4 Solid Strategies to Boost Your Freelance Writing Career by @ecainwrites

by Elna Cain | Featured Contributor 

Are you a freelance writer?

Been at this for a while and not seeing progress?

Maybe you tried pitching here and there with no luck. Or worse, you signed up to a freelance marketplace and found out prospects aren’t willing to pay more than $20 for content.

You’re probably thinking this isn’t a viable career choice, and you’re just going to go back to AdSense or sponsored posts while you continue going to the day job you despise.

Well, being a freelance writer is a perfect choice for bloggers, aspiring writers, stay-at-home parents and those who hate their 9-5 job.

I was able to replace my full-time income as a teacher by only working part-time hours as a freelance writer. I’m a work-at-mom with twin toddlers, and if I’m able to make it as a successful freelance writer, I know you can too.

If you’re struggling to land a high-paying clients or land recurring work, here are four proven strategies to help you succeed.

1. Constantly Refine Your Writing

If you want to get paid to write, then it’s a bit obvious you should know how to write!

But, this doesn’t mean you need a journalism background to be a freelance writer. You can be a profitable freelance writer even if you’re an average writer. The key to being a success is to have the desire to improve your writing over time.

This means learning how to write for an online audience. Instead of writing big blocks of paragraphs – as you would in school – online writing favors shorter paragraphs and even the notable one-sentence paragraph.

It also means having the desire to learn new types of writing like copywriting. If you can inject some persuasive writing elements into your blog posts or client pieces, you’ll become a better writer and have no shortage of work coming to you.

2. Blog Consistently

Do you have a blog? Or worse yet, do you have a blog that hasn’t been updated since your child started walking over four months ago?

I strongly believe every freelance writer should have a blog. Whether it’s a personal blog, a professional blog, or a blog on the niche they want to get paid for, if you’re a writer, have a blog!

Because you know what? Clients and prospects look at your blog, and this can be a deciding factor whether or not they want to hire you.

If you provide fresh and consistent content – and have some form of engagement and social shares – clients will be more likely to take an interest in your services.

So, do your business some good and get back to a consistent blogging schedule. Provide high-value, targeted content for your audience and wow prospects that land on your site.

3. Have a Pitching Process

Want to know a secret? The truly successful freelance writers rarely need to spend time pitching. This is because prospects contact them for their content needs. They actually end up turning down work due to lack of time!

But these freelance writers didn’t start off like that. They had to hustle and pitch daily. And that means you should too.

Have a pitching process that you can stick to on a weekly basis. This means:

• Set a goal of how many pitches you want to send out in a day. For example, try to send out at three pitches a day.
• Check the job boards – like Problogger – at night and in the morning for the best chance of landing a gig.
• Constantly review your pitch. If it’s not converting the way you want it to, then change it. Include different samples, or work on using power words to convey your expert knowledge.
• Keep track of your pitches. Make a Google sheet or Excel sheet and keep track of the job boards on where you found the pitch, the company or blogger you pitched to and when you sent your pitch. This helps when it’s time to circle back and revisit unresponsive emails you sent.

4. Invest In Your Business

Let’s be real here.

Freelance writing is a business, and you’re not just a writer; you’re a businessperson. And the best thing you can do for your burgeoning freelance writing career is to invest in it.

Invest in a freelance writing course to help you be that A-list sought after writer you know you are. Learn the skills and tools you need to profit from your writing.

Because it all boils down to making an impact with your writing. And if you can do that for your clients, you’ll have no problem landing consistent work.

Wrapping it Up

The demand for freelance writing is huge. More and more businesses are coming online every day. They all eventually come to realize they need content – quality content. You can fulfill that need.

But, you may have a difficult time from the start. Instead of making mistakes and feeling discouraged, improve your writing and practice writing every day on your blog.

And to really see an improvement, develop a solid pitching process and invest in a freelance writing course to give your business that extra attention.

Over to you – what’s stopping you from being a successful freelance writer?

I’m Elna and I’m a freelance writer and coach. I help people become profitable freelance writers. Check out my free email course on Get Paid to Write Online and learn the steps you need to be a freelance writer.

Elna Cain

I’m Elna and I’m a freelance writer and coach. I help people become a profitable freelance writers. Check out my free email course on Get Paid to Write Online and learn the steps you need to be a freelance writer.