by Brian McKay
I have written for years, mostly for friends and small businesses, doing ad copy or websites. In December, I decided it was time to explore freelancing. Working for someone else is my great Hell, to put it mildly. Anything that can produce income while working from my computer is the dream. Remote work offers me the realization of the great dream of traveling while working. It’s the life I have always wanted and I intend to spend part of my years in Central or South America while writing.
I am not alone. Since starting out, I see thousands of others wanting to establish themselves and there is more than enough work to accommodate their dream. Within two weeks I was charging two to three times what other writers are getting paid and was getting prestige ghostwriting jobs. A 900-word article pays me up to $90 after a 30% commission taken from some of the freelance writer’s websites. It is one of the most successful leaps into the unknown I’ve ever taken in life.
In two months, I have continued to dig, learn, develop, and grow my earnings. Here are a few things I’ve learned that will help other budding writers get started just as fast:
Use Free Writing Software Right Now
If you’re not currently using Grammarly or one of the other writing programs out there, get signed up today. The free service is a great start and makes a noticeable difference by catching grammatical errors you might have missed. Show quality work from the start and your star rises fast.
Learn SEO
It’s really not hard to learn. A quick study of an SEO guide purchased on Amazon or even watching some YouTube videos is a great start. The majority of what a writer focuses on when writing Internet content is just keywords. There are both paid and free keyword research tools out there. You’re in startup mode so free is just fine.
Market Yourself
One of the hardest things we do in life is to tell people we’re awesome but doing so means you can demand higher rates. I’m awful at self-marketing but went into writing resolved to tell people I am the best and actually bid higher prices per word. It really works. Potential clients associate themselves with the quality they pay for. But you must remember that when you are promoting yourself as the best, you have the knowledge and the skills to back up what you’re putting out there. If you are putting yourself across as an SEO expert, that might set you apart from some of your peers, but if a client finds a much fairer SEO pricing structure with an agency, you’re going to be let down at the last second. Honesty means integrity. But you should always work towards understanding what it takes to be the best for yourself and the client. Many want the best. Refuse to work for those that want to pay next to nothing unless you need to fill some downtime. It is always better to make $45 for a 550-word article you can do in ninety minutes than three 300-word articles that each pay $7. I honestly feel bad to see writers taking on assignments at $0.02 a word. My very first assignment was 200 words of marketing copy for a Japanese porn star sex doll on a Singapore-based sex toys website for $2.60. It was a one-time thing and then never again after that. Imagine the research I had to do. Sex doll promotions still show up in my Google email promotions inbox.
Marketing yourself requires an elegant look to go along with telling people you’re awesome. One thing worth paying for is a custom domain, website, and professional email address. Free emails and websites do not have the look of professionalism and might actually hurt you. Most likely you’ll be spending $26 a month and $18 to register the domain but it’s worth it to display a portfolio. If you go this route, always try to get a .com domain name through GoDaddy. A .com is the gold standard and does matter.
A less expensive and more effective option is a new service called Respected Writers. You can create a public portfolio that informs potential clients you’re a verified writer (not a content mill) and in the company of other respected writers. They currently charge just $12.50 a month for a subscription that includes a custom email address using their domain name. It’s a great, inexpensive way to say, “I am one of the best”. I love having a link I can send out that says I have been interviewed and verified as a writer as it increases my value to potential clients and employers. They are new and working out some kinks but it is a great way to market yourself.
Put Some Content Out There
Medium! It’s a great way to get some initial content out there. Also, find any blogs or friends with blogs and ask to post an article. You have to have a portfolio to establish your value up front and compete for work. Add the links to your website or your Respected Writers portfolio.
Get Out There and Work
I started with Writer Access, not from research but because it was the first site I found. It’s been a good experience as the staff is great and work is fairly constant. Writers need more than one source though. Scripted and UpWork are two other sites I use but they can be less frequent with work and the experience isn’t as good. On all of these sites, plan on turning a hefty 30% of your pay over to the site itself.
A little research recently revealed that job sites, like Indeed, have tons of companies looking for freelancers at great hourly rates. Your portfolio website or Respected Writers portfolio is a huge help in presenting your value to these companies and should be on your online resume. The best part is that nobody is taking a chunk of your earnings!
These tips are my best advice for budding writers. Whether you are 20 or 65, just starting, or are established, freelancing can either be a way to make some extra income or it can be an amazing career and lifestyle. Whatever you do, tell everyone how great you are before all else, and then go be it. Here’s to your amazing new journey in life.