Making Money through Freelance Writing

Although I never enjoyed writing at school, now I’m order, I’ve really started to enjoy reading and writing. I find myself spending hours in the evening reading new books or writing in my journal. I started a journal on my gap year my years ago but found it such a good way to reflect on the week so I carried it on. But how can this turn into a way to make money online?

Well, it’s actually very easy!! So easy it sounds too good to be true.

The reason I’m writing this post is that I feel people just don’t think they are good enough so don’t follow their dreams of being able to work from home. To get paid good money for freelance writing doesn’t mean you have to be the best writer in the world, it simply means you have to give it a try. What’s the worst that can happen?!?

Before this year, I never thought I would find myself writing for others. I didn’t think I was any good and I didn’t think this was such a big market. However, it turns out most companies are out their looking for people to write articles (big and small, technical and general, arty and sciencey, you get the picture). The actual enjoyment I get out of this is a lot more than I thought it would be as well. To have a ‘Content Manager’ at big firms say, ‘Thanks for your article this month, it was fantastic!’ feels pretty damn great… The pay check is also pretty nice :)

Maybe you know a particular topic very well or perhaps you don’t, but I’m sure you can give it a go.

So how can you get into Freelance Writing?

1) Firstly, I would start by looking through online blogs and websites. Look at your favourite blogs and see how they are written… I’m guessing you’ll notice pretty quick that they are usually written in a very down-to-earth way, and something you could definitely copy.

2) Make a list of your favourite articles and really start to dissect why you like them? Are they funny? Are they emotional? How long are they? What kind of pictures are included? What kind of research has been done before writing the article? What makes it unique?

3) Next, make a plan if you can. There are plenty of platforms you can advertise your writing services on. Here’s a list of some sites you should definitely check out:

  • Guru
  • Odesk
  • Elance
  • Freelancer
  • LinkedIn
  • Any Job site!! (search for things like content writer)

You can also network with friends and family, see if there are any connections. I’ve ended up writing for companies where my friends have worked and they have passed on work to me. This is a great place to start and help build up a nice portfolio. You also need to plan so you don’t fall into the trap of signing up for too many jobs and not being able to deliver. Although this is all about having a flexible work environment and being able to work from home, you still need to be professional. If you have family commitments so you only have a few hours a day to spend on your writing make sure your workload reflects this.

4) Get a feel for what type of work is out there. Is financial writing more in demand than travel writing? Or perhaps technical writing pays considerable more than general articles. It’s these kind of questions that will help you maximize your extra income. You may want to pursue a certain industry, e.g. travel and focus on that. This is great, however, limiting yourself to one area could limit the work coming in so be prepared to be flexible. A mix of writing can also be great to keep you on your toes. I didn’t think I would enjoy financial writing but I’ve really enjoyed it and learnt a lot in the process.

5) Build your name and a ‘brand’. This is the fun part. Hopefully, after a few months, you’ll have managed to secure yourself a few gigs. Even a couple of small writing opportunities is a great start. Now it’s time to put your sales hat on and get yourself out there. I would honestly expect you to be emailing websites like this one, asking if they need any writing. Now, often this might not be paid, however, again, you start to understand what kind of work is out there and what people are after. You might even get lucky and end up getting some paid work through this.

6) The final thing to remember is never undervalue yourself. If your articles are good and clearly offering a company something of value then don’t be charging pennies! Depending on the industry, prices will vary but make sure you are getting enough money to make it worth your time. As I mentioned, you may have to contribute some articles for free to get the ball rolling but eventually you should be able to make money from this.

I wasn’t sure whether to add the next part in but I decided you might find it interesting. Here is a my monthly income from my freelance writing gigs over the last 6 months. I’m not writing this for any other reason than to show you that this is possible.

  • September 14 – £60
  • October 14 – £155
  • November 14 – £190
  • December 14 -£460
  • January 15 -£780
  • February 15 –  £1,235

As you can see, it took me a few months before I really started making some noticeable money. This is extra income as well, so hitting £1,235 in Feb was a great little bonus. For the first 3 months I wrote a lot of free articles which did take time, however, by Jan all my articles were earning money. I feel this is just scratching the surface as well, in Feb I had enough time to easily do double that amount of work. This means I really need to focus on finding more work now. I also started writing in the fitness industry but soon found out this didn’t pay so well so quickly started to focus on travel. I think financial writing will pay even more so I’m hoping to move into that industry soon.

Anyway, hope you found this vaguely interesting and drop us a message if you have any questions

Love and peace,

The Champagne and Crayons Team :)