Are you looking for a simple, step-by-step guide to learn how to become a freelance writer and make money from it?
If so, you’re in the right place.
I’ve been freelance writing since 2006 and I’m here to show you how to get started in 2022 (or whenever you’re ready to take the leap).
While everyone works at their own pace, it only took me three months to grow my income from $0 to $2,000+. By the end of year two, my income surpassed $100k. And by year four, $200k/year was commonplace.
How to Become a Freelance Writer in 8 Simple Steps
1. Set Up a Website for Your Freelance Business
2. Build Your Writer Portfolio
3. Decide What Type of Writing You Want to do
4. Create a Freelance Writing Marketing Strategy
5. Search for Freelance Writing Jobs Online
6. Set Your Freelance Writing Rates
7. Find a Mentor
8. Have a System for Invoicing and Tracking Income and Expense
What is a Freelance Writer?
Generally speaking, there are two things that make up a freelance writer:
- You work on your own on a self-employed basis
- You create content for clients
As a freelance writer, you can have as many or as few clients as you’d like. Just remember, you’re working as a contractor, not a full or part-time employee.
Should I Become a Freelance Writer?
This is a personal question with no right or wrong answer, but there are many benefits of taking this career path:
- The power to take control of your professional future
- No limit on how much money you can earn (no employer to hold you back)
- Flexibility to work from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection (yes, working from the beach is possible!)
If these things excite you, a career as a freelance writer is worth considering.
Do I Need a College Degree?
No, you don’t need a college degree to work as a freelance writer. As long as you have something of value to offer your customers, your educational experience rarely comes to the forefront.
Of course, if you have a college degree, use it to your advantage as you launch your career.
For example, I received a degree in journalism, which helped me land my first few gigs.
Is it Really Possible to Get Paid to Write?
The opportunity to get paid to write is greater than ever before.
According to the Upwork Freelancing in America study, there are more than 57 million freelancers in the United States alone. Of them, millions are freelance writers.
ZipRecruiter notes that the average freelance writer salary is just north of $63,000/year. However, as mentioned above, this varies greatly from one writer to the next. There’s no limit on how much you can earn.
Now, If you’re ready to take the leap and learn how to become a freelance writer, let’s get started.
1. Set Up a Website for Your Freelance Business
Once you decide to chase your dream of becoming a freelance writer, the first thing you should do is set up a website. There are many reasons for this:
- Sharing your work samples with the world
- Providing a way for interested clients to get in touch
- Providing more information on yourself, such as your background and experience
- Starting a blog to share your thoughts
In the early days of my freelance writing career, I didn’t see the point in setting up a website. There was only one thing on my mind: finding as many new gigs as possible.
After a year, I realized I couldn’t scale my business without a website. I had nowhere to send potential clients and nowhere to share my work.
Once I made this change, my business took off. So, rather than make the same mistake as me, set up your website on day one.
Choose a Domain Name
The name of your website is what visitors will see first, so make sure it aligns with your freelance writing business.
It took me a while to figure it out, but using “yourname.com” is the best approach.
Some of the best places to register your domain include:
- Bluehost
- GoDaddy
- HostGator
- Namecheap
With many of these services, such as Bluehost, you get a free domain name when you sign up for hosting. This allows you to kill two birds with one stone. And even if you have to pay for a domain, it shouldn’t set you back more than $10 or so.
Choose a Hosting Provider
A domain name is a good start, but you can’t get your website online unless you have a hosting account.
In simple terms, the host makes sure visitors can access your website when they type in your URL or click on a link. But it goes deeper than that, as they also house your website files and keep them secure.
Web hosting is available at a low cost, with many reputable companies providing service for as little as $3/month.
I recommend either Bluehost or HostGator, as they’re both designed with beginners in mind. For example, Bluehost offers the following:
- Special introductory offer of $2.95/month
- A free domain name for the first year
- Free SSL certificate
- 24/7 customer support
While it’s nice to save a bit of money, it’s the 24/7 customer support that saved me time after time while starting my career. I was new to the world of web hosting, so I relied heavily on Bluehost’s customer service team to walk me through a variety of problems.
