel for the industry you are looking to target it is recommended you spend some time online. You will find good and bad samples when you do research.
Work could be offered to you on a piece by piece basis, or on a project basis. You could end up working for ten different employers each day (writing one article each), or land a job writing for one company, with enough income for you to work full or part time.
Regardless of how many employers you have it is important that you come up with a way to track all of your work and income. Because of the nature of freelance writing, good organizational skills will save you time and ensure you get paid. This is one of the advantages to using a reputable website to find work is that you.
Any web site worth its weight will have strict rules regarding payment. Some sites allow you to be paid privately, usually through PayPal.
Show off your Expertise!
If you are an expert in a particular field you can also write articles and market them yourself. There are various article marketing websites that accept submissions and then post them for others to use. These articles can link back to a particular website and provide a stream of income for you. Alternatively they can help you with branding. The importance is to get your name out to provide you with a body of work for you to reference when you are looking for jobs. While this may not pay a lot to begin with, it can eventually provide a nice and steady stream of income.
Writing articles is not the only way to make money with freelance writing. You can also write blog posts which can be somewhat easier and pay just as well. Pro-blogging is the act of being paid for blogging services.
Blog posts are often written with more authority, while still keeping the tone informative and fun. If you have ever visited a fan site you might have noticed that they contain blogs. In a great number of cases these blogs are not written by the actual webmaster, but instead by someone they hired. I can guarantee you now that all Blog posts on this site are written by me J
I am hoping to get in guest Bloggers along the way and also to include interviews with other Bloggers, so if you are interested, please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.
