In this blog post, I’ll give you the tried-and-true eight-step process on how to become a freelance writer with no experience. Anyone can do it. You got this!
Two years ago, I started freelance writing.
Well, actually, let me clarify: two years ago, I tried making money online because I was bored during the first lockdown.
Little did I know, it’d turn my life upside down.
I went from dreading my 9 to 5 every single day to being able to live life on my own terms, travel, and make up for lost time with my family.
Now, I’ve made it my mission to help at least 1,000 people change their life, too.
And, here you are, starting your journey to a freer and happier life — I’m excited for you!
In this blog post, I’ll teach you how to become a freelance writer even if you have no experience — no BS, just simple, actionable advice every step of the way.
How to Become a Freelance Writer With No Experience — Step-by-Step Guide
Here, I’ll go over every step you need to take to become a freelance writer and make a full-time income.
Step 1: Choose Your Niche
Simply put, your niche is the industry you’ll work in.
You might think being a generalist will get you more work because there are more businesses you can cater to but it’s the exact opposite.
When you specialize in a certain area, you can command higher rates because you’re an expert.
That’s much more attractive to clients and more sustainable in terms of income potential.
To choose a niche, answer the following questions:
- Do you have previous professional experience that you can leverage?
- Is there any industry you’re passionate about? If so, are you knowledgeable or willing to learn about it?
- Is there a demand for content in the industry you’re picking?
For example, legal writers are some of the highest-earning freelancers.
If you have experience in this field and are passionate enough to write about it for a long time, you’re golden.
Some other high-paying freelance writing niches include:
- Real estate
- Finance and personal finance
- Cybersecurity
- Technology
- Digital marketing
- Health and wellness
- Holistic and alternative health
- Cannabis and CBD products
- Fashion and beauty
Step 2: Decide Which Services You’ll Provide & Master the Skills Necessary
There are many types of freelance writing services you can offer.
Now, you don’t have to learn all of them upfront. Choose one or two to get started and master the skills needed.
The best service you can offer as a beginner is writing SEO blog posts.
Why? Because it’s easy to learn and suitable for most niches — pretty much every business has a blog nowadays and they need content, lots of it!
It’s also the best way to get a predictable income as a freelancer.
Blog posts aren’t a one-off. Blogs need to be updated frequently and you can get hired to write weekly or monthly, for example.
Even better news: I wrote a super-duper-awesome step-by-step guide on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts.
Bookmark that post and follow it whenever you need to write a blog post.
You can also take a look at websites within your niche and job boards to understand which types of content and services are in demand.
Step 3: Build Your Freelance Writer Portfolio — Write Your First Samples
You should take as much time as needed to make sure your writing samples are great — like really great!
Those samples will be your greatest selling point while you don’t have anything else to show.
You should create three to five freelance writing samples. But first, you need to thoroughly research your niche, as I mentioned above.
Figure out which topics, blog post formats, and content length work best within your niche.
Save your samples as PDFs and upload them to Google Drive or publish them on Medium or on your blog.
Then, you can directly send the links to potential clients or include them in your portfolio.
You can also try guest posting, which I highly recommend.
It’ll take you a bit more time because you need to find guest posting opportunities and pitch topics or fully written pieces.
But 1) you’ll have some feedback on your writing and 2) clients will take you more seriously if you already have published work.
To find guest posting opportunities, type “your niche + write for us” on Google.
Here’s an example (and there’s even a paid guest posting option woohoo!):
Step 4: Create Your Freelance Writer Website
Creating a website is much easier than it seems and it’s so important to have one as a freelancer.
Think of your website as your storefront. You can use it to display all your services, past results, testimonials, and more to clients.
It also shows you’re serious about your business!
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
4.1 Choose Your Content Management System (CMS)
When it comes to CMSs, WordPress (WP) is the best option — by a gazillion miles!
As of 2022, WP powers 43.2% of all websites on the internet and 65.2% of all websites using a CMS.
It’s also the best CMS for SEO. It makes it easy to manage metadata, optimize images and mobile experience, integrate social media campaigns, and more.
Another reason WP is so great is that it’s super beginner-friendly.
You can quickly learn how to use it and install themes and plug-ins that make it even easier to use.
Oh, and… it’s free!
4.2 Pick Your Domain Name
Ideally, your domain name is just your first and last name with the suffix .com.
Here’s an example: my first name is Ines and my last name is Tavares.
So, my domain name should be www.inestavares.com.