Choose a Free WordPress Theme
There are many applications for building out a website, but WordPress is the cream of the crop. And with 455 million websites powered by WordPress, you’re in good company.
When choosing a hosting service, search for one – such as Bluehost – that offers one-click WordPress installation. This is the quickest way to make your website live.
Once WordPress is installed, it’s time to choose your design and customize it to meet your needs.
There are thousands upon thousands of free WordPress themes to choose from. All you have to do is visit the official WordPress website and search through the available themes.
Tip: speed up the process by using search terms such as “freelancer” and “freelance writer.”
Should you want to give your website a unique look from day one, check out the premium themes offered by ThemeForest. There are hundreds of well-priced and professionally-designed themes for freelance writers to choose from.
Add Your Content
A professional design is a must, but it’s the content you publish to your website that really matters.
To start, create content for the following pages:
- Homepage
- About
- Contact
- Samples and experience
As your career evolves, make changes to these pages as necessary. For instance, it’s good practice to add to a work samples and testimonials page as more of your content goes live.
It all sounds simple and there’s a reason for that – it is. Sure, you’ll face some challenges along the way, but nothing that’s overly difficult to overcome.
Take it from me. It’s best to do things right the first time around when setting up your website. It’ll pay off in the long run.
2. Build Your Writer Portfolio
As a new freelance writer, building your portfolio is easier said than done. And even though you’ve yet to land your first client, there’s a solution: think outside the box.
I was once in the same position as you. I desperately wanted to launch my career but was struggling to gain footing due to a lack of work samples.
After some brainstorming, I decided to gather every piece of writing from my past, then settled on the best ones to use when pitching clients. And it worked like a charm!
Here are some ideas to consider:
Writing Projects from Past Careers
Before deciding to jump into freelance writing full-time, I worked in a sales and marketing role for two years.
My favorite part of the job was creating content for and managing the company’s blog. Over the course of 12 months, I created 10 to 15 blog posts. After reviewing them, I settled on the three best, added them to my portfolio, and talked them up every time I pitched a new client.
The best part about these samples is that prospective clients never asked if I worked for the company as a contractor or employee. My guess is that most assumed they were a writing client, not my full-time employer.
Content from Your College Days
If you spent any time in college, it’s likely that you completed a variety of writing assignments, some of which could make a nice addition to your portfolio.
This was another big win for me, as I was a contributor to the college newspaper. Looking back, the work wasn’t very impressive, but it was good enough to make its way to publication, while also helping me win a few contracts early in my career.
Write On-spec
On-spec refers to writing a piece of content in full, despite the fact that a company or editor has yet to agree to use it. In other words, you’re speculating that they’ll like it enough to pay you for it.
So, here’s what I did: I created a spreadsheet of local companies that could benefit from hiring a content writer. It included:
- Company name
- Industry
- Primary contact and contact information
- Where I thought they could use my help (website copy, blog posts, sales letters, etc.)
Finally, I created content samples geared toward their specific industry.
For example, I found a local uniform sales company with a dormant blog. I took a couple of hours to write a post titled “The Beginner’s Guide to Buying Uniforms.”
After sharing it with the company owner, we scheduled a face-to-face meeting and it resulted in a $500/month contract that lasted 15 months.
The key here was my willingness to write on-spec. Even if this company never got back to me, I could use it as a sample. I didn’t look at it as a risk, but instead a win-win situation. At the very least, I’d have another killer piece for my portfolio.
Final Tip
As you grow your business, keep your portfolio organized for easy sharing. I have a spreadsheet for my work samples, with columns for:
- Company name
- URL
- Industry
- Word count
- Type of article (listicle, how-to, news, etc.)
Each time I get a new sample, I add it to my spreadsheet. When it comes time to pitch a client, I can quickly find and share related samples, which increases my chance of success.
3. Decide What Type of Writing You Want to do
Writing is writing, right? Well, not exactly.
For the first two years of my freelance writing career, I was willing to take on any type of job that came my way. If someone was willing to pay me to write, I’d figure out a way to make it work – even if it meant taking a gig that didn’t interest me.
