Career as a Successful Freelance Writer

Start Out Small and Work Your Way Up as Your Portfolio Grows

Websites like Wikinut.com allow new freelance writers to earn money while building a strong portfolio. Start out small, writing only articles about topics you already know. Researching is one of the hardest jobs a freelancer has so get into the flow of writing about familiar topics before jumping into topics you need to research.

Start Applying for Lower Paying Jobs

This is a tactic that many freelance writers frown upon, but it is a tried and true tactic that works. Start bidding on freelance jobs on websites that connect freelance writers with Internet marketers and businesses that want articles and web content. Your beginning bids may be much lower than the money you’d like to make freelancing, but remember you’re building a name for yourself and making money in the process.

Build a Free Blog to Showcase Your Talent

Many new freelance writers want to immediately jump in and buy a domain name for a “real” website. If you have a web design background or know someone who does, go for it. The rest of us start with a simple, free blog. Blogger.com is an ideal choice because you can add Google Adsense ads to your blog and earn a little money on the side once traffic builds.

Start Driving Traffic to Your Blog

Joining websites like EzineArticles.com is a great choice for driving traffic to your blog. Remember to stick with topics you know because you sound more professional writing about something familiar. You’ve not delved into researching yet. Use the resource box to send readers to your blog and remember to include a full portfolio of published work on your blog.

Join Paying Websites to Earn More Money

There are several paying websites worth their weight in gold. Yahoo! Voices is one of the few that allows new freelance writers to submit articles for upfront pay and residuals. There are no pre-requisites for being a Yahoo! Voices author. You can even use the articles you’ve published on Wikinut as part of your portfolio to earn residual income (not eligible for upfront pay).

Create Social Media Accounts for Your Professional Blog

Now that you’ve got an online portfolio and you’re publishing articles left and right, you need to use social media to drive your career into overdrive. Learn about Facebook and Twitter marketing (other social media outlets are also available). Remember to use hash tags relevant to your content when tweeting and update at least once a day to communicate with your followers (without links to your content).

Tips and Warnings

Tip: It takes years to build a successful freelance writing career.
Warning: If you are looking to earn $100,000 a year; it won’t happen overnight.