Writing is a skill that you must develop if you want to be a writer. Today, in India, some companies are looking for freelance content writers. If you have experience in writing, you can become a freelance content writer with handsome pay.
Content writing skills can be developed from as early as the age of 18 years. Students can take up freelance content writing as a part-time gig to earn some pocket money and gather experience. As time flies by, you can then take up more tasks and build a strong portfolio. But, how can you earn with freelance content writing in India?
To understand this, it is important to understand the concept of freelance content writing and how to ace it. Let us see.
What is Content Writing?
First of all, before we look up what is content writing, we will take a look at what is content. Content is a piece of textual information that is informative and educates the readers in some way or the other. The readers here are an audience that likes to read the information on a specific subject.
The subject can be anything from the tech industry to the healthcare industry to the fashion industry. Simply put, when you write content, you solve some specific set of problems that readers might have. When you provide a piece of information that is valuable to your audience, you acquire the trust of the readers.
It is important to understand what kind of audience your content targets and what are set of problems you plan to solve with your content.
What is Freelance Content Writing?
The term “Freelance” means working with someone on task-based terms. If you are taking up freelance content writing, you are not tied with your clients or organization.
This implies that you work with a client or multiple clients only for certain pieces of a project or an entire project. And then they release the payment once the task is accomplished within the said timeline.
But content writing involves a pretty good understanding of the concept you are writing about and a good command of the English language. Good language does not mean you need to have a high-end vocabulary. It means that your content has been framed in simple English that is free of grammar errors.
But, you need to use the right jargon for the topic you are writing about. If you are serious about writing, then you can create a profitable career out of it. You can write at any age, from any location, and in any field that you like. It is one of the most flexible options to earn.
How do you become a freelance content writer in India?
There are so many domains that you can think of writing about. And there are tons of topics that you can write on, once you select the domain of your liking and understanding.
But there are certain steps you need to follow to become a successful freelance content writer in India. Let us take a look:
Also, you can check out our article: How to become a Content Writer in India?
1. Determine your niche:
Niche defines the area that you like to explore and can gain expertise in. I am a tech writer and also hail from a technical background in information systems and computer science.
Therefore my niche is supposed to be a tech writer. But, there are so many domains coming up with the requirement for digital content like blogs and articles. There are various domains like food and beverage, the tech industry, lifestyle and adventure, fashion, and others.
You can take up one or more niches, develop your skill by researching the latest trends and start working on it.
2. Build a portfolio:
As you start writing content pieces on the niche that you prefer, over the period, you get a collection of the content pieces. You can put the best pieces of published content together to build a portfolio.
A portfolio is a collection of the best articles or blogs that you have given to some client or company so far. It showcases your writing style, skills, and the way you frame the content.
Building a great portfolio is the first step to landing high-paying clients and working continuously.
A social presence is something where a certain group of people recognizes you and your credibility. When you start writing on a platform where there are millions of readers, you create social proof or a presence.
This way, people start identifying with you and consume your content. The best place to start doing this is to write on Quora. People post thousands of questions daily.
As you start answering those questions, you start creating an online presence that people can rely upon. Some writers are known to land up gigs purely from Quora.
So try building a presence on Quora and see how people react to the content you provide.
4. Create your blog:
Authority speaks of credibility in a very strong way. When you create something on your own, you make people believe in your ideas and your creativity.
Also, when you write with a sense of authority, you can attract more gigs and good-paying clients. The easiest way to establish this is to write your blog.
Writing your blog is very underrated and very few people do it. But, once you start writing your blog, you are creating your brand.
Through that, you can write what you like and make more people read it. Once you have a set of readers, you can easily land up gigs that pay well.
5. Develop a pitch to sell your skills:
Once you have a steady stream of projects to work on, you can create a pitch for your skills. You should know how to sell yourself. A great pitch is simple and gets your point across easily.
Follow these steps to create an effective pitch that will help you in landing the high paying clients:
- Clear subject line
- Address the client by their name.
- Put a reference of where did you find the requirement.
- Tell them how you can fit the requirement.
- Attach your references and portfolio
- Include links to your blogs and other social media platforms
- Use an email signature.
6. Start working on freelancing platforms:
There are various platforms that I love for freelancers to work on regularly. Fiverr and Upwork are two of the many platforms where you can land up most of the paid gigs.
An easy way to start with these platforms is to provide tasks for free. Once a client rates your performance and you have earned enough reviews, you can start working on paid projects.
This way you can attract clients for long-term projects and constantly increase your income.
There are multiple Facebook groups and communities. And some of them are specifically meant for freelance writers.
So many groups on Facebook have people who regularly post requirements for content. Follow the group closely and send them the pitch to sell your skills.
Follow up in a way that does not seem annoying.
8. Set up a LinkedIn profile:
Many professionals undermine the importance of having a LinkedIn profile. If you want to work as a freelance content writer, then having a LinkedIn profile is one of the most important things to do.
LinkedIn provides multiple opportunities if you have a decent profile.
The platform lets you connect with recruitment managers and business owners. This way you can pitch for yourself as a freelance content writer.
Approaching clients this way helps you understand how they recruit the profiles and how you can sharpen your skills.
A good amount of experience allows you to connect with a lot of professionals and start working for them.
9. Send applications:
If you are planning to take up content writing seriously, then you should start working as a full-time content writer.
To take full-time job andro yourself on job portals to see which companies are hiring.
Some companies even hire freelance writers on a full-time basis. This is where freelance writers enter into a contract for some time with the company and work with them as full-time employees.
From my personal experience, if you want to have a steady income, you can take a full-time job along with freelance projects.
Conclusion:
Looking at how the market is changing it is apparent that freelancing is going to be the future. There are so many industries that are hiring employees on a freelance basis and content writing is one of them. Once you know how to pitch in a strong portfolio, you can make as much money as you want.
