In the post-pandemic world, big corporations are laying off their employees. Today, finding a good high paying 9 to 5 job has become a great challenge.
Professionals are being forced to look out for other options. And one such option is freelance writing. Freelance writing gives you an opportunity to work from your home and get paid timely month after month. It does not only give you job security and financial freedom but also immense satisfaction and peace of mind. If you are a freelance writer and want to prosper in this career then I would recommend you to read the following 8 tips to enhance your writing skills.
Here are they…
1. Find a Niche
The most important lesson that I learned from my writing career is finding the right niche. You can’t be a jack of all trades. Objectivity is the key to success.
If your niche is too broad and vague then you will not be able to find your audience. Whatever you write it won’t connect with the people.
Especially if you are writing for money then you have to narrow down your niche. For example, if your niche is music then further break it down. Like what kind of music, is it rock n roll, classical, metal, hip hop, blues, etc. Music is too general. To make your writing more objective further narrow down the niche.
2. Start with Content Writing
Beginners can start with Content writing. It is perhaps the easiest form of writing. You write in simple English which is grammatically correct and readable.
You do basic research about the topic and write an article around it. Usually, an article is 800 – 1000 words long. You get paid for each word you write.
There are various forms of content writing like
- Article Writing
- Copywriting
- Ghostwriting
- Technical Writing etc.
You can choose any one of them and start writing.
I would suggest you start with article writing or ghostwriting. You write for various websites and blogs with or without a byline.
3. Make Best Use of Freelance Websites:
You can’t advance your writing career unless you know about freelance writing websites. Freelancing sites allow writers to find writing jobs that are not only genuine but also very high paying. You can choose a client who you would like to work with you. You also get to decide your rates with your clients.
Some of the best freelance sites are:-
- Fiverr
- TextBroker
- iWriter
- Upwork
- Constant-Content etc.
However, to get job offers freelancers have to create a profile that helps them to build their brand.
4. Blogging is different than Writing
Once you have gained experience writing articles you can get into blogging. Unlike content writing, in blogging, you write for yourself and not for others. When you start and run a blog, you not only make good money through it but also get a chance to do so many other things. Blogging makes you a better writer and thinker, you can become more confident about your writing work, You can become a motivator for others. In blogging you interact with your audience through blogs, there is a conversation back and forth with your readers.
Bloggers post their personal opinions and experiences about a subject or a product on their blog. They are not bound by the terms and conditions of a particular company. Moreover, to promote their blog, bloggers have to learn various marketing strategies. In fact, blogging is a combination of content writing and marketing. It is one of the most rewarding writing careers.
5. Writing Social Media Content
To make your writing career more rewarding you have to write content for social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Social media platforms help you to market yourself as a writer. You can leverage the power of Facebook or Twitter to promote yourself and build a network of followers around you. Social media content is different than blog content. On social media, your content is in the form of comments or microblog posts. You don’t write more than 100 words. You create viral content that spreads like a wildfire on the internet. This gives you instant recognition and more followers.
6. Writing for Traditional Media Outlets
Don’t ever ignore traditional media outlets like Newspapers, news journals, magazines, etc. Traditional media outlets not only give writers monetary benefits but also fame and recognition. I know it is difficult to write for a popular newspaper but if you get an opportunity then don’t miss it. In fact, web journalists make their living writing only for major digital news outlets. You cover a news story on the ground and write about it on their website. You can also become a columnist and write Op-eds for e-version of a major news outlet. There is no dearth of job opportunities for writers who can write on topics like news, entertainment, sports, culture, etc.
7. Writing an eBook/Book
Writing a book is the ultimate goal of any writer. However, it takes a lot of time to write a book. If you are taking the traditional route to publishing your book then you have to wait for at least a couple of years to get approval from the publishers. Making money with books doesn’t happen overnight. Hence the alternative is publishing eBooks on Amazon Kindle. It is much easier and cheaper to get published. You can write novels, short stories, biographies, non-fiction, tutorials, how-to guides, etc. You get access to internet audiences who are going to buy your eBook.
8. Don’t Ignore SEO
Last but not least is SEO or search engine optimization. Without SEO your writing career isn’t going anywhere. SEO helps writers to market themselves and beat their competition. You will get a lot of traffic on the internet if you can rank your blog or website on the first page of Google search results. The monetary benefits of SEO are really great. Although SEO is technical and has nothing to do with the writing still you have to learn some of the basic techniques to rank high on Google. Not just SEO but also other marketing strategies like social media, email marketing, paid advertisements, etc could come in handy.
Conclusion
So these were 8 effective tips to make money with writing skills in India and elsewhere. If you want your writing career to succeed then follow and implement all of the above tips. It doesn’t take any money or special training to implement these tips.