it takes to be a successful freelance writer? We will be sharing some of the trade secrets of freelancers; you will end up finding out that this is not actually a trader a secret but things that have been missed.
1. You Actually Need To Know How To Write
As a freelancer, you need to be above average in your trade, be it graphics design, web design or writing as is this case. You have to be able to write well, it is advisable to keep on learning so that you can refine and improve your abilities. The best writers are those that constantly write, so yes you have to write frequently even if you are not yet getting those freelance jobs you have been targeting. Maybe your grammar needs polishing up? Or your punctuation leaves a lot to be desired? Do you have the foggiest idea how to format an article? Whoa! Hold your horses one moment. Writers have to LEARN their craft. It’s highly unlikely you are so gifted you can decide to be a writer one day and earn money the next.
2. Be Realistic
3. Craft A Good Writer’s Pitch
Query Letter, Writer’s Pitch, call it whatever you are comfortable with, just know that this is your pitch to an editor to give him or her a taste of the article you are offering to sell. This is a very important part of the marketing process, possibly the most important of all. If you fail to ‘hook’ the editor within the first couple of
paragraphs then you can forget it. If you undersell the piece, he or she may not even want to read your article, no matter how good it is. So it makes good sense to take your time when crafting a query letter.
4. Consistency/Persistence
5. Choose A Niche
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Annual Reports
- Brochures
- Ghost-writing, etc..
6. Research
As a writer, when you want to write on a new topic, at best the kind of knowledge you possess of this topic is ‘scattered’, ‘scanty’ and obscure. When you do researches, your article begins to have a proper structure, what seemed scanty begins to be overfilled with processed knowledge and ideas.
7. Promote Your Work
As a writer, it is imperative to promote your work, be social, open social media accounts for your freelance business. Any work you are allowed to repost, post a small excerpt from it on your social media. Furthermore, aside from social media accounts, you can very well take an extra step, create an online portfolio for yourself, it would cost you nothing to have a website in which you can post excerpts of your work and the link to the full articles on your site.
Great article! Thanks for sharing the ideas about starting a blog. I think that's a great way for people to make money online even in 2018!