How to Make Money Freelance Writing?
You love writing. You are good at it. You want to make money writing. But you don’t know how to make money freelance writing online from home.
I’ve been in your shoes. Not too long ago, I was in your shoes. I was just a girl with big dreams. I wanted to make freelance writing my reality.
I wanted to make a comfortable living while working part-time freelance writing from home. I wanted to be location independent so I can travel and make money writing from anywhere. I wanted flexible hours so I could go running mid-day or take a weekday off without worrying about vacation days.
Fast forward to today: I have everything I wanted. I read every blog possible, listened to videos, took courses, engaged in freelance groups, asked lots of questions, and learned how to make money freelance writing online. And now, I am here to teach you everything I learned.
How to Make Money Freelance Writing Online
Do you want to learn how to make money freelance writing online from home (or from anywhere in the world) too? It’s a pretty simple process. You just have to be consistent, patient, and confident. Here is what you need to do if you want to make money freelance writing:
1. Choose Your Writing Expertise
So you want to know how to make money freelance writing. That’s great. But what kind of writing do you want to do? Do you want to be a freelance copywriter or a content writer? Perhaps you are interested in technical writing, scriptwriting, grant writing, or creating writing? Maybe something else…
There are so many options out there, it’s hard to keep track. My roadmap in this blog is for freelance content writers and copywriters, but it may be helpful for technical writers, grant writers, scriptwriters, and other kinds of freelance writers. If you want to make money writing more creative work, such as poetry, short stories, or novels, my tips will be less helpful for you.
If you’ve decided on freelance copy or content writing, think about what kind of copy or content you want to create. Do you want to write blogs, newsletters, ebooks, social media content, sales pages, landing pages, ‘about me’ pages, product descriptions, UX microcopy, or something else? There is no right or wrong answer. Simply pick one to three options that interests your - and master those skills so you can start making money freelance writing from home.
2. Choose Your Niche
Do you really need a niche? When it comes to this question, there is a debate between freelance writers. There are certainly some very successful generalists out there who know how to make money freelance writing without having a niche. If you are a newbie, being a generalist may be a good idea at first until you settle on your niche.
Picking a niche, however, can only benefit you. Clients love to see when their freelance writers are passionate and knowledgeable about their field. If you have a niche, your clients will look at you as an expert and come to you for your expertise. I am a health writer and I get emails regularly from doctors and health brands looking for a writer who has expertise in their exact field. Having a niche also helps you to stay focused and write about topics that you are passionate about.
So how to choose your niche? Have a good old brainstorm session. Write down topics that you love and enjoy. Now circle the ones that you have an educational or professional background in or know a lot about or at least want to immerse yourself in. Now, pick the ones that seem profitable: you need clients that will pay you. A good niche is something that you love, interested in, know a lot about and/or want to learn a lot more about, and is profitable.
3. Find Your Ideal Clients
You’ve decided if you want to write content or copy and what type of writing you want to focus on. You have your niche. What’s next? Can we get to the part where you learn how to make money freelance writing?
Easy there, this is all part of the process. Now that you have your niche, you can think about what kind of clients you want to work with. Brains-storm what kind of companies and professionals are out there in your niche. For example, if you are a fitness writer, you may want to consider fitness apps, fitness studios, fitness equipment brands, fitness clothing brands, fitness nutrition brands, or personal trainers.
As you are narrowing your options out, create an ideal client profile. Think about the size of the company, their management style, their clientele, the personality of the content manager or marketing manager you will be working with, and all other factors. This will help you find the right clients for you.
4. Create a Website + Portfolio
Next up is creating your website and portfolio. I can’t tell you how many writers are asking how to make money online without having these two things. But it’s so important. A website is where you can list your services and showcase your portfolio. This is where you can direct prospective clients to and this is where clients can find you!
Creating a website can be scary. Don’t worry. You don’t need anything fancy. You can use Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly. They have some amazing templates that are easy to customize. You can create an awesome website in a day and have to focus on your portfolio and making money freelance writing from home!
Creating a portfolio is simple, even if you are a beginner. You can publish articles on Medium for free. You can reach out to publications and bloggers in your niche for guest blogging opportunities. You don’t need many samples either: around five is enough. What’s more important is that you write quality pieces. I can’t emphasize this enough. Put the time and effort in. You want your portfolio to be high-quality and relevant to your future clients. You want to ‘wow’ them and make them want to work with you!
5. Start Cold-Emailing
Now that you have a kick-ass portfolio, you are ready for one of the most important steps of this how to make money freelance writing online from home guide. Cold-emailing! You will be reaching out to your ideal clients.
It sounds scary, but trust me, it’s not. You already know what kind of brands, companies, or professionals you want to work within your niche. Start googling and making a list. Once you have your list, start emailing them.
Ideally, you want to email the CEO, a marketing director, content manager, or editor. Do not email in-house writers and try not to email ‘info’ emails either. Make your emails relevant. Tell them how you found their companies and let them know that you would love to help them with the content or copywriting. Share your website and portfolio. Make it brief, but relevant and convincing. End with a call to action, asking for a call or an email response back.
6. Book Your Clients
Once you start cold-emailing, you will start getting emails back. If someone doesn’t respond, make sure to follow-up with them at least twice. Don’t assume that they are not interested, maybe they just forgot to respond.
Cold-emailing is a numbers game. Many will ignore your emails. You will receive a lot of ‘no’-s. Some will tell you that they will keep your information on file. Make sure to follow up with those in a month! Then there will be others who are interested. With every ‘no’, you will be closer to a ‘yes’, and you only need a few ‘yes’-es to have a fully booked freelance writing business.
Once a client is interested, it may lead to an introductory call or you may continue conversing online. Be confident. Explain the benefits of your writing services and explain the return of investment (ROI). Once you agree on the scope of work and pricing, make sure to sign a contract before you get started.
7. Do Awesome Work
You have a client! Yay! That’s exciting. Now get to work! And make sure to do a great job.
You want to make good money freelance writing, right? You can’t expect clients to pay premium prices if you are not offering premium services. Even if you are a newbie and your fees are not super high yet, you want to impress your clients with high-quality work! Go above and beyond.
Trust me, doing great work will be worth it. If you do a great job, your clients will want to continue working with you. That’s common sense. When you raise your fees, they will be happy to pay more. More importantly, they will start to refer you to their colleagues. Long-term relationships with your clients and referrals mean that you don’t have to cold-email anymore. Clients will start coming to you!
Final Thoughts on How to Make Money Freelance Writing from Home
Here you go, this is how you make money freelance writing online. It’s not rocket science. Choose your writing expertise and niche. Figure out who is your ideal client. Create an amazing portfolio and showcase it on your website. Start cold-emailing. Book clients. Do great work and let new clients come to you. Work hard. Be consistent. Be patient. Make your dream your reality. Make money freelance writing from home.
Are you interested in creating a sustainable freelance writing business without the hustle? Check out my freelance writing course with a step-by-step process of exactly what you need.