Freelance writing: what is it?

This is a guest post by fellow freelance writer Kaleigh Moore. She specializes in creating long-form blog content for eCommerce platforms and the SaaS tools that integrate with them. She also writes about retail for publications like Forbes, Vogue Business, and Adweek.

What is Freelance Writing?

Step into any coffee shop and you’ll find someone sitting at a table, sipping a latte and tap-tap-tapping their keyboard as they fill up a Google Doc (...or a Word Doc *shudders*)

Maybe you notice them on your lunch break as you’re rushing through the line to get back to the office with your afternoon pick-me-up and you think, “Man, I’d love to be able to do what they do.” 

Well, you can...and freelance writing is your ticket to it — like it was for millions of Americans in 2019.

Now’s about the time you ask, “What is freelance writing, anyway?” 

Maybe you got brave and chatted with the writer in the coffee shop or you’ve been reading about freelance writing in dozens of “ditch the nine-to-five” type blog posts...but you’re still a little fuzzy on what it actually means, what freelance writers really do and, most importantly, whether you could actually get paid enough to do it sustainably.

Let’s clear out the fog and talk about freelance writing so you can walk away knowing if it should be your next career move. 

What is freelance writing, exactly?

First things first — a freelance writing definition. 

Freelance writing is when a self-employed person is paid to write for other businesses or publications.

Clear as mud, right? Let’s break it down a bit further. 

First of all, a freelance writer is a self-employed independent contractor, meaning you’re running your own business. You take care of invoicing clients, paying taxes, tracking business expenses, and all that other fun stuff that comes with being a business owner.

You’re your own boss — you make decisions about who you work for and the work that you take on.

Second, you get paid. While there’s a place for unpaid guest writing to help you get your name out there, you still have to pay your bills, which means you need to bill clients for the work that you do. Getting paid sets hobby writers apart from freelance writers.

Last: freelance writers write for other businesses and publications. This means you aren’t tied down to one business like you would be as an employee. Instead, clients hire you to work on individual projects and you’re free to take on as many clients as you can handle (or you can stick with one or two loyal clients that send a good volume of work your way.)

Different types of freelance writing

Remember, freelance writing gives you options. You can choose everything from when and where you work to the industries you work in and the types of writing you do. 

You’ll find all sorts of freelance writing options, but don’t feel like you have to do them all. You’ll be better off picking just one or two areas of focus that you know you can execute well (‘cuz trust me, there’s plenty of work to go around.) 

Here are a few types of freelance writer titles and some details on what they do.

Freelance blogger

Freelance bloggers get paid for writing and crafting content on other people’s blogs. (This is primarily what I do as a full-time freelance writer. 

Blogging is one of the most common freelance writing specialties and a great option for getting started. Your work will help your clients teach people and build up their organic ranking in search results. You’ll want to come armed with some basic search engine optimization (SEO) skills, some basic copywriting knowledge, and a solid process in place for tackling projects.

News/feature writer

As a reporter or journalist, you’ll likely do news/feature writing while freelance writing for newspapers, online publications, and/or magazines. These stories are timely, often have a personal touch, and can come in all different lengths depending on the publication. 

Web copywriter

A lot of companies struggle to write their own website copy, so they’ll hire a web copywriter to help them craft a message that expresses who they are and what they do in a clear and engaging way. Freelance web copywriters write anything from homepage copy to about pages to staff biographies. Basically, anything that would show up on a website. 

Conversion copywriter

Conversion copywriters are experts in conversion optimization and write sales assets like landing pages, email campaigns, and sales funnels to help clients land more sales and make more money. Understanding persuasion and how people make decisions goes a long way in this niche, and it requires a deep understanding of best practices around conversion rate optimization (CRO.)

Social media writer

If you’re the master of telling stories in 280 characters or less and you’ve never seen a picture you couldn’t caption, businesses will pay you to help them build relationships with their customers on social media. Freelance social media writers excel at writing with personality in short-form.

