How to Become a Freelance Writer —Tips from a Freelancer
Everyone talks about how easy it is to become a freelance writer and how they make $5-10k a month, but they seldom explain how to do it without trying to offer you a pricy course or a 2 page e-book that leaves you with more questions than answers. Let’s stop the gatekeeping.
In this post, I’ll be breaking down what a freelance writer is, the most in-demand freelance writing jobs right now, how to find the best niche, create a writing portfolio and impress your dream clients so you can land paid freelance writing gigs.
You’re probably wondering, what do I even know about freelance writing?
I am a journalist with bylines in revered publications Rolling Stone, Refinery29, The Cut, Well+Good, Parents. I’m also a beauty copywriter who’s written for numerous brands including Youth To The People, Black Girl Sunscreen, Versed Skin, Rizos Curls and so much more.
When the journalism world was shaken up during lockdown, I quit my social media job and focused on myself and my family. That is, until my bank account started dwindling. I wanted a profession where I didn’t have a 9-5 work schedule or an annoying boss calling me after hours. I wanted more creative freedom while still making a decent living.
I wrote my first freelance piece — a dating advice article for $60. Hey, it was a start! I persisted nonetheless. Eventually, I started writing feature articles for $500+ and working with retainer clients on bigger copywriting projects, allowing me to make even more than I ever made at my previous jobs.
Everything takes time and work, though. Anyone who says they did all this in under a month is questionable.
If you’re looking to make money as a freelance writer, follow this full guide. I know you will start finding your dream clients.
You’ve got this!
What’s a Freelance Writer?
A freelance writer is a self-employed professional who works independently on various writing projects for publications, businesses and/or individual clients. They work as independent contractors — so they are not bound to a single employer.
A freelance writer can:
Set their own rates
Adjust their hours to their liking (great for people who don’t like the typical 9-5 work schedule)
Pick and choose which projects they’d like to take on
Source their clients through cold pitches and referrals
Freelance writers create all kinds of content based on their niche(s) and client’s needs — from articles and blogs to case studies and marketing materials.
Types of Freelance Writing Jobs
Freelance writing offers a wide variety of opportunities. These are some of the most in-demand freelance writing jobs:
Article Writing: Freelance writers can write articles for magazines, newspapers and digital publications.
Copywriting: Freelance copywriters create persuasive content that promotes a brand and encourages the client’s target audience to take action (i.e. purchase a product, sign up to their email list, enroll in a course etc).
Technical Writing: Freelance technical writers take complex information and instruction and breaks that in a way that is instructional and understandable to the reader. Think of people who make user manuals, safety guidelines and white paper.
Blog Writing: Freelance blog writers help brands and creatives create fun yet informational content that promotes their work, builds their personal brand and engages with readers . Freelance blog writers focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to drive traffic to their client’s page.
How to Get Started As a Freelance Writer
Step 1: Pick A Niche.
Okay, everyone says this, but no one explains what that really means. A writing niche is your area of expertise. This is a very particular topic that you are comfortable with discussing. It’s a space or position that best suits you.
When I began freelance copywriting, I picked beauty copywriting (helping beauty companies promote their products) because I knew I could talk for days on end about skincare ingredients and the latest beauty trends. Even if I didn’t know everything about beauty, I had enough knowledge to do my research properly, and I knew who would be the best sources to interview. Beauty is my main niche.
Can you pick more than one niche?
As a beginner freelance writer, I recommend sticking to one niche at a time (for now). As a multihyphenate girly, I love expanding my horizons. I’ve written about women’s health, Black Latinidad, pop culture and beauty; so, I have multiple niches. However, when I started copywriting, I stuck to beauty. It allowed me to narrow down who to pitch, create a comprehensive portfolio just for my beauty works and pick specific projects. Once I got better at managing my clientele, I was able to expand to freelance article writing and added women’s health and Black Latinidad as my niches.
Think about it, if you pick multiple niches, that means you’d have to make multiple writing portfolios, find multiple clients for each niche and send multiple pitches. It can be overwhelming if you don’t have a set system, so keep it simple for now and find a solid niche that you can refine over time.
Here’s how to find your niche
A writing niche falls into three categories: content, business type and industry.
