If you’re wondering “what’s freelance writing?” this is for you. Learn the basics and pros & cons of freelance writing and how to get started.
Have you ever dreamed of creating your own schedule, working from anywhere, and choosing which clients you work with, all while writing about topics you’re passionate about?
Well, that’s freelance writing.
Or better yet, that can be freelance writing.
For some, this career is a never-ending cycle of feast and famine — writing for pennies and never knowing where the next job or paycheck is coming from.
That’s why I wrote this post.
I want you to have the right expectations about freelance writing, to know the best practices so you avoid falling into the feast and famine trap, and to start on the right foot with my free course.
What’s Freelance Writing? [For Beginners]
Freelance writing is a type of professional writing. Freelance writers make money working for businesses as contractors (instead of being employed full-time).
You can create a full-time freelance writing business or a freelance writing side hustle. Either way, you’ll be crafting whatever text is required by clients from home or in a rented office space.
Later in this blog post, you can learn about different types of freelance writing niches and services.
How Do Freelance Businesses Work?
Simply put, when you have a freelance business, you define which services you offer, find clients looking for those services, perform the jobs, and get paid.
Now, freelance businesses come in all shapes and sizes. That’s the beauty of creating your own business: you’re your own boss and you define exactly what, where, when, and how you do it.
For example, while some freelancers choose to work with only one very large client at a time that fills up their schedule, others (63%) don’t want to put all their eggs in one basket and work with multiple, smaller clients at a time.
Yes, you can pretty much define everything about your business. But with great power comes great responsibility — which leads us to the next point: what does a freelance writer do, exactly?
What Does a Freelance Writer Do?
Freelance writers wear many hats. They’re responsible for:
- Marketing themselves and their services
- Finding clients
- Learning the skills needed
- Always staying on top of developments and trends in their niche
- Delivering great work every single time
- Managing their schedule and finances
- And, sometimes, manage subcontractors
Statistically, 71.5% of all freelancers work less than 30h/week but the majority (53%) spend less than 14h/week on billable work.
Still, successful freelancers spend between 60 and 75% of their time writing.
You can limit your business to only one type of writing (e.g., blog posts) or different ones (e.g., blog posts, marketing emails, and landing pages).
According to Clockify.me, the majority of freelance writers spend less than two hours per week looking for work.
Freelance Writing Salary: How Much Do Freelance Writers Make?
Many factors impact your freelance writing rates, including your niche, services, experience, and self-marketing techniques.
Newbies usually make around $100 to $150 per blog post ($0.10/word is a good starting point).
If it takes you five hours to write a blog post that means your freelance writing hourly rate is between $20 and $30.
These are the recommended starting rates. Your income potential then depends on how much work you can book per month.
As you gain experience and broaden your network, you should progressively increase your rates.
How Do Freelancers Get Paid?
Each freelancer should create their own method for sending invoices and getting paid. They should also be flexible and accommodate different payment processes and methods clients use.
Some companies prefer sending checks or direct bank deposits but, nowadays, the most common invoicing and payment methods are Stripe and PayPal.
Payment processes vary. Here are some examples:
- The client pays 25 to 50% of the full fee before work starts and the rest once everything is delivered and approved.
- The client pays 25 to 50% of the full fee when the work is delivered and the rest once it’s approved.
- The client pays the full fee upfront.
- The client pays the full fee when the work is delivered and approved.
- The client pays weekly or monthly for all the work that was delivered in that time period.
Whatever method and process you choose for each client, make sure you clearly communicate how it’ll work before you start writing — and, of course, make sure the client answers back agreeing to that payment process.
The Pros & Cons of Freelance Writing
I always say “anyone can be a freelance writer.” And that’s true. But “anyone” isn’t the same as “everyone.”
For some, the pros simply don’t outweigh the cons. That’s why I included this section. I want you to know exactly what you’re getting into and decide for yourself.
Con: It Can Be Unpredictable
While you’re still building your portfolio and your client network, it can be hard to find reliable work.