Technical writer

You’ll need a knack for complexities and detail to be a skilled technical writer. These freelance writers create things like instructions, user manuals, and product brochures to make sure their clients’ customers know how to use their products. This type of work is best suited for writers with patience, that don’t mind diving deep into the nuts and bolts of a product, and that understand the importance of attention to detail.

Who can be a freelance writer?

You can. 

Seriously. There’s no job description for freelance writing. Anyone can do it.

You don’t have to have a college degree or years and years of industry experience for someone to hire you to write for them. In fact, this survey found that only 69% of freelance writers had a Bachelor’s degree.

Your certification isn’t what matters. Instead, your clients just want to know that you can get the job done--and that you’ll do it well. 

You should have a good grasp of the English language and an appetite to learn and research. If you can show your clients that you know where to find the information they need, that you have a track record of success, and that you can write about the topics they assign you in a way that people actually want to read, you’ll be on your way to freelance writing success. 

Where to find freelance writing work

Of course, finding freelance writing work is easier said than done, especially when you’re first starting out. You need to have a game plan for finding your first project and on-going work after that. 

It’s easy to get slip into the bottomless pits that are Upwork and Fiverr — avoid them at all costs. These platforms force you to compete with thousands of other freelancers for the same work from shady clients. It’s a race to the bottom on these sites, making it difficult to charge what you’re actually worth. 

But there’s a better way. I call it the Freelancing Flywheel. 

The flywheel breaks down the client-getting process into four steps:

• Learn. Here’s where you hone your skills as a writer, a researcher and a business owner. This process never ends because you can always become more of an expert in your niche and more efficient in your business. As you do, you’ll charge more for your work while spending less time on tasks that slow you down and keep you from work that makes money.

• Network. Growing your network with clients and other freelancers will help you improve your writing, build community, and find new opportunities. These people are your freelancing lifeline. They can help you fix problems, point you to new places to find work, and even send you referrals or hire you directly. 

• Cultivate. As you build your network, you need to strengthen your relationships. Do little things that make other people look good — especially if those “other people” are your dream clients. Share their work on social media. Offer helpful insights in writers’ groups. Check in with past clients. These relationships will help you reach your freelancing goals. Cherish them. 

• Ask. If you do the first three steps well, the last one should come naturally. Now, that doesn’t mean it won’t scare your pants off the first several times you pitch an idea. Instead, it’s the next logical step in finding freelance writing work — asking for it. You can pitch publications directly, ask your past and current clients if they have any leads or talk to other freelancers in your network about new opportunities. If you’ve built strong relationships, the work will come. 

I talk a lot more about the Freelancing Flywheel in this blog post if you want a more in-depth explanation with lots of resources to help you find freelance writing work.

Getting started with freelance writing

Freelance writing is a pretty sweet career path. Sure, it has its ups and downs, but what job doesn’t? The ups definitely outweigh the downs for me — and I hope they do the same for you too!

But you can’t be content to just read about freelance writing. You have to get out there and give it a try. Set goals for yourself to hone your skills, build relationships, and ask for work. 

Freelance Writing Rates Stats To Know

How much will it cost to hire a freelance writer podcast

For a detailed analysis of the Freelance Writing Rates Benchmark Report, listen to the podcast. Christoph Trappe and I sat down to discuss things like:

• How freelance writers price their projects

• Whether or not it makes sense to set hourly rates

• Whether or not a higher education degree is critical for writing and marketing

• And more!

How much will it cost to hire a freelance writer report and infographic

If you’re interested in reading the full 34-page report about how much freelance writers charge, you can find it here.

Helpful note: The infographic has an embed code if you would like to share it on your own website.

Top 10 freelance writing rates stats all writers and marketers should know

1. The most popular highest form of educational degree for freelance writers was a bachelor’s degree (69%), followed by a master’s degree (20%), and, finally, a doctorate (1%).