Sadly, that domain name is taken. Even worst, it’s taken but not being used… *sigh*
You can check if your desired domain name is available on websites like Name.com or Namecheap.
If your name is a no-go, start brainstorming other options. Don’t go too crazy here remember it’s your business’s storefront!
Play around with your name and/or words like freelance, freelancing, writer, writing, content, hire, etc.
What’s important to keep in mind when choosing a domain name is to:
- Keep it short
- Make sure it’s easy to pronounce and spell
- Avoid hyphens and double letters
- Make it unique and brandable
Buy your domain together with your hosting provider. It’s easier and sometimes they give you huge discounts (some are even free during your first year!).
4.3 Choose Your Hosting Provider
Creating your website is a small investment that’ll pay you big bucks.
Going back to what I said above: your website is your storefront.
Normally, you’d have to pay hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars for an office space or a storefront per month.
Now you can pay as little as $16 per year for a hosting provider! (Plus as little as $6 for a domain name).
However, you should know two things:
- This is the absolute cheapest price out there and usually, it’ll cost you between $50 and $150 because you need some add-ons, like privacy protection.
- Hosting providers offer up to an 80% discount on your first year so be prepared to pay up to five times more the following year.
Here are some of the most affordable web hosts out there:
If you plan to blog on your website, too, you should do some research about which option suits you best.
If you just want to create a simple freelance writer website with a few blog posts to show clients, you can go for the cheapest option.
4.4 Create & Design the Essential Website Pages
Alright, CMS *check*, domain name *check*, web hosting *check*
All the boring stuff is behind you, finally!
Now, it’s time to design your website and start creating content.
4.4.1 Essential Website Pages
The essential website pages your freelance writer website must have are:
- Homepage
- About
- Testimonials
- Services
- Portfolio
- Contact
You can also have a blog and other pages as you see fit. Only a handful of freelance writers display their rates on their websites, for example.
If you want to publish your samples on your blog, this is the time to do it.
Here’s Gleb Oleinik’s website homepage and navigation menu as an example:
4.4.2 Design Your Website — Paid & Free Options
There are thousands of pre-made themes available for WordPress. Some are free, others paid.
The easiest way to design your website is using Divi — a visual page builder.
This means you can completely customize your website without any programming knowledge — seriously, you won’t have to look at a single line of code.
Divi costs $89/year or $249 for lifetime access. You can use it on as many websites as you want for that same price. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you get 10% off.
It also comes with 800+ pre-made designs you can use.
I used Divi to fully build this website — yes, I created everything on this website with zero programming knowledge.
4.5 Free Alternatives to Creating a Website
Maybe you don’t have the spare time or money to create a website or you’re not 100% committed to freelance writing yet.
That’s ok!
I’m going to give you two free and easy alternatives — just remember a website is a much better option, go for it when you’re ready.
4.5.1 Contently
You can create a free and slick writing portfolio on Contently.
It’ll look something like this (yes, I used to be a cannabis writer before moving to digital marketing):
As a bonus, you can use that portfolio to apply to Contently gigs. Their team may also reach out to you if they feel you’re a good fit for a job they have available.
4.5.2 Medium
Medium is an online publishing platform. You can create an account and publish your samples (they’re called “stories” over there).
Then, all you have to do is share the links with your potential clients.
The paid membership is $5/month but you can use it for free.
You can publish as much as you want without paying. The limitations only regard reading other people’s content.
There’s also a bonus to using Medium.
If you do decide to write often on Medium and be active in the community, you can sign up for their partner program (once you hit 100 followers).
Once you’re in the program, you’ll make money based on how long people spend reading your stories and by paid membership referrals.
Side Note: if you end up monetizing your Medium account, you need to use your “friend link” to share stories with clients as samples (if you intend to share more than three).
Step 5: Create Your Social Media Accounts
As a freelance writer, LinkedIn is the most important social media platform but you can also use Twitter, Facebook, and Medium.
5.1 LinkedIn
In my opinion, LinkedIn is the only essential social media platform for freelance writers — or any type of freelancer, for that matter.
Focus on creating a great LinkedIn profile that you can use to connect with people in the industry and convert them into clients.
Here are a few tips to create a killer profile:
- Complete every section of your profile.
- Upload a professional-looking picture of yourself + a banner.
- Use keywords in your description so that clients can easily find you.
- Add your samples in your “Featured” section.
- Clearly and briefly describe what you do.
- Clearly state your niche & services.
