While freelance writing comes with immense freedom and potential rewards, it also requires a lot of dedication and hard work. With the right approach, however, you can take control of your working life, embrace the freedom of freelancing writing and make a substantial income. If you want to be a successful freelance writer, this article has all the tips you need to achieve your freelance writing goals.
To be a successful freelance writer, you must understand exactly what your client wants and have to ability to deliver. Also, you need to be able to network, create content that appeals to your audience and keep up with the latest industry trends. Other important freelance writing skills you need include but are not limited to honing your writing skills, effectively managing your time, and improving the quality of your work.
Whether you’re just getting started or have been freelancing for years, these tips will sharpen your abilities and help you stand out as a sought-after freelance writer.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Improve your writing skills
Freelance writing is all about writing and reading. If you cannot write compelling content that engages the audience, then you cannot become a successful freelance writer.
The content you write helps someone to solve a particular problem. For example, if you write an article about how to improve your credit score, your audience should be able to follow the steps you provided and reach the results you said there will achieve. If you can achieve this goal, then you would have won the purpose of writing that article. Not only that you understood what the problem was, but you also provided an answer to the problem.
So, if you want to be a successful freelance writer, work on your writing skills. Learn the ins and out of technical writing and write content that is grammatically correct and engages people at the same time.
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2. Set your expectations right
You probably heard of the stories of people making thousands of dollars every month from freelance writing. There are also some people who have quit their jobs to become successful freelance writers. Although these stories are true, there is another side of the story you have not been told.
To become a successful freelance writer, you need to set your expectations right. Money does not show up the same day you started. Expecting too much from a career that you just started will lead to frustration and disappointment.
You see, being a freelance writer means that you will get paid to write. This also means that your clients will evaluate your freelance writing credibility before they hand you a project. Unless you have built enough experience, have well-written samples to showcase, and network; you will not land clients. Even after doing all you can, you might find it difficult to land a job.
If you are getting started, do not expect easy clients or expect the work to be straightforward. You must prove your worth before you can become a successful freelance writer. And this takes a lot of work, sacrifice, time, and patience.
Additionally, you must understand that freelance writing takes a lot of reading and writing. So, make sure that you understand how long each project will take before you take on more projects that you can finish on time.
3. Be a man of your words
Nothing clients hate more than freelance writers who lie about their ability to complete jobs. That is right. If you take on a project and deliver half of the work and take twice as long, your clients will always get mad and give you negative reviews. So, it is better to have one or two projects in a month and successfully finish them than to have 20 side gigs and hand them in half done.
To be a successful freelance writer, you must be a man of your word. You need to know your experiences, abilities, and skills, and analyze every project to the last task. This allows you to accurately estimate how long each project will take you and the resources you will need.
By delivering each freelance writing gig on time, you end up winning your client’s loyalty, getting referrals, and earning positive reviews. These three things are extremely important in the freelance world. Lacking them means that you will get fewer clients. As you already know, you cannot be a successful freelance writer without clients. So, focus on customer satisfaction more than anything else. Because one frustrated client from your mediocre work can give you a negative review that will deter other potential clients.
In other words, you should always know what it takes to get the project done, tell your clients what you are going to do and the timeline, and deliver exactly or better than what you agreed to accomplish. That is how you become a successful freelance writer.
4. Rejections are a norm
Like any other job application, successful freelance writers understand that rejections are the norm. Before you start this journey, know that not every client you talk to or side gig you apply to will hire you. There are those clients who will not take you simply because they don’t like you and there no nothing you can do about it.
Don’t be discouraged by rejections because rejections are part of the process. Again, to build credibility in the freelance writing industry or freelance in general, you have to prove your worth.
If everyone is rejecting you, then, there is something wrong. You can review your entire set up such as projects you showcase, practice your pitch, work on your social media accounts, etc, to improve your image.
However, if you are getting started without enough reviews and referrals, you will be rejected more than you get hired. The good news is that over time, you will start rejecting clients. That is how it works.
5. Success takes time
If you are getting started with freelance, know that it will take time to become a successful freelance writer. Nothing good happens over time. At first, clients will not trust you with their projects. Second, you will not have anything tangible to show that you are capable of doing the project. Lastly, you will have no referrals or extensive experience in the industry.
All these factors will weigh on you and prevent you from getting clients. But, after getting a few clients here and there, you will eventually start seeing more freelance writing jobs coming in like a storm.
But, before you get to this level, know that you must shed a lot of sweat and work like you have never done before. Real success comes with time. You might have to work hard for months before you get a steady supply of freelance gigs.
6. Have an emergency fund
Whether you are doing freelance work or not, it is critical to have an emergency fund. This fund acts as your backup plan in case of financial or life emergencies. Since freelance projects come in with time and experience, you might not get work to give you enough income.