The majority of freelance writers have a bachelor’s degree. While it’s helpful to have a master’s degree, it’s not necessary for success in freelance writing and marketing. Online writing and marketing trainging will service you well and be much more affordable.

2. 40% of freelance writers price per project

The most popular way freelance writers price their work is per project. Forty percent of participants indicated they price work on a per-project basis. Considering website copy was the most popular type of content, this isn’t surprising.

3. Only 18% of writers price per word

The data also showed the least popular way to price work was per word (18%), even less popular than hourly pricing (38%). This did surprise me, considering the second most popular type of content was blog content, which seems to be the easiest type of content to price per word.

4. 66% of freelancers find new work via client referrals, 57% through referrals from their freelance colleagues, and 46% through networking sites

Sixty-six percent of freelance writers said they find clients through client referrals. The second most popular way to find clients is through referrals from freelance colleagues (57%), and the third most popular method is via professional networking sites (46%).

The power of a freelance writer’s network can not be understated, as the qualitative data in this study showed.

Here is some advice about building a network from top-earning freelance writers in this study:

• “Former bosses and coworkers have been my #1 source of future clients. If possible, work full time before freelancing so you can begin building a solid network.”

• “Connect with other freelancers who do what you do or serve similar clients differently (e.g., a designer, business coach, etc.). Get to know them on a personal level and look for ways to support them genuinely. Often, referrals will grow organically from there.”

• “Network like crazy and cultivate good relationships with clients once you are working on a project. You never know where it might lead. Look for interesting opportunities that will help you produce strong work samples.”

5. The top 5 criteria freelance writers use to determine per project prices are hours required to complete the project, research involved, total word count, scope or scale of the project, and the complexity of the product

The top 5 criteria freelance writers use to determine per project prices are:

• Hours required to complete the project

• Research involved

• Total word count

• Scope or scale of the project

• The complexity of the product

If you are new to freelance writing or are considering switching to a per-project pricing model, consider these factors when putting together your proposals.

6. The largest group of freelance writers that charge per hour charge over $100 per hour

While the freelance writers that charge per hour, charge different rates, there is good news. The most popular hourly rate for freelance writers was over $100.

7. Over 60% of freelance writers charge over $50 per hour

Slightly over 60% of all freelance writers that charge per hour are charging at least $50 per hour.

8. Freelance writers with 8+ years of experience are charging over $100/hour

Freelance writers with over 8 years of experience are charging over $100 per hour, which is much more than people with less experience are charging.

9. The majority of freelance writers that price per word (only 18%) are only charging up to .35 cents per word and 49% are only charging up to .25 per word

First off, these rates are low, and less experienced writers are charging per word. Most participants (49%) that charge per word are only charging up to .25 per word, and the majority (over 69%) are only charging up to .35 per word.

10. Freelance writers with more experience are charging over $1 per word

While freelance writers, overall, are charging less per word, the data shows that freelance writers with more experience are charging much more per word than those with less experience.

For more information about how much freelance writers charge, download the full report now!

Hopefully, these 10 stats provide insight into how much a freelance writer will charge you and how much you should charge as a freelance writer. For more detailed information, including average and median prices for how much freelance writers charge per project for different types of content, check out the full report.

How much should I charge my freelance writing clients?

How Much Do Freelance Writers Charge?

A Study To Help Freelance Writers Benchmark Their Rates

When I first started freelance writing, I scoured all the popular copywriting blogs and books to answer my two most pressing questions:

• How much should I charge for my services?

• How much do other freelance writers charge?

While there were some available resources, they weren’t comprehensive or had such wide ranges that the information wasn’t helpful.

My goal in conducting this research was to reach out to a network of successful freelance writers to get detailed insights and numbers on:

• How people price their projects (e.g., per project, per word, per hour)

• What criteria freelancers use to set rates

• How much freelance writers charge for different types of content

With the help of this data, I put together the following report so that other freelance writers can benchmark their rates.

As you read this study, keep in mind these findings aren’t hard and fast rules, and you’ll still find a lot of variation. However, these results will provide insight into where your prices fall in relation to other freelancers, and whether you need to ask your clients for more money (you do).

