Wondering how to get started freelance writing? Let me guess. Do you dream of getting paid to write, but struggling with understanding how to actually get started freelance writing as a career?

Maybe you’ve come across freebies or courses about breaking into the writing industry. Maybe you’ve found too much information (and got content overwhelm). Or maybe you didn’t find any *real* information yet about how to actually get started.

Whether you’re wanting to understand the basics or find out the nitty gritty about how to start making money as a newbie, I’ve got you covered. The truth is, getting started doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you can start attracting your first set of freelance writing clients from scratch as soon as this week.

Here’s what you’ll need to know. 

In this post, we’ll cover:

• What you need to know before you start
• What you need to have in place
• How to get started
• Where you can find potential clients 
• What to say (or do) to sign on your next client

What you need to know before you start freelance writing

Get clarity about your end game.

So in the beginning, I was the girl who wrote for free just to get clips, signed up for accounts on those competitive freelancer websites, did the cold pitches, and basically anything else everyone else was telling me to do in order to help get my name out there. I struggled a lot doing all the things. That first year, I only made a few hundred dollars a month and was feeling like I was overworked and underpaid. Plus, I HATED feeling like I had to constantly pitch and PROVE myself. 

Instead of hustling and bustling to find a bunch of people to pay me $50 for a blog, over time, I learned how to attract a handful of clients who pay me $1,000 – $2,000 each on average for projects that only take me a day or two to complete. Wayyyyy more ease.

The key is getting clarity about what you ultimately want to do (content over the genre and lifestyle you want for example) and then sticking to it. Doing so allows you to fully understand your position, and get to know who your ideal clients are, what their needs are, and how you can best position yourself to be able to offer the kind of support they really need right now.

Selling is about building relationships.

Here’s the thing. You don’t want to fall into the rat race of submitting content all willy-nilly. And you also don’t want to be “that guy” who sends hundreds of cold, unsolicited DMs/emails that do nothing but annoy and piss people off. You’re better than that (and there’s a better way)!

Full transparency: When I first got started freelance writing, like you, I didn’t know what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to supplement the income I was making at my corporate job and believed there were people out there who were looking for people like me. I knew there was someone I could help!

Over time I realized that selling really comes down to relationships. Once you understand this, you can play the long game and work on forging genuine relationships within your network. In doing so, you can truly figure out if you have a solution someone desires before ever having to shoot your shot.

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If you don’t have the money, you have to have the time.

Not to sound cliche, but I’ve tried A LOT of things and documented what action steps worked for me and what hadn’t worked (yet). The truth is you can get started freelance writing, and you can get started doing things the easier way from the very beginning instead of doing things the harder way as I did and self-correcting over time.

In the beginning, I was being very cheap with the information I learned (and that took me a long time, like YEARS to finally piece together all the things). One thing that worked for me the fastest was when I made the decision to start investing in people and things that ultimately helped me collapse time. Now, I’m not saying go spend your money on everyone all willy-nilly. I’m not even saying spend your money on buying any of my trainings – IF it doesn’t make sense for you to do. What I am saying is that sometimes making the investment that your gut is pointing you to is a lot of times a nudge you have to follow in order to collapse time.

However, if you don’t have the money, you have to have the time. So if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, here’s everything you need to know to get started freelance writing. 

So if you’re ready, let’s dive in!

How to get started freelance writing

What you need to have in place to get started freelance writing

Pick a passion. 

Now, this is something you may or may not already know, but freelance writing is a very broad field. Before doing anything else, you need to decide what type of writing you’re most passionate about pursuing. What content type do you prefer writing? What field of freelance writing excites you the most? 

Some people refer to this phase of the thought process as picking a niche. You’ll want to decide if you will do freelance blogging, copywriting, technical writing, scriptwriting, grant writing, ghostwriting, etc. Within that, you can also decide what genres you are most interested in writing as well. This is something you can change over time as you gain more experience and information about what you like.

Perfect your craft. 

If you’re a beginner, you may be thinking you have to become this super amazing writer before you can get paid, but I’ll tell you that is not the case. There is a market for every kind of writer: “freshers”, junior freelance writers, and rockstar writers. Obviously, the more practice you get, the more confidence you will have to put yourself out there and charge more, but you don’t need to write for free as an intern in order to get started freelance writing as a career. 

Your daily work should be focused on perfecting your craft. You can do this by absorbing information about the industry, reading books about freelance writing, and writing pieces others can critique.

Plan the time (daily).

As with any learning curve you’re wanting to overcome, getting started freelance writing will cost you time. It’ll require time doing your due diligence about the industry, perfecting your craft, building your business, sourcing clients, and doing client work to name a few. These are the areas you’ll need to divide your time between.

The good news is you can do a lot of the heavy lifting in the beginning so you won’t have to dedicate as much time working on your business later. The bad news is those early days will be brutal. I remember when I was building my freelance writing business while still working a full-time job. It wasn’t easy. It required me to put in the time to wake up earlier before work. I worked during lunch breaks, in the evenings, and on the weekends. It was no joke! And that was before I became a mom. 

So especially if you are a parent, I definitely want to give you a heads up about the time commitment. You want to make every moment count when you’re “working on your business”. And no. It’s not spending hours designing a flyer or social media graphic. Think about the long run. Create things for the long term like building a portfolio, a website, or marketing material, etc. Think about things that can be used over the lifetime of your freelance writing career. 

