Blogging is a very profitable avenue if you are
a skilled and experienced writer. To date there are over 58 million Wordpress sites in the world, and users produce about 31.7 million new posts and 39.7
million new comments each month.
With recent algorithm changes by Google, high quality, unique content has never become more imperative. It has become essential for any business that wants to rank highly in search engines, to regularly publish engaging, informative pieces of content.
Cue you- the freelancer writer. Many organisations and agencies do not have the capacity in-house to produce all their own work. Researching and writing an interesting article is time-consuming and costly, but the results are worth it for search engine optimisation (SEO) purposes.
So as you can see there is a market for self-employed writers. But who do you speak to and where do you go to find work? Then when you have sourced a writing job, what do you charge? Here is a guide to becoming an online freelance writer.
1) Online job resources
There are hundreds of websites that you can turn
to for online work such as Prospect Solution, Freelancers.net, Article Teller, Elance, Odesk and more. These sites specialise in publishing temporary jobs
that are paid by the hour/project.
You can be as specific as you want- if you only want to write website content or if you’d prefer to write everything for a vast array of topics, the power is in your hands.
2) Be prepared
You can be as specific as you want- if you only want to write website content or if you’d prefer to write everything for a vast array of topics, the power is in your hands.
2) Be prepared
Each organisation has its own style guide so you
will need a lot of self-discipline. Be prepared for the fact that one company
may want you to write formally in contrast to another, which may prefer
colloquial style writing.
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3) Get organised
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3) Get organised
It is your responsibility to get paid so you
will need to be organised and have a financial system in place. If you are
unsure how to manage your tax affairs or submit an invoice to a client, there
are firms out there that can help. Here is an invoicing template to use as a basis.
Where will you write? You need a peaceful environment that is free from distractions; and you will need to keep a calendar of all your deadlines to avoid any last-minute rushes. We recommend you to start small; take a few articles on and build yourself up as your confidence grows but remember it isn’t all about work. Make sure you balance your day with a social life too.
4) Network
Get involved with writing communities. There are many groups that you can join that have fellow
freelancing writers in, so you can ask them for advice. For example, on Linked
In there are groups like ‘Writers & Bloggers: Passion Creative’, ‘SEO
Copyrighting’, ‘Journalism, Media & PR’, and ‘Online Writers’. Turn to
forums and social media sites to pose questions; the chances are there will be
another writer that has experienced what you are going through.
5) Rates
5) Rates
Rates really do vary
depending on the organisation and the kind of content that you do. Landing page
content demands a much higher rate than blogging for example, because a lot of
time and research needs to go into the writing, as it is very public-facing.
The National Union of Journalists has published a
Freelance Fee Guide but keep in mind that
the more you negotiate, the better you and the client will feel about coming to
a fixed price.
Remember- lowering your rates may land you work quickly but you actually devalue yourself as a credible writer, and it isn’t actually worth it. This post sums it up very well… time is your most valuable commodity.
Conclusion…
Follow these top tips to start your quest of freelancing writing. Enjoy flexibility, tax efficiency and most importantly, carry on your passion for writing. We know we do!