You can see the full report here or the TL;DR infographic is below. Feel free to use the embed code that appears after the infographic to share the infographic on your own website.

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The Results-Driven Approach to Creating Articles

The Results-Driven Approach to Blog Content Creation

It’s no wonder that 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing, and that 72% of marketers said having a strong content strategy was key to success.

Content marketing works. Plain and simple. 

In fact, stats show that content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising, and marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI.

But, here is the deal.

Not all content is created equal, and getting results isn’t just a matter of putting pen to paper. Every piece of content you publish should address the five following goals:

1. Rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for a target keyword

2. Elicit clicks from people that fit your ICP (ideal customer profile)

3. Engage readers long enough to get them to stay on your website

4. Encourage website visitors to convert

5. Generate backlinks (aka be interesting enough that people want to share your content)

Let’s take a deeper dive into how writers and content marketers can fulfill these goals.

1. Create content that ranks organically on Google

In terms of content marketing, it doesn’t matter if you crafted the most gorgeous piece of modern literature known to man and posted it to your business blog. If Google doesn’t understand what your blog post is about, then the only person who will read your web-based work of art is your mom.

To give you a better understanding of how to get Google to read and return your content in the search results, let’s quickly review how Google’s algorithm works.

The goal of Google: Google’s objective is to return the most relevant website pages when Google users type in a keyword. 

For example, if someone types in “best hot chocolate,” Google will return a list of delicious hot chocolate companies. Google won’t, however, return a list of websites about orange juice or coffee. 

But, how does Google know which web pages (out of the millions on the web) are the most relevant? 

The answer: Google’s algorithm.

In short, Google’s algorithm looks at 200+ different factors to determine a page’s relevance in relation to specific keywords. 

By this mathematical magic, when someone enters a specific keyword into Google’s search bar, Google will comb through the wonderful world of websites and return pages that its algorithms deem the most relevant. 

All this is just to say if you want your hot chocolate website to rank when someone types in “best hot chocolate” (or something similar), you have to strategically let Google know that your page is about hot chocolate. 

Otherwise, you risk Google overlooking your page or ranking it on page 158 on the search engine result pages (SERPs) for who knows what keyword.

There are several strategies involved in getting your website or blog post to rank in the SERPs. The first part of the strategy is the job of the SEO consultant involved in the project. The SEO team lead will research keywords to determine:

• Relevant keywords (primary and secondary)

• Keyword search volume

• Keyword difficulty

• Competition

• And more!

Once you have solidified a keyword, you, as a copywriter, can conduct basic on-site optimization for that keyword.

On-site SEO optimization checklist

Here are the steps you can take as a copywriter to make sure you are telling Google what your page is about:

• Identify a primary keyword

• Use your primary keyword in your title (H1 tag/Heading 1)

• Include your primary keyword in the first 100 words of your blog post

• Make sure your primary keyword is in the URL

• Include your primary keyword in one of your subheadings (H2 tag/Heading 2)

• Name one of your pictures your primary keyword (this is called an alt tag)

• Include a few links to credible external websites that are relevant to your blog topic

• Make sure to include internal links to pillar pages of your own website 

• Add long-tail variations of your keyword, or long search queries that usually take the form of a question (e.g., Where is the best place to buy hot chocolate in Chicago?)

These are the basics of SEO optimization. When you know this and apply it to your blog writing, it’s invaluable to your clients (and you can charge big bucks).

You may be wondering if onsite optimization really is as important as I’m making it out to be. The answer is a resounding yes! Seventy-five percent of all of Google’s clicks go to websites on the first page of the SERPs.

2. Get more clicks from your target audience

The next goal a good copywriter should have is to get people that fit your target audience to click through to the page.

While you definitely need to optimize your website content for Google’s search algorithm, you also need to write for people, specifically your ICP.

Here’s how to write for both Google and people in a way that leads to clicks.

