10 Steps How To Become A Freelance Writer With No Experience!

So, you want to know how to become a freelance writer and get paid to write?

You shouldn’t be surprised that writing has become a very popular way to make money from home.

You can do freelance writing on the side of your usual job or make it your full-time role. The possibilities are endless when you become a freelancer!

In this article, we’ll look at how you can start a successful freelance writing career and hopefully cover any questions you have about it.

How To Become A Freelance Writer With No Experience

When you are just starting out as a freelancer, it can be concerning when you feel as though you don’t have any experience.

Just because you have no experience doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get a job. We all start somewhere, right?

All that you need to do is start to build your portfolio and network. The work will come!

You can also speed up the process by taking a writing course that will teach you every step you need to know to get started making money freelance writing. 

1. Learn About Starting A Freelance Writing Business (With Low Startup Costs!)

First things first – you will need to decide if you want to start with no money behind you or put a bit of investment into it.

There’s no right or wrong answer here, it depends on how much you want to put into it, and if you have any money to do so.

It is 100% possible to become a writer with little to no money as long as you have the equipment to do so already.

But freelance writers need a new computer, a home office setup, and a printer for the basics.

Some new freelance writers may also want to take online courses for new skills or us writing programs like Jasper to write unique content much quicker.

Things cost money, so freelance writers who are starting fresh or those wanting some bells and whistles will need cash to invest in a freelance writing business.

You should determine what things you may need and estimate the costs- if it looks like you’re starting from fresh, you need to see how much money you can put into your new career.

2. Do Some Research And Consider A Freelance Writing Course

Before you start freelance writing, you may want to think about doing a freelance writing course.

We are big fans of taking decent training from people who have been there and done it.

If you can take a freelance writing course and it helps you to get your first clients, it will have been worth it.

Many of the best freelance writing courses will help you both with developing your writing and finding your first clients.

Some courses will help you write writing samples that can not only help you practice, but help you display your skills for potential clients.

3. Choose A Freelance Writing Niche (Or Two)

When it comes to doing freelance writing, it will really help you to have a particular topic that you focus on.

The reason for this is that it makes you more attractive to potential clients and narrows down your writing services.

You can offer services in creative writing, copywriting, ghostwriting, blog writing, and so much more- there are tons of freelance writing niches available! 

Say you’re a business looking for a writer – say your business is all about gardening. When you go to look for a writer, wouldn’t you look for a gardening writer?

If you were coming across writers who said they wrote about anything and everything or a general freelance content writer, would that be as appealing to you? 

Nope! And that’s how freelance writing clients feel when they’re reading over resumes and applications for their writing jobs.

Being specific on your skill and writing can be the best option for you. Not only is choosing a particular niche more appealing for clients, but it will also be good for you.

You will be able to increase your expertise in that area and become more knowledgeable. This will in turn, help you to charge higher prices.

When it comes to choosing your niche, it helps to pick an area in which you have either knowledge or passion. Ideally both, of course!

The reason that it’s a good idea to have a passion for your particular niche is that you are going to be spending a lot of time writing about it.

If you are writing a lot about a particular topic every day, it will help you out if you enjoy doing so. Not only that, but you will find it quicker and easier to do.

4. Brush Up On Your Writing Skills, Writing Tools, & Organizational Skills

It goes without saying that the better your writing skills are, the more you can impress your clients and get new ones.

These are things that you can do before you get started and also as you take writing courses to improve yourself.

The more that you practice writing, the better you will become at it. Don’t just write for your clients – you could do your own writing on sites such as Medium and could create your own blog.

There are various writing tools out there as well, which will help you with your writing skills. A good one to try out is Grammarly, which will help correct your grammar.

You can also use Surfer SEO to improve content rating on Google and even write articles faster with Jasper! 

When it comes to working with a lot of different clients, you will need to stay highly organized.

It’s worth trying out various organizational tools to see which ones work best for you. Your clients will likely have a tool that they use, such as Asana or Trello.

5. Decide Between Freelance Writing For Bloggers vs. Business To Business Writing Jobs

When it comes to choosing your niche, it’s also important to look at whether you want to write for bloggers or for business to business (often referred to as B2B).

