How to Start Freelance Writing

How to Start Freelance Writing By Gertrude Nonterah

You’ve heard about freelance writing and would like to get started but you have zero experience.

Don’t despair my friend; I’ve got good news for you. Every freelance writer that has ever existed, started with absolutely no experience. So you’re in good company.

Freelance writing can be a very lucrative career when done the right way. I have been a full-time freelance writer since June of 2018 and it has been rewarding. As a mom, it allows me to be home with my 6-year old son with special needs while making money to pay the bills.  Even if you never plan on leaving your regular job, freelance writing can be a powerful side hustle. 

So how do you get started?

Let’s delve right into how you can become a freelance writer even with zero experience.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read disclosure.

 

Pick a niche (or two)

In interacting with people who want to become freelance writers, people usually get stuck on this step.

A niche is simply an area of expertise you want to be known for in the freelance writing world. For instance, if you go to my LinkedIn profile, you will notice I describe myself as a freelance writer for healthcare and online marketing.

I picked those two because my educational background is in healthcare and I’ve educated myself in the online marketing area for the last 6 years.

So if you find yourself struggling to pick a niche, think about experiences you already have.

If you were a preschool teacher at some point, you could write for blogs and publications that focus on parenting or on children.

So look at your background and experiences and draw from that.

Why do you need to pick a niche?

I’m not saying you won’t make money if you are a broad writer. 

However, narrowing down on one of two niches allows you to stick out in people’s minds and will get you freelance work quicker than if you don’t have a niche.

Secondly, the more you create work in 1-2 niche areas versus ten, the more samples you will have in your portfolio to share with potential clients.

At the beginning of my freelance career when I did not have a clearly defined niche, I lost certain opportunities because I didn’t demonstrate expertise in that particular area.

So pick a niche.

You don’t have to stick with just that niche forever. But at least for now, this decision will put you on the map of profitable freelance writing. 

 

Create a portfolio

Creating a portfolio has always proved to be a very reliable source for getting recurring clients. A good portfolio will increase your chances of getting a job, especially when you’ve chosen a niche.

There are a number of ways you can create a portfolio.

• Create a writer website and include links to work you’ve created on the website. To get an idea of what I mean, you can check out my portfolio page for my health writing business. Usually, when I pitch a potential client, I will simply send them a link to this page for their reference.

 

• Save any previous work you’ve created as PDF documents. Save them to a special folder on your computer and attach them to emails when you’re pitching clients.

 

• Use LinkedIn. Over the last year or so, I’ve fallen in love with LinkedIn. One of the reasons I love it so much is because you can publish blog posts to the platform. If you’re not ready to create a writer website but would love for your work to be online instead of a PDF saved on your computer, you can put a sample of your work here too. Medium.com is another place you can do this.

 

These are just a handful of examples of what you can do to create a portfolio.

Whichever path you choose, do realize that having a portfolio will increase your chances of landing a freelance client.

So even if you have not gotten paid to write before, writing your own posts on LinkedIn or Medium can be a powerful way to showcase your writing talent.

Remember there’s really no right or wrong way to start as a freelance writer, just stick to whichever way suits you better.

How to get paying freelance writing clients

Now let’s talk about how you can find paying clients.

 

Freelance Marketplaces

I am not a big fan of freelance marketplaces.

However, sometimes this can be a good place to get your feet wet in the freelance writing world.

The good thing about these platforms is that clients who are ready to pay you have already posted gigs you can apply to. The downside is that one freelance writing gig can receive hundreds of bids.

And most of the time, clients are looking to get writers for very cheap. 

However, if you can submit an attention-grabbing bid and provide proof of your work like I described above with your portfolio, you can land your first few clients very quickly.

Freelancing platforms to check out include:

• Upwork – They take at least 10% of your earnings on the platform)

 

• Guru – Payments are made based on completed milestones, fees vary based on your membership.

 

• Freelancer – They have projects and contests available, fees vary on the type of assignment completed)

 

• Fiverr – This used to be a platform where you paid $5 to get a task done. These days, freelancers can earn way more than $5 for completing a task on Fiverr.

 

Freelance Job Boards

There are a number of job boards that post writing gigs on a daily basis. 

Again, standing out here will depend on the quality of your pitch and your portfolio.

In my experience, I find that job boards tend to have more of the types of clients that are willing to pay good money for a good writer.

A few job boards to check out include:

• ProBlogger – This is arguably one of the best and most well-known job boards for writers out there. It’s been around for over 10 years.

 

• Freelance Writing Jobs – Handpicked job leads as well as a job board of freelance writing gigs)

 

• Blogging Pro – This contains a wealth of blogging information mixed with WordPress, plus job leads

 

• Indeed – Indeed makes it super easy to find “freelance writing jobs”, save jobs, and apply directly on some)

 

• Work From Home Happiness 

 

• Craigslist – You’ll be surprised to find people in your local area who are looking for writers like you and are willing to pay well. My first well-paid gig as a freelancer actually came from Craigslist. If you look beyond the spam on the platform, you can find some hidden gems.

 

Reach out to directly

This method of finding clients is the hardest because unlike the two above, you have to find people who may not even know they need your services and pitch them.

Also, there is less competition. Very few aspiring freelance writers want to go out there and search for clients on their own. And understandably so-it is hard.

And yet, in my experience, it is these ones that pay the best.

One way you can do this is by hitting Google and then searching for businesses in a particular niche you want to write for.

For instance, if you want to write for caregivers who are caring for their aged parents, you might want to reach out to home care agencies can caregiver publications to inquire if they would be interested in your writing services.

Once you find the contact information for potential clients, you can send them an email that says:

“Good morning.

My name is Gertrude Nonterah and I’m a freelance health content writer.

I am reaching out because I wanted to find out if you have any writing needs for your company.

I have written blog posts, email newsletters, social media content and marketing brochure content for my clients for the last 12 months. (NOTE: Don’t worry if you don’t have this experience. Just skip this part and show them samples of your work).

Below you will find samples to work I’ve created for some of my other clients.

If there’s someone else more suited to receive this email, could you please forward it to them?

I look forward to receiving your feedback.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gertrude Nonterah.”

Keep it short and to the point.

Closing thoughts

Freelance writing is a wonderful way to make money on the side or as a full-time income. As you can see, you will need to do the work upfront but once you do, you will be set up for success for a long time to come.

 

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Guest Post:

Gertrude Nonterah is a former medical scientist turned freelance writer and online entrepreneur. She blogs over at MyOnlineBizJourney.com. When she’s not writing or creating videos for her YouTube channel, she is reading or watching spy movies.