By Rick H.
When I first decided to become a freelance writer on the Internet, I’ll admit that I was intimidated. I had no idea of how much money I could make, or if anyone would even consider me as a professional writer. I had some experience with writing website content when I worked for a local webhosting company; but I didn’t understand how to market my writing skills if I had to do it on my own.
Let’s Back Up a Bit
Before I started writing Internet articles (as well as web content) for a legitimate web hosting company, I was employed by the local two-year college. It wasn’t much of a job. I taught the occasional class in creative writing, and also put together a few website development classes. This was enough to get me the position as the head writer for a local web hosting company.
After a year, when the web hosting company that I worked for went out of business, I knew that I still wanted to write; but I had no idea of how to make a career out of writing freelance on the Internet without the benefit of an employer to give me a regular paycheck.
This is how I started
While I didn’t know anything about writing Internet articles, the reality of unemployment was imminent. The fact of the matter was that the face of business was changing. I couldn’t go back to the brick-and-mortar places where I worked before I was a writer. This is because companies were cutting back hours for full-time staff – and for good reason. We were really just standing around most of the time. I expected to get laid off again, so I decided to move forward and pursue writing to get ahead.
It takes some time
When I was left without a job and a steady paycheck, I didn’t know how to move forward. The fact of the matter was that I had fallen in love with writing and I didn’t want to give up on it. Now at the same time, my friends and family expected me to go back to a sensible job. They felt that a traditional brick and mortar company would not only give me health insurance, but also a future.
As a writer, I was stuck
In order to keep writing for a living, my only option was to try freelance writing on the Internet. I did have a few leads for websites that paid money to writers. I got them from my fellow employees who had also been laid off; but the difference between us was that they had computer skills that were marketable. All I had was passion for writing.
The Next step
I had a little money saved up; but in order to keep writing without a safety net, I moved back in with my parents. My friends thought that I was crazy for giving up on working full-time as an office employee with benefits; but the writing bug had bitten me, and at this point, there was no turning back.
Also, I just couldn’t imagine sitting at a cubicle for the rest of my life until I retired. While I have a bachelor’s degree in communications, I had mainly worked on the administrative end of marketing and advertising. I had never been a part of the creative process; and as office personnel, I was always promoting someone else’s talent. I was so on track with getting a steady paycheck that I forgot my own abilities with regards to writing original material.
Don’t be afraid to go out on your own
Losing my full-time writing job was kind of a mixed blessing. Because of the economy, there weren’t many jobs available. This was because everyone was downsizing. Even the local DMV closed due to lack of state funding. So while writing for the Internet opened up endless possibilities, you might say that because of no other opportunities; I was sort of forced to pursue self-employment as a writer.
It didn’t take much to get started
I had all of the basics I needed to get started as a freelance writer: a laptop, Internet access, and just enough computer literacy to get by. I also had some professional writing under my belt, but I did wonder if I would have the self-motivation and discipline to write every day.
It turns out though, that my biggest obstacle was actually going to be my family and friends. Convincing them to let me pursue writing on the Internet without a back-up plan, (i.e. get a job at Wal-Mart) was going to be a little bit harder than what I originally had thought.
This is because the first month of my great freelance writing career went by very slowly, and with very few results. What I quickly realized is that the Internet is not only a global marketplace, but also a global workplace. What that means for a freelance writer is that you will wind up bidding against people from all around the world.
Bidding for a writing job is a fairly uncomplicated process, but I wasn’t ready for the global competition. For each writing job that I was bidding on, there were usually about 30 or 40 other writers with more experience and better portfolios than mine. After about two weeks of working to get jobs with nothing to show for it, a career in freelance writing on the Internet seemed hopeless for me.
Then, I got a phone call from my older brother. He and my parents were not sure about this “Internet Writing Thing” so my brother actually offered me a job at his friend’s used car dealership until I could find ‘real’ work in an office job with a corporation where I could climb the ladder to a supervisory position – and then retire. While everyone’s heart was in the right place, my family’s lack of confidence didn’t exactly help the situation.
Don’t give up just yet
What I didn’t realize is that when you work as a freelance writer on the Internet, the person who needs articles or other types of content will need to believe in you. First off, they need some basic information. This includes your resume, a few writing samples, what you will charge, and how long it will take you to complete the project. Then, the buyer takes your information, along with all of the other interested writer’s information, and then decides who gets the writing contract.
I tried to explain this process to my family, but they didn’t understand. “Alright,” I thought, “no one gets it.” I also kind of got the feeling from my family that even if I worked full-time during the day and freelanced part-time at night, that they would still feel like I was wasting my time. To them, freelance writing was a pie-in-the sky-pipe-dream that was taking me away from serious and substantial work that I might otherwise be doing.
Stay with it for the long haul
Not to be discouraged, I went back to the drawing board. I figured that with no freelance credentials, anyone who would hire me was taking a chance, especially since they would never get to meet me in person. This meant coming up with a bidding strategy.
The next thing that I did was to change my resume. I noticed that some subjects were more popular than others; so I wrote a few articles about those topics and posted them on the free article sites. After more research, I realized that the free article sites are a great way to build your writing portfolio if you don’t have writing samples. You don’t get paid, but they provide common topics to get you started; and when you got to bid for real, you will have relevant writing samples to show.
Now that I had an improved resume and had writing samples to prove, I was ready to bid again. At this time, I figured the best strategy was to sell my writing services for as cheap as possible. So my immediate goal was not to make money, but to get that first writing job. I went to the job website that I felt most confident about and started bidding.
It took about a week of heavy bidding, but I finally got my first assignment! My initial paycheck was enough to take my family to dinner to celebrate, and that made them a lot less skeptical. Of course, I didn’t tell them how much I made during my first month of work; but I knew that things would move faster now. This is because I loved what I was doing; and I finally was recognized as an author.
Appreciate what you have accomplished
In the next month, I got more writing jobs, and my ranking among the other writers literally skyrocketed. I was now ranked above 50% of the other writers. I didn’t understand this at the time, but later on I realized that the bottom third of the writers only completed one project and gave up on freelance writing. So whether the reason I had such a high ranking was because of someone else’s lack of confidence or some sort of lack of interest on their part, it didn’t matter. I started earning more for my articles.
With my solid reviews, an improved portfolio, and higher ranking; I got the full time work I was looking for in a field that I love. I’ve been doing this for several years, so now I earn about $20 a page, (Although I still take lesser paying jobs if I am interested in the subject.) I have also published three eBooks (which is even more money) and really do work at home when the spirit moves me.
I have successfully made a full-time living as an Internet freelance writer – so the money that I earn pays for living expenses, and occasionally some extravagances. Currently, my family and friends support my choice to pursue my dreams as a writer. Even my clients sing my praises and rehire me when they need a writer that they can rely on to get the job done.
Of course, I wanted to work full-time as a writer; but it is just as easy to work part-time. This is because the deadlines that you have to meet as a writer are counted in days. For example, a buyer may give you ten days to complete a writing assignment. As long as you complete the assignment by the tenth day, you can work on it whenever you want. This is why many successful writers start part-time on the Internet.
The perfect compliments come from my friends
My life has changed since I started writing professionally. I haven’t taken a vacation in years because I haven’t had to take time off from work. If I go to see my friends or family, I take my laptop with me. I write by the pool, in the car, on a plane, or even at my friend’s homes. This is because when you write for the Internet, whether it’s part time or fulltime; you can make a living and be content while you visit with your family and work at the same time. And while this is my success story, when you write for the Internet, you can write a story of your own if you want to have the same success as I have.