The main difference between these could be that the B2B is more professional in terms of how you will be writing, and blogs will be more laid back, generally speaking.

There are so many different types of blogs out there that you can write for. There are personal finance ones (like ours), fitness, parenting, food, and so on.

When it comes to B2B you may be doing things that are more technology-based etc, so if you’re looking at how to become a B2B writer, it’s useful to be an expert in a topic.

B2B can typically pay higher, so this is something that’s worth considering as well.

There are so many freelance writing job opportunities that the options are literally endless. 

6. Consider Building A Writing Portfolio Or Website Of Your Writing Samples

When you pitch for writing jobs, you will likely be asked for examples of your work. A writing portfolio is the best way to showcase your skills and give potential clients an idea of how you work.

If you haven’t done any jobs before, you will still need to show samples of your writing. You can take online courses to get help writing samples or you can write them on your own about topics you’re passionate about.

Choose a topic and write a piece on it, so that they can see your style of writing and tone. Writing samples will also look more professional if you have a place where you have these samples ready.

Creating your very own blog is a good way to show your work and how you write. You can also cover different topics, do different lengths, and so on.

The benefit of putting together your own website is that you can choose what you write about, the length of the articles, etc.

You could even set up a blog as a way to earn money, and the added bonus is that you will have a ready-made portfolio of your freelance writing work.

Are you wondering how to set up a freelance writing website? We have a great step-by-step article guiding you through the process.

7. Start Pitching Freelance Writing Jobs For Beginners

Now that you’ve gotten started, it’s time to find freelance writing jobs and start earning money!

When you have got your portfolio set up and you’ve got some writing practice under your belt, it’s time to start pitching for freelance writing jobs for beginners.

It sounds scary to start pitching, but you are unlikely to have lots of clients flocking to you when you are brand new.

Pitching is just part of being a freelancer, and something that you are going to have to do if you want to land clients and take on writing projects.

There are places that you can start looking as a beginner, such as job boards and even freelance writing content sites.

Some examples of good sites to start with include:

FlexJobs
Problogger Jobs
BloggingPro
FreelanceWritingJobs

I highly recommend joining multiple job boards, that way you can have a variety of options when you try to find freelance writing jobs.

If you’re looking for B2B clients, then a good place to look for clients would be on LinkedIn. You can also put examples of your writing work on there and connect with other professionals.

If you’re looking to write for bloggers, then a good place for you could be in Facebook groups. Look at where they hang out and let people know that you are looking for clients.

When it comes to writing a pitch, keep it short and sweet. Let them know why you want to write for them and why they should hire you.

8. Set A Freelance Writing Schedule

When you are starting to gain new clients, it’s important to make sure that you have a good schedule set up.

Your clients will have different deadlines and timescales for you to work to, as well as a different amount of work, so you will need to keep on top of this.

This is where online tools such as Asana or Trello will come in helpful if you want to schedule everything online.

9. Set Up A Work Space At Home

When you are working from home (whether it be freelance writing or not) it’s important to set up a space for working.

It can be tempting to work from the sofa or even in bed, but you need to make sure that you are in a productive mode, and this comes from a workspace.

You may not be able to set up an office, but having a dedicated space free from distractions will help you so much.

10. Constantly Work On Improving Your Freelance Writing Skills

When it comes to something like freelance writing, there’s never too much practice or knowledge that you can have.

Even if you have experience, there are always new programs, new niches, and new information that can improve your work!

The more you learn, the better you will become, and hopefully, the more income you can make.

It’s always worth thinking about taking a freelance writing course, even if you have been writing for a while.

FAQs

How hard is it to start a freelance writing business?

Now that you’re considering a freelance writing career, you may be wondering how hard it actually is.

The thing is, it differs for everyone. However, with that in mind, it’s not hard to become a writer.

It’s harder to make it your full-time job, but if you are just looking to get some writing work then you shouldn’t find it too difficult.

There are a lot of varying factors, such as if you already have writing experience, if your current role is relevant, and so on.

