You have might have been in the business of writing for so long. You have made little or nothing out of it, in terms of money or even influence.
Don’t beat yourself too hard, I was once in your shoes. I had no idea what I was doing. All I had was a passion for writing.
I got few clients to pay me for my freelance writing service, I must tell you, I was underpaid most of the time.
Until, I got to know some important secret – an open secret -about freelance writing.
In this post, we will explore all the realities of freelance writing from where ever you might be in the world.
In the internet world where content is been sought for and sold, content creators, especially writers should not be in want.
However, you might be among the many writers finding it difficult to get freelance gigs.
The various industries in the world, especially those that pertain to the internet are embracing freelancing. This is especially with the inception of COVID-19; even before the emergence of the pandemic.
One thing that makes freelance fun is the freedom you get from doing what you love from any part of the world.
You are not tied to a desk in an office, you don’t have to contend with a nagging boss, and if you live in Lagos, Nigeria, you don’t have to ensure back pain you get from seating in traffic for hours.
All you are required to do is to offer a freelance writing service that people are looking for, position yourself to be found and negotiate enumeration that suits your freelance writing gig, all from the comfort of your home.
If you are familiar with the internet, the meaning of freelance writing should not be a problem.
However, for those not sure of what the teams mean, freelance writing means rendering various writing services to a client for a fee usually via various online platforms.
The question you should ask yourself is how do I get started as a freelance writer?
That if you are new in the game.
if you are not new in the game, the question you should ask is how do I get more lucrative gigs?
Table of Contents
Step to Getting freelance writing jobs as beginners
If you have read this post to this stage, it means you are serious about freelance online writing.
You might be very experience when it comes to writing. You might have written a lot of pieces, you might even have books in your name, however, in addition to your experience, there are some steps you need to take to get started with getting freelance writing jobs online.
These steps will make it easy for you to navigate the unforgiving forest of freelancing.
Pick a Niche
To get started with your freelance writing career from home, or from whatever part of the world, you need to pick a particular aspect of an industry that you want to be known for and also write for.
To do this, you have to know yourself and what you stand for. This means that you need to find yourself, in such a way that you understand what makes your heart beat. In other words, find what you are passionate about.
Freelance writing Guru, Holly Johnson, describe this stage thus:
“One of the biggest roadblocks new writers face is figuring out who they are and what they should write about. If you can nail down your passion, an area of expertise, or your areas of interest, it’s a lot easier to find writing jobs in your niche.”
Build Your Portfolio:
The first question a client ask you after seeing your pitch for a Freelance Writing gig is “Do you have a sample of your work?” Or “Send me a sample of your writing”.
Now, you need to answer the question. Do you have a portfolio where your freelance writing samples can be accessed by your clients?
Don’t be like one of those freelance writers who wouldn’t reply with “Here are samples of my writing”. Your portfolio should be ready before you send out a pitch.
Your portfolio will prove that you are not only ready to take on any job but that you have proof to show that you are not new in the game of online freelance writing. This would help to bump up your pay for your freelance service.
Develop Yourself:
Writing, like any other skill, needs a lot of effort to develop and hone.
It will be in your best interest to make conscious efforts to build on your capacity to deliver on a particular skill.
One way to develop your writing skills is to put pen to paper every day.
Even if you do not have a job at hand, write guest posts for popular blogs, writing pitches, write content for your social media pages. Just keep writing.
You need to realize that perfection is a process and growth is guaranteed through this process.
Like the legendary author, George S. Clason, wrote in his book, The Richest Man in Babylon, to be better, you need “to cultivate thy powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skilful, to so act as to respect thyself”.
Invest in Yourself:
When it comes to self-development, I discover you grow faster when you take from your purse to fill your brain.
You do this by buying courses or mentorship programs from folks way ahead of you.
I spent thousands of Naira on course to get to the level I presently am.
When you get courses or pay for mentorship programs, you shorten your journey to proficiency in freelance writing.
Good courses will help you get better freelancing and also equip you with the skills needed to sell your freelance writing services.
Track Your Growth:
Your journey to proficiency is important and must be documented.
To track your growth, you need to set goals for yourself. You need to set goals that are measurable and achievable. All writers need to set daily, weekly and monthly goals to be sure they are experiencing progress.
According to Holly, “Without a goal in mind, your freelance income is flying blind. With a daily goal, however, it’s much easier to achieve your income goals.”
Become A Freelancer and earn from the comfort of your home
Top Five Highly Paying Freelance Writing Jobs in Nigeria
Online writing, in any form, can be very lucrative, depending on how you position yourself, and of course, the form of writing you are into.
To earn more in the freelance industry you need to build your brand, up your game, render great services and render services that are sought after.
Some of the most sought after freelance writing jobs include
Copywriting
Copywriting is one of the most lucrative forms of writing on the web. A copywriter writes to inform, inspire and most important, persuade his/her audience to take a specific action.
