The First 3 Steps as a Freelance Writer

Want to make it as a freelance writer? It’s all about how you start your career. Part-time, hobby, full-time, it doesn’t really matter. If you plan to succeed with an online business, which writing most certainly is, you must treat it like a business. The most common mistake freelancers make is to put the proverbial wagon ahead of the horse trying to find gigs before they ever find their true business skills and offerings.

Write a Business Plan

Simply stated, a business plan is a blueprint of what you’re offering and how you’re going to do it. A true business plan is usually presented to others, but yours can be more casual. The purpose here is to organize your thoughts and present yourself properly when it’s time to launch the business. The business plan is just that – planning. When creating your plan, consider:

- What you’re going to sell.

- How you’re going to sell it.

- How your services will be priced.

- How you’re going to find clients and an audience.

- Where you’re going to get funding to develop any necessary initial marketing.

- The name and brand of your service.

In your plan, you should determine specifics and they should be measurable. If you say, “I want to write for the web and make money,” you’re starting without focus. If your plan is more specific, “I will create PLR article packs and sell them for $20 in the education niche,” you can create and then measure that goal accordingly.

Create Your Brand

You might be writing to raise a few hundred a month for extras around the house, but to be taken seriously you’ll need a true brand online. That means a full internet presence – website, blog, personality, avatar and logo. Blogs are simple to start, and registering a domain and getting WordPress installed is simple enough. Remember to use your best skills and put a professional face on your site. It’s telling others how well you know the marketplace and why they should hire you to write for them.

Build a Community and Network

Being successful online is more than a simple thread on a forum or two. If you’re answering advertisements for penny articles, you’re likely selling yourself short. Take charge of your own career by focusing on your network and community rather than individual articles or gigs. By gaining reputation in your field and in the niches you choose to work in, you’ll be gaining traction for the long-term rather than an endless series of cheap articles written for random clients.

Over time, it is your network and professional reputation that lead to additional assignments and referrals. Every thing you do online and ever post you make it part of your professional image. You’re running a business staked on your personal integrity and reputation, and protecting and advancing that career is very easily a full-time job. But it’s hopefully one that you enjoy and find successful.

This post first appeared on GoingFreelance.com