Tips for Freelance Writers
If you want to become a freelance writer on the internet nowadays you better make sure that you’re ready to be committed to your work. There are lots of places too find freelance writing gigs and you shouldn’t have a problem finding jobs although once you mess up once you could ruin your entire business. Word of mouth is huge between webmasters and if you have a bad experience with a client then you can be assured that they will most likely talk about it online. You don’t want to get a bad name for yourself in the freelance business so do everything you can to make sure all of your clients are satisfied with the work that they buy off of you. There are plenty of tips you can follow to help you become a freelance writer and we’re going to take a look at some of those tips now.
Utilize webmaster forums
The number one place to find clients is on webmaster forums such as Digital Point and Sitepoint. There is a wide range of writing gigs available on these websites and if you possess good command of your writing then you won’t have a problem finding repeat clients. I’ve been using Digital Point for all of my jobs and have been going steady for almost the past year now. If you don’t want to use forums then you shouldn’t be in this business as you need to spend a lot of time on forums. I’ve spent countless hours building relationships on the forum and from that now I have lots of repeat business.
Have a portfolio website
You don’t necessarily need to own a website in the beginning, but once you decide you’re going to do this full-time then you’ll want your own website. Your website should be used as a portfolio so that people can view samples of your writing before they make any orders. It’s only fair to show potential clients samples of your writing, and in fact most people on forums will request samples before making a purchase. If you have a website set-up then you can point people to the URL instead of having to send samples to every person who asks for them. You may also get some extra business from your website as it ages and gets ranked in the search engines.
Don’t accept more than you can handle
Too many of the freelance writers I see on forums nowadays will accept more work then they can handle and this results in a lot of angry clients. The goal in freelance writing is too establish a big enough list of return clients so that you always have work available. To do this though you’ll need to have good relationships with your clients and you need to make sure you always meet deadlines. One bad customer can cause your entire business to fall apart so never take advantage of anyone. A business needs to be run honestly which means you sell what you say you’re selling and always honour your sales.
These are some of the more mandatory tips you need to follow in the early stages of your freelancing writing business and as time passes you should learn many other tips from fellow writers. There are lots of great resources on Digital Point forum for writers and a massive community to chit chat with. Don’t limit yourself to only forums as there are plenty of other opportunities out there. Also make sure that you work on some of your own websites so that you can earn some extra monthly income once they begin earning.
