Do you want to work remotely but don’t want to move to a small town? Do you want to be able to write about topics that interest you? If so, you can create your own writing job and become a writer for hire! In this article, we will discuss some of the essentials required to become a professional freelance writer.
Start A Blog
One of the best ways to get noticed by potential employers is to have your own blog. When someone visits your website, they will have the opportunity to read your articles and find out more about you. If you are just getting started, consider creating a blog for free with WordPress.org. With WordPress, the process of creating a blog is very easy. You can use their basic dashboard to quickly draft up a blog post and customize it with your own content. If you are looking to create a more professional-looking blog, you can opt for a premium plan with them. Just remember that if you are looking to create a blog for any type of business, you will need to register with a business name and email address. Doing this ensures that your blog is associated with your personal account rather than a free blogging platform like WordPress.com.
Identify Your Niche
While you are building your blog, determine the type of content that you will write. Will you focus on business topics such as marketing or finance? Maybe you will write about lifestyle topics such as fashion or food. Regardless of which category you opt for, make sure that it is a topic that is both interesting to you and easily digestible by a general audience. Now is the time to experiment with different writing styles and see what works best for you. Once you have established your blog with a few quality articles, take the time to read what others have said about your niche. This will give you an idea of what themes and styles generally work well within the industry and allow you to build on this success going forward.
Dress The Part
When writing for an employer, you will need to wear your best academic or professional attire. This includes business suits, skirts, and blazers for women, and men’s suits, shirts, and ties for men. However, when writing as a freelancer, you can get away with less formal attire. Unless you are going to be presenting your work at a formal dinner or conference, you can opt for slacks and a sweater for women, and men can wear jeans or slacks and a casual blazer.
Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Like many other professionals, you will be spending a lot of time at work which means that you will need to get at least seven hours of sleep each night in order to function at your peak. According to the experts at Greatist, getting at least seven hours of sleep each night will help you be more creative and productive at work. In order to get these hours of sleep, you will need to go to bed early and get up early. Set a good example for your children by getting enough sleep yourself, and let them know that this is a good thing to do. As a parent, you may want to consider making your bedtime a little later so that you can continue writing until you fall asleep.
Decide How You Will Market Yourself
Working as a freelancer, your goal is to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. One way to do this is to set yourself up with a brand identity. As a freelance writer, you can choose to go by your full name or use your professional email address. If you choose the latter option, ensure that your email address is easily identifiable and related to your blog. For example, you can use your blog’s name as your email address or vice versa. This ensures that your potential employers know exactly who they are dealing with when they contact you about a job.
Get A Work-Life Balance
Working a lot at least five days a week will likely result in you burning out. In order to combat this, you need to establish a work-life balance. In other words, you need to find the right working hours for you so that you can maintain a healthy mindset while also being able to provide for yourself and your family. If you are the type of person who needs a lot of sleep, consider getting up early so that you can have more time in the morning. On the other hand, if you are the type of person who can function well on less than five hours of sleep, you might want to look for part-time work so that you can have more time off to pursue other projects.
Know When To Hire A Photographer
If you are looking for something a little more formal and you need someone to take your photo, you can hire a professional photographer. However, if you are just looking to create a more personal touch to your blog, simply use a smartphone’s built-in camera or a regular camera and some good quality lighting. You can even take a DIY approach and use a piece of cardboard, a leaf, or anything that catches the light to achieve an interesting effect. Just make sure that you have someone nearby to help you take a professional-looking picture, otherwise, you are likely to end up with an amateurish-looking portrait that was neither fun nor interesting to look at.
Use Scissors
When dealing with paper, be sure to use scissors to cut it. Also, be careful not to cut yourself when using the scissors. If you do, it will be difficult to create a good impression when dealing with your potential employers. They will likely ask you why you have cuts on your hands; you don’t want to be fumbling for an explanation while also trying to avoid getting blood on the paper.
Create A Good Impression
If you want to create a good impression with your potential employers, you will need to do the following:
- Use business-appropriate language and don’t use slang or profanity
- Be honest and upfront about any mistakes or omissions on your part
- Give a good description of the work required
- Follow up with a relevant sample of your work
- Be available for phone calls and correspondence
- Be willing to travel if needed
- Demonstrate a good ability to work independently
- Treat others with respect
Hopefully, this article has helped you develop an idea of what it takes to become a professional freelance writer. It is a great option for those looking to work remotely and be able to do work that they are passionate about. With just a few adjustments, you can make this a reality.
If you found this article valuable, check out our guide on how to become a digital nomad or our guide on how to become a remote web developer. Both of these jobs are ideal for someone looking to create a writing job remotely.