How to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Business — Step by Step Guide

Even when you have no ‘portfolio’ or ‘experience’!

Photo by Windows on Unsplash

Ever heard of “freelance writing” and thought, “Hey, I’d love to make money from that, but how do I even start? Heck, I got no experience!”

Or, you might have worked as a freelancer for a few people on sites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer,

but because of such huge competition out there, you don’t get any new projects now.

It’s all crickets and you wonder how you can get continuous work.

If you can relate with what I said, then my friend you’re not alone.

I used to be confused too.

Yes you read that right.

I got a few gigs initially back when I started as a freelancer

But then there was silence all over until…

I came to know how a successful freelance writing business actually runs.

Now, imagine having your own successful freelance writing biz — Bringing in top-notch clients, referrals, and a steady income.

Sounds like a dream, right?

Well, buckle up because making this dream a reality is not as crazy as it seems, even if you’re new to this business.

I’m here to spill the beans on how you can kick start your freelance writing biz with no prior experience.

What’s more?

I’ve brought in bits of my own experience of starting a freelance writing business.

So stay with me till the end.

Prerequisites To Start Your Freelance Writing Business

Photo by Courtney Corlew on Unsplash

Before diving into the blog, let me tell you what you need to operate your freelance writing business:

1. English:

• To start a freelancing writing biz, you must know English.
• But by English, it doesn’t mean you need to know advanced-level English.
• Instead, 6th-grade English is good to begin with.
• Later, you can enhance your writing skills alongside running your freelance writing business.

⚡Note: You can write content in other languages as well.

However, English is a global language. Thus you can get hundreds of thousands of high-paying clients.

2. A Laptop (or a Smartphone) and Internet Connection:

• Get a basic laptop which runs smoothly.
• BUT there’s no need to worry if you don’t have a laptop. You can begin with your smartphone too.
• Apart from the small-screen, you’re not likely to face any problem with your smartphone.

Here’s My Experience: When I started, I didn’t have a laptop.

But there was no ‘going back’ for me. I was clear I wanted to do freelance writing.

That said, I decided to start from my mobile.

Since all the tools we need as a writer are available on our smartphones, I faced no problem.

Later when I earned some money, I bought a laptop.(I’m writing this blog for you on that laptop only 😁).

Ok, let’s proceed to the tools.

3. Tools:

You need the following tools to kick start your freelance writing journey:

• Gmail
• LinkedIn
• Grammarly
• Google Docs
• Hemingway Editor

All are FREE to use.

Now let’s walk through the meat of the blog. The part you’re waiting for! 🥳

A Detailed Guide On Starting A Freelance Writing Business With No Prior Experience

Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash

Let’s go.

1. Choose Your Niche (Or Not)

Niche is a category in which you want to write about. I write in the Wellness niche, for instance.

Niching down cuts unnecessary competition. Plus, as you gain experience with time, you become an expert in your field.

Let’s say you need a writer for your finance blog: Who will you hire?

1. A freelance writer
2. A freelance writer specializing in the Finance niche.

Of course the latter. This is the power of niching down.

You should select a niche according to the following 3 parameters:

1. Interest

You can write forever in the niche you got knowledge and are interested in.

2. Demand

There’s no benefit of choosing a niche which has no demand. Because it’s simple — ‘No demand, No Business’.

3. Market Size

If there’s demand, there’s business.

But what is the market size? How much money does the industry comprise? Always check that.

Because only that will tell you how big the business potential is.

For example, the wellness market stood at 5.61 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022.

‘Big numbers = Big money + Huge potential’.

With a niche in mind, it’s easy to cut off the fluff, focus on your target audience, and make money.

Here are a few profitable niches in 2024:

• A.I
• Pets
• Finance
• Planting
• Self care
• Parenting
• Job and Career
• Health and Wellness
• Personal Development

But what if you’re unable to choose a niche?

• No worries. It’s not compulsory to choose a niche, especially when you’re just beginning.
• I would suggest, you work in different niches.
• As time passes, you’ll be able to find where your interest lies and it will become easy for you to choose a niche.

Here’s My Experience: I used to write in niches like affiliate marketing, website hosting, gardening, accounts, healthcare, fashion, etc.

With time, I found out where my interest lied. Now, I’m only a Health & Wellness writer.

But what if you find out you’re interested in more than one niche?

Photo by 傅甬 华 on Unsplash

Still not a problem, I’ve seen people working in multi-niches and still printing cash!

The only thing is, you should have expertise and the necessary knowledge to handle different kinds of niche.

2. Select Your Content Type

Here comes another important step: ‘Opting for the content type’.

That said, there are various content types. You can go for one, two, or all of them.

Let’s talk a little bit about them:

1. Blog Writing

You write blog posts for your client’s blog and they pay you.

2. Newsletter

You write bite-sized content which is personally sent to the reader’s email.

3. Emails

You write emails for your clients. Emails will be based on your client’s business campaign.

4. Captions

You write captions for your client’s Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any other platform.

5. Technical Writing

You write White papers, Business proposals, Company policy, Thesis, etc.

I wouldn’t suggest you opt for technical writing in your starting period until and unless you’re a subject expert.

6. Copywriting

You write a clear, crisp copy to help your clients sell their products and services.

Since you’re starting, I would suggest you opt for blog writing.

⚡Note: Combining Step 1 and 2 helps you niche down.

Here’s an example for you: Your niche is Pet care and content type is Newsletter. So you will be a writer who writes newsletters for pet-care business owners.

3. Set Up Your Portfolio

Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

You should have a writing portfolio before pitching your services. Right?

Don’t stress, making a portfolio isn’t that hard.

And what if I tell you that you can make your portfolio in a day and that too for free?

