7 Tips On How To Become A Freelance Writer

You’ve got your hands on a new notebook, created a pretty Trello board, and made a list of all the productive things you can achieve in the hours you gain back from commuting – your freelancing checklist is coming along pretty nicely! Whether you’ve always wanted to be a freelance writer or it’s something you’ve recently fallen into (in my experience, a bit of both), I’m here to share some tips on how to be just as successful when you take the leap to go self-employed.

1. Let’s Connect

Personally, I found that the most important thing about transitioning from full-time employment to freelancing was reaching out and contacting people. It’s easy to make the assumption that once you update your LinkedIn profile you’ll have work offers flooding in – yet as lovely as that would be; it’s not the case. The reality is that you have to work even harder when starting out as a freelancer (and even when you’re a seasoned freelancer), because all of a sudden it’s you against the world and you’re responsible for your own income, projects and schedule.

Something I’ve always taken the time to do – and highly recommend – is to keep a little black book of contacts, from ex-colleagues to agencies and other business professionals you know or have known at one period of time. Why? Because you never know how you could potentially work together again in the future. I contacted many of my ex-colleagues and also like-minded freelancers I used to work with to let them know I would be self-employed and available to pick up projects. In doing so, I managed to land myself three new clients all through contacting people I know and word of mouth! From this, you can start building your own freelance network.

Who you know really is just as important as what you know, sometimes.

2. Invest In Quality Tools

It’s a pain, I know, you’ve gone from having access to all of the snazzy online tools at your last job, to suddenly having to fork out for them yourself. It’s expensive, granted, but I highly recommend doing your research and selecting a couple of key tools you believe will help you in your work - whether that’s marketing, SEO, social media, or otherwise. Not only will this help you do your job effectively, but it also reduces the stress of some manual jobs that you could perhaps automate – saving you that little bit more time and effort to focus elsewhere.

Better still, many online tools offer a variety of step-by-step guides and online tutorials and videos you can watch and learn from.

Who says you can’t be a one-man band?!

3. Get A Coach

Tools aside, it’s time to start investing in yourself. It’s pretty simple; if you don’t know how to do something, learn from somebody who does. There’s absolutely no shame in asking for help, no matter what age you are or how long you’ve been in business. If it’ll help you grow, it’s worth the investment. Since I’ve been working with a coach, I’ve learned how to better structure my brand online, how to define my editorial pillars, and gained a few tips and tricks of the trade along the way.

4. Keep On Top Of Your Tax

It’s one of the more boring points to consider, but also one of the most important. Gone are the days of your tax being taken care of for you by your employer, (boo), so you need to get on top of this yourself. Freelancing means working for different clients, at different times, for different rates – so you MUST keep your paperwork in check if you want to avoid a trip to stress city! As soon as you get paid for a job, stay up to date by immediately popping 20% of your earnings into a separate bank account – this is a great way to monitor your money, knowing you won't have to panic when that dreaded brown envelope arrives!

5. Build Your Brand

If you’re a freelance writer in addition to your day job, this may not necessarily apply to you, but if you’re looking to freelance full-time and stand out from the ever-saturating crowd, it’s a good idea to start building your brand. Start by defining your KPIs (Key Selling Points) and brand values – these are things that will differentiate you from everybody else. I could talk all day about how to define your editorial pillars, colour scheme, and the importance of staying aligned across your emails, website, or social platforms – but I’ll save that for another blog!

6. Create a Visual Calendar

It’s not for everyone, but I’m a visual learner, so for me creating a colour-coded calendar that I can glance at for project deadlines, client days and meetings, was one of the first things I did. Whether you feel like being fancy with pretty organisational tools such as Trello, or simply using your Google Calendar to track your schedule – give it a go, it’ll help you stay on top of multiple projects.

7. Expect Imposter Syndrome To Creep In

Not quite a tip on how to become a freelance writer, but an important one to note nonetheless. Don’t worry, it’s not an actual disease you can catch, but Imposter Syndrome is a problem for many freelancers – especially when you’re just starting out. It’s a psychological pattern in which an individual feels as though they are a fraud, often doubting their achievements and not believing that they are worthy enough to dish out the advice that they do. Another common factor is not feeling as though they deserve the amount of money they are charging for their work.

“Will anyone take me seriously?”, “Why would clients pay me that rate?”, “Does anyone even care about what I’m promoting?”, the list goes on. The only advice I have to give in this respect is to simply believe in yourself and your ability to do what you do and let this uncomfortable feeling pass – it’s all part of our growth.