Are you looking for freelance writing jobs? With so much content being published online, there are more online content writing jobs than ever before!
Freelance writers are self-employed people who work for magazines, blogs, websites, companies, and more. In fact, much of what you read online these days is written by a freelance writer.
I was a freelance writer for many years, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I wrote for many different websites and companies, and I earned a great income doing so.
Freelance writing helped me increase my income while I was growing my blog, but now I write full-time here on Making Sense of Cents and not for anyone else.
When I was taking online writing jobs, I enjoyed it because it allowed me to:
- Make a good income
- Work from anywhere, even while I traveled
- Be my own boss
- Have a flexible schedule
- Work with interesting clients
- Do something I enjoy doing – which is writing!
If you’re interested, freelance writing can be a flexible side hustle or even a full-time business. You can find freelance writing jobs from home, work on your own schedule, and grow your business at your own pace.
There is a high demand for online freelance writing jobs, and you can do it from home or while traveling. There are even entry-level freelance writing jobs for beginners with no experience.
This is a job that can earn you over $50,000 a year, with a lot of room for growth. So many people are looking for freelance writers, and this can be a great career option to get started with.
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Here’s what you need to know about freelance writing jobs.
What is freelance writing?
A freelance writer is someone who writes for a number of different clients and across different types of content. They may write articles for magazines, blog posts, web copy, resumes, technical manuals, social media posts, books, and much more.
Working as a freelance writer means you don’t work for one specific company, rather you work for yourself and contract out your writing.
Most freelance writers contract out their services for multiple clients at a time.
What does a freelance writer do?
As a freelance writer, you may be writing blog posts, writing content for a company’s sales page, press releases, SEO content for a business, ebooks, essays, emails, newsletters, and more.
You may work as a technical writer, a staff writer, a journalist, doing academic writing, writing emails, and more.
Part of the work includes researching, outlining, writing a first draft, editing, and possibly making revisions for your clients.
Because freelance writers work for themselves, they are responsible for growing their businesses. This means freelance writers may also pitch clients, research niches, grow their email list, start and manage a website, be active on social media, and more.
Are freelance writers in demand?
Yes, freelance writers are in demand. As I mentioned above, freelance writers are needed in all different areas of businesses, not just magazines, blogs, journals, or newspapers.
Writers are needed for so many different areas other than the ones listed above, such as marketing, ghostwriting, newsletters, emails, essays, press releases, and more.
You also have to think about all of the written content that’s published online these days. When you read anything online, there’s a very good chance a freelance writer is responsible for writing it.
Freelance writers are a big help to business owners who realize that they need to publish written content but don’t know how or lack the time. A freelance writer is skilled in how to research the business owner’s topics so they can reach their audience and grow their business.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook from the years of 2020 to 2030 is 9%.
How much do freelance writers make?
Many new freelance writers will start out writing articles for around $50 a piece or more, but there’s a wide income range.
Some freelance writers work for content mills that pay as little as $0.01 per word, and there are other writers who make $500+ for a 2,000 word article! It all depends on your experience, the type of content you write, your niche, what clients you work for, and so on.
As you gain experience, you may be able to charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the work you write. As I explained, this depends on the topic that you are writing about, how many words are in your content, the company you are writing for, and so on.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for writers and authors in 2021 is $69,510 per year. However, I know many, many writers who make much more than this each year.
What type of writing pays the most?
Ongoing freelance writing gigs and ghostwriting jobs, like those for writing books, tend to pay the most, and this is because you will be writing a large amount of words and content.
Long-term writing jobs can become very lucrative because as you get to know your client’s needs, you can build your service offerings and charge more. Besides getting paid more, another benefit of ongoing writing gigs is that you will have more steady income.
Some ongoing jobs involve being paid on retainer, which means you are paid in advance for your work. This can be a good situation for many freelance writers because you can count on a certain amount of money for that month.
How much should I charge for a 500-word article?
This is a common question that I’ve heard, and it depends on what you’re writing and how much you usually charge.
Typically, articles and blog posts are longer than 500 words, but if this is what you are writing, then you can earn anywhere from $10 to $50. That is a wide range, but content writing jobs pay in different ways, such as per word or per project.
As you gain more experience and work for business owners in higher-paying niches, your rates for a 500-word article could be well over $100.
How much should a writer charge per 1000 words?
