How to Start Freelance Writing: A Beginner’s Guide

For several years now, I have been freelance writing and, lately, it has been my primary pursuit. There are a lot of things I learned along the way that I hope that I can pass along to you and make your journey a lot easier. I am hoping to provide you with the right tools to get started.

This article is meant to show you how to start freelance writing today. So, let’s do this.

How do you prepare writing samples for freelance writing jobs?

Before you do anything else, you need writing samples.

But, before you start writing, you need to find a topic you will enjoy writing about. Many jobs out there will ask you about your niche. For me, I tend to take on things like lifestyle topics or health and wellness. This is pretty broad, as you can tell. Lifestyle can mean home decor tips or July 4th party tips. Health and wellness can be pretty broad too. It can mean tips for staying healthy during flu season or exercises you can do at home.

Insider tip, though: you do not need to be an expert to write about your topic. However, it goes without saying that it does help to be some type of expert, whether you have a degree in that field or have had a career in that field.

How do you figure out what to write about as a freelance writer?

• First, think about what you read the most. Pay attention to what articles draw your attention. What you read the most can point to the subjects most comfortable for you.
• Next, make a list of topics you are interested in and topics that surround your life. Get as specific as possible. Think about aspects of your life, such as your career, your lifestyle, your relationships, your hobbies, and anything else that surrounds you. All of these areas can be subjects for your freelance writing career and are absolutely the type of subjects that get requested in job ads. So, think about what surrounds you. Think about what you do and what dominates your time.

How do you prepare a writing sample?

Writing samples tend to vary based on the job ad. You may be applying to a job that wants you to know how to write newsletters, or social media copy, or ad copy. So, you’ll want to prepare a sample for the type of job you want. If the idea of blogging or writing articles for clients appeals to you, that’s the type of content you’ll want to write.

If you are pursuing freelance content writing jobs or blogging jobs, or something along those lines, your safest bet is to write a few articles and publish them online. A few key points to know about blog posts:

• They tend to be about 500 – 750 words long.
• They usually have a catchy headline that fits the content within.
• There are usually bullet points or at least a couple of subheaders that help break up the article. (More on subheaders here).

Here’s one key secret to remember with blogging: many blog posts tend to take on the same type of format. When it comes to your writing sample, it’s easier to use some of these familiar formats.

So, what are the common formats of blog posts?

• How-to articles. This is essentially an article telling someone how to do something. You will want an introduction, followed by detailed steps, and a conclusion.
• The list-based articles. This can take on a few different forms, but usually you can spot them by their numbers. Like 10 best ways to cook a chicken. Or 5 ways to make your weekend getaway special. Or 3 ideas for amplifying your content. See? The numbers there give these types of articles away.
• Curated posts. This is a post that is a round-up of other posts. Like, a collection of recipes you want to share with your reader. Or videos they should watch. You are basically pointing people in the direction to great content.
• The “What” post. This is something explaining what something is. Like what you need to know about marketing. What you need to know about the upcoming election. Essentially, you headline the post with the word what and go from there.
• The “Why” post. This is the post where you are asking why. Like, why you need a social media account for your business (or blog). Or why you should wash your hands more. Or why so-and-so hasn’t been in movies in the past 10 years. Things like that.
• Guides. The article I am writing now is an example of a “guide.” You are basically providing the beginner person guidelines on how to do something.

There are so many more blog formats to choose from, which can be customized to the type of topic you want to write. If you want a few more ideas, this Hubspot article is a great resource.

Here are a few pointers on preparing your writing sample:

• Get started. Seriously, this is my best tip out of all of them. Get started. Just get writing. You can overthink your way into not doing this at all, so just get started.
• Have a specific subject in mind. Whether it’s caregiving, parenting, beauty, science, or politics, writing about a specific subject will help you get a leg up when applying to writing jobs.
• Spellcheck and grammar check yourself. I use Grammarly Pro for writing articles and it’s one of the best ones out there (although not perfect). If you are just getting started, have someone read it over too.

