Do you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience?
Becoming a freelance writer when you have no experience can be tough.
Before I began my career as a freelance writer, it seemed that all the jobs advertised needed experience.
But the question I had was, how can I get experience if no one will hire me … because I don’t have experience ??
It’s like an infuriating chicken before the egg argument. All I wanted to know was how to start freelance writing.
Well, I am here to help.
There are 10 things you can do if you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.
But first things first, if you are looking for ways to help you earn an income online and pay your bills, while you are launching your freelance writing career, read these articles :
How To Become A Freelance Writer With No Experience:
- Take a freelance writing course
- Publish your work for free on Contently
- Publish your work for free on Medium
- Create a writer’s website and display your samples
- Create writing samples on Google Docs
- Publish your work for free on Linkedin
- Guest Post
- Publish your work for free on Journoportfolio
- Publish your work for free on Clippings.me
- Apply and write for content mills
- Join FB Groups
- Network With Other Freelance Writers
- Learn SEO
1. Take A Freelance Writing Course
This is the best thing you can do if you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.
You might read this and think, I’m trying to EARN money, not spend money.
I understand.
I was in the same position, but hear me out.
When I began my freelance writing career, I googled lots of free training and tried to learn as much as I could for free. I was learning …but useful information was at different places and some weren’t useful at all!
I was leaning but slowly .. and my bills were racking up O_O
Then I stumbled upon Elna Cain’s ‘Write to 1k’ course. Elna Cain is a stay-at-home mom of twins who has managed to turn her love for writing into a lucrative full-time job. She has written for highly respectable websites like Huffington Post and Smart Blogger.
Initially, I didn’t do anything, I just thought about it for 3 weeks. But then I decided to sell some extra clothes and I used the money to buy the course.
It was the best professional decision I have ever made. All my worries about how to start freelance writing with no experience slowly disappeared.
Within one week I had a fully-fledged writer’s website and 3 new clients.
Her Write to $1k course taught me how to pitch to new clients, where to find jobs and most importantly, it has a 30-day template you just need to follow to get to your first $1k.
If you are ever going to invest in one writing course – please let it be this one. It’s the most useful thing you can do if you want to know how to be a freelance writer with no experience.
There is no way you will finish the 30 days and not win a new client. Her training is THAT good. And I am not making this up, because I took the course myself.
2. Publish Your Work For Free On Contently
Contently is great! You can create a few writing samples, add images and make your writing look professional.
It’s a great way of coming across as competent when you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.
You can even save your freelancers work into different segments and categories and it’s all FREE.
Here is an example of mine here:
Once you have a few samples and since you enjoy writing, you can apply for jobs and include the Contently links for potential clients to review.
I have done that and have successfully secured a few jobs this way.
3. Publish Your Work For Free On Medium
Medium is all the rage at the moment. Even top writers like Elna Cain are writing on it, because of the exposure you get.
It’s free and you can create a few writing samples and upload them on the site
If the readers like it, you might even be paid!
Medium has this ‘Partner Program’ which allows you to be paid for popular articles that their readers enjoyed.
So, start writing ASAP!
4. Create A Writer’s Website And Display Your Samples
If you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience, it’s worth creating your own writer’s website.
Nothing screams professional like a writer with their own writer’s website.
Think about it this way … are you more likely to trust a gadget from a little stall at the side of the road or a shop with its own website and testimonials?
Having your own writer’s website demonstrates you are a professional and credible writer that has taken the time to invest in a website.
She will teach you places to find free theme and free resource to create a website like no other.
Clients are more likely to take you seriously.
‘But I’m no good at IT!’ you bleat.
Join the club. Technology makes me want to do violent things to my computer, but I have 2 solutions for you:
- Follow my FREE step by step guide.
You can read my Step-by- step Guide on How To Create A Writer’s Website and then set one up yourself if you follow the 8 steps!
- Take Elna Cain’s ‘Writer Website in a Weekend’ course
She will teach you how to set up a full-fledged professional website in 2 days.
At this moment it’s only $45!
Think about how much you spend on dinner and movies.
Maybe skip a few date nights and invest in the course and it will transform your writing career.
