First published on September 12th 2018. Updated on September 17th 2026.
Unlike most freelance writers, I didn’t start my business alongside a full-time job. I didn’t have the security of being able to test the water from a safe distance.
The first time I started up as a freelance writer, I was living in Portugal and not entirely sure how I would make it work without getting a bar job. The second time, I left a full-time editorial role with no freelance work in the pipeline. And the third time, I was fired from my full-time marketing job. Every time, I was able to build a roster of freelance clients within a month.
Whatever prompts you to head down the freelance writer route, there are some universal steps that everyone needs to take.
First off, you need to decide that you are good enough.
If you decide you’re going to pursue the freelancing writing track, you need to back yourself. You need to believe in your ability and trust your capacity. Playing the comparison game will leave you feeling dissatisfied with your situation.
So you don’t have to be the best, you just need to be willing to keep learning and developing.
You have to remember that there will always be writers that are better than you and getting paid less. But there will also be writers that are worse than you and getting paid more. It stinks, but you learn to worry less about what other people are doing and focus on your own thing.
Becoming a freelance writer
You can break into the freelance writing sector with zero investment. Anyone who says you should take a freelance writer course is probably trying to sell you a freelance writing course.
If you want to take a course to feel more confident, learn the fundamentals of SEO, GEO or content strategy. These are the things that will add value, not a course about how to invoice or how to build freelancing systems. You’ll pick up everything else as you go along and develop your own processes as you expand.
Choosing a niche
You’ll make more money as a freelance writer if you pick a niche. It will allow you to focus on securing a select range of regular paying clients, rather than constantly chasing clients for one-off articles.
Becoming a freelance writer isn’t always about doing what you love. Everyone loves food and travel, but this doesn’t mean that everyone should become a food or travel writer.
Look for writing industries that are less crowded and you’ll have a better chance of cornering a part of the market.
And you don’t have to specialise in a sector, you might be better of specialising in a specific type of copywriting such as email copywriting or long-form whitepapers.
Finding your first client
The hardest part of becoming a freelance writer is finding your first client. In the beginning, it can be tempting to take on work for free or bargain basement prices just to get a foot on the ladder.
Don’t.
If you just want to build a writing portfolio, just write. There is no shortage of places that will publish your work for free. Write whatever you want, put a link to your freelance website, and share it on social media. Just please don’t write for clients for free, it devalues the whole industry.
Once you have a portfolio, use one of the many many freelance writing platforms out there to find your first client. In the past, I’ve used sites like People Per Hour and Copify to find freelance writing jobs. Remember that every job is an opportunity to learn, to gain valuable feedback, to add to your portfolio and to make new connections.
Copify ceased to exist a few years ago, but you can read my thoughts on Copify and content mills here.
Gathering testimonials
Once you have a portfolio and a few clients, you can then start to ask your clients for testimonials. Using LinkedIn is a great way to ask for recommendations without being awkward. Put them on your website, share them on social media, and leverage them to get referrals to build your roster of clients.
You have to ask for testimonials, they won’t be offered up without a prompt from you. It’s all part of nurturing that client relationship, even after the work is done. This is also an excellent way to re-engage clients and ask for referrals.
Never stop learning
The worst thing you can do as a freelance writer is to get set in your ways. You should never stop learning and developing new skills. Your clients will love if you can help with their SEO strategy, share your articles on social media or even put your skills to use in email copywriting. The more you can connect the dots between their marketing strategy, the more valuable you’ll be as a writer.
What advice did you find most helpful when becoming a freelance writer? I’d love to hear your thoughts over on Pinterest!