Examples of copywriting include, sales letters, advertisement copy, email copy, social media posts and other persuasive pieces out to convince people to buy a product or take a specific action.
Copywriting is particularly lucrative because businesses want to sell on the internet, so they turn to copywriters to help them craft pieces that would make their prospects buy.
A copywriter can earn as high as $5000 for a piece of copy. Some earn on retainers. Others earn commissions for products their copy can sell.
Technical Writing:
Technical writing requires you to write for a specific industry based on your in-depth knowledge and expertise in that field.
For instance, if you are a doctor and also passionate about writing, you can offer to write for a website on Children’s health.
To be a technical writer, you must have an in-depth background or must be a professional in the field you are writing about.
Technical writers earn a lot because they are being paid for their knowledge, not just the freelance writing services they offer.
Ghost Writing:
Ghostwriting requires you to write a piece of blog post, ebook, literary work without you taking credit for the work. Ghostwriters write to have somebody else take credit for it.
Ghostwriters are paid well. However, pay depends on who you are ghostwriting for and your experience on the job.
A Ghostwriter might be paid as much as $2,000 and $9,000 per book. As a ghostwriter, If you are good at what you do, your average pay rises to around $30,000 to $60,000 per book
SEO Writing:
SEO writers are writers trained to write for the web. They write contents that rank on search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing.
These writers understand the requirements Google and other search engines provide to be met as regards Search Engine Optimization before such a piece can be favoured and found on the first page of the engine.
Content Writing
Content Writing is the process of planning, researching, writing, editing and publishing a piece of content on a particular topic.
Content Writers create written content to educate, entertain and inform their target audience about a topic.
Content Writers as paid an average fee of $20 for content written.
Five Skills to Develop To Start Killing It with Freelance Writing
Your ability to dazzle with your writing prowess and your ability to deliver jobs promptly would not guarantee you the best freelance writing jobs or the best payout.
You need some additional skills that will be the icing on the cake. These freelance writing skills are leverage that will keep you relevant and earning.
These skills, will differentiate you from the fiercely competitive freelance market and also guarantee that clients keep coming back to you to help them with your service.
Client Relation Skills:
The buyers of your services are customers that must be catered to very well. You, as a freelance service seller, must be able to satisfy them, not just in terms of delivering their projects, but In terms of ensuring that they are happy with your service.
The simple secret behind satisfying your clients is to be genuinely concerned about them and their projects.
The way you interact with your customers will impact your ranking on the freelancing platform you are selling on.
SEO/Keyword Research Skill:
A strong or even intermediate knowledge of Search Engine Optimization SEO and Keyword Research would add value to your gig.
Get yourself acquainted with it.
Proofreading/Editing Skill:
You might say that editing skill is part of freelance writing, however, not all writers are meticulous enough to edit their work. Unfortunately, most writers don’t have editors handy.
One grammatical error can tarnish your credibility and make you lose clients.
Check out my piece on how to edit your writing
Writing Great Pitching
As part of your effort to get more clients, you will need to send out pitches that would persuade prospective clients to say yes to you.
This skill is important because it determines if you will survive the jungle of freelancing.
Network, Network, Network.
One skill to learn also is Network. You must be able to initiate relationships with clients, writers (like) and folks that can add value to you.
According to Holly, “While you don’t have to network in-person as an online freelance writer, you have a lot to gain by reaching out to other writers and website owners in your niche. The more people you know, the more jobs you can learn about.”
Top Five Freelance Writing website to Lunch Your Freelance Career From
Fiverr
Fiverr is the biggest freelance Platform in the world. According to Fiverr, service sellers are been paid every four seconds on the site.
freelancers with business owners looking for services in various digital projects, including, digital marketing, copywriting, content writing, and voice-overs.
Fiver takes 20% of the fee paid to freelancers as commission, with the rest is sent to the service provider, the freelancers.
Upwork
Upwork brings clients and freelance service providers together from all over the world.
Different digital services, like Web Development, Software development, digital marketing services are rendered on the platform.
One interesting fact about Upwork is the fact that the commission taken from freelancers’ earns reduces as the freelancer get more projects done.
LinkedIn is a powerful Social Media Platform for digital service providers.
Linkedin is good for whatsoever service you render. The platform allows you to make use of inbound marketing to attract prospective clients while showing off your expertise in your industry.
Freelancer.com
This is a platform where professionals and companies from around the world collaborate on various projects. Thanks to the wide range of expertise, clients can easily find an expert of any type.
FlexJob
With FlexJob, you can render services ranging from freelance writing, editing and digital marketing.
You can apply for both full-time and part-time jobs, depending on your preference.
However, you need to subscribe with (starting from) $6.50 to sign up with the platform.
Conclusion
Freelance writing can provide the financial freedom you crave, however, it takes time to build a business around it.
It requires patience, implementation of growth strategy and determination. But don’t give up. Keep pushing, keep getting better and keep winning.
To kick start your freelance writing career, I will recommend this course. It has helped me. It can also talk you to you freelance writing dreamland too.
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