The Writer’s Website in a Weekend will help you set up a:
- Homepage
- Services/Hire Me Page
- Portfolio
- Contact Page
Here is the website Elna taught me to build from scratch:
5. Create Writing Samples For Free On Google Docs
Good old google docs.
If you want a simple fuss-free way of writing and sharing your samples, you can just save them on Google Docs.
Then you can apply to jobs and when they ask for samples of your portfolio, you send them the Google Docs link.
It’s the easiest way to get started when want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.
Simples 🙂
6. Publish Your Work For Free On Linkedin
Linkedin is great for networking and finding jobs.
It’s also great for showcasing your writing samples.
Go to your Linkedin homepage and click ‘ write an article’ and the below will come up.
Make sure you add images to add color and depth when you write articles.
Lots of potential clients will be able to see your writing. Think of LinkedIn as your local newspaper for recruiters.
It’s a useful technique to use if you want to know how to become a freelance writer and get paid
7. Guestpost
Guest posting is essentially where you write for other websites for free. It helps you get your writing published, if you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience.
It is normally unpaid but some may pay! I have secured new clients that pay well this way.
A really easy way to find guest posts is to google your niche + guest posts.
So for example, if you like to write about vegan food:
Vegan food + guest posts
Write for us + vegan food
Here are some sites that accept guest posts :
Tinybeans– Parenting niche
GoMadNomad– Travel niche (Paid!)
Buzzfeed-Entertainment and Viral content
TODAY– Parenting and Food niche
If you want to know how I pitch my guest posts to these sites, read this.
8. Publish Your Work For Free On Journoportfolio
If you want to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience and you want a place to publish your writing samples for free, Journoporfolio is the perfect option for you.
Journoporfolio is a site that allows you to store your writing samples for FREE.
It looks professional and allows you to have a customizable online writing portfolio, which you can send to potential clients.
9. Publish Your Work For Free On Clippings.me
Clippings.me is another online writing portfolio that allows you to upload your writing content for FREE.
It has a sleek, simple and fuss-free platform that makes it easy for you to use,
All you need to do is write and then upload your articles on the platform and send it to potential clients when they ask for samples.
It is a great platform for new writers!
10. Apply And Write For Content Mills
Content mills are the brokers of the writing world.
They connect freelance writers with clients, however, they don’t pay very well.
But if you are just getting started and want to gain some writing experience, you could take on some writing work, create content, and get paid for it.
It creates opportunities and experience for a writer who wants to know how to become a freelance writer with no experience
The pay will be low but, its better than writing for free right?
My advice is not to spend too long on content mills, just enough to gain some samples so you can begin applying for other better-paying jobs.
Sometimes content mills will advertise, ‘freelance writing jobs no experience’
Here is a list of content mills you can apply to:
- Domainite
- Great Content
11. Join FB Groups
I never saw the value of FB until I responded to an advert in a writing group from an editor looking for finance writers.
This is a great place to find freelance content writing jobs and learn how to start content writing.
I secured a recurring client who still pays me to write for them till today!
If you want to know how to get freelance writing jobs with no experience, Facebook is a useful tool that can help you.
If you need some experience you can offer to do it for free or for lower pay to ensure you get hired.
That way you will have published samples you can use to apply for high paying jobs or you can increase your rate with your existing client!
Here is a list of FB groups you can join
12. Network With Other Freelance Writers
Connections always come in handy, regardless of the industry you’re in. As a freelance writer with no experience, you can start building connections by networking with other freelance writers.
In the freelance writing business, networking is just as crucial as in any other.
A more seasoned writer will be willing to direct you to valuable materials they’ve used in the past, be it with courses or training, provide feedback on your writing samples, and may even refer clients to you when they have their hands full.
If you don’t personally know any writers, you might be able to meet them online through social media. A quick Facebook search will turn up search results of groups for job boards that are frequently updated.
These are some freelancing writing groups you could be a part of and start networking
13. Learn SEO
Learning SEO, or search engine optimization, is another technique to discover how to get a writing career without any prior expertise.
Often, this is what makes a blog or website successful because it aids in a company’s Google ranking, which attracts clients.
Understanding how search engines operate and what factors they use when ranking webpages is crucial for learning SEO.
This involves making your website mobile-friendly, utilizing header tags, and optimizing the titles and meta descriptions on your website.
