I’ve been freelance writing for a couple of years now. While it is not my primary source of income, it has helped pay the bills and provide for some extra money during the holidays. I usually average $150-300 a month by putting in a few hours work a week.
If you have the passion and talent for writing and want to make some extra money, then Freelancing can be a great way to do so. Keep in mind, it is not a get-rich-quick gig. It took the better part of a year before I started getting enough work to make it worth my time.
Sites like Freelancer and Upwork are great ways to find freelance work. But keep in mind, there are a lot of scammers on these sites unfortunately, so make sure to really read the gigs before accepting an offer. That being said, there are also a lot of great individuals looking for someone to do freelance work for them. You may also get lucky to build a working relationship and become a contract writer for a website.
So, here are a few things I have learned about freelancing.
- Know What Type of Writing Gigs You Want to Do
The best way to enjoy freelance writing is to find writing gigs that you are want to write about. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of freelancing opportunities being offered every minute. Find gigs that have to do with your interests.
Most sites have search options so that you can look for key terms in a headline for a job. Maybe you want to write about music, video games, sales, or something like that. Find some gigs that pique your interest and put in some bids.
You are going to have to build up a portfolio of writing pieces to show people what you have to offer. You may have to take some writing gigs that aren’t exactly interesting to you (I have done work for foot doctors, divorce attorneys, candy shops, and all types of businesses that I would normally not give too much interest in) but you are building the tools to still create great work.
2. What Out For Scammers
As I mentioned earlier, there are some scammers on these freelancing websites. They may try to take your account info or try to do something that may be illegal or unethical.
Most of these scammers come from China and will initially pose as if they are from other countries such as the United States or Canada. They may create a job post that is appealing, but once you contact them you will soon find out they are not on the up and up.
First red flag, they message you one the website messenger using a different name than they gave on the job listing. Then the may ask you to discuss the job on other site like Skype. This is not advised because if there is anything nefarious they try to discuss it will be harder for the client site to track it. I usually end the conversation at this point and may report them to the site.
One scam the use is having you create a profile for them on sites like Upwork ( which are apparently banned in their home country). They then will offer you a cut of any profits they make on the website. While I personally have never gotten further than this with one of these scammers, but they basically want to use your account to work through. Of course, this gives them access to your info, so watch out.
You also might get unsolicited job offers from clients. Sometimes these are legit because they like the work you have in your portfolio and want to work with you. However, some of these are the above scammers, so watch out.
The biggest takeaway from this part is, use your common sense. If it feels sketchy it probably is.
3. Know Your Limitations
One upside to freelancing is you can work as much as you want. You may be in a position where you can spend hours a day doing freelance tasks and make a good amount of extra money.
However, if you have a day job, you need to know your limits. If freelancing is not your main source of income then don’t sacrifice your success to make a few extra dollars a week. For some of us, finding a work/life balance can be stressful enough. If you find you are taking on too many tasks, take a break. Don’t leave commitments unfulfilled, but don’t feel bad turning down a client if you don’t think you can fulfill their needs.
I have one client who I work with on a fairly regular basis. I get a couple of tasks a week that I can usually spend a few hours on to get done. Some weeks it is no problem, but sometimes I might bite off a little more than I can chew. This is where building good working relationships with clients is important. You can either let them know that you don’t have the time to take on any more work at the time, or maybe even get an extended deadline.
One thing that I really wanted to do when I first started freelancing was ghostwriting. I figured it would be a good way to earn a few extra hundred bucks and do something I enjoy. However, what I found was most freelancing jobs for ghostwriters are not worth my time or energy. For instance, I was offered to ghostwrite a 20,000 work story; I usually do $0.25/word so it would have been a $500 payday for about 2-3 weeks worth of work. But they were only going to pay me $200, which was not worth my time.
For some starting out, that may not sound bad, and for people starting out that is not bad. But the important thing is, knowing how much your time and energy is worth.
4. Know Your Worth
When you first start freelancing, you are not going to make much money. Your first few gigs may earn less than $10, which is just the nature of the beast. However, with experience and building up a good portfolio, you can start demanding more for you work.
Sometimes your clients will let you know when to increase your asking price for a task. When I first started working with one of my regular clients, I charged $0.10/word. Still not a lot, but for a 1,000 word article that might take 1-2 hours I would make $10. After working with him for a year and starting to do work almost exclusively for his clients, he gave me a raise of $0,25/word, about $25 for the same 1,000 word piece.
So now, when I post bids for writing gigs, I base my estimates on the $0.25/word rate. If it is a gig I think I would really enjoy doing, I might accept a little less just because I want to do that gig. My wife sometimes tells me I should charge more, but that is actually a decent rate for freelance work. If I was doing this as my primary source of income, I might charge more.
With that being said, freelancing is a great way to make extra money and hone your writing skills. So if you think you might want to try it out, here are 2 sites I use. You can also use my referral link. Happy hunting!