Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Thanks to the internet, freelance writing jobs for beginners are found just about everywhere.

Unfortunately, there is a somewhat popular belief that only experienced freelance writers get to make good money from home. While there is some truth to this, the vast diversity of jobs available today makes finding a gig easier than you may think.

The following steps can help you make money as a writer from the very beginning while also helping you gain valuable experience. After all, why not kill two birds with one stone and hit the ground running?

Thus, this article focuses on helping you start from the bottom and ultimately end up as an experienced writer. By the time you are done, no freelancing gig will be beyond your reach.

First and foremost: It goes without saying, but clients are very strict when it comes to your writing skills (grammar, punctuation, and so on).

We highly suggest that you use a service like Grammarly.com, our personal favorite when it comes to all things grammar. These guys also have an excellent plagiarism tool (useful when submitting your writing samples to any and all clients, for example).

Don’t proceed without it. That being said, let’s get started!

1: Create a Blog:

The very first step is to build a personal brand by creating a writing portfolio. This is where owning your own blog comes into play, as it allows you to write any amount of articles — based on any topic and length — while enabling you to have full control over your work.

Don’t just write about any topic under the sun, however, unless you’re a versatile freelance writer with a varied background under your belt. Generally speaking, freelance writing jobs for beginners and veterans alike tend to require specific skills (as opposed to a broad range of knowledge.)

That said, you may be able to write about your passion or be forced to learn a new skill altogether, depending on the work that you will eventually pursue. Thankfully, the internet provides plenty of varied opportunities if you know where to look, therefore you should eventually be able to find exactly what interests you later on.

As you build a well-researched and well-presented portfolio through blog posting, it is crucial that you also connect with fellow bloggers and writers out there. Find blogs that relate to your passion or subject matter by performing searches such as “[keyword] blogs” and “Best [keyword] sites.”

If you are into cooking, for instance, input search terms such as “cooking blogs” or look for how-to articles based on different recipes. Once you have found the websites that interest you, it is very important you do the following steps:

• Make a list of these blogs and bookmark them
• Provide helpful, constructive feedback by commenting on these blogs’ articles
• Contact them over time to say a simple thank you or to help them with anything you believe they may find useful
• Rinse and repeat; turn this into a habit

What’s the point? The above actions, when practiced repeatedly and in good faith, help you get to know fellow bloggers within your community. In time they come to know you as a valuable reader who contributes nothing short of excellent information to their already-great articles. Likewise, you two get to help each other by sharing mutual experiences. I must state the obvious and say that building relationships is priceless; not only in the freelancing community but in every other market in general.

Putting your connections to good use: Over time, offer your expertise to fellow bloggers by politely asking them if you could write an unpaid guest post on their blog. Remember this is all about expanding, which gives you a tremendous amount of credibility and experience.

But wait, you may be asking yourself how all of the above will earn you money. After all, your goal is to find lucrative freelance writing jobs for beginners! I hear you loud and clear. However, your blogging efforts are actually helping you build a solid foundation for future clients. This is very important if you want to succeed as a writer online.

2: Publish Digital Books on Kindle and Other Platforms:

As you’re working on your personal blog and portfolio, you may also wish to look into digital book publishing. Sounds overwhelming? Don’t worry, it’s not. Publishing a digital book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble is almost no different than posting an article on your blog. It merely involves creating an account (which is completely free) and posting away.

Simply fire up Microsoft Word or its equivalent, write about a topic that interests you and save it like you would save any other document. When ready, publish it on the aforementioned places and these will often earn you a few bucks indefinitely in the form of passive income.

While the publishing process itself is simple, however, I encourage you to look into potentially profitable subjects to ensure that your books sell and don’t just disappear in the vast sea of digital books.

Tip: WriterTown.com (this very website) actually provides extensive ways to make money through writing. Simply sign up through this link if interested.

Over time your book sales will start growing while you simultaneously continue to expand your blog and establish yourself as a freelance writer.

Are you with me so far? Good.

3: Perform Gigs for Others:

The above suggestions are all fine and dandy, but what if you need money immediately? After all, growing your blog and writing digital books does take a good chunk of your time. Therefore, freelance writing jobs for beginners may also involve completing gigs and tasks for other people.

Websites like Fiverr.com and SEOClerks.com allow you to make a profit by creating gigs about any desired skill. Are you a decent programmer or developer, for example? Offer your service and earn some cash while you continue to establish your name online. Do you travel often? Create a gig offering to spread people’s flyers around certain popular locations.

All in all, anything you can think of can potentially become a profitable gig.

4: Sign Up as a Web Journalist

If handling gigs or publishing books isn’t your cup of tea, consider writing short news for websites like Digital Journal. This source offers freelance writing jobs for beginners by allowing you to publish short news articles based on many different topics.

They tend to pay writers based on the number of impressions your news article accumulates, and you can expect to earn anywhere from $3 to $6 per article, on average. It’s not a lot of money, but it can help your growing portfolio.

While this amount does not seem like much, it helps support you financially while you also build a more varied and reputable portfolio for future reference. In other words, you can show future clients your previous news pieces in addition to your own blog articles.

Next Steps: Reaching Out to Paying Clients:

In case you haven’t picked up on the aim of this entire article, your main goal is to establish yourself and grow a reputation as a freelance writer. Your blogging, publishing and networking efforts are the steps that will help launch your writing career.

Please note that at this point you are no longer a beginner, but rather a seasoned freelance writer with plenty of experience and a broad portfolio. Congratulations!

So what happens now, after all this time building your name and expanding yourself? How do you connect with high-paying clients? This is where your past efforts come into play, which ultimately allow you to land the gig of your dreams.

For starters, you can get high-paying work through Writer Town’s extensive list of external clients and writing opportunities.

Otherwise, go back to a search engine near you and search for websites based around your skill set. Ideally, look for established sources that are already popular with a big following — then contact them with a very friendly, personalized email.

This is the time to sell yourself and explain what your awesome expertise has to offer them. Show them what you’ve got and convince them why having you onboard can — and will — help them in the long run.

Tip: Not every website clearly mentions that they are looking to hire, but that doesn’t mean they are not willing to give you a chance! This is the beauty of the internet; every website needs great content on a regular basis. This is your time to shine, and I assure you that if you previously played all your cards right, you will pass this test with pretty flying colors.

Conclusion:

This article taught you that freelance writing jobs for beginners are, in a sense, jobs for seasoned writers such as yourself, as making the transition “from new to established” can be quick, smooth and painless.

All that is required is a personal blog and the ability to perform other side-gigs in the meantime. These may include digital book publishing, writing for other websites or performing gigs while you grow your writing portfolio from zero to hero.

Enjoyed this article? Have any questions or concerns? Leave a comment below or contact me any time. I am always here to help.