Whether you are just getting out of school or you are looking for a career change, you’ve set your sights on one job: freelance writing.
Freelance writing seems to fit all your ideals. You love writing, you love the freedom attached to being a business owner, and you don’t need thousands of dollars worth of investment before starting. It is a great way of bringing in money without completely giving up the flexibility of your daily life.
When you look at freelance writing, as a whole, it does offer many of those benefits. It does have a low barrier of entry compared to many other independent or business-owner roles. You don’t need certifications, licenses, or any products before you can get started. It has the potential of being quite lucrative, as well. I know there are concerns about AI and how it has impacted freelance writing, but it won’t replace it (you can read more about why here).
There are several traits and habits that successful freelance writers have. If you want to grow and succeed in this field, check out this article and this one. They talk about the skills you need, plus the correct mentality that sets you up for success.
But outside of those, what else does a successful freelance writer need? Paying clients.
Look, you may have a huge portfolio of work, more than enough skills for success, plus the correct mentality. If you don’t have any paying clients, though, it doesn’t really matter. While all that stuff prepares you for tackling different projects, it doesn’t automatically bring you money.
So, how does a freelance writer get paying clients, then?
Price Your Services Appropriately
Pricing appropriately is a challenge for any business owner or independent contractor. You don’t want prices so low that you are grinding for hours and hours every day just to get by. Nor do you want prices so high that no one is interested in your work.
For some of us (myself included), settling on the right price took trial and error. I spent some time with low writing prices and I was getting plenty of contracts. This was early on in my career, so it seemed great. I was getting consistent work and bringing in money (albeit not much).
I believed I had solved my only problem: finding paying clients. But I was attracting work that wasn’t sustainable and I soon began noticing some troubling patterns. My experience working with some of these clients was not good. I had to chase after them for payment, had to ask a lot of basic questions about the direction they wanted the content to go, and was not getting consistent communication from them. Many of these clients never paid and I never pushed it, so I lost money.
The ones that didn’t give me a writing direction left me in the dark. I couldn’t write content for them properly because I had no idea what they wanted. They were just starting, as well, so they didn’t have a website that I could reference for brand voice. That was what I was writing for, actually. But without knowing what tone or voice they wanted, how could I create an effective and cohesive brand identity?
I maintained the same brand voice through all of my own content, at least. Then, when I turned it in, I would get back requests for edits or redoes because the content didn’t match what they already had. I spent my time rewriting entire sections of copy that I had already produced because their requirements were not made clear beforehand.
Others didn’t communicate well, all around. I would send them questions to target my content better, and I wouldn’t get a response until several days, sometimes a week, later. This meant I now had less time to research and write the content before the deadline. I ended up rushing through much of this content and working well into my evenings to get everything done on time.
The small amount of money I was bringing in wasn’t worth the experience I was having with these clients. I increased my rates, but I went too far in the opposite direction. I had priced myself out of the competition and spent a while not getting any clients. I had more experience at this point, so I knew I could handle the projects I was vying for. But since my prices were too high, my experience didn’t matter.
Eventually, I found a middle ground. One where I’m not getting every single client, but I’m still getting ones who recognize the value of what I bring to the table.
Your goal isn’t being the cheapest freelance writer around. Just because you got a paying client, doesn’t automatically make that a win. Find a rate that is realistic for your experience and the types of clients you want, while also being worthwhile to you. To learn more about freelance writing pricing, read this.
Build Your Portfolio
As a beginning freelance writer, you’re probably thinking, “I have no portfolio because I haven’t done any work.”
It’s true that you haven’t done any work, yet. But you still have a portfolio.
To have a portfolio, having clients — paying or not — is not required. All you need for a freelance writing portfolio is stuff that you have written.
One option for building your portfolio without clients is writing spec pieces. These are writing samples that you create as if you are writing for a specific company or brand. Choose one you admire, check out what they might be missing on their website, and write it yourself. Keep your writing cohesive with their brand voice and their target audience. This demonstrates to potential clients your ability to adjust your writing voice and match existing brand directions.
Another option is building your own platform, either with your own blog or on LinkedIn or some other platform. Not only does this demonstrate your commitment to writing, it also provides clients with plenty of samples of your work. Further, building your own platform makes you more visible online, which eventually brings the clients to you, as well.
Finally, consider offering free work. Such opportunities provide additional evidence of your writing range and capabilities. These free writing opportunities may come from volunteering positions or by offering your services to friends and family. Such transactions are trades that you purposely make for their investment value. You get portfolio samples and references, while they get free professional writing services.
When offering free work, keep it simple. You don’t need to spend hours researching a five-page paper for free. Instead, do small things, such as newsletters or individual website pages.
Use Your Personal Network
Many beginning freelance writers do not look at their existing network when searching for clients. For some, this means family and friends only. For me, it did. I’ve mentioned that I started freelance writing right after college. I didn’t have any past job history that was significant enough where I maintained contact after quitting. My personal network was my family and the few friends I had. Others have past colleagues within their network, along with family and friends.
Whatever it is, consider your personal network when you are searching for paying clients. Tell your family and friends about the specific kind of services you offer. They have their own networks and may be aware of someone seeking the services you have. Similarly, tell past colleagues or company higher-ups. Leverage the network you have to expand your options. Sometimes, it turns up a paying client. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s still beneficial that you inform your network about your work.
Also, when I say “inform your network about your work,” I don’t mean telling them that you write and are looking for writing clients. I mean clearly tell them about what you offer. Inform them of the niche you work in and the specific types of content you offer. Yes, it’s your personal network and we all have the habit of glossing over our work with our personal network. Often because we feel like we are pandering to them for help.
