7 Essential Tips to Build a Profitable Freelance Writing Career

If you have a passion and a talent for writing and are thinking about starting a writing career, freelance writing is a perfect opportunity for you. There are thousands of options to earn money writing for younger moms, dads, students, as well older folks – all while staying at home.

Of course, you also need to be passionate about your job. But, unlike other jobs, with freelance writing you may spend only a couple of hours per day on it and still make decent money. You just need to do it well.

Pursuing a Career in Freelance Writing

In today's modern world, freelance web writing is exciting and growing. But, your online writing should be helpful and impress readers for you to stand out. This is how you become popular and increase your earning potential as a freelancer.

Whether freelancing online or offline, writing for a living demands quality work. You need to be able to do thorough research, including finding reliable sources and composing and packaging valuable information in a way that resonates with readers. Readers need to be able to easily understand and relate with your writings without paying additional effort.

As such, it takes time to become a well-paid professional writer. And, oftentimes, even more time to become a well-paid professional freelance writer. As with most things in life, therefore, hard work and dedication is required to achieve freelance writing success.

Tips for Achieving Freelance Writing Success

If you are ready to overcome the challenges associated with a freelance writing career and become a true writing guru, we have gathered some essential tips and strategies that'll enhance your experience and bring you closer to freelance writing success:

 1. Specialize in a particular niche

Many freelance writers make a common mistake where they take all orders they receive and do not pay attention to the theme of the texts. This means they may write about flowers, cars, general physician services, etc. But in reality, they understand nothing in these fields.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with covering many different topics, it is advisable to write on focused subjects that you understand and are comfortable sharing ideas about. Besides, writers who are specialists in certain niches enjoy relatively higher rates. 

 2. Market yourself continuously as a professional

You can market yourself as a professional and ensure you extend your reach by focusing on specialization and networking.

So, attend workshops, seminars, and other events to learn the ins and outs of your field and interact with people who are interested in the same or similar fields as you.

Share your contacts and promote yourself online and offline confidently. Tell people you are a professional freelance writer who specializes in a particular field or writes on certain themes or topics to bolster your claims.

 3. Seek referrals for your writing services

Finding clients can be a challenge. There are several factors that make this a tricky issue. The main one is that writers do not know where to go to find clients for their services. Frequently, they go to online platforms where thousands of writers offer their services to try and win clients. This is not a bad idea (actually, it’s a good idea) when searching for clients, but also try scoring referrals from acquaintances.

Ask your friends, ex-colleagues, colleagues, and basically everyone you know whether they need someone to write for them. Not all of them will need your services right away, but they may know someone who can hire you. This way you can score some freelance writing clients and gain valuable experience prospecting, while also getting the word out about your services.

 4. Pitch ideas to prospective and existing clients

Your ideas and creativity are invaluable for success. If you have something you think might impress or interest clients, pitch them the idea. You can expect better payment and more work if your pitch is accepted.

If you are good at idea generation, write all of your new ideas down. Those ideas will come in handy with time, particularly when pitching stories to potential clients. Return to these ideas every time you need to create a unique and creative text.

 5. Ask for an author byline for your writings

Reports indicate that many freelance writers do not get author bylines for their writings. Insist that your articles are published under your name, as otherwise it will be difficult to prove that you are the author of the article.

Stories published on trusted sources with your author biography will enrich your writer portfolio and ensure your experience works for you. If you do not have paid writing assignments or orders, publish articles on reputable sites that welcome guest posts. You will use these articles later as your portfolio.

 6. Nurture professional relationships with clients

Do not hide behind your computer. Communicate with clients and let them know who you are as a person. While you probably shouldn’t become best friends with them, you should nonetheless engage in open communication and discussions with them to build rapport.

By building strong relations, you invest into your future. It is easier for a client to place another order with you if they know who you are as a person. You may use social networking sites like LinkedIn to keep in touch with clients.

 7. Stay honest, reliable, and flexible 

Reliability, honesty, and flexibility are vital to establish a thriving freelance business. Consider freelance writers who demand extra-payments for edit requests from clients. This is a major annoyance for clients. Most clients discontinue cooperation with writers who insist on these extra-payments.

Be flexible enough and allow your clients to request edits and to ask you to re-work the article within reasonable limits. For example, if the technical task was unclear, this is not your fault. But if you made some mistakes or just misunderstood a technical task, take the responsibility and make necessary fixes for free.

The same applies to deadlines. Sometimes you may need to sacrifice your free time to complete your work on time and give clients the best possible service. These are just some of the marked qualities of a true professional.

Be open to new challenges and use every opportunity to deliver an exceptional client experience that will help you grow your freelance writing business. If you work hard and smart, success is inevitable.