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The Basics of How to Start Working from Home as
a Freelance Writer.
If you want to start a freelance writing career,
it's as simple as sitting down and taking the
steps listed below. You can literally do everything
you need to do in 24 hours or less - and it won't
cost you a cent. The only thing it costs is time
- eg, sweat equity.
If you want to start a freelance writing career,
following is a three-step plan of action to you're
your there. By tomorrow, you can officially say,
"I'm a freelance writer."
Put Up a Blog: You need a web presence as a freelance
writer. So, instead of putting up a website (which
has hosting fees and may require skills beyond
your level), simply throw up a blog. A blog and
a website are both web presences. They're just
used differently. For now, what you need is a
web presence, and a blog will do just fine.
Start
with a free one you can get from blogger.com or
wordpress.com. By putting up a blog, you can't
use the, "I don't have the time, knowledge,
money or skill to build a website" excuse.
Once you get an official website, you can move
everything over later.
On your freelance writing blog, list three things:
your writing samples (which we'll discuss below);
your professional profile/bio (make it short and
relevant); and your rates. That's it. Nothing
more, nothing less.Writing Samples: This is the
one thing that stops most wannabe freelancers
dead in their tracks. Don't let it.If you don't
have writing samples - simply sit down and write
a few articles for each niche you plan to target.
I recommend three to five to start. All potential
clients want to see is evidence of your writing
ability. Whether you've been published before
is irrelevant to 90-95% of clients.Cost: $0; Estimated
Time to Complete: 3-5 hours, depending on how
many samples you plan to write. Figure on average
one article (400-600 words) per hour.Marketing
List: Once you have your writing samples and your
web presence ready to go, it's now time to start
prospecting/marketing for clients. This is perhaps
the most difficult part of starting your freelance
writing career.Hit the web, the best way to find
contact information. Target anyone and everyone
you think can use your writing services - web
design firms, internet marketing firms, ezines,
magazines (although these take forever), advertising
agencies, etc.Compile a list of 20-25 prospects
you can contact each day. Marketing for writing
jobs is simply a numbers game. Before long, you
will land a client - I practically guarantee it.If
you spend a full day of 10-12 hours doing everything
listed here, you will have pulled together everything
you need to start a freelance writing career.
Market religiously every day to 20-25 prospects,
and before long, will have a successful, work-from-home
career that you can do from anywhere. |