If you really want to be a freelance writer, then you won’t let anything stand in your way.

Can anyone become a writer?

Believe it or not, anyone can become a writer! If this is something that you are truly interested in then you need to make it happen.

There are so many websites and businesses out there (billions in fact!) that need content written for them.

It would be impossible for them to create all of the content themselves, so they need to outsource. This is where you come in!

There’s nothing to stop you from being a freelance writer right now. It may take some time to get more clients and work your way up to full-time if that’s what you want, but getting one client should be your first goal.

If you’re interested in how to become a paid writer, or how to become a commissioned writer, this article is for you.

Does it cost anything to become a writer?

Freelance writers often don’t pay for much at all when they start their careers. Many already have laptops, printers, a Word subscription, and more to start off their writing.

When you are just starting out, all that you will need is something to write on like a laptop or computer.

That being said, there are tools of the trade that you may find useful to invest in, especially for the more profitable niches.

If you want to be a freelance writer that makes the highest hourly rate possible, then it will help you to know things about SEO and content marketing.

I took Stupid Simple SEO to learn about writing optimized content, and it’s helped change how I write for our blog.

There are some job sites and writing job boards that are paid, and I highly recommend a membership with FlexJobs.

You can join free sites, but FlexJobs has more offers and they vet the listings so that you’re less likely to find scams when you’re applying.

Do freelance writers need a degree or certification?

No, freelance writers don’t need degrees or certifications to start their careers.

In any job, there are advantages to having a relevant degree, but there are some jobs where having a degree isn’t needed.

That’s the best part about many freelance careers! Freelance writing is a perfect job or side hustle for people who don’t have a degree but have a passion for writing.

If you have a degree in something related to writing, then you can charge more per hour right off the bat, but otherwise, you won’t have trouble finding jobs freelance jobs without a degree.

Ultimately, the client will be interested in the work that you can produce for them and not your education. Your writing samples can prove your skills just as much as any degree.

Why should I start a freelance writing business?

Maybe you’ve just stumbled across this article and you’re wondering why you should look into becoming a freelance writer.

Freelance writing is a great way to earn money because it is so flexible. As long as you have a laptop and internet then you can work from anywhere.

There are many people who are traveling who do something like freelance writing as their way of making an income.

It does help if you are passionate about writing and want to get paid for it. The same goes for if you have expertise in a particular topic.

You should be a freelance writer if you want something that’s flexible, you can do from home around your other commitments, and you hate being on the phone.

What do you need to become a writer?

In order to start as a freelance writer, you don’t need very much, which is why it’s such a good job for pretty much anyone.

You will need something to write on and something to send your work to your clients. Ideally, you will have a computer or laptop. You could use your phone, but this wouldn’t be desirable.

You can also sign up with helpful AI writing software to make optimized content quickly- we suggest Jasper to get a headstart as a freelance writer.

More than anything you will need a passion for writing and the topics that you will be writing in, a good organizational system, and know your way around common computer programs.

How to be a self-employed writer?

There are lots of ways of becoming a self-employed writer – you don’t need to sign up as a writer for a company to be one.

There are so many businesses out there that hire freelance writers, so you’ll want to look for these jobs.

What are some other ways to increase income as a freelance writer?

Put yourself in the shoes of a business owner looking to take on a freelance writer. What kind of things would you be looking for?

You would obviously want someone who is a good writer, but is there anything extra that they would have that would appeal to you?

The more relevant skills you add, the better this will look to prospective clients. A good one to add would be proofreading, which you could always do separately as well.

Final Thoughts

If you have been thinking about becoming a successful freelance writer for a while, we hope that this article has helped give you the confidence to begin.

It’s easy to think that you need years of experience and a ton of degrees to get started, but that’s not the case. You can become a writer and make $200 a day easily!

Becoming a freelance writer is definitely possible if you are determined to put in the work and are prepared for some rejections.

There are a lot of businesses out there that need content writers, and it’s a great way to make money from home.

You can sign up with FlexJobs today and start applying for freelance writing jobs ASAP- meaning you could earn money as a writer this week.

So get out there and get your new high-earning career started!