Step # 2: Publish the articles online.

You don’t necessarily need to publish your writing sample; however, some job ads do require to see published links. This is when starting your own blog comes in handy (it’s very easy; I recommend using Blogger or WordPress). Here’s an easy guide on starting your own blog on Blogger. Here’s one on starting your blog on WordPress.

You may also consider sending an email to one of your favorite bloggers and ask them if they’d be interested in publishing your article. (Hey, feel free to write to me if you have an article you would like published! It may be a great fit for this blog). Larger, more popular blogs tend to be harder to get published in, but if you happen to follow a smaller blog, write them about their guest post guidelines and subjects they are interested in publishing.

If you begin to have a nice collection of posts, you may want to start your own portfolio. I use www.journoportfolio.com. It’s free, eye-catching, and very easy to put together. Check my portfolio out here: http://npyles86.journoportfolio.com.

Where do you find freelance writing jobs?

Next up, apply to the writing jobs! There are a variety of places to find writing jobs. Here are a few of the places that I use:

• Craigslist. Before you roll your eyes, Craigslist has been an excellent source of job ads for me. But here’s the trick, don’t just limit yourself to your own city. When you peruse Craigslist, visit two sections. Under the job area, visiting writing. Then under gigs, visit writing. After you’ve done a search in your own neck of the woods, check out some of the major cities that Craigslist lists. I find that many writing jobs don’t usually need you in the office, and don’t mind an out-of-state candidate applying. I recommend doing this type of search weekly, rather than daily.
• Indeed. This is another great place to find writing jobs. Use the search term “freelance writing” or “freelance blogging” in the job type area but don’t list the location. I do this search daily to avoid getting bogged down with results.
• Writejobs.info. This is a great source for writing jobs and one of my favorites. They tend to point to Craigslist jobs the most, but it’s still helpful for another pair of eyes to look with you.
• FreelanceWritingGigs.com. This has been one of my favorite sites and provides great job listings.
• ProBlogger.com. You can also set up a profile so you are seen by employers.
• Upwork.com. I list Upwork because I have gotten work there in the past, but they have changed their policies. It can also be really competitive but I do recommend starting your profile there.
• Listiller. This sends me a collection of new job listings out there online. Some jobs can be crummy, but there have been some great ones on there.

Alright, so you have your writing samples, you have found a job to apply to, what’s next?

The cover letter! Not every job will ask for one, but in case you need one, this article contains my favorite sample of a cover letter. I have used it and have gotten responses because of it.

Okay, writing sample? Check. Job ad? Check. Cover letter? Check.

Now to send! But before you do, let’s talk one more thing. Rates.

How do you set rates as a freelance writer?

You may be asked what your rate is and sometimes that can be tricky. I used to accept jobs that were only $5 per post but I would never accept a rate anymore. You can charge by a few things:

• By the hour.
• By the word.
• A flat rate. (Flat rate means it’s the rate you would charge no matter the word count or time you took to write the post.)

I tend to go with a flat rate, but I figure that rate out by what I would charge by the hour. If I know an article will probably take me two hours to do, I double my flat rate. If your article topic takes you a lot of time because of research, ask yourself how much you would want to be paid by the hour. Take a look at this source here to help you figure out what rate is right for you.

I hope this guide has helped you and I am certain this will be expanded upon and updated as I go along.

A few lasting thoughts on pursuing your freelance writing career.

• Avoid content mills. Content mill writing is essentially writing for a really, really low rate. Remember my suggestion on figuring out your rate? Go by that rate when applying to jobs. Don’t work for a low rate. You are worth more than that.
• It gets easier. Lately I have found that freelance writing for people, and actually article writing in general, has gotten really easy for me. So keep going. You do get better. It does get easier to do this type of writing.
• Save all written content. If you wrote an article for someone, save it elsewhere. If you published it online, save it elsewhere. I’ve written content before and the site will be gone, along with my sample. So make sure you save everything you write.

Do you have any questions? Do you have any tips you’d like to add?