Freelancing has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic. While many considered it more like a side hustle, specialists in many creative industries now choose to freelance as a business; they see it as an excellent opportunity to make money from their passion. Jobs like a freelance writer aren’t an exception.
With AI technologies boosting most niches, including web content creation, the market craves stellar writing skills more than ever. Online businesses understand that AI writing tools can’t handle their requirements, so they are ready to hire an expert paper writer for business and marketing needs.
The catch?
Given the tech-based environment providing so many flexible ways to go online and make a living there, the freelance market sinks in the bunch of aspiring writing talents willing to take a bite out of this pie. As a result, competition is fierce:
Hundreds of freelance writer profiles crave the same job and hunt for clients like crazy. Can you gain the upper hand here?
These core steps will help.
Think Like an Entrepreneur
Many writers who want to turn their skills into a freelance career make this mistake:
They don’t approach their craft as a business.
An entrepreneurial spirit is what you need to stand out on the market. Think strategically and develop a definite business plan with revenue opportunities, systems, processes for monetization, marketing tactics to convert customers, etc.
See freelance writing as the driving force behind a business you are building.
Find Your Writing Niche
Doesn’t a “freelance writer” sound too general to you?
What do you write? What topics do you cover in your texts? Who is your customer: a small business, big brands, or individuals looking for a ghostwriter?
Are you a content writer or a copywriter, after all?
The writing world is competitive, and you can’t market yourself as a jack-of-all-trades. Be specific and choose a specialized writing niche to build and promote your brand accordingly.
Look:
Let’s take world-famous gurus Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King as an example. Both are writers, but the former is a master of realistic short story creation, while the latter is a king of horrors. The same goes for your freelance expertise:
Define your USP (unique selling proposition) as a writer:
- It will hook the right target audience to your profile, and you’ll save time explaining to others why you don’t want to take their offers.
- It will promote you as a writer with particular expertise, reducing competition and better-serving clients in your niche.
Build Your Brand
In a service-based business like freelance writing, you are the product.
Once you have a USP, invest in branding this product for the target audience to find, believe, and purchase you.
You’ll need:
- A professional portfolio for potential customers to see your works and understand if your writing style meets their needs
- Optimized social media profiles (LinkedIn as a minimum)
- A landing page to market you as a specialist in your writing niche
Speaking of a landing page:
Its benefits for freelance specialists are many, so please don’t ignore this marketing instrument.
First, you can use it as a business card to introduce yourself to potential customers. Second, a well-designed and content-heavy landing page signals that you’re a brand, not an average writer who has profiles at every other freelancer website.
Also, a landing page will market your writing services, communicating your writing voice, values, and strengths. Sharing and promoting it will generate more traffic to your portfolio and convert it into new orders.
Remember to reinforce your brand across all channels for consistency, social proof, and better engagement.
Remember to Learn and Grow as a Specialist
As any other specialist willing to stay competitive, you must grow and confirm your writing skills with the audience. For that:
- Research the freelance market regularly.
- Know the trends in your writing niche.
- Learn from gurus in your field, follow their lead, and adjust your writing techniques and tactics to new rules.
- Take reputable online writing courses, attend webinars and conferences to be on time with the market, network with colleagues, and promote your expertise to potential customers.
Communicate your “upgrades” to the audience. Share your achievements as a freelance writer on social media, add new publications to your portfolio, mention certificates on your landing page, etc.
The freelance writing market is competitive, and you can’t handle it if you stagnate and aren’t ready to change.
Another moment:
Think of the options to showcase yourself as more than a freelancer waiting for customers and taking offers. Be a brand. These are just a few options to consider for this:
- Craft and publish an e-book related to your niche.
- Create a mini-course for aspiring freelance writers to teach them where to start and how to manage a freelance writing business.
- Open a YouTube channel and share your expertise there.
- Write guest articles for top publications in your niche to confirm your skills and add more work to your writing portfolio.
- Speak at workshops, join discussions in writing communities, contribute to expert articles on LinkedIn as an expert, you name it.
- Become a writing coach.
All the above will allow you to grow and communicate your expertise and help you build a loyal audience (customer base).
Over to You:
Now that you have these tips in your pocket, it’s time to start building your freelance writing brand and promoting it on relevant channels where your target customers will find you. Be sure to communicate your USP and become a “product” they need and want to hire.
Featured Image by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels
