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Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
by Jon Morrow
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Imagine you’re sitting in a lounge chair on the beach, staring out over the glittering sea, the ocean breeze ruffling your hair, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of the waves.
It’s peaceful. Perfect for thinking.
And so you do, scribbling down your thoughts with one hand and drinking a martini with the other.
You’re a freelance writer. You get paid to write for websites, magazines, corporate clients — all different types of gigs.
And it’s work you can do from anywhere.
Sounds like a dream, right? Like it can’t possibly be real?
But it is.
I wrote my first freelance article for a gaming magazine when I was 12 years old. I only got paid $100, but just the idea that someone would pay me to write was mind blowing.
Since then, I went on to earn several thousand dollars per post, and now thousands of students go through my classes where I teach them how to become a freelance writer.
I literally have hundreds of videos of successful students who are now living their dream life. Like this one here:
And guess what? If Kriss can do it, so can you.
In this post, I’m going to give you a roadmap for becoming a freelance writer, starting from scratch. I’m also going to talk about what’s changed with freelance writing jobs and what it really takes to build a writing career in today’s world, both as a full-time professional writer or just doing it on the side.
Because the career is real. The freedom is real. Here’s how to get started:
In the field of professional writing, your skill at creating exceptional content will have more of an impact on how much money you make than anything else. Here’s why:
The companies paying the highest rates are the ones who understand the importance of quality content. They are happy to pay professional writers and copywriters, because they believe (correctly) that it will help them dominate their competitors.
For a handy visual reminder of the ROI of content marketing, check out the image below (click to see a larger view):
So, how do you level up your content writing skills?
We have dozens of posts about that very topic here at Smart Blogger. Start with this step-by-step guide about how to write a good blog post and work your way through. Read through some of our posts to study each author’s writing style (to develop your own). Our Freelance Writing Hub and list of favorite writing tips are other great resources.
In particular, here are some of the most important writing skills for you to develop:
And while those are a good start, there’s one particular skill that’s so important it deserves its own point:
Companies and agencies are more than happy to pay a little extra for someone who understands the basics of SEO writing.
The more intimate your understanding of powerful keywords, user intent, and competitive analysis, the more likely your post is to rank well in the search engines. Therefore, your writing becomes more valuable.
Because put yourself in their shoes: wouldn’t you rather pay more for someone with a proven ability to rank? I certainly would, and so it makes sense to become that person.
The strongest portfolio you can have is a collection of posts ranking on page 1 of Google. Sarah Peterson, for example, now makes over $1,000 per post, because she has a proven track record of ranking well.
Granted, it takes time to build that kind of portfolio. Let’s walk through the process, starting with what you do when you’re a total beginner.
You’d think it would be really hard to become a freelance writer without an extensive writing portfolio, right? After all, it’s proof for prospective clients that you know what you’re doing.
But here’s the thing:
There are different levels of proof, starting with…
You’d be surprised how many so-called “freelance writers” don’t understand how to write a proper blog post. I’d say it’s more than 80%, which sounds horrible, but it’s also a huge advantage if you do know how to write a good post.
Let’s say you’ve been working on your content skills (the first step above *cough*), and you’re getting comfortable writing different types of blog posts. Well, create a few writing samples to show off your skills.
If you have your own blog, put them there. If not, it’s quick and easy to publish them on other blogging platforms like Medium.
The best part is, you can do this in a matter of a week or two. Two or three posts is enough, and you don’t need anyone’s approval to publish them. If you don’t have an online presence with published work yet, it’s absolutely where you should start.
Next, you want to build your credibility as a subject matter expert in your writing niche.
And I’m not just talking about demonstrating your expertise. This phase is also about showing you can get published on top publications.
Think about it… if you see someone writing on one of the top sites in your space, don’t you immediately assume they are an expert?
Well, that’s the kind of credibility you need. It’s also far easier to do than you might assume.
Because most big sites have stopped paying for content, they’re always looking for good writers. In our guest blogging program, we’ve helped hundreds of new writers get published on sites like Forbes, Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, Lifehack, and dozens of others.
I won’t say it’s easy, because it’s not, but it’s far easier than most people think. Here’s a guest post by Laura Tong published at Huffington Post:
I’m generalizing here, but for the most part, it’s about the pitch. If the editor likes your idea, and you follow up with a well-written piece, you can get published almost anywhere.
And that immediately helps make you a hot commodity as a freelance writer.
Finally, you want testimonials that prove you can get results for clients.
