The current decade has seen a spike in the number of professionals choosing the freelance path. This is perhaps the direct effect of a huge demand from companies, as more and more businesses are creating virtual teams spread across the globe to get more work done. If you are an experienced professional who has ever thought of quitting your 9-to-5 job and take up freelance work or even thought of doing it as a side gig, now is the perfect time to enter the rink. 3 out of 4 companies today consider hiring freelancers because they are more talented and creative, more productive, and get more work done in less time than traditional full-time employees.
If you are determined enough to enter the freelancing world, the following avenues will come in handy. There are many ways in which you can get into freelancing, but these four ways can get you faster results. The key is to play the field and go with the one that works best for you. You must consider the type and quality of jobs, the remuneration, and reliability when it comes to freelancing.
Here are the four best ways to do freelance writing. We have made this list exclusively for writers because writing is one of the hottest professions in the freelance world today.
Get a Freelance Writing Job
There are multiple sites on the internet where you can get a part-time writing job. For example, you can go to http://writersdepartment.com/, create a profile, and start earning good money right away. The highlight of this website is that they cater to a large number of clients – from high school students to corporate managers to academic scholars – so there’s never a shortage of jobs. It also provides its writers the freedom to work on their own terms, in addition to flexible schedule and reasonable remuneration.
Sites like WritersDepartment is suited for writers who are looking to go the freelance way without quitting their full-time day job.
Look for Jobs on Freelancing Sites
In addition to the above site which is only for writers, there are other well-known sites like Upwork and Freelancer where you can create an account and look for jobs in a variety of fields. Do you specialize in SEO articles? Do you specialize in ebook writing? They have jobs for every known specialty.
The demerit is that you will have to build a great profile and submit a lot of proposals at the beginning in order to get interesting, high-paying projects. The amount of spam job is also very high.
Start an Own Website
If you are a working professional with a network of project managers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals, you can create a website and market it in your circles. You can then sell your writing services to everyone in your network. Since your friends and acquaintances already know and trust you, the chances of receiving work from them are high.
Consider the example of Bob, who works full-time as a PHP developer in a company. He also has a penchant for writing and has decided to create a secondary source of income out of it. As he and his wife are expecting their first child, Bob wants to have an additional source in addition to his and his wife’s salaries. He created a low-cost website, listed his skills and specializations in a beautiful way, and marketed it in his social and professional circles. He also optimized his website for search engines so that anyone who searched for specific writing services on Google would be led to his website. Within six months, Bob was working on ten different freelance writing jobs on the side. With proper time and resource management, he is now ready to welcome his child into the world where he and his wife are financially stable.
Even you can follow Bob’s example where all you need is determination and a bit of initiative.
Start with Your Friends
If you do not have time to explore freelancing sites for a writing job online, you can market your skills to your near and dear ones to start with. Do you know people around you who need content services like writing a CV or editing a college manuscript? Then you already have your first clients.
It is true that you may feel uncomfortable asking for money from your friends and relatives, but you must look at these projects from an experience point of view. Monetary benefits set aside, you can use this to create a portfolio of yourself which you can use to your advantage in future.
According to successful professionals who earn five figure salaries through online jobs, freelancing is a great opportunity today. As we move ahead in this decade, the opportunities for freelancers are going to increase manifold. So, pull up your socks and get started with one of these ways to attain professional freedom, flexibility, and an improved work-life balance.