Again, how much you charge varies on the type of content, niche, and your experience.
A highly-experienced freelance writer in a well-paying niche may be able to charge $500 or more for 1,000 words. A brand new freelance writer will likely make $100 or less.
How do freelance writers get paid?
Freelance writers typically get paid by check, PayPal, Stripe, or bank transfer. This will be agreed upon with whoever you are working with.
When you start landing freelance writing jobs, you will want to come to an agreement on how each client pays you. Typically, you will have a contract that outlines how much you’re being paid for each project, the details of the type of work, form of payment, and when you expect to be paid.
Most clients will be open to online payments, which is one of the easiest ways to get paid, but pay attention to the fees so you can keep as much of your pay as possible. For example, PayPal charges around a 3% fee to receive payments.
How do I get into freelance writing?
How you start landing article writing jobs and other types of freelance content will vary. There are so many different ways to get started!
Here’s an example of the steps it takes to make freelance writing work for you:
- You find an ad for a freelance writing job, such as in a Facebook group or in a job board.
- You apply for the job by sending an email with a link to your portfolio. You will also explain in the email how you plan to help this particular client with their job.
- You either talk through email or via phone with the company, blogger, etc. and negotiate a rate, how many pieces they want (is it an ongoing gig or one time job?), timelines, how many edits you are willing to do, and so on. Make sure you get all of the terms documented. A contract is best, but you should get the terms in writing, even an email is better than nothing, before you get started. This protects you and your client.
- You start writing the content, edit and proofread it well, and send it to the company. Depending on the business owner, they may want it in a Google Doc, in a Word Doc, submitted directly on their website, or some other way. If they don’t tell you when you get started, make sure you ask them.
- It’s common for the client to request some changes before they are ready to publish what you have written. These are called revisions. It is up to you to determine how far you are willing to go for changes and how much time you are going to put towards it for the money that you are receiving. Some freelance writers include one free round of revisions, while others are willing to do more.
- Send over the invoice for your services. You and your client may have decided on a different payment notification method, but you will need to let them know when the job is complete and that you’re ready for payment.
- Lastly, receive your payment.
Paying self-employment taxes will also be important for you as a freelance writer. It’s suggested that you save approximately 30% of your pay for taxes. Setting aside that money when you’re paid will help you make sure that you have enough money when it’s time to pay taxes.
Recommended reading: 14 Best Online Typing Jobs For Beginners
Who hires freelance writers?
Freelance jobs are in high demand and many, many different types of people and businesses hire them.
Blogs, companies, businesses, authors, advertisers, and more all hire freelance writers to write content for them.
There are companies and individuals who hire freelance writers for ongoing writing jobs and one-off jobs. You can be hired to write 50,000-word books or 50-word social media posts.
What companies hire freelance writers?
There are many different online platforms you can use to find companies and individuals who are hiring freelance writers. These include:
- Fiverr – For freelance writing jobs, Fiverr.com can be a place to start looking at entry-level freelance writing jobs.
- FlexJobs – I searched on FlexJobs for freelance writing jobs, and I found 333 listings. I found remote jobs, part-time opportunities, full-time careers, and more.
- Upwork – With Upwork, you can find freelance writing jobs online for beginners. There are over 7,000 writing jobs currently posted on Upwork.
- If you take a freelance writing course, they may help you connect with potential freelance writing clients.
- Contact bloggers, companies, etc. to see if they need any freelance writing assistance. Finding your own clients tends to be the best way to make the most money, as job boards typically pay less.
- Create a personal freelance writing website that displays your services, testimonials, and so on. Then, be sure to share this link so that people can find you. It’s a good idea to share a link to your website on your Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn profile.
- Freelance Writers Den – This website has a job board where you can find freelance writing jobs. They post new writing job listings twice a week.
- ProBlogger Job Board – This is a job board where you can find various positions, including freelance writing jobs that are full-time, part-time, remote, and more. I did a quick search for writing positions that were open and found three pages of freelance writing jobs, most of which were remote jobs and posted recently.
- Freelance Writing – This website started in 1997 and they have a job board which lists freelance writing jobs, including those in journalism, copywriting, blogging, and more.
- Follow Twitter feeds to find freelance writing gigs – FreelanceWJ, Write Jobs, JournalismJobs, Who Pays Writers? are some that list freelance writing jobs.
