Freelancing in content writing is an exciting proposition. Freelance content writers can work across several industries and jobs. It does not merely mean that you write articles, blog posts, or long-form content. Nor does it mean that you write on one particular topic. It is one of the most flexible job profiles you can hope to have. Any write-up that intends to communicate a message to their target customer is content.
Freelancing in Content writing can be one of the best options for you if you want a career full of excitement, innovation, and variety. It helps with getting a hefty remuneration for your work. It also gives vent to your creative aspirations. Moreover, you have the liberty to pursue any other interest you want without compromising on the work-life balance.
There is no upper limit to the amount of money you can earn in the case of successful freelancing in content writing. When you provide value to the business consumer and online leaders, you can demand as much money as you want based on your talent and skillsets. Also, what you can offer in your content writing projects.
These are some of the things to consider for a great career in freelancing in content writing
Identify what interests you
It is important to understand why your interests lay. Freelance content writing offers a variety of topics for you to write on. You also have a plethora of niches to choose from.
Your online user has several queries, questions on various niches. As freelance content writers, you should invest time in exploring the different topics, identifying which topics excite you. This will enable you to create content that will be superior to the generic content that we find on the internet.
When you are a professional content writer, your productivity depends on your willingness to write on a topic. You can be attentive and sincere only when you write topics you have an affinity for.
When you put your heart and soul into writing on a topic your end product will surely be of great value to your online readers. Moreover, it will not burn out as a content writer when you write on topics that evoke interest for you.
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Create accounts on different digital platforms for more visibility and engagement
The ubiquitous internet today has several online platforms like plenty of digital podiums, social media channels. They can help you keep in touch with your friends, relatives, associates. What it also does is, that it provides plenty of opportunities for you to find the perfect job that interests you.
For freelance writers, having a positive presence in social media channels is of utmost importance. Presence is inevitable even for people who do not want to be present on social media 24/7, updating regularly on their lives.
Social media channels have become very important from the job perspective. Therefore, you should create accounts on all the social media channels of relevance. Freelance content writers should visit these channels often to know of the latest trends.
This will help you in five important ways :
- You will be able to display your writing skills
- The channels will help you connect with people from your industry
- You can follow thought leaders and industry veterans
- Writers will get access to a plethora of topics ideas that they can write on
- You will find the majority of your target consumers on social media channels.
All the above advantages point to the immense benefit of social media channels. Hence, freelance content writers should mandatorily have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, Quora, Reddit.
Place importance on Networking
As competent talented freelance content writers, you should develop the ability to network with different people from several industries and organizations.
This helps to display your writing acumen, helping clients, and making a mark as a credible content writer. LinkedIn is such a platform that connects individuals from several businesses as well as consumers. Networking in a platform like LinkedIn will yield maximum benefit for you for freelancing in content writing.
Moreover, you can also connect with your existing clients through these different digital media channels. A successful network helps you to build trust and increases your brand reputation as a content writer.
When you connect with people from the same industry or complementary industries it helps to explore new areas of work. You can brainstorm different concepts with them and exchange meaningful ideas, and conversations. That can help you to perfect your writing skills even more.
LinkedIn is also the place where popular industry leaders with a massively successful career in freelance content writing share methods, structures, tips, and techniques to excel in the world of content writing. They also provide invaluable advice on freelancing and how it can turn out to be one of the most profitable initiatives.
Do not underestimate the importance of networking and develop the skill which will help you to explore job openings among the other aspects on these sites.
Guest post
Guest posting has emerged as one of the most prominent content marketing techniques for new freelance content writers. Novices just starting, have to employ all the options available to them to create a name as a competent, reliable content writer.
Guest posting essentially means writing for someone else on a website or blog as a guest writer. It has immense advantages like building a rapport with the website or blog owner, proving your mettle, and your expertise in that area. It also contributes to the perception of you being an authority and getting backlinks to your website.
When you contribute as a guest writer in one or other eminent content or Digital marketers blog you get instant recognition. The reason is that these websites enjoy mammoth traffic. This helps you to get a new audience base who will appreciate your write-up and would want to explore your websites and your work more.
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Create High-Grade content to get backlinks
One of the sure-shot ways of getting recognition is creating content that is superior and provides immense value to online readers. Google ranks those articles, blog posts, and websites higher who incorporate keywords perfectly and help to solve a user’s queries. As a freelance content writer, you will get exposure as and when your article ranks in the first 8 to 10 articles of search engines.
Learn New Skills for Content Writing
In Freelance content writing, you are responsible for the jobs that you apply for and take up. This also means that you should constantly evolve and develop new skills to bolster your resume with even more relevant qualities.
Today, big organizations and enterprises are looking for content writers who understand the basics of website designing, website structure. The fundamental knowledge of the core digital marketing modules is also desired. There are also a few extremely important things that you need to perform perfectly to become a competent content writer.
