In Part 1 of this guide, I discussed five tips that helped me start working (and earning) as a freelance writer. In Part 2, I’ll offer five more tips to get you started on your freelance writing career.
Essential Tips for Becoming a Freelance Writer
You’ve done it. You’ve quit your job and (hopefully) followed some or all of my advice in Part 1 of A Guide to Starting a Freelance Career.
These are five additional tips for how to become a freelance writer. Read about the first five steps in Part 1.
Step 6: Establish a Routine
This one is hard for some people. I hear from other freelancers and creatives who struggle here. No excuses, if you’re going to be successful working from home as a freelancer, you must be intentional about establishing and maintaining a routine.
Now, don’t misunderstand – just because I’m the one telling you how to do this does not mean I’m always up to the task. Somedays, I can’t catch a groove despite throwing intentionality at my routine like a major league pitcher.
Still, if I hadn’t set a routine at the get-go, my motivation and productivity levels would not be where they are today.
This is how I set a routine I could stick to:
- Ask yourself what your natural rhythms are and plan your days accordingly. When is your brain most clear? At what time of day do you have the most energy?
- Write it down. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but keeping a list or a journal for each day increases intentionality.
- Try not to deviate, but forgive yourself when you do. Even with the best of intentions, your days won’t always flow like you planned. Give into it if you need to and let it go.
Step 7: Sign-up and Promote Yourself as a Freelance Writer
Now that you have your LinkedIn all set up for freelancing, you can start to promote yourself. The easiest way to do this is on social media, of course. Blogging can help you get started with promotion. You’ll need content to get noticed and blogs are an easy, free way to showcase your writing even before you’ve built a portfolio.
Put the word out that you are starting a career as a freelance writer. You never know who will read your post and connect you with a job.
I’m fortunate to count as friends and colleagues many other freelancers and creatives. Those connections have been invaluable. But if you don’t already have similar connections, make them! Find your people online, join groups, and read all the advice out there (not just mine!).
Sign-up for sites like UpWork and Freelancer and set up LinkedIn job alerts. Early on in my freelance writing journey, I came across (and landed) two jobs from these sites.
Step 8: Learn All About SEO for Content Writing
At first, I naively thought SEO (Search Engine Optimization) was mostly about keywords and headings. Oh my friends, SEO is much more than that.
In a nutshell, SEO is an extensive set of parameters that make it possible for search engines to easily find and display your content.
While the rules are plentiful, none of them are unduly challenging to follow. Take a free course through HubSpot or LinkedIn Learning. The time spent learning will be well worth it when your content earns that coveted ranking.
Step 9: Use Productivity Tools
Once you have a routine set, you can look into ways to optimize your time. If you’re like me, you’ll need a few easily integrated tools to help you establish and maintain an organizational structure and boost motivation.
The following resources work well for me, but they are only suggestions. Find what works well for you.
When I first started, I was already using Microsoft To Do. Even though I’m a Mac user all the way, this simple, free app seamlessly syncs across all my devices so I can add tasks and edit from anywhere.
Google docs is not only my jam, it’s also used by a few companies I work with. The easy-to-use app within your Gmail account has mostly all the functionality of Microsoft Word or Pages, but with free storage.
Once I began editing novels, the pay structure was per hour so I found a simple time keeping tool that helped me track my hours.
More recently, I’ve found it necessary to work distraction-free and this free focus app has kept me sharp.
Step 10: Celebrate Each Win on the Freelance Writing Journey
You set up your profile on UpWork. That’s a win. You applied for your first five freelance writing jobs. That’s a win. You made it through a whole day and battled the imposter syndrome into submission. Win!
The challenges are plentiful, but a career in freelance writing can provide you with the flexibility and autonomy many of us crave. Don’t forget to celebrate the little things as you go. When you look back, they will be the big things.