Are you a talented writer? Have you always been one of those rare students who didn’t fear essay questions? Are you great at writing blogs, articles, Instagram captions, and simply expressing yourself in writing?
If you’re all those things, you should consider turning writing in a real business. This is a category that offers tons of opportunities. You can start small by offering writing services through through freelancing platforms, and grow a business from there.
But before you reach such a point, you need to understand how the industry works. This is a guide for complete beginners who are considering starting a writing business, but haven’t made a serious attempt to do so just yet.
Understand Where Writing Can Take You
First and foremost, where will your writing skills take you in future? You’ll need to develop an action plan, so you’ll have specific goals for your future. Otherwise, you’ll just join a freelancing website and may get bored in less than a month. A bigger goal will keep you focused.
These are the career options you can consider:
Freelance content writer or SEO copywriter
Short story writer or novelist (self-publish or as a ghostwriter)
Transcriber
Affiliate marketer
Podcast writer
Writing tutor
Business proposal writer
Resume writer
Screenwriter
Political speech writer
Journalist
Content marketer
The list goes on and on. These are the careers you can develop as a freelancer, working for clients. But if you start off well, you may consider investing in your own writing agency. You can hire freelancers to work for you, so you’ll just hunt for the clients.
It’s Okay to Smart Small
Before you go and invest all of your savings into a business website, it’s important to see how the writing industry works from the inside. It’s highly recommended to start freelancing. Your clients will already know what their audiences want, so you’ll save a lot of time you’d spend on such research.
For example, let’s say you join Upwork. You’ll focus on a specific niche as a writer. If healthy lifestyle is your focus because you want to start a website within that niche in future, you’ll easily understand what that audience wants. Your clients will give you precise instructions to follow. They will tell you what keywords to use and how to include them in the content. You’ll learn valuable lessons on writing meta tags. Plus, you’ll be earning money throughout this hands-on training.
Don’t Shy Away from Cold Emailing
If you stay limited to freelancing platforms, you
won’t have access to the highest-paying clients. The competition there is huge,
and freelancers tend to drop the prices a lot. So you’ll have to work full-time
to go over $1,000 per month.
Cold messaging can kick start your career.
Before you start sending messages, however, you
need to work on your LinkedIn profile. It should convey your creativity and
writing skills. LinkedIn is essential for networking. You’ll connect with potential clients, and you can send direct
messages through the platform.
And how do you do this cold messaging thing?
Just search for potential clients within the
niche you cover. Send them messages explaining how you can become a great
addition in their writing team. Include links to your published content. That’s
it.
Start Outsourcing
Once you establish a good base of returning clients, you’ll find yourself with your hands full of work. Does that mean that you should make peace with what you’ve got and keep working on that level?
No. Keep searching for new clients. We’re talking about turning writing into a business, and that means going beyond
the step of being someone’s employee.
When you realize that you can no longer handle all of your clients on your own, you’ll start outsourcing. First, you may start outsourcing the outlining and editing part of your job. You’ll find great freelancers on Upwork and PeoplePerHour. But you know what? You can also make connections with freelance writers via LinkedIn.
Yes, this means you’ll be investing money. But every business owner invests money, so you’re good with that, right?
Start a Website
By this time, you know how the writing industry
works on the inside. You know what the clients need, so you basically know what
the audience is looking for.
It’s time for you to make a greater investment in
your business. You already have your niche, so that’s a great starting point.
You only need to get informed about the regulations for online businesses in
your state. And you’ll start your very own website.
We’re not talking about a simple blog. We’re
talking about a beautiful, secure website that is going to provide high-level
content. You may start offering various services or products, based on your
niche.
And if you want to focus on writing as a business, you can focus on starting your own writing agency. You just have to make sure to build a secure system where the clients can make payments, and the writers can receive their money.
This step takes a lot of work. You’ll be
searching for clients, but you’ll also be recruiting writers. At one point or
another, you’ll need to build an entire team of recruiters and online
marketers. But if you’re really ready to make it work, you’ll make it work!
The Sky’s the Limit
You’re not just
a writer. You’re a good one, and you have big goals ahead.
Writing can be a humble career that gets you
through one month after another. But you can also turn it into something much
bigger. You want that, right?
Don’t be afraid to start small was the little jumpstart I needed to make it to where I am today. I started on sites like upwork and fiverr working for near minimum wage, but I pulled together enough clients to have full time work at double what I was earning a year ago. Plus my typing is much faster and the jobs get done quicker!
Thanks for your comment, Bethany! You’re right – getting started is often the one thing you need to do. Before you know it you start building momentum and off you go!
I have started many websites. Some successful and some never getting off the ground. Starting small is great advice. There are usually opportunities to scale up later.
I think one of your most important points, and often times most difficult, is Outsourcing to other freelance writers once you get lots of clients. Hiring freelancers and delegating to others can be challenging since you don’t want to jeopardize the quality of writing while also trying to scale your business.
When you realize that you can no longer handle all of your clients on your own, you’ll start outsourcing. First, you may start outsourcing the outlining and editing part of your job. You’ll find great freelancers on Upwork and PeoplePerHour. But you know what? You can also make connections with freelance writers via LinkedIn.
Starting small is one of the hardest things to face. We have all of these big dreams and ideas and it’s a delicate balance to dream big and face the reality of us just starting.
The Small Business Bonfire is a collaborative community for entrepreneurs that provides actionable business resources, tips and tools you can use immediately to help your small business succeed.
Don’t be afraid to start small was the little jumpstart I needed to make it to where I am today. I started on sites like upwork and fiverr working for near minimum wage, but I pulled together enough clients to have full time work at double what I was earning a year ago. Plus my typing is much faster and the jobs get done quicker!
Thanks for your comment, Bethany! You’re right – getting started is often the one thing you need to do. Before you know it you start building momentum and off you go!
I have started many websites. Some successful and some never getting off the ground. Starting small is great advice. There are usually opportunities to scale up later.
I think one of your most important points, and often times most difficult, is Outsourcing to other freelance writers once you get lots of clients. Hiring freelancers and delegating to others can be challenging since you don’t want to jeopardize the quality of writing while also trying to scale your business.
When you realize that you can no longer handle all of your clients on your own, you’ll start outsourcing. First, you may start outsourcing the outlining and editing part of your job. You’ll find great freelancers on Upwork and PeoplePerHour. But you know what? You can also make connections with freelance writers via LinkedIn.
Starting small is one of the hardest things to face. We have all of these big dreams and ideas and it’s a delicate balance to dream big and face the reality of us just starting.