“When your livelihood depends on self-imposed productivity, you either get good at it or you find yourself in mounds of debt.” ― Nacie Carson

Working as an independent contractor is a great way to earn money while enjoying flexible hours.

Another attractive benefit of freelancing is being able to work wherever you want, whether it’s at home or at your local coffee shop.

And for a lot of people, they see freelancing as a way to break away from the rigid structure of a corporate environment.

In the recent years, more and more people have jumped ship and gone over to the freelancing side to enjoy a better work-life balance.

After the U.S. economy took a serious hit during the recession, a lot of companies have found that hiring specialized workers is a better business model than employing full-time staff.

In fact, a Harvard study in 2016 shows that the number of freelance workers in North America alone has skyrocketed from about 14 million to almost 24 million between 2005 and 2015.

As of today, this number is still growing and will continue to do so in the next decade.

With developments in technology and a rapidly expanding freelance job market, it’s become easier than ever to get a piece of the action.

Freelance writing: Legit or not?

With freelance writing in particular, some people are worried about getting ripped off for their hard time or getting scammed by a shady employer.

But freelancing sites like Upwork and Elance have made it possible for aspiring freelance writers to get fair-paying jobs and get compensated on time.

Furthermore, you don’t need to have an academic background in language to land your first assignment.

On the contrary, most companies are probably looking for someone who can write in a relaxed, casual tone to connect to readers.

As you’ll learn, a lot of these online writing jobs specifically avoid words and phrases that might sound too stiff or formal which would alienate their target market.

So you don’t have to worry about writing like a professor just to get started with your freelance career.

The best part is that there’s ALWAYS work to be done, which means you’ll have a stable cash flow even without punching a clock at the office.

If you’re ready to try this exciting, new venture, check out these 7 Tips To Becoming an Awesome Freelance Writer:

#1: Have a system in place

This is the most essential part about finding steady freelance work.

Once you’ve done your due diligence, you’ll have no trouble getting clients and keeping them.

Better yet, you’ll have the advantage of working around a schedule that works for YOU.

Like I said, it’s easy to earn from online writing for the simple reason that demand for this type of work is high.

You’ll find that just about any industry has an online presence, and that means they need someone to provide them with content to increase their market reach.

It’s likely they have a blog, a social media page and an email campaign - all of which need to be updated regularly. Some might even need freelancers to help them out with writing brochures and other marketing related materials.

That’s where you come in.

The truth is that you just need a step-by-step system for sniffing out potential customers, pitching to them and writing the content they want. After that, the rest will take care of itself.

I’ll show how to do that in a bit, but first let’s move on to the next step…

#2: Play to your strengths

Some freelance writers are better at handling large-scale assignments, like a sales report or PDF book. Others are more comfortable with an arrangement where they can quickly bang out short articles or free reports.

Obviously, the bigger jobs pay more, but require a lot of lead time, ranging from a few weeks to a few months.

Meanwhile, short articles may take anywhere from a half an hour to two hours, but you’ll get paid sooner.

In most cases, I’d suggest doing shorter assignments first to get a feel of how things go.

In the long run however, try to figure out which one option works better so you can narrow down the niche you want to write for.


#3: Know thyself

This is an important step that most freelance writers skip. I don’t recommend glossing over this one.

Experience has taught me that a little self-evaluation and soul-searching is CRUCIAL before getting into this line of work.

This gives you a better idea of which types of clients you’re best suited for, and which content you’ll be good at writing.

A good way to do this is by having a more seasoned writer go over your sample work and give you an honest assessment. They can tell you what you’re good at and what you can improve about your craft.

Also, try looking up examples of what constitutes as good writing in your intended niche.

It’s as easy as looking at a potential client’s website and quickly browse their content. This will give you a better idea of what they want in a writer.

Remember, knowledge is power, so doing this will help you step up your game.

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