One of the most popular professions to take on as a freelancer is writing, and with more and more companies relying heavily on internet usage, the need for online content has really boosted this sector in the world of freelancing. A lot of people dream of running a profit making blog, however these can take years to properly establish along with a lot of time and effort, and so often the best way to gain experience, refine your skills and to put your foot in the door is to work as a freelance writer.
Freelance writing comes in many shapes and forms. There is a huge demand for online content producers - for people to write blogs and articles for websites of all different kinds of nature. Often employers will ask for a number of short articles of a minimum of 500 words to publish on a website, sometimes asking for very specific content but also sometimes only providing a very generic theme for you to interpret in your own way. Writing topics can be about anything, but some popular themes are travel, fashion, business, food and music, although this really is just the tip of the iceberg. Payment varies drastically, but freelance writers can expect to make a minimum of $5USD for each article which means, depending on your typing and work speed, you can make roughly $15 - $20 USD per an hour when you are feeling motivated and working well. Payment rises for more experienced writers who can prove that they have an excellent grasp of the language that they are writing in (typically English) both in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
As well as content producers, there are a number of other jobs for enthusiastic writers who are looking to freelance. For those who pride themselves on being particularly strong in grammar and spelling can apply to proof read work. Again, this varies drastically, as some employers might ask you to be proofreading short blog style articles and others may well be asking you to proof read an entire book that they have written. This tends to pay a little better than content producing, but tends to be on a pay-per-project basis agreed with the employer before you start work. It helps to have experience in proof reading if you wish to follow this route, and if you have none it might be a good idea to start of producing content to add to your portfolio that you have very carefully double checked for grammatical and spelling errors to prove that you are competent enough to successfully fulfil your role as a proof reader.
Paying towards the higher end of the scale is copywriting work. This entails developing advertising concepts and requires a high level of creativity and original thinking. To become successful, you have to be able to put a unique and individual spin on briefs to develop your own personal style, all while maintaining your client's values and messages that they wish to portray to a target audience. Often you will have to provide several different proposals for one project and, after the client has chosen one, it is likely you will have to continue editing this before you help to oversee the production phase and checking that all the content produced complies with advertising practice regulations. As this is much more technical, experience is often required, as well as a strong portfolio to provide to potential clients.
There are many more freelance roles for writers to fulfil, and this is just a vague idea of the oceans of diverse and interesting work that out there to discover. Some companies can be approached directly, however most will operate through a website such as upwork.com which allows freelancers to create a profile based on their experiences, education and previous work, and to apply to job postings through the website, although they do take a small cut of the final payment as compensation for their services. Freelance writing is an excellent way to develop your writing skills and technique, and with so many styles, topics, and diverse clients looking for content, it is an excellent opportunity to make some money on the side or to start a freelance career.