Freelance blogging is gaining popularity in quick time. An estimation by Upwork suggests that by 2027, more than 50% of the US workforce will be freelance workers.
D. John Carlson reports that 77% of the internet users read blogs regularly. So there’s no denying that if you’re able to create premium quality content, you will attract multifaceted audiences.
It’s a culture that offers the writer flexible work hours, projects of their choice, and the price bracket which they find justifiable. However, the road isn’t that simple. Work-availability and pay-scales are some of the issues that are common across freelancers who are in the initial and intermediate stages of their career.
Freelance bloggers write in any niche or category without the onus of reporting to an office or working ecosystem. Upwork reports that 61% of freelancers opted for the same because of their personal choice and not by necessity. Being equally productive and consistently meeting the work targets best defines the character of a freelance writer.
Freelance blog writers are self-dependent, and there’s a continuous hustle for securing projects. Self-improvements and feedback improvements mold the writer into a better professional. The earnings vary, and even the working hours too.
If you want that for yourself, below are the necessary steps:
1. Improve Writing Skills and Learn About Various Tools
You always had an interest in writing. But writing professionally for clients is different from what you’ve been doing. Start by noting down tips for freelance writing. Learn about different styles of writing, the various trends associated with freelance writing, and the tools that’ll help you create that content. This encompasses an independent freelance writing training.
Tools like Grammarly, CopyScape, and many others are available for free, and they provide insights into the grammar and the plagiarism aspect. Once you become familiar with these tools, you can start with operational content marketing tools and a paraphrasing tool as well. These tools keep you updated with what’s working and what needs to be modified.
2. Perceive Your Paying Niche
As a freelance writer, if you become aware of your niche, you can master the game of freelance blogging. Stick to the topics that you're passionate about. Publish detailed blogs on those topics and gradually diversify the content to introduce fresh material.
Writing in your niche takes care of the content quality. Your projects, along with the blogs, not only build your content portfolio but also notify the audience of your work quality.
3. Secure Clients First
Start the hustle to your career in freelance writing by closing out a few projects upfront. Don't deny projects because of low pay-scales. Very few can secure high-paying projects first up.
After you have a list of clients to serve, you can invest time in developing your blog website. The bottom line of the initial phase should always be focussed on achieving sustainable growth. Following that, you can host a professional website.
4. Have a Professional Website
Professional personal website are key to establishing yourself as a leader in your field. Whether you're a beauty influencer, content writer or somebody who provides translation services, develop a website that is your impromptu portfolio. Publish articles of high relevance and more audience visibility. Work on keyword research and learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques so that your website's rank consistently increases.
Keep a note of the traffic on your website. Google provides numerous tools to measure the same. Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, etc., provide you with accurate data, and you can track the blog metrics accordingly.
A statistical analysis by KinesisInc informs that 75% of the visitors make judgments on the company’s credibility and authenticity from their website. So, one cannot afford to compromise with the design and interface of the website.
5. Maintain Your Workflow
After securing clients, you want to serve them on time. There are deadlines in freelancing as well, some lenient, some brutal. You also want to maintain a proper work-life balance. Apart from delivering to the clients, you also want to post your own blogs.
As per Seotribunal, 21.9% of bloggers publish blog posts weekly, while only 2.6% post daily. This rare category of 2.6 % bloggers have stellar traffic statistics to show and you wish to join the elite club.
At this point, decide what you want to go forward with. Set realistic targets, and don’t burden yourself with the work. Remember, you became a freelancer to solve your issue of work burden, right?
6. Continue Writing Even in the Down Seasons
As all graphs tend to variate over time, the graph of freelance writing is no different.
The writer may find himself in a fix where the growth isn’t that steady and the overall market doesn’t offer any kindness either.
However, there are numerous things that you can do to continue staying productive in these down phases as well.
Continue writing during the down seasons to build a substantial portfolio. You can write articles on unexplored territories and diversify the content. Focus on marketing the content as well to generate organic traffic.
7. Don’t Stop the Hustle
Securing projects that have high pay-scale provides sustainable growth to the writer. But in cases when you’re not able to secure the apex projects, just don’t stop the hustle. There are several platforms to get these projects, and it’s just a matter of time before you start minting money too.
Continue to publish blogs on your website and provide the clients with quality content. If the approach is honest here, the pay-scale will eventually take care of itself. It’s vital to keep hustling and grinding each day to become a better version of yourself.
Final Takeaways
When you put years of hard work and dedication towards the sole domain of writing, you establish yourself in the market as a productive freelance blogger.
You start by learning the whole process of freelance writing and the associated tools. After securing a few clients, you are on-course for landing the big cheque. Serve to those who demand and value your work. Continue to strengthen your portfolio, making sure you don’t burden yourself with the work.
Learn each day and keep the hustle going.
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