Learning about off-page optimization is also essential.
Off-page optimization is the term used to describe changes you may make to your website that will help it rank better. Examples of this are building excellent backlinks from other websites and advertising your website on social media.
Here are two courses that can help you enhance your knowledge of SEO
FAQs on How To Become A Freelance Writer No Experience
What Is Freelance Writing?
Have you wondered what is freelance writing with terms like a freelance copywriter, freelance writing services, and freelance writing business turning up online?
Writing for a living while working independently and not for a corporation or organization is known as freelance work.
Whether working from home, in a co-working space, or in a leased office, freelance writers create whatever written content is required by their clients.
Writers may have a wide variety of prospective clients or one customer that provides them with a lot of consistent, continuous work.
There are different kinds of freelance writing, the two popular ones being copywriting and content writing.
Copywriting is the development of text content to influence readers to perform an action connected to a company’s sales process. The objective of copywriting is to bring increase sales.
Content writing entails publishing articles that will inform or engage readers. Although it could also increase sales, that is not its main objective. With content writing, you aim to provide meaningful and high-quality material that will educate or amuse readers.
New freelance writers may try to tackle multiple subjects in their writing but the best practice is to find one freelance writing niche and build credibility in that same niche. Writers who can find niche topics that can bring out their best work tend to have a better potential client.
Why?
When you showcase your writing skills as a new freelance writer specializing in a specific niche, you will show the expertise you have in said niche. For example, if you love writing about home decor and have built a portfolio in that niche, clients in that field can reach out to you to engage in a freelance writing job.
Instead of hiring beginner freelance writers who have a portfolio in multiple niches such as finance, baking, and home decor, they will choose you because you seem to know the most in that niche.
Here is a list of 21 Most Profitable Freelance Writing Niches for you to pursue freelance writing.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Freelance Writer?
If you are wondering how long does it take to become a freelance writer, it can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Why the broad timeline?
Many freelance writers go into this business with all the enthusiasm of earning money but forget two key factors that play a role in how quickly they can become successful freelance writer and that is dedication and patience.
Just like starting any business, you are not going to see profits overnight.
The quicker you set up your portfolio, be it a professional looking website or a Google doc folder, the faster you can send these samples out to clients who may be genuinely interested in hiring writers.
Do not worry about writing speed or spending long hours wondering how to become a content writer, get your samples up and start looking out for clients.
How Do I Start Finding Freelance Writing Jobs?
Finding freelance writing jobs can seem intimidating, especially if you are a beginner but the freelance writing industry is huge and you can get jobs from any one of these sites.
1. Find Job Boards
Responding to remote work advertising is your best chance if you’re new to freelancing and want to locate excellent tasks. It is also the principal strategy used by many aspiring writers to get constant work.
You can submit a proposal in response to job postings for freelance writers made by small enterprises, entrepreneurs, and start-ups.
Look into the sections of these websites dedicated to remote writing jobs and find freelance writing clients!
A rate for the work may be mentioned in the job description or you may be requested to provide your pricing.
Although there are paid employment boards available, I advise trying the free ones first, and these few ones below are a great place to start:
2. Use A Writer Website
Having a good website is one of the greatest approaches to drawing in high-paying customers, though, if you are just getting started, this might not be a choice for you right now.
Perhaps you maintain a personal blog that you set up in your own time. You may most certainly utilize your website to advertise your freelance writing services, in the form of a blog post.
I understand that as a beginner, this may seem hard because even when I started freelance writing, I did not have a freelance writing website. However, a great course that I would recommend is Elna Cain’s course Writer’s Website in a Weekend.
3. Free Guest Post
Although this may seem counter-productive when you start freelance writing, when you are starting out, trying to find clients, you do not have published work to land clients.
This is why guest post is great! Even though you are writing for free, you get to showcase your work being published to potential clients which will give you an added advantage as opposed to other freelance writers.
Guest posting is amazing because hundreds of thousands of people will read your writing when you guest post on well-known websites and you can bet that at least one of them is a potential customer. This is how I was able to begin expanding my clientele after initially developing my portfolio.
Pitching to job advertising is fantastic, but it will be difficult, to gain a quality client if you do not have a strong collection of examples, particularly from works that have been published on other people’s websites.
