Experience in the job gives an edge; however, the most integral part lies in the ability to get the job done. For this reason, this article aims to enlighten you on the prerequisite steps to take in order to land premium writing gigs, even as a novice.
For most wannabe and newbie writers, the fear of not being paid well gets them frightened and worried, leaving them in search of premium writing gigs.
To help you out, we’ve put together possible actions you can take in order to win a premium writing gig as a novice.
How Much Can I Make As A Novice Freelance Writer?
Whether you are just starting out as a freelance writer or you’re already a master in the game, the price range for freelance writers differs according to factors like timing, per word, project type, etc. Nonetheless, specific data on the average earnings of writers has been made available.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), writers and authors (as a general category) make, on average, $61,820 annually. This sum works out to a little less than $30/hour ($29.72 to be exact.)
Glassdoor has the average for “freelance writer” down a bit to $42,120, annually.
On PayScale.com, a part-time freelance writer’s salary is put somewhere in the range of $24,000 – $115,000.
In order to land a premium writing gig as a beginner, you need to master the art of selling yourself, improving yourself, and utilizing some of the techniques that’ll be listed in a few lines. Let’s get running!
SEE ALSO: 7 Tips On How To Hire A Freelance Tech Writer For Your Business
#1 Choose a Niche
Choosing a niche helps you narrow down your search for premium writing gigs and gives you room for mastery.
Ensure you choose a niche you are familiar with; this will give you a certain level of command when you’re bidding for jobs. In addition to that, you will also be able to predict the difficulty level of a particular job, thus knowing how much is ideal.
If you choose the right niche and put some effort into branding, it will be much easier to become an expert in that field, unlike when you choose to be the jack of all trades.
#2 Be specific on your service offerings
This is one major decision you need to make as you kickstart your writing career. The more specific you are about your services, the easier it becomes for your potential clients to locate you.
#3 Start with free job boards
After niching down and specifying your services, the next step to take is to go job-hunting via job boards. Niching down makes the search easier by pulling up a list of available jobs in your particular niche and not just random results.
There are plenty to choose from, but here are some of my favorite places to find paid writing jobs online:
#4 Start Cold pitching
Cold pitching is an amazing way to land premium writing gigs. Here, you contact bloggers, entrepreneurs, companies, small businesses, or start-ups and let them know how your services can be of relevance to them.
Once you locate these places, all you have to do is draft up a cold pitch and send it off to the right person! This can be the hardest step and takes the longest, but, in the end, you’ll have a list of businesses and contact information to pitch to.
In your pitch make sure you include:
- How you found out about them
- Who you are
- How you can help them
Here are some of the best tips for leveraging LinkedIn and any other social media platform to find paid writing work:
- Use keywords and hashtags that reflect your niche and what you do as a writer in your profile
- Upload related images, posts, and any other information that aligns with your profession
- Update your skills
- Build your connections to 500+ by reaching out to other freelancers, editors, and content managers in your niche
- Join writing communities
#6 Pitch to a writing marketplace
Signing up on a freelance marketplace is ideal. You can come on board on sites like writersGig where you get to create a gig that explains the services you offer and watch buyers come for you.
In a writer’s marketplace, you have the ability choose and negotiate offers.
#7 Create a website
Creating a website is one of the best ways to attract high-paying clients. Having a professional outlook is guaranteed when creating a website.
As a newbie, it’s understandable that you may not have all it takes to run a website; nonetheless, if you can, it’s worth the shot.
#8 Write guest posts for free
Writing guest posts for free on popular websites helps you gain insight, experience, and increased visibility online. Through this means, you get to pitch yourself to your potential clients through your published works.
In addition to putting yourself in front of potential clients, writing guest posts helps you build a portfolio of work samples you can cite when the need arises.
And don’t forget to draft your author bio. This is the best piece of copy you have to convince readers to come over to your site.
SEE ALSO: Ultimate Guide to Hire a Freelance Finance Writer
#9 Network with other freelance writers
Networking with other freelance writers is something that can be done online and offline. You can get started by joining writing communities on social media and also looking out for active writing communities in your locality.
Networking with other writers makes it easier for you to understand the workings of the industry.
Upgrading to premium job boards gives you easy access to premium writing gigs. This is a place where you find high-paying freelance writing jobs for beginners.
The pro of using a paid job board is that the jobs tend to better quality and offer a higher pay rate.
The con, of course, is that you’re paying a fee to find them. But if you’re serious about making money as a freelance writer, premium job boards can help you find top-notch clients.
#11 Build your credibility
Writing guest posts, eBooks, collaborating with notable industry experts, and engaging in writing events is one good way you can use to increase visibility in your niche, which propels you into landing premium writing gigs.
These credibility boosters can help you add your list of accomplishments that you can highlight on your portfolio and simultaneously demonstrate your knowledge for more potential clients to see. The wider you can broadcast your message, the more influence you’ll build within your niche.
