Freelance Writing - advice

Freelance Writing For Beginners

* Today's article was submitted by Elise Brooke (with minor edits to this article done by Lillian Brummet). 

Elise manages the My NZ Dream Blog and has authored several books. 

She has over 24 years of experience in the world of writing and holds a Creative Writing Diploma. 

How to get started in freelance work

1. Having a Creative Writing qualification and experience helps

2. Brand yourself, e.g copy writer, content writer

3. Get experience, build references and work samples

4. Find work and keep finding work

To brand yourself - try to look at the concept of your value as a person, a one-person-business, not just as a writer. Branding is how you communicate your value. 

Start by asking:

What value do I bring?

What is my niche or topic? (Pick only one or two.)

What is my style? How do I write, the words I use, if I write in a casual or formal way.

Once you have established the above create a mission statement answering the above questions. 

E.G: “I am honest and raw, simple and casual and always respectful. I specialize in one niche". or "I write formally but I am adaptable in topics."

Ask yourself - what specific value do you give clients/editors? It is your value that is for sale.

To get some experience, take on a few unpaid jobs.  Do not join content mills e.g TextBroker, UpWork or Fiverr as these places take a huge percentage of your pay to be on their platform. 

There are two ways to get experience:

1. Write for publication – print, blogs, magazines etc.

2. Write for clients – small business, resumes etc.

To write for publications, guest posting, bloggers and online magazines look for their ‘writers guidelines’ page or ‘submissions’, or ’write for us’ section.  Read guidelines and follow. Pitch before sending your article, ensure you are credited by name in the article.  Set up a portfolio of your articles to refer to; use LinkedIn or put a portfolio on your website.  You do not need a contract here.

To write for private clients use a platform such as RedIt, FreedomeWithWriting, Problogger, or visit a hire community and job boards.  Always have a contract, you can use a template to create this.  Request half the payment upfront – show half the project, then upon payment, show the rest of the project.

To find work approach who you have already written for, build new relationships, sign up to newsletters. 

Use and personalize both a pitch and contract template. Refine your pitch before sending, focus on value and keep it short - about five lines. Follow up on pitches after 2-3 days. The more you send out queries the better, it is a numbers game.

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