- Show one or more testimonials when you have them.
- Clearly state the benefits of working with you (i.e. the results clients can get).
Lauren Melnick’s profile is a great example of LinkedIn done right. Go take a look at her “About” section if you need inspiration.
There are also many job offers on LinkedIn you can apply to — more on that later.
Twitter, Facebook, and Medium are optional.
5.2 Twitter
Twitter is especially useful to connect with editors of blogs you’d like to write for but you can also find job offers there.
5.3 Facebook
On Facebook, there are many freelance writing, freelance blogging, blogging, and digital marketing groups you can join.
Sometimes, you’ll find job postings there but you can mainly use them to network with other writers and industry professionals and to ask questions if needed.
Here are some good Facebook groups you can join:
5.4 Medium
Medium is a different breed.
It’s unlikely you’ll directly find jobs there but potential clients can find you and offer you some work.
It’s a great place to connect with fellow writers and bloggers — and learn a lot from them.
Step 6: Freelance Writer Contract, Invoices & Payment Methods
Ok, I know I said the boring stuff was over on Step 4 but you’ll have to suffer just a little bit more 😅
And before you turn around running: no, coming up with a contract isn’t as hard as it seems!
Bear with me.
6.1 Create Your Freelance Writer Contract
Disclaimer: I’m not giving you legal advice here. You can and should talk to a lawyer. What I’ll share is what I personally do with my clients.
While not at all fun, creating a freelancing contract is important — it’s not mandatory, though.
Let me explain… If you detail the whole scope of the project via email and get an email back agreeing to those terms, that’s somewhat binding.
Those are called informal contracts or “letters of agreement.”
So, as long as you lay out exactly what your client can expect from you and what’s expected of them for the project fee you agreed upon, you’re good to go.
This way, you can safeguard your rights while leaving no room for misunderstandings or conflicts that could destroy your client relationships.
Plus, most businesses already have freelancing contracts of their own. They’ll send you the contract and you just have to read and fill it out.
The bottom line is: if you can hire a lawyer to draft a proper contract, do it! If not, stick to a simple letter of agreement.
Here are some freelance writer contract templates you can use as inspirations to draft your own:
- Freelance Contract Sample by Legal Templates
- Freelance Writer Agreement by Politico
- Freelance Contract Template by PandaDoc
- Sample Freelance Writer Agreement by KSPress
6.2 How to Get Paid as a Freelance Writer
You need to make sure getting paid is as easy as possible — you should give your clients at least two payment options.
Here are some of the most common options you can choose from:
With Stripe, PayPal, and Wise, you can send invoices, too. Two birds with one stone!
Stripe is definitely the best option these days and it also looks more professional.
I’d recommend setting up an account on Stripe and PayPal since they’re the most used.
Step 7: Set Your Freelance Writer Rates
To set your freelance writing rates, you need to use the setting-your-rates-backward method.
Yes, I just made that name up. Let me explain!
First, you need to establish your expenses:
- What are your housing + utility costs?
- How much do you pay for insurance?
- How much are your business expenses (e.g. your website, keyword research tools, Grammarly, etc.)?
- How much will you pay in taxes?
- How much will you put aside as savings (retirement or otherwise)?
- How many vacation days will you take + what’s your vacation budget?
- After all these expenses, how much more do you need to live (e.g. food, kids and pets expenses, hobbies, clothing, etc.)?
The sum of all these values is the minimum you have to make per month.
Now, you have to figure out how you’ll make that amount. I’ll walk you through an example, so, it’s easier to understand:
- Your services: writing blog posts
- Your niche: cryptocurrency and blockchain
- When writing your samples, it took you 15h to write a 2,000-word blog post.
- You can do 30h of billable work per week (i.e. writing blog posts for clients).
- All the expenses you listed above amounted to $4000/month.
So, 30h/week = 120h/month
Dividing your $4000/month by the 120h you can work means you need to make at least $33/hour — let’s round it up to $35 for simplicity.
How do you achieve this income?
Find two clients who contract you to write one 2000-word blog post each per week and charge them $525 per blog post (15h*$35).
A few things to consider here:
- This is an oversimplification of reality that I hope helped you understand how to price your services accordingly.
- This $35/hour rate is the absolute minimum in this scenario and you should charge more as you gain experience and depending on the scope of the project, the industry you’re in, each business’s budget, etc.
- Even if you keep this project rate based on that hourly rate, you’ll make more over time because you’ll start being faster — that’s the advantage of charging per project instead of per hour.
