10 Hacks to Becoming a Freelance Writer

I recently decided I was going to quite my job in IT and become a digital marketer, so I decided to write a lot on LinkedIn pulse and one thing led to another and I'm now a content marketer and copywriter. As I reach out to peers and on the search for mentors, I'm noticing a surprising trend. Nearly all of them have side gigs doing freelance or marketing consultancy work. Full disclosure, I do as well. Helping other people manifest their dream is something I'm very passionate about. 

So as a rank amateur and fumbling noob, I decided to give this topic some thought. This first step is simply to decide you can do it. 

Let me know if these tips are useful to you, or anyone you know. 

1- Identify the Fit 

Do you enjoy working from home or having a 2nd income stream? If so, and you can write, being a freelance writer may be right for you. Are you on mat leave and need a financial boost? Want to travel the world and work remotely? Sounds appealing, right?

2- Social Blogging 

Since about 2014, blogging has gone from isolated wordpress outlets to social media network fluidity, in a new age of social entrepreneurship and more authentic dialogue in the evolution of digital blogging. This means, getting a strong profile on LinkedIn Pulse, Medium and your own Facebook page with Facebook Notes is probably a good idea. This will connect you with your industry and generate potential leads for freelance gigs. 

3- ORM

While we are on the topic of social blogging, it won't hurt to actually be seen and network online. This means developing a cohesive online reputation management strategy for your personal brand. This is a multi-channel experience of connecting and showing your true character on social networks such as: Twitter, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, Medium, Instagram, YouTube and literally any other channel that adds value to your freelance writing brand and your target audience.  

For myself, this means Quora, possibly starting a Wordpress blog, portfolio site and a strong social media presence.  

4- Network with other Freelancers 

Reaching out to clients is one thing, but also reaching out to follow freelancers can be a great help to enable you to learn the ropes. How much to charge? What software tools to use? How to write productively? There's so much to learn. Much easier to learn from others who have been doing this for a while. 

This for me is really a work in progress and something I value a lot. This has forced me to use social media in a more interactive way that enables me to show my authentic self and learn how to do business development online in a way that feels right to me. The human interaction is definitely a huge perk! 

5- Develop Testimonials 

If a client is happy with your work, or if a contract is about to end, politely as for a recommendation. This could be on LinkedIn or somewhere else where it will impact your business. Recommendations are gold, especially for someone like me who has limited publications online I can cite. 

One thing I quickly realized is this is not so much a question of the quality of the work, as a test of my own interpersonal skills with the particular personalities of companies and contacts I make professionally. 

6- Determine Fair Pay

Talking to other freelancers give you a realistic idea of what to charge and make the calculations in your own life on a rate you can actually live on. Given that it's feast or famine for freelancer copywriters, choose projects that really interest you and where they are not total cheapskates.

Some clients prefer to pay by cents per word (which doesn't take into account research and editing time), while others will want to subcontract you for a period of time and others still will offer you an hourly rate. By having high standards for yourself, be very clear about financial compensation and clients will respect you for it. 

7- Find a Niche 

Discovery your topics and what you most enjoy writing about, and determine if you can do this part-time to start and build it up to the point where you can do it full-time, if your heart so desires. Being a specialist means you can ask for more fair earnings. Being an influencer in an up and coming topic means you will find work and contracts more easily. 

Building according to your own marketing plan, and think about the future and where you can go with this. 

8- Promote & Develop a Lead Funnel 

Finding a niche, networking and creating an online lead funnel all comes together once you take freelancing more seriously. This could mean having Email subscribers and segmenting them. This could mean going to conferences and researching companies on LinkedIn and reaching out accordingly.

If you are like me, this means supporting startups you see potential in who could one day becoming paying clients. Startups need content but don't have funds to pay much but some of them will develop into full fledged companies. Supporting innovation and people you admire, means the well of inspiration won't run try as easily. 

9- Overachieve 

Don't limit yourself to just copy-writing, you might notice some of your clients aren't doing social or web landing pages particularity well, give your opinions and advice about their content strategy, and not just simply being a writer.

Small businesses and personal brands will appreciate the exchanges and you build value not just with the deliverable but with your social and strategic input to a company. This is also a way of gaining rapport with a client who can become a friend and ally in your journey of becoming a freelancer. 

Think of all the ways you can contribute value. Don't sell yourself short, the companies you will get opportunities with need all the help they can get. 

10- Branch Out

While you may be the most comfortable in writing, content marketing is as much about visual marketing, video content, podcasts, live-streaming and learning about the evolution of digital marketing in real-time. This means researching, consuming whitepapers, and knowing all you can about your industry or niche. In this way, your freelancing will be a social and educational journey that is an experience worthwhile and not just a 9-5 job full of routine and office politics and hierarchy. The freedom of being a freelancer, is also in the opportunity to grow. As you bond with other freelancers, this is about creating community and socializing with a new kind of peer, the fellow freelancer. 

Freelancing is just one of the more common #Marketingtrends.

Click on this image below, to subscribe to my articles. 

Having trouble getting started? Don't take my word for it, read how a more experienced freelancer approaches this.