Content: What kind of content to you enjoy? (e.g. blogs, articles, newsletters, social media captions white papers)
Business : What kinds of clients do you want to work with? Think of what clientele you’d like. Do you prefer to work with a Fortune 500 company or a startup? A nonprofit or a corporation? Perhaps a creative agency?
Industry: Focus on a specific field. If you have no previous writing experience, I recommend picking an industry niche based on your education and career path. For example, if you’ve never been a freelance writer before but you’ve worked 6 years as an accountant, you can pitch yourself a finance writer.
If you worked in the healthcare system, you can write health and wellness articles or even medical content. If you’ve had a tech background, make that money writing for tech blogs. Think smarter, not harder. Your strengths are right there. You have the expertise to back it up. I
I was able to seamlessly pivot into copywriting because I had tons of writing samples from my days as a digital editor and journalist.
Step 2: Create a Writing Portfolio
A writing portfolio is a compilation of all your previous works. This showcases your writing style, your versatility with various clients and how well you understand your niche. You can say you’re a great writer, but your clients need to see it. Some freelance writers will send 3 of their best writing samples to their dream clients in their introductory cold pitch email. Others provide a PDF or website link to all their previous works. Long story short: Having a writing portfolio establishes your credibility.
What to include in your writing portfolio:
Cover page with your name and portfolio name based on niche (i.e Jane Doe, Beauty Copywriting Portfolio)
Bio/About Me: Quickly introduce yourself with your career background, niche, where you’re based and writing strengths.
Writing samples (preferably the ones relevant to your niche): Pick 3-5 of your strongest published pieces. If you’re providing links straight to a company’s website, make sure they work!
Contact information
How to create a writing portfolio when you have no experience
Write as the freelance writer you want to be. Don’t let your lack of previous writing experience stop you from doing what you want to do. Here a few ways to create standout writing samples:
Create a niche-based blog: If you’re interested in becoming a beauty copywriter but you’ve never worked with a beauty brand, don’t let that stop you. Demonstrate your expertise by writing articles/blog posts that you can see on a beauty website. Go to your dream brand’s website and see what kind of articles they have.
If you see the brand has articles breaking down the key ingredients in their latest Niacinamide body lotion, then you should write a post on the “5 Benefits of Incorporating Niacinamide into Your Skincare Regimen.” Write as if you are a freelance beauty writer.
Create speculative (“spec” or “on spec”) work: Create mock pieces without a client. Similar to the first one, write as if you already got the freelance writing gig. Identify your niche, your dream client (and the content they generally produce) and build those samples. If you want to write for a travel newsletter, you can make mock newsletters with a guide on the best pizza spots in New York City or safety tips when visiting Europe.
Write guest posts: If you’re a collaborative type of person or you have a bunch of connections on LinkedIn, use them to your advantage! Pitch yourself to your blogger friend or make a Medium account. Share your expertise and garner some published links!
Step 3: Find + Pitch to Freelance Writing Clients
Okay, so you have your niche, your dream clients in mind and a stunning writing portfolio. Now it’s time to start finding clients.
Here’s my favorite way to secure freelance writing clients:
Cold Pitching: Shoot your shot. Take the first step and reach out to your dream clients. Identify the businesses and creatives who can benefit from your services. Think about your niche again (content- business - industry). Find their email and write them a personalized pitch on how you can help address their pain points.
Not sure what to include in your Cold Pitch?My FREE 30+ page e-book, “Pitch Please: The Fluff-Free Pitching Guide for Writers” breaks down every step of creating impressive pitches, including:
The importance of pitch emails
The components of a successful pitch
The best time/days to send a pitch to an editor
A detailed pitch email outline
How to find the right editors to pitch
The do’s and don’t for pitching
What to do when your pitch is accepted, rejected or ghosted
When and how often to follow up on a pitch email
How to trust yourself as a writer with brilliant idea.
Grab your free copy today and start landing your paid freelance gigs.
Step 4: Be nice to yourself
I’m serious. Be nice to yourself. Even with my experience as a successful freelance copywriter and journalist, I still have moments where I feel like I’m “not doing enough.” Freelancing and working for yourself will have it’s high and low points, but the important thing is to keep trying. Keep connecting with people. Keep putting yourself out there. Don’t give up!