- Remember that not all work is billable. You need to pitch clients, work on your marketing strategy, etc. So, in this scenario, you’d work more than 30h per week.
Step 8: How to Start Freelance Writing — Find Freelance Writer Gigs
So far, you focused inwards.
You worked alone on everything you need to start finding freelance writer jobs.
Now, it’s time to get out there and show the world all the work you put in. You got this!
8.1 Browse Through Job Boards
Job boards are one of the best ways to get freelance writer jobs for beginners.
Why?
Well, depending on the platform, people posting these jobs have lower budgets that experienced freelancers wouldn’t take.
So, yes, the competition is still fierce but you’ll be competing with people more or less on the same level as you.
And, let me tell you: if you write killer answers to job postings, you can snatch jobs left and right even with no experience.
Job boards aren’t a good long-term strategy for your business, though.
As I said, you won’t find the highest rates but it’s a great way to gain experience, build your portfolio, and become confident in your skills.
Here are some of the most popular job boards you can look into:
This is just the tip of the iceberg, trust me. There are dozens of websites where you can find freelance writing jobs.
Here are some job postings from Remote.co:
Another advantage of using job boards to find gigs is that it’s not as time-consuming as some other options.
All you need to do is find a suitable job offer, read it thoroughly, and write a short application.
Freelance Writing Jobs curates lots of freelance writing opportunities daily, which can save you a lot of time. This is less than half of the jobs they share in a day.
8.2 LinkedIn & Other Social Media Platforms
I already went over the various social media platforms you can use in Step 5, so, I’ll be brief here.
As I said, LinkedIn is essential for freelance writers. Your profile is like your resume.
I have had Fortune 500 companies call me off my LinkedIn profile… you can’t believe the high-quality clients who are using LI to find contractors. They know everybody on there is really a serious business person so it makes a good screen for them [compared to] just doing a Google search. Stuff that bio with keywords, people!
Carol Tice, Make a Living Writing
Here are some ways you can get freelance writing jobs on LinkedIn:
- Clients will find you through your profile and contact you — totally passive!
- You find and cold-pitch editors, business owners, or bloggers.
- You connect with editors, business owners, and bloggers, start creating a relationship with them, and eventually ask for work.
- You browse and apply to available job postings.
8.3 Cold Pitching
Cold pitching is the most time-consuming way of finding freelance writing jobs but it’s also the best.
The two main things you need to get started are:
- A professional email address: when you create your website, you’ll get a professional email address. Mine is ines@freeworkerbee.com, for example. If you didn’t create a website, you can use Gmail. Just make sure it’s not something like stronerprincess420@gmail.com!
- A professional email signature: include a headshot, first and last name, your title (i.e. personal finance content writer), and links to your website and professional social media accounts.
Then, you need to create a spreadsheet on Excel or Google Sheets to keep track of your efforts.
The one below is mine and you can save yourself the trouble of making one — just download my Freelance Writer Bundle.
It comes with the cold pitching spreadsheet and a few more resources to help you get started as a freelance writer.
Here’s how you find businesses and people to cold pitch:
- Research businesses within your niche and copy and paste their websites into the spreadsheet.
- Check if they have a blog or other type of content you can write. See if the blog has been recently updated. Write all that under “Notes” + more info about the business so you can tailor your pitch.
- Find out who you need to contact and get their email or LinkedIn profile. Write their name under “Person Contacted.”
- When you first email them, write the date under “Date Contact” and follow up a few days later.
- Register every follow-up date so you can keep track of your cold pitching campaign.
- Under “Answer,” you can write “yes”/”no” if they accepted your proposal or not. Type “—“ if you didn’t get an answer. This can help you understand if you’re writing a good pitch or if it needs improving.
- Rinse and repeat!
If you’re getting a lot of “no’s” it might just mean they don’t need content at the moment. Make yourself available to work with them in the future and don’t take it personally.
If your pitches are not being answered at all — even after three or four follow-ups — that’s when you need to make some changes.
So, here are some tips for writing effective cold pitches:
- Do NOT just copy and paste the same email to everyone. Show them you care!
- Address the person you’re emailing by name — “to whom it may concern” (or similar) is a big no-no.
- Be brief. Don’t waste their time.
- Tell them how you can help or benefit their business with your services first.
- Genuinely compliment an aspect of their business (optional).
- Present yourself and what you do in two to four sentences.