- Join Facebook groups. I have seen many, many freelance writing jobs over the years be shared in Facebook groups. For example, the EarnMoreWriting Facebook group has had freelance writing gigs shared in the past. There are also Facebook groups for editors and publishers, female freelance writers, and more. You can do a quick search and find other free Facebook groups that will help you find jobs and connect with other freelance writers. Networking is a really good way to grow your writing business.
- Simply search “freelance writing jobs” to find a list of companies that are actively hiring. You may be surprised by the types of jobs. For example, here are some of the companies I found hiring: a pharmaceutical company, media groups, online study site, a consulting company, educational publisher, and more.
- General job boards like Indeed and Monster make it easy to search for writing jobs. They list both freelance and full-time positions.
- On LinkedIn you can create a profile and get connected with companies who are looking for freelance writers through LinkedIn Jobs.
How do I become a freelance writer with no experience?
You can definitely become a freelance writer if you have no experience. I started with no experience, and nearly everyone else that I know has as well.
New freelance writers will most likely start off by charging less, and this is how you get your foot in the door and build your portfolio. You will make some great connections along the way too, and that’s a good way to land more clients as you write more.
To build your portfolio and/or get started as a freelance writer with no experience, you may start by:
- Guest posting on websites and blogs. Guest posting is typically unpaid work, but it can be a great way for you to display your work, build your portfolio, and have clients find you. One easy way to start out with guest posting is to reach out to blogs you read and ask if they are looking for guest posts. Make sure that you take a good look at the guest posts that they have published in the past, and come up with a few topic ideas that they may be interested in. You won’t hear back from every blogger you email, but all it takes is one “yes” to get started!
- Starting a blog and writing your own content. You can learn how to start a blog for free here. I know so many freelance writers who start blogs because this is a great medium for your work.
- Pitch to websites that you are interested in writing for. This is like pitching bloggers.
- Network with others, such as other freelance writers or even bloggers, so that you can learn about writing gigs that may arise. Besides other writers and bloggers, getting to know other freelancers can help you land writing jobs.
- Comb through job boards and see if there are any freelance writing jobs that interest you.
- Take a freelance writing course. A course will help you to learn all about freelance writing and how to start. The course I recommend can be found here.
- Announce that you are working as a freelance writer and ready for hire. You can share this on your website, social media accounts, on job boards, and more. To get your name out there, you have to let it be publicly known!
- Let family, friends, and any other personal connections know you’ve started working as a freelance writer. You may never know who in your circle can help you land a job.
Do you need a degree to be a freelance writer?
No, most freelance writing gigs do not require any sort of degree or certification.
I have been a freelance writer for many different companies, and I have never once been asked if I have a degree.
There are some degrees that may help you become a better writer, like if you have a degree in writing or journalism, but those degrees don’t help you do the most important part, which is finding clients and growing your business.
Most freelance writers, even ones with degrees, grow their business with trial and error. I loved this about freelance writing because I definitely didn’t have a degree that would help me start freelance writing.
Which freelance writing course is best?
Alexander Webb and Kristin Wong (writer for New York Times, Glamour, Lifehacker, and more) created Come Write With Us, an online course for writers. This course teaches everything Alexander and Kristin have learned from writing for top newspapers and magazines.
Their course delivers real results and students have become freelance writers for magazines, websites, and one even writes for the New York Times.
In this course, you will learn things such as:
- How to become a professional writer
- How to set your freelance writing rates
- How to build your portfolio
- How to pitch clients
- How to find freelance writing gigs
Please click here to learn more about Come Write With Us.
Is it worth taking a freelance writing course?
Yes, I believe that taking a freelance writing course can be well worth it.
A course will help you get your online freelance writing business off to the right start, and you’ll learn exactly what you need to do, including how to develop your writing skills and find clients.
This can help you make money freelance writing much quicker than if you were trying to learn everything yourself.
Is there a market for freelance writing? Is freelance writing a good side hustle?
Yes, there is a market for freelance writers, and this can be a great side hustle or full-time career choice.
If you are looking for a flexible job where you are your own boss, can determine your own hours, choose your clients, and work from home, this can be a great side hustle for you to look into.
This is a growing gig that I think will just continue to increase in demand. Plus, the income is good and it can grow depending on your experience level and how many clients you take on.
Are you interested in finding online freelance writing jobs? What else do you want to know about freelance writing?
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