How To Become A Freelance Content Writer For Beginners

Introduction

In a digital landscape teeming with endless opportunities, the allure of becoming a freelance content writer beckons aspiring wordsmiths to embark on a journey of creativity, expression, and financial independence.

Yet, amidst the sea of voices clamoring for attention, many find themselves adrift, unsure of where to begin freelance writing in this competitive arena.

If you're one of those eager souls yearning to carve a niche for yourself in the realm of content writing, you've come to the right place.

This comprehensive guide is your compass, guiding you through the labyrinthine paths of content writing with actionable insights, invaluable tips, and practical advice.

From the budding freelance writer seeking to launch their career to the seasoned wordsmith aiming to refine their craft, this guide caters to all levels of expertise in content creation.

Whether you're fueled by passion, driven by the desire for passive income, or simply intrigued by the prospect of sharing your thoughts with the world, the journey starts here.

Join us as we delve into the nitty-gritty of content writing, unravel the mysteries of effective freelance writing, and unveil the secrets to getting noticed by your audience. 

From leveraging free tools and resources to honing your skills through continuous learning, we'll equip you with the knowledge and confidence to embark on your writing odyssey.

So, buckle up and prepare to unleash your creativity, ignite your passion, and chart a course towards content writing success. The adventure awaits, and the pen is poised—let's begin.

Why You Should Start Freelance Content Writing

There are many reasons why you might choose to become a freelance content writer. Some of these are explained here.

1. Flexibility: Enjoy the freedom to write from anywhere, anytime, and set your own schedule.

2. Creativity: Exercise your creative freelance content writing muscles while exploring diverse topics and writing styles.

3. Financial Independence: Earn income on your terms, with the potential for high earnings based on your content output and expertise.

4. Personal Growth: Constantly learn and develop new skills relating to freelance content creation while expanding your knowledge across various subjects.

5. Work-Life Balance: Achieve a healthier balance between work and personal life, with the ability to prioritize what matters most to you.

6. Networking Opportunities: Connect with clients, industry experts, and fellow writers, expanding your freelance writing network and opportunities for collaboration.

7. Portfolio Building: Build a diverse portfolio of freelance writing that showcases your skills and expertise, attracting more clients and opportunities.

8. Global Reach: Reach clients and audiences worldwide, transcending geographical boundaries and expanding your reach.

9. Autonomy: Enjoy content writing autonomy and independence in your professional writing, making decisions that align with your goals and values.

10. Impact: Make a difference by sharing your knowledge, insights, and stories, influencing and inspiring others through your engaging freelance writing.

How To Start Writing

We are in a world of competition. Every single thing you choose to do, thousands (if not millions) are already doing it. And becoming a content writer is not an exception.

So you are confused. You don't know where to start. You still want to start. You need to pull the trigger.

Now you are thinking of taking online courses. You are thinking of paying well-known content writers to help. You've been told you need to "be fully aware of how to wash your hands if you want to eat with the elders" in the business.

But you are low on budget. You are just trying to start a new life adventure, the adventure of freelance writing.

You need tools to start with. You are thinking of who to learn from. You are brainstorming what, how, and for whom to write.

What if I told you you can achieve your dream by using free tools, taking free lessons and getting free traffic all to writing?

In this section, you will get to know top tips that can help you save thousands of dollars while honing your skills as a new content writer. So let's get right into it.

1. Write freely

Writing contents can be borne out of passion and adventure, something you just enjoy doing. But writing contents can also be a business, a means to passive income.

If you take it as a passion or an adventure, you have more than 50% of the work readily done for you.

But if you take it as a business, then you need to work on a lot of things to really profit from it.

For most beginners, jumping into blogging without some real-world experience may be overwhelming.

Third party platforms like Medium offer an opportunity to guest-post while driving traffic to your blog. But you may still find it hard to get noticed because its a survival of the best.

To start off, I always recommend you start with Blogger. To register on Blogger and start a free website, go to blogger.com and register with your email address.