Another key component of successful freelance writing is the type of clients you write for, when you have strong companies in your portfolio, you have a higher chance of getting better-paying work.
Tips On How To Become A Better Writer When Writing Online
Here are some tips that you can implement and stand out compared to other writers.
1. Always Hunt For Work
If you are to choose freelance writing as a career path, one thing to remember is that the quality clients are out there, and is your job to find them.
Look up employment sites online or introduce yourself to the content director in an email to prospective clients. You must constantly search for new freelance writing jobs if you want to maintain earning money and avoid downtime between tasks.
Connect with experienced writers so they may refer you to clients when they are booked up.
2. Learn SEO
More businesses require materials that will direct customers to them.
They will want content marketing writers that understand the fundamentals of SEO and how to raise the ranking of their website in search results.
If you want to know how do i become a freelance writer, and an exceptional one at that, learn SEO.
SEO is great to reach the target audience that your client is seeking.
Have a fundamental understanding of how search engine optimization functions as a freelance writer and know where to strategically position keywords to increase web traffic to the company’s website.
When it comes to SEO, a list of keywords targeted at a certain phrase or category will be provided by a customer looking for SEO content. As the writer, you can make use of these keywords and incorporates them into your article in various ways.
This course on SEO Sucess for Beginners is a great place to start!
3. Start Cold Pitching
Come up with pertinent article ideas and begin pitching them to the publications or newspapers you wish to write for because you probably have your own thoughts running through your brain if you are a writer.
You would be surprised to learn the effectiveness of cold pitching to land freelance writer jobs.
When it comes to this, I know it is tempting to create a single cold-pitch email and send it repeatedly, merely changing the company’s name and business.
However, this may come off as spam-like emails to the eyes of the recipient.
The secret is to include a blank space in your template where you may add one or two unique sentences for each customer.
You must show that you genuinely want to be part of their business and that you are willing to put enough effort to do some research on their company.
Also, you must promptly explain to them how you may benefit their business without criticizing it.
If you notice that there is some content on their site that needs to be updated, portray it in a way that your services will be of use to them.
When you cold pitch to a potential client, identify ways to benefit them.
You need to ensure that your email does not get deleted in a blink of an eye and that the client notices the effort you have placed to better their site.
4. Produce Tidy Work
When I say tidy work, I mean work that has been screened through for minute errors. If the editor or client has to point out a grammatical error in every paragraph, you know there is a problem.
It is crucial that you submit writing assignments with error-free text and this entails editing and proofreading your own work. Make sure your phrases are succinct, clear, and simple to understand.
Check your writing for errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling by going through it word by word and line by line.
If you think your writing work could be polished, just go and search for youtube videos on how to improve your writing. There are plenty of results for anyone who loves and loved writing to watch!
Bonus tip! – Read through this article on Freelance Writing Courses That Will Transform You Into A Six-Figure Writer for free course and paid ones.
5. Feedback Is Essential
In this business, you are bound to receive feedback on your writing and as a beginner, developing a thick skin is essential.
This tip is essential when it comes to how to become content writer.
You will receive comments on your work from your clients where sometimes you will turn in a flawless article, and other times you will need to spend a lot of time revising. Do not take criticism personally.
If you are going to be beaten down with every bad feedback that comes your way, you will find yourself being demotivated fast, which will then lead to self-doubt.
Writing for a client is producing the content they require while adhering to their brand’s unique voice and tone.
Successful writers take criticism in stride, implement the suggested modifications, and use the experience to advance their writing experience.
Remembering that every feedback is the key to becoming a better writer in your freelance writing career will help you improvise your writing skills when you start freelance writing.
Ask any experienced writer and they are bound to agree with this tip!
How To Be A Content Writer With No Experience?
- Choose A Profitable Niche
- Create A Portfolio
- Always Upskill
Choose A Profitable Niche
Before jumping to any other steps of how to become a content writer with no experience, you must decide on the niche you want to write about.
Some content writers are generalists who cover a wide range of topics. Others, though, choose to focus on a certain specialization.
I would highly advise you to do niche down if you want to increase your income.
Writers in a specific niche have expertise that people are prepared to pay for. They specialize in a certain area of writing and establish themselves as authorities who can easily earn more money.
