How To Make Money on the Side: Freelance Writing

In today's economy, it has become necessary for many people to find ways to supplement their main income. Even if you work a 9-5 job, you may find times when some extra money would come in very handy. Freelance writing is one of the best ways to make money on the side if you enjoy and have a talent for writing. Keep reading to find out if this side work option will work for you. 

What Is Freelance Writing?

In the past freelance writing primarily referred to individuals who wrote for magazines or other periodicals but were not employed by those publications. Today, freelance writing can mean that, but more frequently it means writing online. Most businesses today use a website and social media outlets to promote their businesses. The main way these websites help promote the businesses is through the content that is written on the website. The business owners themselves do not want to take time away from their business to write this content, so they hire freelance writers to do this for them. 

Writing online content can be an exciting and profitable side business. 

What Type of Content Can You Write?

The types of content you can write are as vast as the internet itself. Literally, every website on the internet needs content, so you could write on any topic imaginable. Some content will be purely marketing content as you help people promote their products or their services. Some content is informational as website owners need you to add to their informational sites. Content can be educational, entertaining, or newsworthy. It just depends on who your client is and what they need. 

Where Can I Find Work?

Freelance writers can find work either independently, by creating working relationships with independent clients, or they can work with content platforms. Working with independent clients will usually require research on your part to find people looking for writers. It will then be up to you to make contact with these individuals, share your skills and writing samples and create a working contract with them. Creating your own website to feature your portfolio and writing abilities can help; for example, a freelancer may consider creating a website with an .online domain, so they can quickly and easily share the link with potential clients or add it to their LinkedIn profile and email signature. 

Content platforms are a fast way to get in contact with clients. A content platform will already have working relationships established with clients. The platform will bring on new writers and those writers will have access to the work. Each content platform will have its own process of how they hire writers. In most cases, you will need to take a grammar test, as well as provide samples of your writing. Each platform will have its own pay rate and system of how work is distributed to writers. 

What Qualifications Do I Need?

Individual clients will have different qualifications which you will need to review with them personally. Most content platforms, however, have relatively simple qualifications. In most cases you need to be a native English speaker, you need to reside in a country in which they are hiring, and you need to be able to pass their qualifying exams. In some cases, you will be asked to provide a resume to show previous writing experience. Most people, who can write on a college level (whether they graduated from college or not) will be able to pass the writing/grammar test. 

Freelance writing also requires that you have good time management skills as you will often be on a deadline. You need to be able to manage yourself as you will not have a boss standing over your shoulder. You also need to be able to research topics and turn them into written content relatively quickly because the faster you can produce content the more money you can make. 

You could need to get a few tools for it, though. Content management tools, a mobile SDK if you write with your phone, and more than a few others could help make your freelance writing easier.

How Much Money Can I Make?

The amount of money you will make can vary greatly. There are some content platforms that pay very little and some which pay very well. Most freelance writers will average between $20-$40 an hour after a few years of experience. There is a learning curve, however, and many freelance writers spend a while connecting with good clients and learning how to research and create content quickly. 

If you are looking for ways to make money on the side, and you have at least college-level writing skills, freelance writing could be a great fit for you.