How to Start Freelance Writing Business (A Step-by-Step Guide)

By John

Do you want to join the ranks of full-time freelance writers and become a top earner from freelance writing yourself?

Most certainly, not everyone love the 9-to-5 work model, office politics and having to be glued to a chair all day, while silently contemplating when the day will come to an end. Nowadays, thanks to the Internet there are plenty of non-office, freelance jobs that you can easily venture into worldwide.

Whether you’re looking for a full or part-time job, you’re guaranteed to get the right job online. And the good news, you can make just about any place your workplace, with the right tools and a sound mindset, working from home can be pretty easy for you.

What follows is a step-by-step guide on how to Start Freelance Writing Business, but first let us explain what freelance writing is all about!

What is Freelance Writing?

The term ‘freelance’ originated from the Middle Ages in Europe, where it is used to describe those knights who’d defend whatever any king paid them to protect, rather than remain loyal to just one king.

Thus, these set of knights were referred to as ‘free lanced’ and that’s the modern connotation of the word freelancer.

Freelance writing is when you get paid for writing without actually being hired full time, which is more or less, a professional writing service rendered by a freelancer. While a freelancer is someone who renders any freelance job.

What this means is that if you’re a freelancer, you don’t belong to just one organization or publication, rather you are open to work for any one that can afford to hire you. As a freelancer, you can work on different jobs or even for short periods of time, without serving as a permanent employee.

Common Types of Freelance Writing jobs

While there are several types of writing jobs in demand, the following are the common ones you can join right away. Further more, you can specialize in any particular niche or topic, or perhaps be a generalist, able to cover every topic and niches.

• Copywriting: this involves the crafting of sales letters, product descriptions, ads, and other promotional articles. Copywriting requires a good understanding of what people are attracted to or respond to, for preparing the promotional materials. So, if you’re creative and can write persuasively, copywriting is for you.
• Technical writing: If you’re someone that is an expert in computers and software, or you have engineering background, this form of freelancing could be a great fit for you.
• Blog Writing: To be a blog writer means to create articles for blogs based on the blog’s niche. However, you can become a blogger yourself, but in this case, the freelance writer create content for some other people’s or company’s blog.
• Ghost writing: Ghost writer is someone who writes articles, or materials for publications for someone else who then takes credit for the writing job. Ghost writing requires great skills, and can be very difficult to get because most people demand that you have knowledge of the publishing or media industry, and also a track record of success.
• Business Plan Writer: this frelance writing business is ideal for those who are business savvy and caable of putting it into concise writing format, by offering their services as business plans writing.

How to start Freelance writing business

If you’ve digested all about freelancing above and think it’s now time to get all your mojo into a row to try moonlighting as freelance writer, here are the steps.

1. Required Skills and Experience

First, to be a freelance writer require some skills, however, you don’t necessarily need a degree in English language or journalism to be able to work as a freelancer, just the ability to write very well.

And you don’t have to worry, even if you don’t have a formal degree, you can always start from scratch, but you’ll most likely need to educate yourself in some basic way, so that you’ll be able to produce quality writing works.

If you can’t afford a degree from the traditional university, SeekaHost Online University can be a great option for you to get the online writing course. It’s typically more affordable than the formal university degrees, and you can study at your own pace, from home and perhaps in the evenings or even on weekends, if you currently have a day job.

2. Consider setting up a Website

You’ll need a platform to showcase your works online, either a website or blog will be ideal for you to pitch your works, which will be far more effective when linked to with your online portfolio where clients can see your works.

If you wish to take start a blog right away, you can learn how to start a blog in plain English written by a young blogger who also make a living blogging from home. The writing on your blog regularly is a great way to practice your writing craft, and you’ll get a great following for your work.

In fact, having a blog/website will make you look more legitimate, as clients will look to it for insight on your creativity and skill. Also, you have to ensure your social media activities reflect on your profession, as experienced clients will explore these to learn more about you.

3. Where to Pitch for writing jobs

In order to find out what are your chances of getting jobs, you’ll need to conduct market research before making the final leap into freelance writing.

The favorite places to look are definitely social media (such as this Facebook group) and job boards. As a serious freelancer, you must be open to networking, which will help you in landing more jobs.

And don’t underestimate any of your current social circle when it comes to getting writing opportunities, always be ready to actively work in improving your writing skill.

Conclusion

Once you’ve made a headway in freelance writing, it is time to start charging per project, which should be based on how quickly you can research & write the contents.

However, your writing skill and level of expertise, with how you define yourself – which you can improve by starting a service-based blog – will determine your actual freelance writing rate.