One way is to track shares and search engine rankings for the posts you write, like we discussed above for Sarah Peterson, but an even better way is to create case studies. Here’s an example from Ross Hudgens of Siege Media:
He shows screenshots of increasing client traffic by 250,000 visits per month for three different clients. Nothing is more compelling than that. Granted, it’s super hard to do, but that’s what makes it so valuable.
Your long-term goal should be to develop that kind of proof for yourself. It might take you years, and that’s fine, because when you get there, it can literally make you one of the highest paid writers and consultants in the world.
So, we’ve talked a lot about the skill and credibility aspects of becoming a freelance writer. What about getting a freelance writing job? That’s the hard part when you’re an aspiring writer, right?
In the beginning, yes. Eventually, top freelance writers end up getting more work than they can handle, mostly by referral, but getting those first few paying clients can be a real slog.
Here are some insider tips for getting started:
There are two main ways of getting work from them. You can reach out to them and ask if they have any freelance work — a gutsy but effective approach — or you can keep an eye on each job board.
Before we move on, there’s one thing you SHOULDN’T do…
Compete against bottom dollar freelancers on content mills like Upwork.
Yes, writing gigs are always available on sites like those, but generally speaking, it’s clueless, frustrating clients who will nickel and dime you over everything and never refer you other work.
It’s better than nothing, I suppose, but I believe you’re far better off pursuing some of the options I mentioned above. Not only will you get paid more, but you’ll be treated better too, and it will be much easier to grow your client base.
In the beginning, you’ll probably be thrilled just to get a writing client paying you to write a few articles on the side, but I think it’s useful to step back and think about how freelance writing fits into an overall career.
Here’s the freelance career path for most writers:
Most beginner freelance writers start writing part-time with just a few articles on the side, and I think that’s smart. You can learn the craft, build your connections, and make a few bucks on the side. Most likely, about $20-$25 per hour.
Is it going to make you rich? No, but it’s certainly not a bad side hustle. A lot of part-timers clear $500-$1,000 per month from their writing.
Eventually, if you’re good, you’ll also start getting more freelance writing work than you can handle in your spare time and even start becoming an affiliate, and that’s when you can ponder moving on to the next phase.
When should you consider quitting your day job and diving headfirst into a freelance writing career?
The easiest answer: whenever you feel confident your freelance writing skill could replace your salary. You can either…
Both options have big upsides. You can have a long, solid career as a content marketer working companies who truly appreciate it, and building an agency could potentially make you a millionaire.
At some point though, I’ve found that even the most successful writers usually end up moving on to…
In the past, you’ve probably thought of starting your own site as the first step, not the last, and it’s true — there’s nothing stopping you from starting your site right now.
But think about it for a moment…
Would you rather start your own site on WordPress right now, spend a couple of years learning everything from scratch, and then slowly but surely begin to make money from it?
Or could it actually be a better option to go to work for someone else for a while, get paid while you learn, and then start your own site with several years of experience under your belt?
Over the years, I’ve noticed an increasing percentage of our students choosing the second option, and I think it makes sense.
Yes, you can absolutely start your own site right now, and yes, you can be successful — we are the market leaders in helping people do exactly that — but it’s a tough road. You have to persistently put in the effort for years before it begins to pay off.
If you become a freelance writer and start working for other businesses, on the other hand, the payoff is fast.
Probably a month or two to learn the basics and then another month or two to land your first writing job. While it might take you longer overall to build your own publishing powerhouse, it’s easier to stay persistent when money is coming in each and every time you publish an article.
The bottom line?
Too many natural-born writers believe it’s impossible to make a living writing. It’s just not true.
Yes, it’s tough to make a living as a freelance content writer, author, or ghostwriter. Yes, it’s difficult to scrape by writing for magazines and newspapers. Yes, there are plenty of would-be poets and novelists living under bridges — or worse, working for a content mill!
But those are only a few types of writing.
If you want to make money as a freelancer, go where the money is. That’s what I did. I started out writing for other sites, took a full-time job at Copyblogger, and then branched off on my own — exactly the career path I described above.
The results?
About $5.3 million so far. In this case study, I described exactly how I did it.
Oh, and did I mention I did it all from a wheelchair without being able to move from the neck down?
Yeah…
So please, don’t tell me you can’t make money as a successful freelance writer. You absolutely can.
You just have to be smart about it.
So hone your skills and start searching for your first freelance writing opportunity!
Writing
Jon Morrow
Jon Morrow started his career as a freelance writer, eventually earning up to $5000 per past. Since then, he has hired and managed hundreds of freelance writers.