There is content already out there about how to be a writer; however, sometimes it is misunderstood the importance of learning this skill. Want to know how to embed it into a specialised niche? Read on and make freelance writing your dream, earning cash on the side or taken it further and making a freelance career.

When you research how to be a writer, you will come across many articles, although all you need to focus on is your skillset. What is ahead of you, for example, agency work, taking gigs from job boards and creating your freelance writing website, now there’s a thought!

Freelance writing might be in high demand; however, it has a low barrier to entry and allows students or 9 to 5 workers to jump on board and start with side gigs. Making good money from freelance writing is a whole other story, you will need to dedicate to the ‘program’ don’t be scared about the lean times ahead as these tips on how to be a writer will give you the confidence to succeed.

Photo by Cathryn Lavery 

You are casting your net to the broader audience when writing can indeed be tempting. Watch out! This method might well be a mistake in the long run. The best practice is to spend more time researching a specific niche and applying yourself to write for clients that desire a quality service in your dedicated field.

Identifying a niche that you already have expertise in is ideal. Select a topic area and hone in your writing skills to deliver a high-quality service for clients. Writing for a blog can build up your knowledge across topics while continually improving your grammar and sentence structure. Although, you should consider choosing two topic areas and they must interest you as researching is fundamental in the process of freelance writing.  You will present a client with a finished product; this needs to be your best-written piece.

How to choose the right platform to elaborate your freelance writing skills? Creating a platform to build credibility and to channel your workload can be easy if you know where to go. You have many options; you can custom build a website by using freelance web developers, use WordPress or an equivalent or set yourself up on a freelance platform and only pay when a job comes through. The latter option is always the best when learning how to be a writer. The reason for this is a dedicated freelance platform will build a client base for you without you having to spend a penny.

The primary purpose of promotion is to showcase your skills and prove that you mean business by setting up a base for discovery by clients. Having a site designed will look professional and allow you to channel information to your specific niche. In the early stage, online traffic will be limited, linking your website to a freelance platform will help you become visable. Once you are set up set pricing on the freelance platform to remain competitive, however, leave out the price on your website as you will be able to negotiate depending on your level of experience.    

If your niche is classic art, then you should reflect that in your samples. Strategically placing samples on your portfolio page will promote your talent, you can post them onto social media. LinkedIn, Medium and Quora are three of the best sites to promote yourself in this way, while linking back to your portfolio.

Making a link or reference to your writing from another site will give credibility to your work and will potentially make potential clients browse your portfolio for longer.

How to be a writer in the 21^st century is all about utilising powerful marketing tools that can get your name out there quickly and professionally. Here are a few tips:

• Send emails to individuals and businesses related to your niche: Conducting research relevant to your field of expertise will allow you to make contact with people that are directly responsible for making a hiring decision. You need to provide them with information such as what you write about, send them a link to a great sample and ask for a reply – asking will only encourage interaction. Always prepare yourself for rejections or no responses.
• Prepare your elevator pitch: Have you got a 30-second briefing of what you do? Make sure you are ready by fine-tuning an elevator pitch. What not to say: “I am a content writer in the classic art niche.” Instead say: “I make classic art websites shine with detailed blog posts that inspire and educate that their visitors love.” You may be in a variety of different social setting; having an elevator pitch will enlighten potential clients about your proposition.
•  Get social and write amazing bios: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all great places to get noticed when it comes to building your social media profile. Join groups in your niche and get involved with networking as a solopreneur this strategy is a must!   
• Join networking and meet up groups: Socialising is vital to your growth and learning how to be a writer. You can not only learn off more experienced freelance writers you will be able to ask for your sample work to be reviewed, giving you an instant stronghold in the wordsmith community.

Freelance writing jobs are on numerous platforms try Freelance Writing Jobs, Problogger and Skillbox. You will find plenty of jobs to enhance your freelance writing career, and this will most definitely sustain you if you are a beginner and want to learn how to be a writer or when you hit a dry spell.

As a writer the best way to approach job boards is to create a professional-looking portfolio showing off samples of your work as previously mentioned, loading images ideally of the work you have completed and giving your audience a great bio to read. The more you put into your profile, the better the chance of continued success as a writer.

Reviews help create credibility and give clients a form of information they can trust. You can embed reviews on your portfolio and attach them to your website, preferably on a landing page. Ideally, you would want to use clients name, affiliation and photo were possible to prove the source is legitimate (Always seek consent).

Getting your freelance writing career off to a great start will require a lot of determination. Commit to these six steps to help assist you in building your reputation in the freelance writing world. If you are still wondering how to be a writer, check out this blog for additional tips.