Beginners Guide on How Freelance Writing Works
In recent years, freelancing has gained popularity, thus ranking top among the most sought-after online ventures. Content writing boasts a huge audience among various niches and has a high demand from companies and individuals looking to establish their online presence.
If you are looking to enter freelance content writing, this article covers what it entails and some steps to start a freelance writing career.
What is Freelance Content Writing?
Freelance writing is a sole proprietorship where the entrepreneur is tasked with writing blogs, articles, blogs, and other forms of content on a contractual basis. Often, these projects are assigned by a company or an individual and run for a specific duration of time.
How Freelance Writing Works
- Landing a gig
When freelancing, a writer requires to possess writing skills for a particular niche. Upon amassing the skills, the writer may resolve to contact clients directly or enroll in a content mill.
By enrolling in a content mill, they can select from a vast category of projects for one that best suits their skills. Reaching out to direct clients is, however, more luxurious and slightly challenging.
When searching for a direct client, you should pitch your proposal to various sites that advertise writing positions.
- Catering for the task at hand
After landing the task, you should engage in research to cover pertinent issues surrounding the topic at hand. After research, you can compile the points and develop a plan for your content.
Next, you should write your article and proofread it for grammatical and factual errors. You can then send the final copy to the client or upload it on their platforms (as agreed upon initially).
The client may then ask for corrections and disburse payment upon satisfactory completion of the project. You may offer your client a specified number of revisions or unlimited revisions until the client feels satisfied by the quality of your work.
- Payment
The payment method for freelance writing services varies depending on your agreement with the client. Direct clients may pay you through e-wallets like Payoneer or PayPal.
Content mills are, however, safer in this regard as they protect your payment. When working through a content mill, the payment is relayed to the service provider and released when the client receives their work.
However, most sites provide a period ranging from five to seven days where the funds are held in case of any disagreements.
What Types of Freelance Writing Can You Offer?
Although writing is often advertised as one broad field, there are multiple services you may choose to deliver. Some of the popular subfields of underwriting include:
- Social media marketing involves writing short copy to promote a product or service on various social media platforms. Often, you may offer this service to a brand seeking to establish its online presence and increase its sales and traffic.
- SEO writing – This makes the bulk of the online content. This is to generate content that ranks high on various browsers and gain high organic traffic. For this, you should be well versed with various SEO practices.
- Academic writing – Unlike the former, academic writing involves formal, non-fiction work meant for scholarly purposes. This genre requires not only quality research but also a solid understanding of the academic writing format.
- Technical writing – This involves creating text for use in technical or occupational fields. These may include software/hardware manuals and instructional materials.
- Ghostwriting – involves the creation of content for another party who then assumes full ownership of the content.
Final Take
If you want to make money online, freelance writing is a great way to get you started. These tips will help you maneuver the writing field and establish yourself as an upcoming.