You might also get a lot of projects at once and then go for weeks without a side hustle. This means that you will not be getting paid. Guess what. Your expenses will remain. How can you cover your expenses without a paycheck?
That is where an emergency fund comes in. You should have at least 3 to 6 months of your expenses saved in your emergency fund. To become a successful freelance writer, have an emergency fund to cover your expenses when you don’t have enough clients. This will ensure that you keep following your passion without getting into financial trouble. Some people choose to keep their full-time jobs or part-time jobs and do freelance work on the side. This allows them to grow gradually and slowly walk away from their main jobs as they gain more freelance experience and success. You can apply the same technique.
Learn how to save for your emergency fund: 4 ways to save for an emergency fund fast
7. Have a niche
Although you might be interested in many different freelancing niches, it is essential to focus on one niche. A niche allows you to build your reputation and become a successful freelance writer much faster. Once you have found success in your niche, you can then branch out to similar areas to diversify your freelance reach. To get started, find a niche that you enjoy the most and find freelance jobs in that area. It is easy to become a successful freelance writer doing what you love and enjoy than it is in a new sector.
For example, if you enjoy writing about debt and mortgages, try to find success in this niche. Don’t throw that away and start writing about cryptocurrency simply because everyone is talking about it.
8. Diversify your freelance writing abilities
Diversification is key to finding success as a freelance writer. Yes, it is good to have a niche. But, it is equally important to diversity to similar and related areas. This allows you to build more skills and knowledge which is essential when it comes to getting a steady supply of freelance projects.
Diversification also comes in handy when a particular sector is being hit by economic and financial stress, for example. That is if companies are not making enough sales and revenues, they might stop paying freelance writers to write content. That means if you are in that sector, you won’t get enough projects. You can mitigate this financial setback by diversifying into other sectors after finding success in your niche.
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9. Start small
One of the best strategies to become a successful freelance writer is to start small. You see, when you are getting started, you pretty much don’t much about the industry. You might have taken one or two freelance courses online. But, these are not enough to become successful.
It will take you time to master the industry, know how to properly set your rates, understand how long each project will take, and much more.
For this reason, you need to start small and avoid taking on a ton of projects in an effort to get rich quickly. Always remember that a client will be happy getting rejected than receiving a half-finished project. Start with easy projects such as writing articles, blog posts, etc. Then move into more advanced projects.
10. Charge the right amount
Clients usually look at how much you are charging before they contact you. They also evaluate your resume, cover letter (if any), reviews, and other projects you showcase. Having everything accessible to clients is essential. But, the biggest mistake a lot of freelance writers make is to set their bars too high or too low.
If you are getting started, you cannot expect to make the same amount as an average freelance writer. No matter how much experience you had in your previous job, you need to understand that this is a different industry that requires a particular set of skills, habits, work ethics, etc. Unless you have similar and marketable freelance writing experience, you need to start with lower rates.
Charging too much will discourage potential clients. Charging too little also will undermine your credibility to get the job done. For this reason, you need to estimate your rates based on what you are offering, your experience and qualification, and the average rates of similar projects in your niche.
11. Have a learning mentality
Companies pay you for what you know and what you can do with your knowledge. For this reason, you need to continuously learn new trends and inventions in the industry and use them to build your skill set. New trends and inventions will allow you to finish projects fasters and better than your competitors.
This is essential because clients want their projects fast and you cannot achieve this goal by relying on old techniques and technologies.
12. Network with other freelance writers and build relationships with clients
Your network is your net worth. To become a successful freelance writer, you need to network with other freelance writers in your niche. Start by joining online freelancing groups, attending freelance writing conferences, and networking events. All these activities and events will give you a chance to learn from others, share skills and technology, and gain insights into what makes others succeed.
You should also build strong relationships with your clients. For every client you get, there is a chance to keep that client forever if you know how. The only way to keep your clients for life is to give them what they want.
What do your clients what? They want you to get the job done on time and as stated in the contract. If you can complete it faster and better than expected, then you will be in luck. I can guarantee you that if your client is happy with the work you have done, you will be the first to call when the next project becomes available.
13. Have good samples to showcase your skills
If you are getting started, you might find it difficult to land your first client. But, you can do so by having well-written projects to showcase your abilities and writing skills. You should also have your resume and cover letter updated and written specifically for freelance writing jobs. This will allow you to align your past experience with freelancing and make you stand out.
Additionally, put your projects where potential clients can easily access them. Some people create a website and display their projects, resumes, and cover letters there. This is an effective way to have all your documents in one place. It also shows your organizational skills. Yes, your clients can download your resume. But, it will be much better if they can easily access your files on the Internet.
