Freelance Writing On The Internet: A Quick Guide For Starters

If you’re considering getting starting in freelance writing on the internet there are several factors you should keep in mind:

Beware of scams

One of the biggest drawbacks of finding freelance writing work online is the risk of scams. Specifically, when finding clients through the internet there is always a risk that you wont get paid for the work you do. There are a number of ways, however, to help make sure this doesn’t happen. First, avoid websites like Craigslist where there is no way to verify the identity of the person you’re dealing with. Instead, choose websites that facilitate the payment, and ensure that you’ll get your money, regardless of whether the client pays or not.

Focus on your strengths

A major benefit of freelance writing is that you can find work in almost any discipline. Whether you’re skilled in academic writing, grant writing, fiction writing, or article writing, there are clients looking for someone with your skills. However, to find the most success, you should focus on your strengths. It is good to gain experience in different kinds of writing, but make sure you’re not agreeing to do something you don’t have the skills or knowledge for.

Build experience

The most jobs you work, the more experience you’ll gain, and better your portfolio will be. When you first get started, before you have a solid portfolio or references from past clients, you’ll be somewhat of an unknown to clients. So in order to make it worth their while to take a risk on you, you may need to start with lower rates than you normally would. Over time, as you build experience, you can build your rate up.

Make terms clear

For many people, the hardest part about working as a freelance writer isn’t the writing itself, it’s working with clients. While you’ve probably had bosses before, this can be a different dynamic. An easy way to ensure that it goes well is to make terms clear between you and the client. This includes how much and when you’ll get paid, exactly what they’ll provide you with to enable you to do the job, what the deliverables you provide them with are, and when the deadlines for those deliverables will be. It’s best to make all these terms clear before you start actually doing any work. At first it may be awkward to be so direct about issues of money, but your client will appreciate your professionalism.