- Include your samples, so, they can make a decision easily.
- Finish with confidence (e.g. “I’m free to further discuss my experience and how I can help you. Let’s book a call.”)
- Don’t tell them your rates right away. Buy yourself some time to convince them why you’re worth what you charge.
- Cold pitch during business hours — preferably, from Tuesday to Thursday.
On a final note, cold pitching isn’t a one-and-done.
You need to consistently do it to get real results.
Create a habit of sending one to ten pitches every day (depending on how much time you have).
And that’s all folks.
You’ll find more free resources to help you become a freelance writer at the end of the blog post. Keep scrolling.
I Became a Freelance Writer. Now What?
Now, you just need to deliver great work and meet deadlines every single time (+ stay consistent in your marketing and cold pitching efforts).
I’ll soon publish a post on how to scale your freelance writing business (i.e. how to make more money in less time!).
FAQs — How to Become a Freelance Writer With No Experience
And, finally, here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about freelance writing.
What Is a Freelance Writer?
A freelance writer is someone who provides writing services as a contractor (instead of being employed part or full-time).
Normally, they specialize in a niche and offer a set of different services. Examples include writing blog posts, lead magnets, white papers, resumes, press releases, and marketing emails, among others.
What Are Freelance Writer Skills?
Some skills freelance writers must have include impeccable written English, good communication, breaking down complex topics so that anyone can understand, self-discipline, juggling different projects at the same time, and meeting deadlines.
Plus, they need marketing skills to promote their business and services and to persuade clients into hiring them.
How Do I Get Started as a Freelance Writer?
To get started as a freelance writer, first, you pick a niche and the services you’ll provide. Then, you write samples and create a portfolio to send to potential clients.
You should also define your payment and invoicing options and set your rates. At this point, you’re ready to find clients and work.
How Do Writers Get Their First Job?
Writers can get their first job in a variety of ways. Most commonly, they reach out to people in the industry they already know, apply to gigs on job boards, find jobs on LinkedIn, or cold pitch potential clients.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Freelance Writer?
It takes about a month to become a freelance writer. If you’re disciplined, you can complete the whole process detailed here in that time.
However, making a full-time income as a freelance writer can take you anywhere between three to six months.
How Many Words do Freelance Writers Write per Day?
Freelance writers write 1,000 words per day, on average. Depending on how much knowledge you have on the topic, it can take two to four hours.
This number is based on my experience as a freelance writer but I’ve had days where I write as much as 4,000 words.
How Much Does a Freelancer Make?
Freelancer writers make between $11,000 and $159,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. The median annual salary is $63,000, which translates to $30/hour.
Zippia reported that 24% of freelance writers make more than $50,000 annually.
How Much Does a Freelance Writer Make per Article?
How much a freelance writer makes per article depends on their niche, experience, the business they’re working with, and the length and scope of the article.
Freelance writers can make anywhere between $5 to $2,000+ per article.
How Much Does a Freelance Writer Make per Hour?
On average, a freelance writer makes $30/hour, according to ZipRecruiter.
99Firms reports that freelance writers average $24/hour.
In reality, they can make anywhere between $10 to $250/hour. It depends on the experience level, niche, and type of writing, among other factors.
How Often do Freelance Writers Get Paid?
How often freelance writers get paid is totally up to them. Naturally, you’ll get paid right after one-off projects.
But when it comes to longer contracts, you can choose to be paid weekly, monthly, or once the contract is over. Monthly is the most practical and common way.
Where to Get Freelance Writing Jobs?
You can get freelance writing jobs on job boards and social media or through referrals, networking, and cold pitching.
How to Get Published as a Freelance Writer?
As a freelance writer, you can get published once you complete a job for a client.
When you’re getting started, it’s easier to get published by guest posting on blogs, though.
Is Freelance Writing Worth It?
Freelance writing is worth it for those who value their freedom.
You can choose your own schedule, pick which clients you work with, spend time with your family and friends, travel as you work, choose your days off and holidays, and have more control over your income.
Key Takeaways — How to Become a Freelance Writer With No Experience
Looking at all these steps might seem intimidating at first but I promise you: anyone can do it.
I studied textile engineering and worked as a researcher. I knew nothing about freelance writing, blogging, or digital marketing — English isn’t even my first language!
But I had a dream. I wanted freedom. I wanted to make my own schedule and work remotely while being financially secure.
It took a lot of hard work and believing in myself but I got there.
And I want to help you do the same 👇
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