How to start freelance writing?

If this is your concern, you are at the right place. In this article, I will share with you some quick and efficient ways to start freelance writing in just 3 hours.

But before that, freelancing makes my day … every day.

I love freelancing and I have been doing for years. As a matter of fact, this is what happens to me when I talk about freelance writing.

Wait, who am I?

My name is Reginald and I’ve been a freelance writer since 2004. It all started as a hobby and soon, it turned out to be a full-fledge business.

Freelance writing is also my base which helped me launched my creative agency.

During my freelance writing career, I was lucky to be featured on many authority websites and recently, by Freelancer.com as one of the top freelancers in Malaysia. You can read the article here.

Question: How much can you make through freelance writing?

I believe there is many concepts and ideas pertaining to this topic. Here’s what I can tell you.

You can make at least $10 per article (approximately 350 to 500 words) and on average, a moderate freelance writer can earn around $20 to $25 per article.

You can earn even more when you are doing ghost writing for eBooks and website contents/redesign — that’s an easy $200+ per project.

The total amount you can earn often comes hand in hand with your experience. For example:

• What is your writing experience?
• What are the perks you are offering?
• How fast can you complete an article?

If you are serious in starting a freelance writing career, you can easily earn at least $500 or $1,000 a month by just writing!

In most cases, this is often more than what you earn from blogging or through Google Adsense.

1. How to start freelance writing?

The first step is often the easiest of all — take some time to determine the type of content you want to write.

For example, you should have some sort of writing experience now (be it blogging or any other forms of writing).

Defining the niche of your writing allows you to create a better portfolio to attract the right and potential employers (more on this below).

For me, I am very into business writing. Therefore, all my freelance writing projects are aimed heavily on small-medium sized businesses who require professional ghostwriting services.

Note: You should take your time to understand the capacity of writing as well as your target audience before moving to the next step.

2. Choosing a freelance writing platform

There are many freelance writing platforms and for me, my go-to platform is Freelancer.com.

The advantage of using Freelancer.com is the free account creation. You can easily try out the platform for free (30-days trial) which is extremely important especially when you are new to the freelancing writing industry. You can register a free account here.

Once you get several projects in, consider going for a paid account for better visibility and faster withdrawal rate.

Want to get a free 30-days trial? Register for a free account using this link and enjoy 30-days complimentary upgrade to Plus account worth $9.95!

3. Creating a professional profile

If you want to attract potential employers, having a professional profile is critical for success.

What should be included in a professional freelancer profile?

A professional freelancer profile should include information such as your past experience, a little about you and of course, what makes you different from the rest of the freelance writers.

Your profile should be short but precise. Here’s an example.

About

Reginald Chan

A TEDx speaker and Chief Marketing Officer, Reginald is highly passionate in writing. His writings had been published on authority sites such as Harvard University, Yahoo! Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine and SEMrush.

You can also see my Freelancer profile here.

If you have a blog, you can even create a single page profile page to sell your services. Single page landing pages can be created easily using WordPress website builders. I use Thrive Architect and head over to this post to learn how you can easily create a landing page under 15 minutes.

4. Bidding professionally

Want to know how to become a freelance writer?

You need to have a highly effective template when it comes to bidding for a project.

I know. There are guru’s and coaches out there that tell you not to do so. But hear me out.

Having a template allows you to bid faster and sending the relevant information to your potential employers.

What should be included in the template?

• checkA quick introduction of you (people like to know who they are dealing with)
• checkAn overview of what you do (sharing experiences for example)
• checkHow you fit into the project?
• checkWhat makes you different from the rest of the freelance writer?
• checkWhat are your commitments and promise?
• checkThe expected completion time
• checkPitch for future works

Having the right pitch at the end of your bid is critical because you want to showcase your interest for long term work and not just one off projects (like what most freelancers are looking for).

5. Communication is key

If you want to be a highly sought after freelance writer, you need to be really good with your communication.

This means that be courteous during the conversion and ensure that you respond with an acceptable time frame. For example, I love responding within 10 minutes and if it is in a different timezone, within the day will create a lasting impression.

The key to successful freelance writing business is creating a clear path for communication before, during and after completing the project.

6. Ask for more future jobs

Lastly, do not be afraid to ask for more future jobs. If you have done a great writing job, then the employers will have no problem giving you more jobs in the near future.

The trick here is to make it clear that you are always looking for long term business partnership and have no problem working with him/her again.

Are you ready to start freelance writing?

I love doing freelance writing as it is not only fun but extremely rewarding.

Have you started freelance writing?

Tell me what you think in the comments below!