But soon enough, I realized this was the wrong approach. It was better to master one or two specific types of writing, as opposed to marketing myself as a jack of all trades.
My first project was 15 blog posts on the topic of mesothelioma. 500 words each at $5/article. I still remember writing the articles, waiting for the payment to arrive, and proudly showing my mom the check. I was finally a paid writer.
I learned a lot from that first project, including the fact that I enjoyed writing blog content. And to this day, it’s still the type of writing that gets me most excited. So, it tends to make up about 75 percent of my workload.
Here’s a list of the most common types of writing:
Blog Content
As the name suggests, this is an article that’s shared on a blog. Many companies have a corporate blog for sharing industry knowledge, updating their customers, answering common questions, and more.
You can “niche down” even further by focusing on blogs in a specific industry, such as real estate, finance, sports, or travel.
Website copy
Not to be confused with blog content, website copy is just what it sounds like: content that’s published on a website (not a blog) itself.
This can include the homepage, about, contact, services, and case studies among many other types.
There’s a lot of work available in this space, as new companies need a web presence and existing companies want to update their content to better reflect their offerings, improve their search engine rankings, and inform customers.
Copywriting
Copywriting takes on many forms, but regardless of the project it always entails the creation of content for the purpose of advertising or marketing.
Maybe you write the content for a Facebook ad. Or perhaps you rework landing page copy for a client, with the goal of boosting conversions.
To some, copywriting comes naturally. To others, it takes many years of practice to master the craft.
Sales Content
This could fit under the copywriting umbrella, but I wanted to call it out specifically as it’s an in-demand niche that pays well.
The most common types of sales content include sales letters, brochures, and email copy.
According to HubSpot, 40 percent of B2B marketers say email newsletters are most critical to their content marketing success. And for that reason, they’re willing to spend money on a copywriter to help them succeed.
Books or Ebooks
Books and ebooks are a different beast entirely, as these projects require more time, research, and collaboration with others, such as editors. But if it’s the path you want to follow, it can be an enjoyable and lucrative one.
I have written two books over my career as a freelance writer. One was traditionally published, while the other was self-published.
While the traditionally published route has its benefits, such as working with an editor and full-scale marketing team, don’t overlook the power of self-publishing. This puts you in full control, while also allowing you to take home more of the profits.
In my experience, ebooks aren’t typically as long as conventional books, but you should still expect to write tens of thousands of words.
If these options have you confused, don’t force yourself into traveling down one specific path.
Experiment with each type of writing project, make note of the pros and cons and shape your career accordingly as it grows.
4. Create a Freelance Writing Marketing Strategy
Here’s something I never want you to forget: working as a freelance writer is a real business. Don’t let anyone tell you differently (because some people will try).
And since you’re running a business, it’s essential to develop a marketing strategy that’s designed with the idea of securing new work.
If you want to make a living as a writer – and I know you do – you can’t go without a marketing strategy. I tried to “wing it” early in my career, but after a few months, I realized that a concrete plan was critical to my future success.
The one thing you’ll quickly learn is that some marketing tactics are better suited to your business and personal strengths than others. However, you won’t know what does and doesn’t work until you try everything.
I’ve tried almost every marketing tactic imaginable, with varying results. But since I want you to make the most of your time, I’m going to provide a rundown of the five that have worked best for me.
Connect With Your Network
This is where I made the most progress during the first six months of my full-time freelance writing career.
I reached out to everyone I worked with in the past, with a focus on those working in marketing roles.
After scraping together about 100 contact names and emails, I sent a brief note to each. Here’s what it said (feel free to customize it for your own use):
Greetings [First Name],
It’s been a while since we last chatted, but I wanted to update you on my career path. I recently turned my full attention to freelance writing, with a focus on website copy and blog posts.
As someone who works in sales and marketing, I thought you may be able to use my services. And even if you can’t, I’d be thrilled if you could pass my name and writing samples along to those in your network who may need a writer.
It’s great to connect again, and please let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you.
Thanks,
Chris
I heard back from roughly half of the people on my original list, with two eventually hiring me.
