How to Become a Freelance Writer in 2011: 2 Things You Can Do Today to Get Started

Out with the old, in with the new… sound familiar? Now is the time of year when many start what I call the “new” line of thinking. They start thinking about all the new things they want to accomplish in the coming year. For many this means leaving a previous job and starting a new career. And, freelance writing is a work-at-home career that has a lot of appeal; four reasons why are discussed below.

4 Reasons A Freelance Writing Career Appeals To So Many… Especially In This Economy

It’s not hard to understand why this career appeals to so many, especially since unemployment remains high and new jobs are still hard to find. According to the February 2010 article, Countdown to a new job… 211 dayson the CNNMoney website, it takes almost eight months for unemployed workers to find a new job.

The article says:

“Job seekers are now out of work for an average of 30.2 weeks, or 7-1/2 months, up from the previous month’s record of 29.1 weeks. In fact, the average duration of unemployment has reached new records in the last 10 months in a row”.

Could you survive that long without a paycheck? Not many can. And that is why it is worth having or starting something additional. Freelance writing fits the bill for many, for the following reasons.

(i) No official training is needed: You don’t need any kind of official training to start a freelance writing career. Really, anyone with good grammar and basic word processing skills can get started.

(ii) It’s cheap and easy to get started – you don’t need to invest in office equipment or any other supplies. If you have a laptop and/or home computer, you’re basically good to go.

(iii) You can start making money almost immediately – there are freelance writers who get jobs almost immediately (within a few days or a week). While some of this is good luck, with the right marketing and in the right freelance writing industry, it’s entirely possible.

(iv) A portable career: If you have a laptop and an internet connection, you can literally work from anywhere.

As a freelance writer, I have worked everywhere from a Starbucks coffee shop in New York City; to an internet cafe in Duluth, MN; to a beachside bar in Jamaica; On my living room couch in my fuzzy slippers watching a hype reality show on TV.

There just aren’t many races out there with all these factors going for them. And, the opportunities in freelance writing just keep growing and growing.

If this is a career that appeals to you, here are a couple of things you can do today to get started.

Wondering how to become a freelance writer? Step One: Assess Your Skills

I’ve been a freelance writer since 1993, and one of the keys to success I’ve found is “nicheing for success.” And what I mean by that is select a niche and introduce yourself to potential customers in this way.

Many new freelance writers try to be everything to everyone. After all, you don’t want to turn down a writing job, do you? But, in my experience, it’s much easier to get jobs as a freelance writer if you carve out a niche for yourself (a specialty).

So test your skills and see what niches you can break into. Start by looking at your interests, what you have experience in, what you know a lot about, etc. Write all this down, then continue to the next step.

Researching a Niche: The Second Step in Your “How to Become a Freelance Writer” Quest

Once you’ve written your list of interests, hobbies, and experiences, as mentioned above, do some research on each niche. What you are looking for is to assess who your competition is, how much they charge, how they market themselves for freelance writing jobs, what services you can offer at the most competitive prices, etc.

Doing this kind of initial research will get you up and running, because you’ll have an idea of ​​what your pricing should be, what your service offerings should be, what clients want/expect/need from a writer in this niche, etc.

If you do these two things, you’ll have a huge advantage over your competition, because many new freelance writers don’t take the time to do this kind of in-depth research before getting started.

Freelance writing opportunities have never been more abundant. And in this economy, even if you’re lucky enough to get a job, it pays to always have something to combat future employment woes.