Why am I recommending Blogger?

• Also read: 50 FAQs About Blogger Platform

With Blogger, you can save the cost of domain name, cost of web hosting, cost of unending plugins, and Blogger allows you to publish your thoughts, research, and experience on a topic you have chosen to write on.

So you are really saving a lot of cost by starting a Blogger website today.

Additionally, by using Blogger as your starting platform, you have access to a range of custom templates and themes to give your content site a professional feel that you desire and you can modify the thematic design from time to time.

Obviously you won't need plugins for a lot of things and your website can still do well.

Don't worry about how imperfect your articles can be at the beginning. Try posting a few articles while you get better at writing. There are always opportunities for improvement.

Once you grow on this platform and you have mastered your game, you can begin to serve clients with paid writing, lobby for writing jobs on platforms like LinkedIn, and commercialize your talent and skills for more financial rewards.

So begin first by writing freely on your blog.

2. Take free lessons

For every task you need to execute to start your freelance content writing be it on a website, or for your clients, you can get all skills you need by taking free lessons.

Taking paid classes, lessons, and courses on freelance content writing, search engine optimization (SEO), and content writer dos and don'ts can be helpful when taken through experienced teachers and trainers, and of course, are by far the most talked about when it comes to becoming a freelance content writer.

While I am a fan of "taking lessons", I am not also a fan of "paid lessons".

You ask why.

First, freelance writing is more of an art than a field of study.

It means you need to get your hand dirty if you want to write well.

Besides, as a beginner, you are mostly on budget. You just want to try something out in the freelance writing niche, in this case, content writing. Therefore, you need free lessons to start freelance content writing.

Most top YouTubers have great talent on how to start freelance content writing. Many of them offer short, easy to use tips for content writing. Additionally, they run live sessions where any new content writing enthusiast can take notes and ask questions live.

You also get the opportunity to meet newbies like you in the business of creating contents.

YouTubers generously roll out full detailed courses for free especially for new and experienced writers for different niches with real-life examples. Their courses on freelance writing often offer the best, in-depth, most comprehensive breakdown of "how-tos" and are completely online.

In fact, what you learn from the thousands of their followers (subscribers) sometimes are more value-packed than what you take home from the YouTuber himself. Attend freelance content writing live sessions, watch pre-recorded videos from top YouTubers and you are saving a whole lot of money on your journey to becoming an expert yourself.

Do not forget: the best lessons are those taken while applying the lessons learned immediately.

3. Get free traffic and use free tools

Now you have mastered different skills about freelance writing. And maybe you've created some writing contents alongside, how do you put your content in the face of your target audience?

After that, how do you get enough traffic to your page? How do you get noticed?

Using the example of Blogger, once every article or post is published, you need to add your article URL to Google Search Console. Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google that helps website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site's presence in Google Search results.

It provides insights into how Google's search engine perceives your site, including information on search traffic, indexing status, and potential issues that could affect visibility.

Another handy tool to track your blog's performance is the Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic.

It provides valuable insights into visitor behavior, including how users find and interact with a website, allowing website owners to make data-driven decisions to optimize their online presence and improve performance.

All these tools are made for your blog for free by Google.

Additionally, use ChatGPT for proofreading and editing, adjusting the length and depth, create a meta description, suggest attractive blog titles, and even organize your article for SEO. Particularly, ChatGPT can thoroughly proofread and edit the article to correct any grammatical errors, improve clarity, and ensure consistency in style and tone.

Lastly, to reach an immediate audience, you need to have pages on facebook, WhatsApp (broadcast option), twitter, as well as other social media platforms where you can share links to your blog articles for free and get eternal traffic.

Be aware that a high-quality content is more likely to be shared and linked to, which can positively impact its search engine ranking.

• Also read: Tips For Boosting Your Website's Ranking As A Nigerian Blogger

4. Engage

To keep and even grow an audience from start, you need to serve a defined group or class of users that your contents benefit most.