While that’s a low conversion rate, it was a big deal for me at the time. Not only did it validate my decision to become a freelance writer, but it also provided me with the income needed to build my business.
Cold Email
If I could choose only one marketing tactic, it would be cold email. It takes a lot of time and effort – along with plenty of rejection – but it’s won me hundreds of thousands of dollars in business over my 10+ year freelance writing career.
In fact, I’m such a big fan of cold emailing that I’ve created content on the subject for Mailshake, a leading sales engagement software.
Here are my three keys to success with cold emailing:
- Start by creating a list: The more targeted contacts you can find, the better off you’ll be. But regardless of the size of your list, I suggest getting something substantial – 50+ email addresses- in place before sending. It’s much more efficient than finding a contact, emailing them your note, and repeating.
- Create a cold email template: Along with building a list of targeted contacts, this is the most important factor in any cold email campaign. Once you have a template, you can customize it to suit the recipient. I shared a handful of my personal favorite templates in my article on Mailshake titled “What Happened When I Cold Emailed 200 Inc. 5000 Companies?”
- Stick it out: Just the same as cold calling (more on this below), there’s nothing simple about gaining traction with cold email. Personally, it’s my goal to land one to two new clients for every 100 emails sent. And when things work out that way, it means I was rejected 98 or 99 times.
Cold Calling
Cold calling may not be as popular as it once was, but that doesn’t mean it can’t help you grow your freelance writing business.
Think of this in the same way as you do cold email. You have to endure one rejection after the next in hopes that it’ll eventually result in a meeting and subsequent sale.
With 82% of buyers saying they’ve accepted meetings after receiving a cold call, it’s something to strongly consider.
I’ll be honest: I don’t do this nearly as much today as I did in the first three years of my career. But when I see an opportunity with a particularly enticing company or individual, I’m okay with the idea of jumping on the phone and seeing where it leads.
If you’re going to cold call, I only have two things to say:
- Once you get the right person on the phone, be prepared to wow them during the first 10 seconds of your conversation. Get to the point and hook them as quickly as you can.
- Grow thick skin. You’ll get hung up on, time after time. You may even have people scream (and curse) at you. It’s okay. Put it out of your mind and forge ahead. It’s worth it when you finally make a sale.
Share Your Portfolio Online
Above, we talked about the importance of building your writer portfolio. Once you have samples to share, you want to do so in as many places as possible.
Consider the following:
- Your website
- Social media (LinkedIn is by far the best)
- Freelancing platforms, such as Upwork and Contently (see my portfolio here)
The more places you share your portfolio, the greater chance there is that someone will come across it and hire you. It’s a numbers game and in 2022 there are more options than ever before.
Stay in Touch with Other Freelance Writers
This goes along with connecting with your network, but it deserves its own space. Here’s why: some of my best contracts as a freelance writer have come from referrals from other writers.
It’s true. Writers help writers, and that’s something I am extremely grateful for.
Here’s an example. In late 2019, I connected with a fellow writer on LinkedIn who was looking to interview writers for an upcoming piece for the Zapier blog.
Not only was I quoted in the piece, but there were three additional benefits:
- A backlink to my site from an authority site
- Syndication on other websites, such as Fast Company (and more backlinks)
- The opportunity to grow my personal brand and establish myself as a thought leader in my space
The more writers you connect with, the more opportunities you’ll come across. Just make sure you return the favor as often as possible. This is critical to establishing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
5. Search for Freelance Writing Jobs Online
A lot has changed in the online world over the past 15 years, but even in 2006, when I started my freelance writing career, I relied on the internet for almost everything.
There were only a few exceptions, mainly when sending query letters to magazine editors.
Today, the majority of my marketing efforts begin and end online. The only time I step outside of the world wide web is to make cold calls, and on a rare occasion, I send direct sales letters.
To succeed today, it’s critical that you’re comfortable searching for freelance writing jobs online. And that’s particularly true for new freelancers with a marketing strategy that’s yet to gain traction.
So, this leads to the million-dollar question: what’s the best way to search for and effectively find freelance writing jobs online?
There are hundreds of job boards, both general and niche, that you can browse daily in hopes of finding a handful of gigs to apply for.