Some freelancers also fall into the “one-off jobs” trap instead of striving to lock in monthly contracts.
Not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from can be very stressful.
That’s why you should only quit your regular job once you know you can fully make a living from writing.
Saving up enough money that can get you through three to six months of expenses is a great idea to put your mind at ease and carry you through slower periods.
Pro: You Can Choose Who You Work With
That’s part of the whole being-your-own-boss shebang. You can choose who you work with and who you don’t.
If a client’s budget is too low, if you don’t think the work they’re offering is fulfilling enough, if you see red flags during the interview process, or if you’ve worked with that person before and had a miserable experience, you can just not work with them. Period.
Con: You’re Responsible for Your Taxes & Health Insurance
As a self-employed individual, you’re responsible for taking care of your taxes and setting money aside each month for when tax season comes.
I couldn’t advise you on this even if I wanted to.
I just pay an accountant to take care of everything for me — it costs me around twice my monthly mobile phone plan (which is pretty reasonable, to be fair).
Every time I pay I literally feel like I’m buying peace of mind. Highly recommend.
Health insurance-wise, you may have a partner with insurance that covers you as well — lucky you! Or you may have to sort that out yourself.
Pro: You Can Potentially Make a Lot of Money
Ok, there are a few different points to consider here.
It’s definitely possible to make more as a freelance writer than you did at your regular job.
In fact, 75% of all freelancers report earning the same or more than they did when employed.
It’s not that hard to make a full-time income, a few select writers reach $10,000/month… and then some unicorns go well beyond that.
It’s all about your niche, the services you provide, and how you market yourself.
The last caveat here is that not everything you earn is profit.
You need to pay for your health insurance, retirement plan/savings, taxes, office space, bills, laptop, and software tools.
Con: It Takes Time to Build Up Your Career
If you’re looking for a “get rich quick” scheme, freelance writing isn’t the answer.
It takes time to build your reputation and network so you can command higher rates. And it takes a lot of work, too.
That’s why my website is called Free Worker Bee, by the way. You have the freedom but you also need to put in the work.
Also, not all your work hours are billable. As mentioned above, before you get paid to write, you need to market yourself and land those gigs.
Pro: You Have Lots of Flexibility & Freedom
Freedom and flexibility are some of the most common reasons people decide to become freelance writers.
As long as you deliver high-quality work on time, clients don’t care if you did it during business hours, at night, or if you did it little by little over several days.
They usually don’t care where you’re based either — you can travel the world while working if you want to.
You can always stay at home and be free to take your kids to school, to the doctor, or to practice whenever needed.
The options are endless!
I can give you a few of my personal experiences as a freelance writer as examples:
- Usually, I answer my emails and do easy social media tasks on my phone while I’m walking on the treadmill, riding the static bike, or doing bridges. Two birds with one stone.
- I have backpacked a bunch of countries while working (although I found it too exhausting and don’t do it anymore).
- When my dog had cancer, I built my schedule around the time I had to take her to appointments. There’s no way I could justify that to a boss if I had a 9 to 5, and it seriously meant the world to me.
- In the summer, I spend my mornings at the beach and then I work until dinnertime.
Freedom and flexibility look different to everyone. To me, it’s enough to justify going through all the cons.
How to Start Freelance Writing
To become a freelance writer (even if you have no experience), you need:
- A niche
- A service menu
- Freelance writing samples
- A freelance writer website and/or portfolio
- A professional email address and signature
- An online presence (e.g., a LinkedIn account)
And that’s pretty much it. Once you have all this, you’re ready to start applying to jobs and pitching prospects.
You might be wondering “how the heck do I get all that?!”
Worry not! I created a free Freelance Writing Course that comes with everything you need to get started. Keep reading 👇
Free Freelance Writing Course
Maybe you already read somewhere on my blog that freelance writing improved my life so much that I made it my mission to help at least 1,000 people do the same.