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How to get started freelance writing

Put together samples of work

Before you start reaching out to potential clients, there are a few things you’ll need to have in tow. The first of which is samples of your work. And I know. It’s kind of like trying to get a job when you don’t have job experience. But, at least with writing, the writing samples don’t have to be from previous clients. You can create samples to demonstrate your capabilities as a writer. The point is to have something potential clients can read to gauge whether or not you’d be a good fit for what they’re looking for at that time. 

Pass writing tests

Now, it’s also true that having samples of work is not necessarily mandatory. There are ways you can still land paying gigs as a beginner freelance writer even without having to have samples already in a portfolio. You may learn that some prospective clients might ask you to perform a writing test.

It’s not uncommon to be asked to write a test blog or sample for larger companies so you both can have a taste for what it might be like to work together. Some companies offer compensation for your time while others do not. This is usually to be expected when companies hire freelancers for longer-term contracts. 

Exercise reading comprehension skills

You’d be surprised. Following directions clearly and promptly can go a long way when it comes to securing writing gigs. When someone asks you to contact them via email, do it. If they say follow up with them at the end of the month, do it. If they’re looking for someone who specializes in a certain area and that’s not what you do, don’t waste your time. 

A big part of “selling yourself” is first listening and understanding what people are looking for and then backing into how you can help —if it makes sense. There are so many writing gigs posted that get posted daily. What’s key is sifting through them and following directions when reaching out to them. 

How to find potential clients as a beginner freelance writer 

Create an account on a freelancer website.

There are so many websites out there tailor-made for freelance writers of all experience levels. You can get listed on Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer to name a few. Just do a quick search on Google and you will find a myriad of sites you can instantly get listed on right away no matter what type of freelance writing is your specialty.

Browse through social media groups

While it’s easy to find people who are looking for freelance writers on those freelance sites, competition can be tough (or cheap).  For this reason, as a newbie, you may have better luck finding writing gigs on social media. Search your newsfeed for people seeking freelance writers or browse through groups specifically designed for connecting virtual help with companies seeking the assistance of freelance writers like you.

Search for openings on job boards.

When all else fails, you can always rely on the option of applying for gigs posted across job boards around the web. You’d be surprised. This is a great way to find longer term contracts or temporary jobs working on a specific project.

Special Offer: Get the Daily Revenue Generating Activities Checklist for proven action steps to sow seeds and win business even as a rookie freelance writer. (Limited Time: 50% off)

What to say (or do) to sign on your next client as a new freelance writer 

Create a sales pitch.

There’s no way around it. You have to overcome the fear of selling yourself. Draft up a quick pitch that explains what you do, what you specialize in, and why you’d be a good fit to be able to support whatever company you’re pitching to at the time. If you can do it over an email, always email. If not, you can try to shoot your shot over direct message. I’ve gotten clients both ways, and even landed a long-standing magazine writing and editing gig over DMs. So, hey. It’s a new day!

Create a sales script.

After your pitch, the next step usually is to set up a meeting with the potential client. Find out if you will even be a good fit to work together. Rather than freestyling the phone or Zoom conversation, have a script prepared around how the conversation will flow. Get to know what they’re already doing, what they’ve already tried, and what they’re looking for at this time.

Special Offer: Get the Daily Revenue Generating Activities Checklist for proven action steps to sow seeds and win business even as a rookie freelance writer. (Limited Time: 50% off)

Make a list of your services (with the prices).

If you stay ready, you won’t have to get ready. It’s always a good idea to think about what specific services you’re offering, how much you’re charging, how you’re charging – like whether it’s per hour or per project — and how you accept payments. Having this information before you talk to your potential clients is always a good idea. That way if the question comes up you can have an answer. There’ll are also times when you’ll need more information before you can offer them an estimate on how much something will cost. And that’s okay. In that case, just let them know you’ll follow up with them on the quote. Never feel pressured to come up with something on the spot. Always, follow up later if you’re not sure so you can be sure to give them a fair quote that you won’t regret.

Put everything in a sales binder

Once you have a pitch, sales script, and a list of your prices and services, keep them all together. Over time you’ll be able to memorize everything off the top.  However, having everything ready and together can help you come across more professional and like you have your freelance writing business very well put together.

Special Offer: Get the Daily Revenue Generating Activities Checklist for proven action steps to sow seeds and win business even as a rookie freelance writer. (Limited Time: 50% off)

Getting your freelance writing business off the ground can happen as quickly as today. Spend time gaining clarity over what direction you want to take. Learn more about perfecting your craft. Then hit the ground running by setting up your sales binder and putting yourself out there for writing gigs.

I know when you’re starting something new, there’s a huge learning curve. You feel like you have to get over the getting started phase before you can feel confident. I want to help you stay on track and make sure you’re spending your time doing Daily Revenue Generating Activities. Not only will it help you get started freelance writing, but it’ll also help you start attracting consistent clients online.
If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels not knowing where to start or where to focus, download this Daily Revenue Generating Activities Checklist so you can start attracting clients online and get your freelance writing business set up for success starting today.

Related posts: Get Paid to Write for Beginners or Where to Find Paid Writing Gigs