First of all, get that thought out of your head. You would gladly help out your friends, family, or former colleagues if you could. The same goes for them. Second of all, this is a professional career you are building. Now is not the time to gloss over what you do. Save that for small talk from strangers. Not for when you are actively working toward something.
Check Freelance Writing Platforms
Freelance writing platforms and job boards are great resources.
Is every client on such platforms going to be a long-lasting client with valuable connections? No. But it gets you started and helps you carve your own path in the freelance writing field.
Places like Upwork or Fiverr pay for writing work every day. These range from small, one-time projects to those long multi-year projects. Through them, you start building experience, improving your portfolio, and gaining feedback and reports about your work. All of this is valuable to finding more and more clients.
Since such platforms seek writing work so frequently, you have a better chance of finding work. Some start off with low prices to build reviews on these sites, then they increase prices later. Others start off with their preferred prices right off the bat. Either way, you are gaining experience and feedback from paying clients.
I began my career on Upwork. I stayed on the platform for many years. Finding new contracts was much simpler for me. I would apply to new project postings regularly, regardless of whether I had work or not. Plus, I was getting frequent invitations to interview.
Many of these applications and invites went nowhere. I didn’t even hear back from most of them. But the number of projects available and the number of pitches I was sending, still brought in regular clients with enough frequency that I could pay my bills.
That’s the beauty of these platforms: they have so many options that finding work is not terribly difficult. When you are just starting out, don’t discredit the value that they bring.
Make Social Media Work for You
Social media is rarely thought of as a professional resource. I mean, LinkedIn is, but the other social media platforms rarely are. The thing is, many social media platforms offer great resources for freelance writers seeking clients.
The best platforms for you are based on your goals. If you want more B2B connections, spend more time scrolling through LinkedIn. For real-time networking opportunities, try X. And for improving your position within niche groups, use Facebook. Each platform has its strengths and benefits freelance writers in different ways.
This is something that I am not very involved in because I haven’t had social media profiles since I was in college. I don’t have an X account, nor do I have a Facebook. All I have is LinkedIn. It suits my sort of work and the connections I want to build. But would having the other platforms active likely improve my success? Probably. I just haven’t been motivated enough to make them.
But that doesn’t mean you should follow my example.
Leverage social media so it works for you. Build up your network, share your content, and boost your credibility. For this, don’t worry so much about frequency. Worry about consistency. Making two thoughtful comments on LinkedIn a week will have a larger impact on your reputation and success than making a generic comment every day.
Stay active so you are aware when people interact with you on social media platforms, but don’t stress about missing a post every few days.
Cold Pitch Companies
Cold pitching businesses with your services is not something most of us enjoy. It’s necessary, though. I’ve cold pitched companies and so has every other freelance writer. I mean, maybe there are some who have found success without cold pitching, and more power to them, because that is amazing. But it isn’t the norm, nor is it the reality for many of us.
As with most cold outreach, the vast majority of cold pitches are ignored or sent to trash without being read fully. This often doesn’t have anything to do with your talent, skills, or services. It has to do with how you’ve written the pitch.
When you write a cold pitch, don’t make the entire message about you. Some beginners structure their cold pitches by introducing themselves first, then talking about their experience or passion, followed by their portfolio. This type of pitch does not tell the business about what they would get by working with you. It doesn’t structure the pitch in a way that is personalized to them, nor does it discuss the results they can expect or the ideas you have for their website.
A personalized pitch has a higher success rate than a generic pitch. Writing a personalized pitch takes more time and requires more research, on your part, but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff.
When writing a personalized pitch, start with the hook. This is something that demonstrates that you actually checked their website, either a gap you noticed in their online strategy or a recent article that they published. From there, include the value proposition (what you do and who you do it for), the proof, and a clear ask. Don’t ask them to hire you, leave it open and request a call or just further discussion about their strategy.
You don’t need a long cold pitch, either. A pitch of three to five sentences gets across the information you need, without wasting their time. If you demonstrate respect to them, they are more inclined toward demonstrating respect to you.
Finding Your First Paying Client
Even as a beginner, finding your first paying client requires purposeful action. It’s unlikely that you’ll stumble upon them as you hope and pray to make it as a freelance writer. If that is the career path you want, start walking it yourself. Consistently put yourself in situations where opportunities happen and the clients will come.
Even as clients begin trickling in, remember that not every client is the right one. If you are confident about your pricing, abilities, and portfolio, recognizing the clients that aren’t worth it to you is easier. Before agreeing on a contract, go through their expectations, communication requirements, and other details. If something seems off to you, or doesn’t resonate with how you want to conduct business, ask for further detail or take that as an early sign.
As someone who completed several projects feeling unsatisfied and disappointed with my work experience, it’s better to cut things off early before you waste your time. This isn’t fool-proof, mind you, but it does reduce the amount of difficult clients you must deal with.
You will also likely have clients from multiple sources the longer you work in this field. Sometimes freelance writers are fine with a single source. They may have clients that exclusively come from LinkedIn, for example, or only from Upwork.
I wouldn’t say this experience is extremely common, though. There isn’t a single, magical source of neverending clients. Just methods and behaviors that promote finding clients across varying channels. Knowing these methods prepares you for finding clients in many different ways as you grow.
All you really need to remember is to be yourself. You offer a unique value. In your portfolio, pitches, and other freelance writing documents, demonstrate that unique value. Let your personal brand shine through.