If you didn’t, well, now you know 😊
That’s why I created the Freelance Writer Bundle and I’m giving it away for free.
Here’s everything that’s included:
 | Course & Workbook: How to Become a Freelance Writer With No Experience It’s basically an eBook course with extra resources and exercises. If you follow it along and complete the exercises, you can start making money freelance writing in as little as 30 days. |
 | Freelance Writer Checklist When you break down the ultimate goal into smaller, more manageable ones and celebrate your small victories, it’s easier to stay motivated and achieve your goals. That’s why I created this editable checklist for you to use together with the workbook. |
 | Cold Pitching Spreadsheet Organize and track your cold pitching efforts. Save time and never let a freelance writing opportunity slip through your fingers. |
 | SEO Blog Post Checklist & Template The #1 freelance writing skill you need? Knowing how to write fire SEO blog posts. I included a template and checklist in the bundle to guide you through it. |
Profitable Freelance Writing Niches
Although it’s true that you can specialize in any topic as a freelance writer, some are more lucrative and in demand than others.
Here are some of the most high-paying freelance writing niches out there:
Types of Freelance Writing Services
There are dozens of freelance writing services you can offer. Here, I’ll only talk about the five most common ones.
- Freelance bloggers do freelance writing for blogs, including blog posts, lead magnets, marketing emails, landing pages, and other website pages.
- SEO writers mainly write content optimized to rank highly on search engines, be it blog posts or other website content.
- Content writers can create several types of content, including blog posts, eBooks, case studies, product reviews, and more.
- Copywriters also create various types of content. The difference is that anything a copywriter creates is directly aimed at selling a product or service.
- Ghostwriters can create several different types of content, as well. However, their content is ghostwritten, meaning someone else gets credited for writing those pieces.
How to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
To find remote freelance writing jobs you need to:
- Choose a niche
- Define the services you’ll provide
- Create content writing samples and/or guest posts to add to your portfolio
- Create your freelance writer website
- Create your social media accounts (LinkedIn is essential, others are optional)
- Start pitching! Cold pitch or pitch jobs you find on job boards (or both)
Where to Find Freelance Writing Jobs
Aside from cold pitching and networking your way to freelance jobs, the two most common places you can freelance writing gigs are job boards and social media (namely, on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook groups).
Best Freelance Writing Sites
From job boards to content platforms, there are dozens of websites where you can find freelance writing opportunities. Here are my top five picks.
1. Freelance Writing Jobs (FWJ)
FWJ is easily my #1 pick.
It isn’t a job board per se; it rounds up writing jobs from all over the internet daily and divides them into neat categories (e.g., freelance medical writing jobs, copywriting jobs, etc.).
If you want to save time, this is the place to go — each job even comes with details, like whether or not it’s remote work, the client’s budget, and more.
However, there are two drawbacks to FWJ:
- Each link will take you to a different website — there’s no streamlined way to apply for jobs.
- The postings there are highly competitive because they get so much exposure.
2. Freelance Writing
Freelance Writing is basically the same as FWJ but instead of showing you a daily list of jobs, it compiles them as job boards do.
So, it has exactly the same cons as FWJ. Plus, you’ll have to open each job individually to know the details that FWJ gives you right away.
Its one advantage is that you can use filters to browse through jobs since it presents them in list form.
3. LinkedIn
What I like most about LinkedIn is that recruiters can immediately access your profile and know everything about you.
Also, even if you don’t get the job, you can connect with people who may hire you in the future.
You’ll find a wide array of legit jobs to choose from there. Although most are for full or part-time positions, there are some freelance gigs available, too.
You can set job alerts that’ll come directly into your email inbox to save you time.
The one downside is that there’s a lot of competition for jobs since it’s a huge platform. That’s why it’s important to craft a winning LinkedIn profile.
4. ProBlogger
ProBlogger is an actual job board unlike the first two. Naturally, the job offers aren’t as plentiful.
However, what I like most about this platform is that employers must pay a $75 fee to post jobs there, so, you know the gigs are 100% legit.
