3 REASONS WHY FREELANCE WRITING MIGHT BE YOUR PERFECT SIDE HUSTLE (AND HOW TO GET STARTED).
Over the summer I have been bringing you some fabulous posts from other money bloggers and this week I have more great information for you! This is the final in my series of summer guest posts.
Ruth has been self-employed for over seven years and blogs about genuine ways to make money online at RuthMakesMoney.com. Whether you want to pay off a credit card or ditch your 9-5 for good, she gives you practical advice and guidance on how to make that happen. Over to Ruth….
When you start your journey towards sorting out your finances, there’s a fairly typical path that you often find yourself on. You plan your budget, and you get a firm grasp on your outgoings. You cut unnecessary spending, you sign up for cashback sites, and you stick your unwanted clutter up for sale on eBay.
Related: How to Earn a Regular Income on E-bay
But once you start to get a real taste of how to make your cash go further, you often decide that you want to go that extra mile. It’s time to add a side hustle into the mix. If that’s where you are right now – and you also enjoy writing and secretly think that you might even be pretty damn good at it, with a little practice – then I’d love to urge you to consider freelance writing.
I’m Ruth, and I did things completely backwards, actually. Seven years ago, back when I’d never even heard of a side hustle, I quit my job to become a full-time freelance writer. I had no relevant experience, no relevant qualifications, and if I’m totally honest, no clue.
It’s definitely not a move that I’d recommend – it was a bit extreme, to say the least – but it’s also one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. The risk and the hard work paid off. Freelancing gave me the freedom to work from home, do what I love, and earn more than I ever did in the corporate world.
You may well say I’m biased, because it’s got a special place in my heart, but I really do believe that freelance writing is one of the best and most rewarding side hustles out there. Here’s why you might want to consider it as a way to increase your monthly earnings…
1.You can get paid to write about something you love
We’ve all got that one subject that we could talk about all day long. Maybe you’re mad about dogs. Maybe health and fitness is your thing. Or maybe you never get tired of helping people to get a handle on their personal finances. Whatever your cup of tea might be, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to build a small freelance writing business around it.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as getting paid to write about the topics that you’re already regularly getting stuck into purely because you love them. It’s a bit of a cliché, but it’s true… When you love what you do, that’s half of the battle.
2.It can turn into a very profitable, long-term career
Your goal right now might be to simply bring in an extra few hundred pounds each month. You can definitely do that with freelance writing, and balance it with your existing job and commitments. But you might decide that you’d like it to turn into something more. That’s very possible too.
The skills that you’ll be honing as a writer can serve you for a long time to come… That may be in the form of working with exciting businesses on projects that light you up, having your work featured in national publications, or even starting your own money-making blog. Freelance earnings can vary massively – that’s just the nature of the game – but you can decide to what extent you want to scale and grow.
3.There are clients out there waiting for you, right now
One of the biggest challenges that you’ll face when you start freelance writing is finding paying clients. There are tons of different options here. But it makes sense to take the path of least resistance, and go to the places where your potential clients are virtually hanging out, actively looking for writers for their projects.
Luckily, these places already exist, and they’re well established. There are tons of freelance job boards out there where you can search for opportunities and apply for them straightaway. I was really persistent with pitching for work in my first few months as a freelancer – I really had no choice, because my goal to replace my full-time income was non-negotiable – but within just a few weeks, I’d landed paying clients. If you’re proactive and you really get down to it, it doesn’t have to take long to kickstart your new small business and get cash coming in the door.
My top tips for getting started this week…
It’s fair to say that freelance writing isn’t for everyone. If the thought of sitting down at your computer and having to produce a 500-word article fills you with dread, then it’s not for you. But you’re still reading. So I’m assuming that you’re pretty sold on the idea, and you think that it could be your perfect side hustle.
All’s left to do now is to get moving. Here’s a quick rundown of exactly how I recommend you do that…
- Choose your niche
Like I’ve mentioned, you get to choose what you write about. You might as well choose something you’re going to enjoy. This is important not just from a personal satisfaction point of view, but also from the perspective of getting clients. You don’t want to be a Jack of All Trades.
- Create some examples of your work
You don’t need to have experience of working with clients to get freelance writing work, but you do need to be able to show examples of what your work will be like. This could be in the form of a blog, or it could be in the form of samples that you create and then host online. Make sure they’re relevant to the niche that you’ve chosen, and that they’re in line with the kind of work that you want to be doing.
- Start searching for projects!
Now’s the time to start going through those freelance job boards and looking for projects that you could be suited to. A couple of my favourites are People Per Hour and ProBlogger. You can quickly get a feel for what’s available, what clients are looking for in your niche, and you can start sending across your pitches.
Freelancing isn’t going to turn you into a millionaire overnight. It takes time, it takes hard work, and you really do need to be consistent with improving your skills and bringing clients onboard.
But it’s also hugely rewarding, and it could be right up your street if you’re looking for your perfect side hustle.
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