But remember, you only have so much time in your schedule for finding new writing jobs. As your business grows, you’ll spend most of your day creating content on behalf of the clients you already have.
Tip: never stop marketing and searching for jobs online. Even when your schedule is full, you should be on the lookout for your next project(s). If you don’t, you could soon find yourself without enough work to keep you busy.
Now, let’s move onto the best places to search for freelance writing jobs online:
ProBlogger Jobs
Run by super-blogger Darren Rowse, this is the premier job board for freelance writers
Not only are new jobs added daily, but the majority of them pay above-average rates. There are also gigs in every niche imaginable, increasing the likelihood of finding something that suits your interests.
Finally, it’s free for writers to use, so you have nothing to lose. Make sure you check this job board at least once a day. There’s a lot of competition, so the sooner you reach out to a prospective client, the better chance you have of striking up a conversation.
FlexJobs
As a freelance writer, remote work is what you’re looking for. And on FlexJobs, that’s all you get. Every job posted here is for remote work. But not every job is related to writing, so you’ll have some searching to do.
The only potential downfall is that you’ll pay $14.95/month for access. If you land just one freelance writing gig on FlexJobs, you’ll more than earn back your annual expense.
Upwork
Upwork is an industry-leading bidding site for all types of freelancers, with thousands of writing jobs
The most successful writers on Upwork are those with a strong profile and high ratings. To gain high ratings, you may need to complete a few jobs for less than your going rate. It may be a tough pill to swallow at first, but it’s all part of building on the platform.
Upwork has a unique fee structure:
Even with high service fees, Upwork is worth a closer look. I know many freelancers who used the platform as a springboard to bigger and better things.
LinkedIn Job Search
For professional networking online, LinkedIn is the place to be. And it’s not even close.
So, it’s only natural that companies use LinkedIn to find talent, including freelance writers.
With the search function, you can quickly input the type of job you’re looking for, as well as your location.
Tip: since you’re searching for remote work, start with your home location and then expand to larger cities. For example, I am based in Pittsburgh but also search for work in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. As you would expect, you’re likely to find the largest number of jobs in the biggest cities.
Also, vary your “job title” search, using keywords such as:
- Freelance writer
- Writing
- Freelance technical writer
- Freelance features writer
- Freelance medical writer
- Editor
The competition on LinkedIn is high, but the opportunities are nearly endless.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of places to find freelance writing jobs online, but I want you to use your time wisely. Start with these services and then branch out as necessary.
6. Set Your Freelance Writing Rates
Every new freelance writer will struggle with this. Setting your rates for the first time is no easy task.
On one side of things, you want to get paid as much as possible for your services. You certainly don’t want to lowball yourself.
But on the other side of the equation, you have concerns about pricing yourself out of the market, especially when more experienced writers may have lower rates.
This is why it’s so tricky to set your freelance writing rates. Here’s the good news: it gets easier over time, as you’ll gain a better feel for what particular clients are willing to pay for your services.
I can’t tell you exactly how much to charge for your services, but I can provide you with the guidance needed to make informed decisions. Here’s what you should do:
Feel Out the Market
After you settle on the types of projects you’re willing to take on, scour the internet to learn what other writers are charging. Start with Upwork, as this is where you’ll find the most data in the shortest period of time.
For example, if you’re primarily interested in writing blog posts, focus on this during your search. If you find that other beginners are charging $.10/word, start there or undercut the price by a few cents per word (this can give you a leg-up on the competition)
Negotiate
Sticking with the example above, maybe you quote a prospective client $.10/word for five 2,000 word blog posts per month.
If they agree, you’re in business. Maybe you could have asked for more, but knowing that you’re getting what you requested should be good enough.
If they turn you down at $.10/word, ask what they’re willing to pay and then negotiate. For instance, they may be unwilling to pay any more than $.075/word. If that still works for you, close the deal and get started.
When negotiating, keep in mind that some companies are pinching pennies. So, you can’t rely solely on your negotiations to determine where you should set your price. Know how low you’re willing to go, and then stick to that number.
