Start Freelance Writing the Easy Way

Woman writing on a laptopIt’s ten a.m. on a Tuesday morning. Brittany sits on her couch, diligently working on her next assignment. She has about an hour before it’s due. She isn’t worried though. The small smile on her face tells us she has it under control. She keeps writing.

45 minutes later. Click. Her work is done, a thing of beauty. She rewards herself with a sip of coffee.

Brittany is a professional freelance writer and blogger. She has an eager audience of faithful readers and a large email list. Also, she has been featured on some of the biggest online publications.

Brittany writes with confidence and style. Her posts get multiple shares on Twitter and Pinterest. Therefore, every day her subscriber count increases. Above all, she earns a large income from her blogging and freelancing. In other words, she’s a great writer.

If you’re new to freelance writing you might wonder, how did she do this? How did she go from being a new writer to a successful professional? How did she learn how to write online content?

Well, there’s good news. The good news is it’s easier than ever to learn everything you need to become a freelance writer.

Keep reading and you will learn the easiest way to gain experience as a freelance writer.

Writing Your Own Blog

The easiest way to gain freelance writing experience is to have your own blog. You can read successful blogs day and night. You can sign up for free writing courses and read thousands of great writing tips. However, none of that will matter much if you don’t apply it by writing. Starting your own blog is a great way to apply everything you’ve been learning.

Now, you might be saying “I don’t know how to write a blog”. Actually, you know more than you think. If you’ve been looking to become a freelancer, you’ve probably read a dozen blogs about it including this one. That’s a lot of great info and it is enough for you to start your own blog.

Having your own blog is not only great for learning how to write better, but it is also fantastic for establishing yourself as an expert. You can do this by writing blog posts that are about blogging and your niche(s).

Writing about Blogging

So, in all those blogs you read, you’ve learned a lot about the business of writing. Maybe you have learned about hosting websites like BlueHost, GoDaddy, and Squarespace. Or you’ve probably learned about heard about SEO and SMO. After that, you might have even learned about popular job boards like ProBlogger. All of these are topics you can use to write your first blog posts.

You might think writing about blogging is silly. It’s not. Some successful blogs only write about blogging. Plus, if you look at Google trends you will see how popular the topic of blogging actually is.

Google Trends report on blogging

Blog writing is also one of the easiest types of writing for a beginner freelancer to learn how to do. For many freelancers, a blog post was the first thing they were ever paid to write. Therefore, if you want to be a freelancer, you need to learn how to blog. Why not blog about what you’re learning about how to blog?

Writing about Your Niche(s)

Another great thing to blog about is your niche(s).

First of all, what’s a niche? If you don’t know, a niche is the main topic you want to write about. For example, your niche could be parenting. With that niche, your blog posts can be about anything a parent might want to know. For example, you could write a How-To blog on potty training. Similarly, you could write a List Post on the best healthy snacks for a preschooler. Both of these are great blog post topics in the parenting niche.

Parent and child looking at a laptop

This can be done with any niche even when you don’t know a lot about it yet. Remember, a personal blog is a chance to write about what you’re learning not just what you know. These posts, in particular, will become key when you start looking for a job. Blog posts you’ve written can be part of your portfolio that you use to show your writing skills and expertise.

Ready? Set? Write!

So, are you ready to start your freelance writing career? Are done dreaming, wishing, and hoping to become a freelance writer? Are you ready for action? Good news! Your career can start right now with your own blog.  Go ahead and get started.

First, choose a hosting platform. I recommend you pay to self-host your blog. It’s pretty cheap to start and in the long run, it will give you the freedom to run your business. Afterward, use the tutorials to set up your blog and get it ready for launch. Finally, write your first blog post! It can be a welcome blog. Or, even better a blog about blogging or your niche(s).

If you found this post helpful, please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.

The Truth About How to Write a Blog Post Revealed

Have you ever read a great blog post? Do you wonder how a writer creates consistently great blog posts? Do you want to write great blog posts? You can.

Yes, you!

You may not believe it, but writing is easier than it looks. Often we put great writers on a pedestal. We treat authors like J.K. Rowling like she is one of the wizards in her books. However, writing is not magic. Writing is a process. If you know the process, then you can write great content.

The process of writing can be explained in three simple steps: researching, drafting, and editing. Seriously, that’s it. All good writers do these three things for everything they write, from Shakespeare to Neil Patel. If you learn how to do these three simple steps, you will write great content too.

The Key to Good Research: Be Specific

If you’re going to write about something you will need information. You might remember your English teacher in high school saying the first step to writing a paper is your outline. Well, that’s not quite true. Think about it. Do you ever buy anything without doing some research? No, of course not. Before you commit to a purchase you learn about a product. It’s the same way with writing. To ensure you are creating the best content possible, you need to gather good information.

Research can be as simple as a Google search on your phone. Let’s stick with our shopping analogy.

For example, if you wanted to buy a coat you could type “coat” and see something like this.

This result can help you find a bunch of coats. A bunch of coats! You could search for hours looking for the right one. So instead of a generic search, be more specific. If you need a coat for cold weather like rain and snow, you could search for a knee-length black winter coat. Results on a coat like that would be far more useful to you.

Being specific with your research is key to starting your writing process. Think about the topic you want to write about. It can be generic like a coat. Then ask yourself, “what do I really want to know about my topic?” If you ask yourself this question you will make your research more specific.

Once you find the information you need to keep it. Take notes, make it a favorite, or send a link to yourself. You need to keep track of where you get your information from.

Why You Need an Outline

Now that you have your information you can start to write. Here is when you create an outline. Depending on your style, your outline can be a bullet point list with keywords or a collection of notes with details of what you want to say. Either way, this is where you begin your draft.

Use the classic introduction, body, and conclusion format. Doing this type of outline will keep you organized and prevent writer’s block.

For instance, a basic outline of this post might look like this.

  • Introduction
  • Research
  • Drafting
  • Editing
  • Conclusion

It may not look like much, but it is a key step in the writing process. By having this outline you describe the key topics of the post and the order in which they appear. This not only helps your reader it helps you. On the internet, large blocks of text are harder to read. If you break up your content into different sections and headings, you improve the reader’s experience.

Okay, you have your information and you have your outline. Now, start writing.

Yes, I know this part can be frustrating. It can even be scary. Still, it has to be done. Writers write. You can’t stare at the blinking cursor forever. So, start writing.

Woman holding her head in frustration

Great Editing Requires Great Tools

So, you’ve taken your information and put it into your outline. You have a draft, a first draft. Good news, the hardest part is over. Whether your draft just needs a quick spell check or it needs to be run through Grammarly, the process is almost complete.

Speaking of Grammarly, it’s a great tool.

Most of us are not grammar nerds. If you are, that’s awesome! But if you’re not you don’t have to struggle by editing your work yourself. Use great tools like Grammarly. It’s free and easy to use. Plus, even if you are great with grammar it can still point out little things that will make your writing even better.

Let’s Recap What We’ve Learned

Did you start by researching your topic? Were you specific with your search? Did you keep the information you found? Good.

Did you create an outline? Did you write a draft? Great.

Did you edit your work with a tool like a spellcheck or Grammarly? Awesome!

Congratulations! You have learned the three simple steps of the writing process. Now obviously blog posts are more than just the words. Blog posts have pictures, links to click on, and sometimes even graph for data. If you don’t know how to do that, there is a ton of info out there to help you. Still, you have completed the heart of your content. Great job! If you follow this process, your writing will improve and your audience will grow.

If you found this post helpful, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.