- WritersGig
- Contena
- Writers Work
- nDash
- Robert Half
- Creative Circle
- Artisan Creative
- Medium
- Glassdoor
- Be a Freelance Blogger
- Journalism Jobs
- Remote.Co
Tips on How to Use Premium Websites for Freelance Writers to Get Gigs
1. Look at the pros and cons of both paid and free websites
There are both paid and free sites for professional writers.
Maybe you want to know if websites that pay freelancers are better than those that don’t.
Of course, in some ways. That’s because paid websites might have job ads for freelancers that no one else has seen. This is true, in my experience, with FlexJobs and Contena.
That being said, neither the value of free websites nor the quality of the work they offer are reduced.
Personally, I’ve found several fantastic jobs through free job sites. One of my longest-serving and highest-paying clients—six plus years—was found by me via a free job page, WritersGig.
Which one should I now use?
Premium job boards can be well worth the money if you can afford to pay for one or two of them. $15 a month is insignificant if you often land gigs that pay $500 or $1,000 or more.
However, free job boards can assist you in getting your initial writing jobs if you have no money. You can put some of the money you make back into a premium membership on a freelance writing job board after you start making money.
2. Adjust your profile
Upon joining, certain freelance writing websites need you to fill out a biography.
This is a fantastic chance to highlight your abilities and background, which may help you connect with the appropriate jobs.
Be detailed when you build your profile on a website for freelance writers.
Connect all of the social media platforms you use to promote your writing services as a freelancer. Include a link to your work or blog.
Emphasize all-important writing experience, whether it comes from previous or current clients.
Play up whatever prior writing experience you have, even if it’s just for your church newsletter or college newspaper, if you haven’t done any paid writing.
Remember to provide any clips or demos as well!
This can be a chance for potential clients to read your writing. The best way to get writing examples if you don’t already have any is to start a blog.
3. Make a pitch every day
You can only go so far looking at websites for freelancers. You will finally need to respond to the job postings you are seeing.
Pitching every day helps with this.
Effective pitching, which might take the form of cold emailing or submitting an application, is important to being a successful freelance writer.
Writing for a living is a numbers game. It is more likely that you will receive an offer of employment the more pitches you send.
Consider it.
Seven days a week, ten pitches a day, means seventy pitches. That’s seven paid writing jobs, even if only 10% are picked!
Thus, make it a habit to regularly check your favorite list of websites for freelance writing. It’s even better if the websites post fresh job listings frequently, if they do so daily.
Next, resolve to send a predetermined number of pitches per day. Whether it’s three, five, ten, or more, the idea is to include pitching into your work daily.
This is one of the sure ways to land premium writing gigs.
4. Read the specifications
You’ll gain an understanding of what job posters expect from your applications once you start spending time on freelance writing websites and job boards.
Reading the instructions is another rule that I can’t stress enough in this case.
In other words, don’t send one or ten samples if a job posting asks for three. Send three, as asked by the listing.
Additionally, if it asks for the inclusion of a specific term or phrase, include it. Job postings frequently use this method to screen applicants who didn’t read the listing.
It is okay if you can’t address every item on the job poster’s list.
I’ve applied for jobs for which I wasn’t quite qualified and have been hired despite having insufficient experience since my writing samples were strong enough.
Therefore, don’t think that a job posting must be a perfect fit before applying. However, ensure that the writing samples you send are the best possible.
And, if you don’t already have any samples, blogging is a great way to obtain some!
5. Be careful of scammers
They can waste your time and provide you with no financial gain, scams are the problems of the freelance writer’s life.
Many of them would stop at nothing to exploit inexperienced or seasoned independent workers.
When looking for work on freelance writing websites, keep an eye out for the following warning signs:
- Listings asking for payment in advance.
- Ads that, without a signed contract in hand, want your Social Security number or bank account information.
- Jobs that look too nice to be real. Job ads that fail to provide you with a contract or object when you ask to sign one
- And never forget to trust your instincts if a job posting sounds strange.
READ ALSO: 20 Chrome Extensions For Content Writers That Works
Yes, you can.
You can earn as much as you want and can earn more than $30/hour.
It is recommended that novice freelancers charge between $0.05 and $0.20 per word. Using a 1,000-word blog article as an example, this implies that you can charge between $50 and $200 for every post.
1 Choose a Niche
2 Be specific on your service offerings
3 Start with free job boards
4 Start Cold pitching
5 Polish up and edit your Social media handles
6 Pitch to a writing marketplace
7 Create a website
8 Write guest posts for free
9 Network with other freelance writers
10 Consider upgrading to premium job boards
11 Build your credibility
Final Words
While the writing job might look new to you as a beginner, the prospects therein lie in your ability to master the act and perform optimally well. To get off to a perfect start, do well to utilize any of the aforementioned techniques.
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