To get started, read this article on 21 Most Profitable Freelance Writing Niches (In 2023) to decide which niche suits you best!
Create A Portfolio
Just like how a model has a portfolio of his or her best shots, when you are a content writer figuring out how to be a content writer, a portfolio is your best friend.
Samples of the work that you have produced as a freelancer will be used by potential clients to evaluate your writing abilities.
Even if you have no prior experience writing professionally, a strong writing sample can help you land entry level freelance writing jobs.
Always Upskill
If you want to know how to get into freelance writing with no experience, learn how to upskill.
You must be eager to learn if you want to succeed and stop wondering how to start freelance writing with no experience.
You might need to pick up new writing techniques or writing styles. Get a course to upskill yourself like this one on How To Become A Freelance Writer In 60 Days.
Learn how to manage the business end of freelancing, if you have been wondering how to start a freelance writing business.
So try to upskill. How can you provide the best value to your clients? Why should your clients give you recurring work? What sets you apart from other freelance writers?
How Much Does A Freelance Writer Earn?
Aside from how to start a writing career with no experience, the other question that pops up is the money you can make with this job.
According to Zip Recruiter, a freelance writer in the United States can earn approximately $68,690 annually.
When you are searching for freelance writing jobs for beginners with no experience, making a living as a freelance writer can be quite difficult at first.
However, if you secure your first round of freelance writing assignments and compile a portfolio, things will undoubtedly pick up.
Just like with everything in life, experience pays. You will be able to more effectively target your writing to an intended demographic and charge higher fees when you comprehend and can clearly communicate the worth of your writing to clients.
If you charge by the word as most freelancers do, your pay will primarily depend on how quickly you write and the price you agreed to.
Though certain content simply takes longer to write than other sorts, your writing speed will undoubtedly improve over time.
When I first started, it would take me a couple of days to produce a 1000-word article. Now, I can whip them up in an hour. I didn’t get here overnight, I had to practice and build a portfolio to get to where I am now.
Keep producing content, always provide value to your clients, and you will make a decent earning from freelance writing in no time.
How Do I Charge For These Content Writing Jobs?
Depending on the niche, the rate is around $0.05 – $1.00 per word.
The issue is that price is a complicated topic – it is a problem for freelancers regardless of their levels of experience.
It’s unlikely that you’ll start off by making a fortune, and increasing prices for existing clients is difficult. You can increase your rate for every new client you work with.
Remember, you don’t always need to raise your rate but it is something to consider as you gain more experience.
If you are unsure how to raise your rates, try raising them by $0.01 per client per word instead. It’s a steady pace of increment and you will feel rewarded.
However, whenever possible, I advise charging per project rather than by word.
Not all clients will be amenable to this – many prefer the per-word scenario and that is because everyone has a set budget to work with. Be clear on the pricing before embarking on a project with a client.
Skills Needed On How To Freelance Write
Now, when it comes to freelance writing no experience and landing freelance writing jobs for beginners, no degree in English or literature is needed.
Anyone can become a freelance writer!
However, how to get into freelance writing? There are some skills that you can sharpen to stand out from the sea of freelance writers out there.
Some of the skills are:
- Good research abilities because you might need to obtain data on a number of subjects.
- Good communication skills will reflect how well an assignment is understood. If your communication skill is poor, you might not deliver the output your client is seeking.
- You need to be able to take criticism and feedback in stride and make the required changes to your work.
- As you are in charge of scheduling your leisure time and workload, organizational skills are crucial.
- Be proactive in finding new customers and establishing connections with them.
Can I Be A Freelance Content Writer On Different Topics?
Yes, you can produce articles that focus on many topics.
Make a list of concepts or niches to write about after doing research on the markets you wish to work in. Then, create writing examples and upload them to your website under several categories.
Try to make contact with businesses that cater to these many specialized sectors, and send over your interest to work with the company together with the URLs to your writing samples.
Conclusion
How to become freelance writer with no experience shouldn’t be difficult. You just need to work hard, look for opportunities and follow the 11 tips above and you will be on your way to becoming a well-paid freelance writer.
Did I miss out on any tips or can you think of any questions I didn’t answer?
Please share them in the comments below!
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