Decide How You Want to Charge
This is every bit as important as setting your freelance writing rates, as it’ll dictate how you approach this detail with a prospective client.
Generally speaking, there are four types of arrangements to consider:
- Payment per word, such as $.10/word
- Hourly payment, such as $50/hour
- Fixed-rate, such as $100/article
- Retainer model, such as $1,000/month
As you complete more projects, you’ll come to learn what type of arrangement works best for you. Early in my career, everything I did was on a per-word or fixed-rate basis.
However, over the past five years, the majority of my projects are per-word or the retainer model.
Sometimes, a client will ask how you charge for your work. Other times, they’ll have a preference.
Even if you have your sights set on a particular arrangement, don’t turn down a gig because the client has another idea. I’ve found that you can make any type of payment arrangement work, as long as both sides are willing to negotiate and compromise.
A leading benefit of working as a freelance writer is the ability to increase your rates as you see fit. You don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. And you sure as heck don’t have to wait for a boss to give you a raise.
As you gain more experience and establish yourself as an authority in your space, you can command higher rates.
Earlier, I talked about my first gig that paid $5/article. Today, for 500 words, I would typically charge in the $75 to $100 range, and possibly more.
Of course, I couldn’t do this out of the gate, as I didn’t have the samples, experience, or reputation to do so.
Setting your rates early on is important, so don’t put this on the backburner. Maybe you hit the nail on the head. Maybe you under/overcharge out of the gate. It’s a learning experience that every new freelance writer goes through.
Let your rates evolve naturally over time. Don’t force things. Stay in tune with your target market so you can adjust your rates accordingly at the right time.
7. Find a Mentor
It’s not required by any stretch of the imagination, but I strongly urge all new freelance writers to find a mentor.
This doesn’t have to be someone you already know (although that would help). And it certainly doesn’t have to be someone who can spend hours working with you every week.
You’re simply searching for a successful freelance writer who’s willing to provide you with guidance, answer your questions, and help you grow your career.
Here are some of the benefits of having a mentor:
- Guidance: You’re sure to have questions and concerns, and without a mentor, you’re left to make an educated guess. But with a mentor, you have someone on your side who has “been there and done that.” So, they can provide you with guidance that gives you peace of mind.
- Someone to lean on: Are you having trouble finding new clients? Are you struggling to collect past due payments? Not sure of how to structure your day? It’s nice to have someone to lean on. As a new freelance writer, a sounding board is invaluable.
- They can send you work: Don’t go into the relationship assuming your mentor will send you work, because this may never happen. However, if you hit it off and prove that you’re a good, reliable writer, there’s always a chance they’ll refer you work in the future.
But, where do I find a mentor?
I was lucky enough to find a great freelance writing mentor by chance.
About six months into my career, I landed a contract to create content regarding all things “small business” related.
It was right up my alley, so I naturally hit it off with the client. Since he is a solopreneur, I had the opportunity to work with him directly, day after day.
As the weeks turned to months, we spent more time on the phone brainstorming, talking shop, and getting to know each other. It was then that I found out how successful he personally was as a freelance writer
While I never asked him to be my mentor, he was always open to providing guidance during the critical early growth phase. I attribute a lot of my success to the fact that he was so helpful when I needed it the most.
If you’re searching for a mentor, you may not have to go too far. There may be someone in your current life, such as a client, who fits the mold.
Other places you can search include:
- LinkedIn: start with your network, paying close attention to anyone who currently works as a freelance writer
- Google search: search terms such as “freelance writer” and “freelance writer mentor” for some direction.
- Ask around: even if you don’t personally know someone who is willing to help, someone in your network may be able to point you toward a connection.
Make it your goal to find 5 to 10 potential mentors. From there, here’s what you should do:
- Reach out via email to introduce yourself
- Make your intentions clear
- Thank them for their time
If that doesn’t work, rinse and repeat.
Here’s an email template you can customize:
[First Name],
We’ve been connected on LinkedIn for three years, and I’m a big fan of your writing.
I am launching my freelance writing career and hoping to find a mentor who can provide me with guidance. I’d love to bounce some ideas off you, ask a few questions, etc.