Some of the things you need to take care of as a freelance content writer in addition to great quality content writing are as follows :
- Comprehensive understanding of Search Engine Optimization
- Using content writing tools with full efficiency
- Developing editing and research skills
- Having a consistent tone and voice of writing
- Adaptability and discernment
- Out of the box thinking for generating traffic and turning them into conversions
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- Online Technical Writing Course
- GST Course
- SEO Course
Learn to create search engine optimized content
In the earlier point, we have touched upon the importance of understanding Search Engine Optimisation for freelance content writers.
Search Engines produce several links for a particular query on search engine results pages. A freelance content writer aims to rank among the first 10 of the search engine results.
Freelance writers should create content that will be easier for Google to index, crawl, and rank according to the value it provides to online users.
This means taking care of keyword insertion. It also means not overdoing the usage of keywords in content when you are writing. When you are writing SEO friendly content you will try to create value and do away with the unnecessary parts of writing.
Among the many benefits of Search Engine Optimization, one is that it can help your content get viral in a record amount of time. When your content appears in the SERP and is of value, online readers will invariably share your content on several platforms the most popular social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
Freelance content writers who have mastered the skill of Search Engine Optimization will see a huge spike in demand for the content they write.
This is because Search Engine Optimization involves the dissemination of organic content. It does not include any monetary benefits. This strengthens the faith of the target consumers trust who rely on their content.
Pitch Strategically
For new freelance writers, it becomes a challenging task to carve a space for themselves in the content writing word which is full of stiff competition initially.
However, strategic planning of content marketing can help get recognition very quickly. Apart from having efficient linguistic skills that will help you to convey your message optimally, you have to pitch your article sagaciously on different job sites and portals.
Once you have zeroed in on a list, would want to find out available jobs in that needs and organizations that require the help of content writers in that specific field.
Thereafter, jot down those job offers and organizations and start pitching to them. Follow up with emails when you don’t get a response the first time. This will show your employers that you are serious about the job.
9, Create a strong Portfolio
Your portfolio is proof of your writing prowess. Freelancers creating a portfolio of work is all the more important. This is because you will have to market and promulgate your abilities, pitch your work to clients for approval. A strong portfolio indicates that you are willing to put in hard work and create authentic articles disseminating information transparently.
Clients will entrust you with work only when they have proof of your credibility as a freelance content writer. A portfolio should include 5-10 articles on any topic on similar topics or as you like based on the kind of work you want to do. In freelancing, a lot of times the entire process of recruitment takes place online. Therefore your portfolio serves as your work experience. It speaks of your competency and skill as a freelance content writer.
Share your content in as many channels as possible
The importance of sharing your work on different platforms has been one of the most shared advisors by industry leaders and digital and content marketers.
Freelancing in content marketing allows you the liberty to spread your wings of creativity and innovation. It also helps you to write on whatever subject you deem fit or can create superior content in.
Without sharing those articles on different platforms where you can get potential clients the entire effort will be for nothing. Hence, as soon as you finish writing a piece of work you should strategize to post it on different social media and digital platforms to get maximum exposure and recognition for your writing.
You never know from where you can find great opportunities knocking at your door. The most important platforms are social media channels like Facebook and work, job oriented online platforms like LinkedIn.
Adding your work to your list of credentials in different job sites like Indeed, Naukri, Monster India can also be beneficial for you. Plan your article sharing strategy carefully and distribute your articles to get high-paying clients very quickly.
Manage Time
Freelancing in content writing is a dream job that many aspire to attain. However, since freelancing doesn’t come with the perks of a regular job in an office setting you have to manage your time wisely to optimize your efforts of freelance content writing.
Finding the right time to create content when you are most productive, finishing your work well before the deadline is some of the key traits you need to nurture to have a successful freelancing career in content writing.
Maintain Consistency
Content writing is essentially an ingenious process that requires your innate ability of innovation and vision for success. Maintaining consistency is a key attribute of content writers both in terms of writing and in terms of your tone and style.
Your consistent write-up will build the trust and the factor of being relatable. Consistency in your tone and style of writing eliminates chances of ambiguity between the writer and the reader.
Most of the time freelancing content writing involves writing for many forms of content. The content form has a different tone and style. Some demand you to be neutral, some require a friendly tone, some forms are formal and some informal. As a perceptive content writer, it is your responsibility to strike a balance and maintain uniformity in your writing.
For example, your online consumer is used to you reading your posts that have an affable tone with simple elegant usage of words. If you suddenly change your tone to formal, the bond that you developed over this time will suffer a shift.
Therefore, strive to maintain equilibrium and constancy in your writing. If you get stuck, refer to your previous works and see how you styled it and in which tone.
Patience and Commitment
When you are freelancing in content writing, you will get to work with a variety of clients. Needless to mention these clients have different mindsets and approach towards work. The way they interact with you will also be different.