Also, most jobs are long term and there’s a wide variety of niches to choose from.
5. Upwork
I have mixed feelings about Upwork but it still deserves to be on this list.
On one hand, it’s the biggest job marketplace, so, regardless of your experience or niche, you’ll surely find something.
On the other hand, the majority of jobs offer ridiculously low pay rates.
On one hand, it’s cool that you don’t have to pay a monthly fee upfront.
On the other hand, when you start making serious cash there, 10 to 20% commissions really take a big chunk out of your earnings.
On one hand, you don’t have to “waste” any time marketing yourself.
On the other hand, once you hit the $0.06 to $0.10 per word rate, there’s not much more progress to be made — although in certain niches you can go beyond that.
It’s also true that more than 30% of Fortune 500 companies hire people on Upwork. So, you can definitely get good jobs there.
However, it takes a long time to scour the insane amount of jobs there (even if you use search filters). You could use that time to cold pitch, instead.
So, here’s my takeaway and why I included it in this list: use Upwork when you’re getting started.
It’s super easy to land jobs and you’ll get feedback from clients that’ll help you improve your skills.
Once you’re confident and have some samples and testimonials to show off, get the heck out of there!
What’s Freelance Writing? — Other FAQs
And, finally, I’ll answer some random questions you may still have about freelance writing.
Do I Need a Degree to Freelance Write?
You definitely don’t need a degree to freelance write.
You need to know how to write the type of text you’re hired to create but you can learn everything online as long as you’re willing to put in the work.
For example, I studied to be an engineer and was working as a researcher when I started freelance writing.
I learned everything I needed online and through the feedback clients gave me — that was massive in my learning process. Never take constructive feedback negatively!
I did have a tendency to write long-ass sentences and paragraphs with fancy-schmancy words and a painful lack of personality — my background was academic writing, after all.
But, little by little, I got there and so will you 😉
Who Hires Freelance Writers?
Freelance writers are hired by companies who need one-off projects or only one project done at a time, or by companies that don’t have enough work volume that justifies hiring someone full-time.
Sometimes, even if they need an amount of work that would fulfill a worker’s schedule full-time, it’s much more cost-effective to hire a freelancer than to pay for all the overhead costs of an employee (i.e. health insurance, office space, etc.).
Speaking of office space, many companies nowadays run 100% remotely. They don’t have a fixed physical location. This is another case where hiring freelancers is much easier.
So, who hires freelance writers? Pretty much any business in any industry can hire a freelance writer and benefit from it.
How Hard Is It to Become a Freelance Writer?
Becoming a freelance writer is not easy but it’s also not hard. Let me explain.
Starting to make money as a writer is somewhat easy.
There’s pretty much no barrier for beginners. You don’t even need prior experience or references.
You get your first job and learn as you go — as the overwhelming majority of freelancers did (and still do).
The technical term for this is “you wing it” 😂
Another thing going for you is that the gig economy will only keep growing.
Companies are realizing they can save a lot by hiring freelancers who work remotely without compromising on quality.
Now, the not-so-easy part is everything you need to do besides writing.
Dealing with contracts, invoices, self-promotion, networking, creating a website, taxes, blah blah blah…
But here’s the thing: those parts of your business are only hard-ish in the beginning.
You only need to create a contract template and website once. Then it’s there. Forever. You’ll just need to do some minor updates here and there.
You only need to figure out invoicing and taxes once. Then it becomes second nature and you can even automate most of it.
Networking, finding work, and actually producing content all get easier as you go.
So, all in all, freelance writing is easy. You just need to have enough discipline and perseverance to get off the ground.
What’s Freelance Writing? — Key Takeaways
As you can see, freelance writing can be a highly lucrative and fulfilling career.
If you think this is the right path for you, download the Freelance Writer Bundle 👇
With the lessons, exercises, and resources you’ll get, you can start making money as a writer in as little as 30 days.
0 Comments