Either way, I appreciate your time. Hope to hear from you soon!
Chris
It’s short, sweet, and to the point. Once someone agrees, you now have a mentor. And that can do wonders for your career.
8. Have a System for Invoicing and Tracking Income and Expenses
As you take the steps necessary to become a freelance writer, you’ll soon realize that a big part of your job is invoicing clients and tracking your income and expenses.
It’s not the most exciting thing you’ll do, but it’s all part of running a successful business.
Let me start by saying you don’t need a complex system to get the job done. I use a few tools, combined with a basic Excel spreadsheet, to keep track of everything.
Some clients will pay without an invoice, but I’ve found that this is becoming less common with each passing year. Here are a few of my favorite ways to send freelance writing invoices:
FreshBooks
I didn’t use a professional invoicing solution early in my career, and it cost me many hours every month. Upon making the switch to FreshBooks, I realized just how simple it could be to not only send invoices but also keep track of what has and hasn’t been paid
Note: I love the fact that FreshBooks allows you to see if your recipient has viewed your invoice.
FreshBooks has a free trial, so I suggest you start there. Look around the dashboard, check out the features, and send a few invoices. See if it’s the right fit for you.
If everything checks out, consider one of its paid plans:
As a beginning freelance writer, the “Lite” plan, with its five billable clients, is probably enough.
If not, consider bumping up to the “Plus” plan, as it gives you 50 billable clients, which is likely to be enough for the rest of your career.
At $6/month, the Lite plan will only set you back $72/year. But if you decide to pay 12 months at a time, you can secure a cheaper price of $54/year.
If I could do it over, I’d definitely use FreshBooks out of the gate.
PayPal
Approximately 50 percent of the payments I receive every month are via PayPal. So, there are times when I use its invoicing system. However, I still prefer to use FreshBooks for every invoice for organizational purposes
PayPal’s invoicing feature is free, so it’s worth a closer look. It’s easy to use and automatically integrates with the rest of your account, making it a breeze to see the status of any invoice.
Create Your Own Invoice
This was me in the early days. I would create one invoice after the next in a Word document, attach it to an email, and send it off.
There were benefits, including the fact that it was free and relatively easy. But the disadvantages quickly became a hassle:
- Time-consuming to create a new invoice
- No way of effectively tracking invoices
- No way of knowing if the recipient received it
You have too many choices nowadays to go down this path. You should use it as a last resort.
How to Track Freelance Income and Expenses
I’m the first to admit that my system for tracking income and expenses is a bit archaic. And even though I’m slowly moving toward a new system, it’s still something I rely on for cross-referencing purposes.
I have an income spreadsheet with columns for:
- Client name
- The date the invoice was sent
- The date the payment was received
- Payment amount
- Payment method
For expenses, it’s just as simple:
- Expense
- Expense category
- Date of purchase
- Amount of money spent
After many years of my freelance writing friends telling me to change, I’ve finally signed up for QuickBooks. It’s a cost-effective and more efficient way to track income and expenses.
After a 30-day free trial, you can get started for as cheap as $8/month. When you consider the features you get in return, it’s well worth it.
Implementing a system you understand is more important than anything. You should always have a beat on your income and expenses, as it helps you understand the financial health of your business, which carries over into your personal finances.
Getting Paid as a Freelance Writer
Working as a freelance writer means getting paid in full and on time. While that doesn’t always happen, it’s your goal.
To increase your chance of timely payments, work with your clients to settle on a system that works for both of you.
Generally speaking, there are three ways to get paid as a freelance writer:
- PayPal: for many years, the majority of my payments have arrived via PayPal. While this has fallen off a bit over the last couple of years, it still accounts for 50 to 60 percent of payments.
- Bank wire: bank wire is growing in popularity, as it’s a quick and efficient way for clients to send payments directly to your bank account.
- Check: every month, I receive a handful of checks. It’s by far the least common for me, but it’s an option I am open to.
There are two things to keep in mind when negotiating how you’ll receive payment:
- How long it will take to receive the funds
- Fees
For speed, PayPal can’t be beaten. You can send an invoice right now and receive a payment within a matter of seconds. And that’s a good feeling.