When you choose a career in freelancing for content writing you will have to make peace with the fact that no two employers/clients will be the same. Therefore you have to develop the attribute of patience to deal with several different people.
As mentioned earlier, time is a very important factor when you are freelancing. You have to show commitment towards your work, find time to sit down, and write to avoid last-minute confusions, inconsistencies and stress.
When you dedicate a certain amount of time for your work every day you will notice that the process of writing becomes easier to manage.
Modules you need to be familiar with
For content writing, you have to be skilled in grammar, vocabulary, and other factors that enrich your content. But the content writing world is vastly competitive.
This means you have to garner knowledge on some modules of the online world that are intricately related to the content writing process and career.
Some of these modules are
- Search Engine Optimization
- Basics Of Web Page Designing
- Email Marketing
- Incisive And Comprehensive Content Marketing
- Writing For Mobile-optimized Web Page
- Organizational Capabilities
- Understanding Of Social Media Sharing Tools
- Audience Survey
- Ability to Measure Content Writing Efforts.
Be quick with response
A lackadaisical approach to freelancing in content writing will only bring harm to your career and reputation. You have to be quick with responses when clients communicate with you regarding a query or confusion.
Keeping it for later will be detrimental to your efforts of increasing your brand equity in the writer’s world. Today there is no dearth of content writers on the web domain.
But very few make it to the top because of the key attributes they adapt and develop. These features make them different from the rest of the crowd and increase the trust and fate of clients in these content writers.
A freelancing career in content writing can mean writing for the following
Blog Posts
The main feature of blog posts is their ability to be able to captivate the reader’s imagination and connect with them. When you write a blog post it should feel like you are communicating with the audience just as if they were sitting right in front of you.
Relevance, authentic information, transparency should be the main characteristics. A good blog post always provides food for thought and generates interest among online readers.
A landing page is a webpage that appears when you click a certain link on search engines. Landing pages influence website visitors to turn them into leads. They also help to build the foundation of trust by providing potential customers incentives to know more about the product, service, and brand.
The landing page for a website should have clarity, concise text, clear interface, and be responsive. It should have a proper call to action with appealing coordination of colors, themes, and text.
White Papers
Freelance content writers often create in-depth white papers, that comprise of exhaustive information on a specific topic or an esoteric subject.
It requires complete research that delves into the various aspects of the topic. White papers are created to disseminate some useful information, highlighting the prominent features of a business brand or enterprise.
Content writers can taste great success in freelancing content writing by specializing in white papers. They are great marketing tools for businesses today.
White Papers promulgate an organization and its products, services to the consumers – potential and existing. White papers are used in B2B a lot and can provide a very well paying interesting job for freelance content writers.
Speeches
Content writers who specialize in speech writing should align their speech content with the tone and personality of a person they are writing the speech for.
Characteristics of speech writing are that it should have an impeccable introductory sentence, clarity, conciseness. There should be a message that could be relevant to the topic at hand.
Video Scripts
Video scripts require you to describe the video in a few words to communicate to the audience the purpose of the video. This helps the viewers to comprehend the video better overall.
Podcasts
Writing for podcasts packs all the attributes of writing impeccable content that should sound natural. Writing should have the property of brevity. You should adhere to the podcast templates while creating the writeup
Case Studies
Case studies require the writing to be innovative and interesting. The most important factor is that it should inspire confidence in the readers. Generally, case studies depict the trials of a business or an individual. Also, how they overcome all their weaknesses and difficulties for a resounding victory in whatever their goal was.
Case studies are not limited to only an individual but can also speak of an organization, a group, or a certain situation and its various activities in development in a certain time frame.
There are many other forms of writing like Ebooks, How-to, feature articles, product reviews, sales pages, analysis reports, email copies, social media post newsletters, and others. Content writers should be efficient in understanding the key qualities of all these forms of different content to be able to write successfully.
FAQs
1. What are the advantages of taking a content writing course?
- You get valuable skills and knowledge
- You develop a professional writing style
- Learn Of Industry best practices
- Get adept at writing different forms of content
- It enhances your chances Starting your Freelance business or starting an agency
2. Are content writing courses available online?
Yes, there are many amazing online content writing courses available. You can check out IIM SKILLS to know more about content writing virtual training programs.
3. How long is a content writing course for generally?
Typically, an exhaustive content writing course is anywhere between 2-5 months. You might have a few more months of internships.
Conclusion
Freelancing in content writing can be extremely rewarding provided you follow the practices that make for great freelance writers. You also should have the drive to search and comb through job portals and sites to find the best-paying jobs.
The next step is to develop the habits of writing stellar content that will help you in getting these freelancing content writing jobs that pay extremely well.
Discipline, consistency, the constant thirst for knowledge, and commitment towards work are some of the features that make you massively successful in this fascinating area of content writing. Once you become an eminent brand, you can choose to work according to your conditions.
