A freelance writer is a self-employed individual who writes content for various clients on a project-by-project basis. They are not committed to working for one specific employer and have the freedom to choose their own projects and set their own schedules.
The more you work with clients, the more you understand the type of writing they want. Every department–no matter what industry you’re in–needs an editor to ensure a writer’s work is clear and communicates their voice before sharing it with the public. The beauty of freelancing is that you’re in complete control of who you do (and don’t) work with.
You’ll need to register as self-employed when you become a freelance writer; all of those things will come out of your own pocket. On the other hand, huge businesses use freelance writers to scale. It’s more cost-effective for them to hire writers as and when they need them, rather than have 100+ experienced writers on payroll. Not every freelance writing job has to involve writing a piece from scratch! You can make a living as a freelance writer by editing other people’s content.
Roles and Responsibilities
Peak Freelance is the ultimate membership community for freelancers. We’ll teach you every tip, strategy, and technique we used to start (and grow) our freelance writing careers. She then quit her job at the age of 17 to become a freelance writer–without any type of marketing qualification. Two years later, she had her first six-figure year, working with clients like HubSpot, Databox, and CoSchedule.
Freelance writers are responsible for creating engaging and informative content for a wide range of mediums, including websites, blogs, social media, and print publications. Their duties may include:
- Researching topics
- Writing articles, blog posts, or other forms of content
- Editing and proofreading work
- Meeting deadlines
If each spent you 5 hours to write from start to finish, and you took on 4 blog posts per week, that’d be around $1,600 and $2,400 per month. They’ll typically have an in-house content team consisting of editors, content marketers, and strategists. Wondering what the benefit is of being a freelance ghostwriter?
Small businesses hire freelance writers because they don’t have the in-house skills, or time, to write content themselves. Freelance writers are a superb way for them to get top-notch content, without committing to hiring a full-time employee to do it for them. Businesses need content to find new customers, build awareness of their product in their industry, and communicate with people outside their organization.
We both started picking up writing gigs on the side of our jobs. That way, we built a small (but secure) network of potential writing clients who’d hire us when we became full-time freelance writers. Similarly, Michael Keenan, a freelance SaaS writer, started ghostwriting online for $20 per article. He landed a job at an agency writing local SEO content (which only lasted 4 months), before going full-time freelance. Usually, people start freelance writing as a self-employed person. The clients they’re being hired by don’t give the writer any benefits–like pension contributions and insurance.
It’s a great way for clients with lower budgets to polish the drafts they’ve created themselves. We’re not going to sit and say that becoming a freelance writer is easy. You have to deal with finances and accounting software, clients and deadlines, even marketing yourself is tough. It takes time, skill, and writing experience to make a comfortable living from it. Experienced freelance writers can demand higher rates, especially if they make a name for themselves in a particular industry. Those top-level writers can earn over $1,000 for a blog post–hence why it’s possible to make six figures as a freelance writer.
Skills Required
Successful freelance writers possess a variety of skills, including:
- Excellent writing abilities: Freelance writers must have strong grammar and punctuation skills, as well as the ability to write clearly and concisely.
- Research skills: Writers must be able to conduct thorough research on a wide range of topics.
- Time management: Meeting deadlines is crucial in the world of freelance writing.
Overall, freelance writing can be a rewarding career for those who enjoy writing and have a passion for storytelling. It offers flexibility, independence, and the opportunity to work with a diverse range of clients and industries.