On the downside, PayPal fees can quickly add up. Every year, I pay somewhere in the range of $3,000 to $4,000 in PayPal fees. It’s not ideal, but I’ve become used to it over the years.
Bank wires typically take a few days to arrive. If you don’t mind waiting, it’s probably the best option for you.
The only thing to consider is whether or not you’ll pay a fee to receive the wire. Talk to your bank about this. For example, I pay $20 every time I receive a foreign bank wire.
Finally, checks take the longest to arrive, but there are no fees. In addition to the time delay, my biggest issue with checks is concerns about them getting lost. This has only happened to me a couple of times, but it’s a pain in the neck to fix.
My best advice for getting paid as a freelance writer is to accept all three forms of payment. Then, if a client asks what’s best for you, you can answer with your preferred method.
Build Your Writer’s Toolbox
When I started my freelance writing career in 2006, things were much different than they are today.
Many of the tools I now rely on weren’t available back then. But fortunately, this has all changed, and freelance writers now have access to a tool for almost everything.
Below, I’m going to share my favorite freelance writing tools. You probably won’t use all of them, but I hope a few of them will make your life easier.
Invoicing: FreshBooks
Above, I talked about the benefits of FreshBooks. To refresh your memory, it’s my preferred tool for invoicing.
Payroll: Gusto
After electing for S corporation designation, I was required to put myself on my company’s payroll. But, after hearing a few horror stories from other freelancers, I came to realize that personally managing payroll was more than I wanted to bite off.
My CPA suggested I check out Gusto’s full-service payroll. It’s affordable, easy to use, and designed to save you time on an otherwise time-consuming task.
Productivity: G Suite (Google)
For productivity, I can’t think of any tool I use more than G Suite by Google.
I use Google Docs to create content and share it with clients. I use Google Sheets to track data. And of course, I use Google Calendar to keep my schedule in check.
Income and expense tracking: QuickBooks
Another tool I mentioned earlier, QuickBooks is turning into my favorite for income and expense tracking. It took me a while to give it a go, but now that I have, it’s changing the way I do business
There’s a myth that QuickBooks accounting software has a steep learning curve. This may have been the case in the past, but I’ve found its most recent offerings to be user-friendly in every regard.
Email finder: Hunter
Cold email is one of the best ways to connect with prospects in hopes of growing your business. And while LinkedIn is helpful to a certain degree, it has its limitations when it comes to finding email addresses.
Hunter allows you to find the email address of almost every business professional, thus giving you an avenue for connecting to discuss your services.
Marketing toolkit: SEMrush
There is more to working as a freelance writer than creating killer content. The best of the best develop skills related to:
- SEO
- Keyword research
- Backlinks
- Paid traffic
- Social media
- Market research
When you understand these areas of digital marketing, it’s easier to create high-quality content that wows your clients.
SEMrush is an all-in-one marketing toolkit that can tell you more about a website or keyword than you ever thought possible.
Patience is a Virtue
There’s something I want you to keep in mind: starting a freelance writing career takes time.
Above, I talked about my first few gigs and how they only paid a handful of dollars. While I was lucky enough to gain some serious traction in year one, there were struggles along the way. But that’s okay. It’s all part of the learning process.
Don’t go into this career path with the idea that it’ll be easy. If things work out better than expected, good. But if they don’t, you don’t want to be caught off-guard.
As a general rule of thumb, I tell aspiring freelance writers to give themselves a full year (if possible) to get their career up and running. You may reach some of your goals sooner than that. You may also find that you need another year or so to reach the income and success level you’re hoping for.
Here’s a quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to keep you going when you feel like giving up:
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
How to Become a Freelance Writer in 2022: Final Thoughts for New Writers
All in all, becoming a freelance writer is about taking the right steps and remaining patient. If you want to reach your goals, treat your new career as a business and fight forward one step at a time.
We talked about a lot here. It is my goal to share the most comprehensive guide on how to become a freelance writer, and I’m hoping you find it valuable in 2022 and beyond.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email or give me a call. Either way, I am looking forward to hearing about your freelance writing success!