The Situation:
Me: Oh wow, I don't know what to do with my future. Hmm, I love to write. Can always tickle out a goodly sentence. How "bout freelancing. Oh yea, that"s perfect. [30 minutes later] Geez, I don't have a bachelor's degree yet. Geez, I don't have any writing experience. Geez, I don't know anything about business/science/whatever. [hours later] Oh cool, I just need to pay a fee and I can be making $25/an hour! Sign me up! [days later] I can't believe I fell for that trap! There's no way I can be a freelancer.
The world of online freelance writing for the beginner is filled with opportunities for someone who can turn the right phrase, make words go click, click, click without lags. Making money online is easy... For those sharks who want your easy money.
Are there offers too good to be true? Yep, they are. No beginning writer can earn $25/an hour. As a beginning freelance writer, I've spent hours exploring websites that offer deals too good to be true and it took awhile to find the sites right for me. There actually are good job sites; however, there is a catch for the beginner: almost all of these jobs require experience. Here are some tips on how to build your resume and experience to catch those higher paying jobs.
How to succeed:
- Step 1: Check out freelance job sites like aboutfreelancewriting.com
or genuinejobs.com:
There are countless real jobs on websites like these; however, since you are a beginner with no experience, you probably won't get the good deals. Look at these jobs anyway, because you can learn what kinds of writing subjects are very popular today.
- Step 2: Build a writing portfolio: Once you've studied a bit of the field and seen the writing opportunities out there, it's time to prove yourself! Since you have probably signed up on Triond.com
already (and maybe you've written a few articles), you're already on the right track! Keep on writing well-written, fascinating articles. You should also create your own blog (if you haven't already). Finally, look for content-paying websites like Helium.com
, where you are rated against other writers. Write on any subject you're interested in. This step is very difficult because now, you are trying to prove that you indeed are a writer, and writing is such a lonely business, but keep to it! You won't regret it!
- Step 3: After only two weeks (less if you produce a lot of well-written articles), you are ready to apply for those freelance jobs! If you've written a few articles and have a blog, then you're ready to apply because you now have a portfolio!
Not easy, is it?
No, absolutely not. Freelance writing, like any worthy job, requires hard work. You have to have persistence and a willingness to do research and learn. There are many, many people in the field looking for easy money, and you have to prove that you are more serious and hark-working than those lazy ones. After all, if you think that freelance writing is easy money, then you've fallen into the biggest trap of all.