Sounds unbelievable right?

Here’s how to do that:

• Select a few blog topics (I would suggest at least 5 topics), and write blogs on it.
• Don’t write long articles. 500 words are enough for each blog.
• Since the total word count is 2500, you can write it in a maximum of ten hours.
• Similarly, if your content type is copywriting, write some ads.
• Or if you chose Newsletter as your content type, prepare five samples, and so on.

When you’re done, upload your written samples on any one of the following:

1. Google Drive

It is a good place to make your writing portfolio.

But ensure you make navigation easy and provide viewing access of the drive folder to your clients.

2. Medium

The fact that Medium is easy to operate and looks professional, it is one of the best places to upload your blogs and make an outstanding portfolio.

3. Blogger

It’s a free blog site to run a blog. Thus you can also make your portfolio on it.

4. WordPress (free version)

You can make a free site on WP, customize it, and make a professional writing portfolio.

5. Your own website

Not only you can upload blogs on your website but you can add other pages, such as Service, About Me, Pricing, and so on.

This will make a good, long lasting impression on your prospects.

However this option requires some initial investment so go for it only if you’re serious about freelancing.

4. Pricing Strategy

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

There are three ways to charge for your writing services:

1. Per Word Basis

You charge per word. For example, you charge R.s. 2 for each word you write.

So if you write a 3000-word blog, the total charge will be R.s. 6000.

→ This way works best for blogs and articles.

2. Per Hour Basis

You charge according to the number of hours you spend completing the project.

For example, you charge R.s. 5000 for an hour and you spend 4 hours in completing the project.

So your total charge will be R.s. 20K.

→ This way works for blogs, articles, newsletter, technical writing etc.

→ However sometimes this method does not do justice to the writers.

3. On Project Basis

For example, your client wants you to write a landing page and you quote R.s. 20,000. This is a project-basis fee.

→ Among all, this is the best way to charge for your writing services.

⚡Note: Charge at least one rupee per word even if you’re a beginner.

5. The Real Task

Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash

Once you’re done with the pricing, the major task arrives.

The task which will decide the fate of your writing business: ‘Finding Clients’.

Now let me show you how to ace this game 🔥

So there are two broad ways to find clients:

1. Inbound Method
2. Outbound Method

Let’s talk about both of them in detail.

1. Inbound

In this method, your client will find you themselves through your social media posts, blogs, referrals, word of mouth, etc.

The method works best:

• When you have already worked with a number of clients and they provide you with referrals (inbound method you see).
• Or when you have established a personal brand on social media, like LinkedIn, Twitter, etc, and talk about your services at regular intervals.
• So clients get to know about your business, develop interest and come to you on their own.

⚡Note: I would suggest you start posting on LinkedIn ASAP because it is a goldmine!

Once the LinkedIn Algorithm begins to work in your favor, people will reach out to you.

Also, who knows if your first-ever post goes viral and you start receiving leads from day one? 🥳

With that said, let’s move to the second method.

2. Outbound

In this method, you find clients on your own.

How? By:

Photo by Stephen Phillips — Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash

1. Cold Emailing

You send a personalized email to people who might need your writing service.

If they require a writer and find your portfolio interesting, you may get the gig.

New to the world of cold emailing? Check out one of my favorite cold email guides on the subject, written by Colleen Welsch.🤝

2. Direct Message

This works the same as cold emailing. The only difference is, you send a DM rather than an email.

For example, you see an Instagram page about Pet care. So you DM them about your freelance writing service.

6. Work For Them

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Once the client hires you, work hard and always remember these three things (I repeat always):

1. Over deliver if possible

Give your best to the project. Moreover, overdeliver if you can.

For example, you can write a meta description and a good headline free of cost for the blog your client has given.

It might not be a big task for you but your client will remember your kind gesture forever.

On top of that, they’ll return to you if they have any future requirements.

Plus, they’ll promote your services to their peers as well.

2. Never overpromise

Never increase your client’s expectations.

For example, don’t promise your client that you’ll deliver the project at 5 Pm when they asked you to do that at 8 Pm.

You can send it at 5 but never say it beforehand.

Because what if you couldn’t make it? Hence, never overpromise.

3. Follow the deadline

Time is money. Always deliver your project on time. In case you cannot make it on time, inform them in advance.

7. Collect Testimonials and…

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Ask your clients to give you a testimonial after you finish the project.

For better testimonials, you can send a questionnaire to your clients and ask them to answer it.

Moreover Focus on Retention:

Ask them if they want to renew the contract. Plus pitch your other services.

Let’s say you’re a SEO writer, you may pitch them your On-page SEO services.

In the end, ask if there’s any referral for you.

8. Repeat The Process

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Keep repeating the above steps To run your freelance writing business successfully.

I would suggest you to cold email new people on a daily basis and be consistent with content creation on LinkedIn to avail new clients.

9. Never Forget This

The most crucial factor in the success of your freelance writing business in 2024 and beyond is upskilling.

Not only is there a rise of A.I but new writers are entering the scene too.

Hence your freelance writing business will only sustain if you add new services from time to time and improve the existing ones. And that is only possible if you upskill.

That being the case, upskilling is your best weapon. Upskill 3 hours every week.

My Final Words

In this guide, I’ve taught how you can build a freelance writing business with no prior experience.

Now that I’ve done my part by giving you this step-by-step ultimate guide, it’s your turn to follow the advice and build an irresistible freelance writing biz.

Remember, the success you’re dreaming of comes from implementation, my friend. So get into action.

All the best. I know you can do it, buddy!

✅ Also if you need any help, please reach out to me at My LinkedIn or Instagram account.

✅ You can also follow me on Medium to read more such posts.