Getting Started Freelance Writing Tips Rates Assignments
Freelancing is a very lucrative career when you know what and where to look for work. If you are freelance writing by choice, you are in a very good position. Having the passion for freelance writing is the first step in getting started. When you have the passion for writing your passion will flow into words and your words into pieces that can give you a lot of satisfaction and also make you lots of money. However, just having passion alone is not good enough. There are other areas in freelancing that you need to take care of in order to get started as well as to succeed.
Build a Portfolio
You should already have this handy if you are passionate about writing. If not, you should start collating writing samples as soon as possible before you embark on the next step. A freelance writer needs to have his work ready in order to provide samples to his clients and to showcase his forte. The samples, rather the variety of samples, will help your clients decide about hiring your expertise for their work.
Find your Niche
Niche is a very important word and it cannot be stressed enough. When you have a niche topic you will be able to find a specialised client base. Diversification is necessary as you cannot be writing on the same topic for the rest of your life. However, when you start out, you need to be focused. As you get acquainted with the freelance writing market, you will be able to branch out and decide to accept assignments in other niches.
When you say you do not concentrate on any one or two niches, you may come across as a freelancer who is not focused. Instead, you should communicate that you write on a variety of topics with the most work done on one or two niches. This will help to put the client at ease.
Build a Critic Base
As a writer, you need to interact with other writers in order to exchange critics on works as well as gain insights into the areas where you can improve upon. There are a lot of groups out there, online and offline that will be able to guide you in the right path. Many writers have their own websites and blogs. It would be a good investment on your time if you would follow them to gain some insights into the freelance writers’ world. Also, there are writers’ meetup groups which you can sign up. You can even arrange a session and invite the writers’ out to have a gathering to get a personal touch as well.
Build a Client Base
You have to understand that you will not hit a jackpot on your first try. You have to build your client base slowly and steadily. Building a client base is all about finding that first assignment and acing it hands down. As much as timely delivery is important so is the quality of your work. Never compromise on either one of them on your assignments.
Set Your Time
The biggest challenge to any freelancer is time management. If you manage this well, you will do well in your freelancing career. You mess this and you mess with your entire effort. Therefore, ensure that you set a routine of some sort where you assign yourself specific time to research and to write. You need not set this in stone for all days. Instead you should set your routine at least in the morning you start working.
Set Your Price
Setting the price right is not easy for a freelance writer, especially if the writer is new to the freelance market. The best way to figure out will be do some research on websites that pay writers. Also, you can research on the ad value for your niche and decide on the price based on that. You need to understand that you should not set your price too low or too high, for obvious reasons. You can discuss with your critics regarding this before deciding on your rates.
In summary, getting started in freelance writing requires a lot of effort. Not that any of the tasks are impossible. Instead discipline is the key word here. Ensuring that you have a portfolio ready, deciding on your niche, getting like-minded writers to critique your work, sourcing your client base, managing time and most importantly, writing requires a lot of discipline. When you ace all of those, you will deliver excellent quality work which will, in time, inch your rates to the higher side.