As a complete novice as a freelance writer, you will spend the first couple of articles and posts writing on different topics that come to your mind mostly. Topics are in their billions.

While this is expected, you can take a rather different, less grueling approach to writing. That is by selecting a few content topics you want your blog to kick off with and switch writing on different topics as time goes on.

This allows you to determine what you are really enjoying while you write on a myriad of topics. With time, you'll feel more enlivened writing on certain areas than others. Be on the lookout.

I have learned a lot from many bright and talented bloggers in Nigeria and abroad but no one has explained the basic nuts and bolts of getting started writing as I have taught myself.

Leave the rhetoric of creating a competitive niche or what not and start writing. If you feel confident about writing on animals, write on animals. If you feel confident about writing on plants, write on plants. The sky is never a limit for freelance writers.

In essence, never limit yourself to certain topics in your freelance writing journey. Rather, explore various topics of interest to you and always listen to your growing audience.

Also, don't wait until you've amassed all writing skills needed. Just put out something consistently and see your audience grow. Writing is not about being the best. It's about improving on the previous output. It's about continued relevance to what your audience needs.

 

5. Re-engage (consistency)

While it is a herculean task to start any new journey as freelance writing is concerned, it is equally important to be aware that continuing what you have started takes more effort than starting in the first place.

You need to put a plan in place to soar higher in your content writing game. At different points during your journey to writing contents, you will experience a lot of mental blocks. You will seemingly run out of ideas and you will feel like you are loosing track.

All these feelings are normal. So to help you sail through the troubled waters in the content writing adventure, I'll give you a 3R solution to that. They are: relax, refresh, and recover. I will explain them here.

1 Relax:

Stop doing everything that gets you stressed/exhausted at the time you are feeling stressed/exhausted.

2 Refresh:

Start taking on actions that help you regain all the mental, emotional, and physical energy lost.

3 Recover:

Get back on track. Take on new challenges, especially tougher challenges. Tougher challenges make a previous challenge dissipate without a trace. In order words, tougher tasks make a previous task look easy.

Serve your audience with fresh and new information while making reference to existing knowledge. Research on topics you are writing on and publish periodically as frequent as you find it easy.

Conclusion

As we draw the curtains on this journey through the realm of content writing, it's imperative to reflect on the key insights and actionable strategies that have been unveiled.

First and foremost, we've emphasized the importance of embracing writing as both a passion and a business endeavor. Whether you're driven by creative fervor or entrepreneurial ambition, the fusion of artistry and strategy is the cornerstone of success in the digital age.

From leveraging free platforms like Blogger to launch your writing career to tapping into the wealth of knowledge offered by free lessons and tutorials, we've debunked the myth that proficiency in content writing requires a hefty investment.

With determination and resourcefulness, aspiring writers can harness the power of accessible tools and educational resources to hone their craft and propel their freelance writing careers forward.

Moreover, we've underscored the significance of engaging with your audience and nurturing meaningful connections through consistent, high-quality content.

By identifying your niche, refining your voice, and delivering value to your readers, you can cultivate a loyal following and establish yourself as a trusted authority in your field.

Finally, we've highlighted the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of challenges and setbacks. Building a successful freelance writing career requires dedication, discipline, and a willingness to embrace failure as a stepping stone to growth.

By adopting a mindset of continuous learning, implementing, and adaptation, you can navigate the ever-evolving landscape of content writing with confidence and resilience.

Remember that the journey to content writing success is not a sprint but a marathon—a journey of self-discovery, exploration, and evolution.

Armed with the knowledge, skills, and insights gleaned from this guide, you're equipped to embark on your own freelance content writing odyssey with passion, purpose, and unwavering determination.

So, seize the pen, unleash your creativity, and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The world is waiting to hear your voice—let your words ignite the imagination, inspire change, and leave an indelible mark on the digital landscape.

The future of content writing awaits, and the possibilities are limitless.

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