Passionate about writing but don’t know where to start? Or want to explore writing as a part-time career option for making a few extra bucks on the side? Either way, you have landed the right place. If you are planning to start your freelance writing career, this article will help you take the first few steps. So, let’s get going and dive into it!
Polish Your Writing Skills:
Once you have decided you want to enter this zone and want to start your career in content writing, it is vital that you polish your writing skills. One of the ways of doing it is reading more books, blogs and articles. Reading and consuming content about improving your writing skills will definitely aid the process. You must understand the different writing styles, brush up your grammar and vocabulary and so on. Writing for the web is very different from writing for magazines or newspapers. So decide for yourself, you can be a web columnist or write columns for magazines and newspapers.
Pick Your Niche:
Picking your niche means choosing what genre you want to specialise in or write in. For example Lifestyle – Food, Travel, Books, Beauty, Spirituality, Technical Content, or any other genre you are interested in. Writing Press Releases, writing for social media among other things are also in demand now. It will be very easy to navigate your way ahead if you are clear about where you have to reach. Thus choosing your niche helps.
Have your samples ready:
Now that you have decided your niche, write some sample blogs or articles in that category. Assuming that you are a complete newbie in this arena, you need samples to prove your worth. Clients will ask for sample write-ups initially to decide if you are a fit for them. Once you start getting clients, you can slowly start building your work portfolio. It helps you get better exposure and get you more work.
Make Your Rate Card:
It is important that you fix your rates beforehand. Usually, freelancers charge per word wise or per article wise depending upon the kind of content and the research involved. Some content writers charge extremely low and thus the whole community suffers. You can talk to your writer friends or online content creators about the charging aspect. In the beginning, be ready for negotiation but do not undervalue yourself. Decide if you want to charge on per word basis or per-article basis and go ahead with it for a smooth run.
Keep your payment modes ready:
This may seem an obvious phenomenon but college students or complete newbies may not be aware of these facts. You must have a secure Bank Account and be well-versed with payment modes like NEFT/ UPI/ Google Pay, Paytm etc. For international transactions, you can have your Paypal Account ready for smooth payment procedures.
Pro Tip: Understand your taxes well; freelancers do get 10% TDS cutouts.
Get your social media game right:
Now that you have entered this zone of freelance content writing, people will surely check your social media behaviour. Also, you will land most of your clients online. So keep your Instagram, Facebook, twitter a bit professional. Have a common or a decent looking display picture and add a bio where it clearly states about your writing ambitions. It should be clear from your profile that you are into this field and are professional enough to maintain a good profile.
Pro Tip: Get on LinkedIn and make noteworthy connections.
Start a blog/ get a website:
This is an extension of having your samples ready. You can certainly use your blog as your portfolio to showcase your work. Your worth as a content writer will increase tenfold if you have a blog to your name.
Start Pitching:
- COLD EMAILS
- NETWORKING GROUPS
Write for free to gain experience and testimonials:
Initially, offer your writing services for free to gain experience. Another important aspect that this covers that it helps you build your portfolio. There are a number of websites, web magazines, established blogs that are looking out for good writers like you. Connect with them and send them an impressive email stating how you can help.
Guest Post:
You can begin guest posting for other websites and blogs in exchange for a link back to your website. Some websites offer a special ‘Author Bio’ section and credit you for your work. It is a good opportunity to talk about yourself and build your profile. It is another great way of establishing yourself as a writer.
Join Content Boards, Job Boards:
There are many job boards for writers like Contently, Freelancer.com that help you make your profile. You can start taking up writing assignments once you establish your profile and avail clients. It is a very simple yet effective method to start making money as a freelance content writer.
Hope these tips helped. 🙂 Comment below and let me know!
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