Optimize your title tag for search and people

Your title tag is the headline or main link that appears when people search for a keyword. For example, if I type in “best Netflix shows,” here are some title tags (underlined in pink).

You’ll notice these title tags all include the primary keyword I searched “best Netflix shows,” and they are also self-explanatory to a reader. Title tags are not the time for a catchy headline. Instead, write something that includes your keyword and is straight to the point.

Write an informative meta description

Your meta description is the short blurb of content under the title tag that tells your readers what the blog post is about. Meta descriptions should be between 155-160 characters (not words) long. They should include your primary keyword and a short description of what the reader will get when they click through to your blog post. I also like to add a quick call-to-action (CTA) in the meta description to entice readers to click. Remember, readers like to be told what to do.

3. Engage readers so they stay on your website

Another way to build website credibility is to engage your readers and get them to stay on your website.

Believe it or not, most users only stay on a website for 10-20 seconds. I know, sad. Your job as a top-notch copywriter (especially for your high-end clients) is to employ copywriting tactics that will get visitors to engage with the website. 

Here are some ideas on how you can keep your readers on your website.

Don’t be boring

That’s all.

Write for the internet

Writing for the internet is nothing like writing a novel, a school paper, or a review. When you write for the internet, you write how internet browsers read. This means:

• Cut the fluff and get straight to the point

• Put the most important information first

• Make it easy to scan your content by including headings, subheadings, and bullet points

• Write in short paragraphs

• Highlight your call-to-action (CTA)

Internet readers skim. Make it easy for them to scan your content and glean all the important insights.

Include internal links

You don’t necessarily need visitors to stay on a particular blog post, but you do want them to stay on your website.

A good way to do this is to include internal links to your website when it makes sense.

For example, if you are writing a blog post about freelance writing and you have a section where you talk about services, include a link to your services page (see what I did there?).

4. Get website visitors to convert

Content marketing is all about using content to capture more customers and eventually boost sales. The end goal of your post should be to get your website visitors to do something. (Quick note: this means you should always ask your clients what their content marketing goals are and what the purpose of the blog post is).

There are so many strategies for increasing conversions through your blog posts. Let’s talk about a few ideas.

Create a free digital asset

You can include an in-text offer, side-bar offer, or even a pop-up offer that you include in your content. Usually, the deal is the internet reader provides their email address, and you give them a free download in return.

This is a great way to build your email list. And we all know the power of email marketing. Oh you, don’t? Email marketing has the highest ROI of any other marketing strategy.

Include a call-to-action (CTA)

Don’t be afraid to tell your readers what you want them to do. Include a CTA at the end of your post with a link to your website, your services, or a special offer.

Writing a CTA can feel awkward at first, especially if you’re promoting your own content or product. Here is a an awesome blog post with 8 types of CTAs you can try out on your blog post.

Show off your knowledge

A blog post is different than a landing page or a sales call, but it is still a powerful conversion tool. The approach is just slightly different.

When people search for blog posts, they are usually looking for some sort of expertise. Don’t be afraid to go into depth on a particular topic, offer your expertise, and then invite browsers to learn more about how you and your smart self can help them.

5. Generate backlinks to your website

The last important goal of your website content is to generate backlinks.

As a quick review, a backlink is when another website links back to your website from their blog. In this blog post, for example, I have several links to other credible sources. If you click on one of these blue links, it will take you to another website.

Why do you care about generating quality backlinks for yourself and your clients? Google uses backlinks as one of its ranking factors. In other words, the more credible backlinks you have to your website, the better chances you have at ranking higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

As a copywriter, the best thing you can do is write detailed, long-form (in most cases), helpful, insightful content—content that is unique and that other industry leaders will want to link to and share. 

Remember, always include a shareable picture on your blog posts. This helps with SEO and also generates a photo when someone shares your page on social sites.

Wrap Up

It is true content is king, but not all content is created equal. The content that will stand out to Google and to your target audience is the content that is goal-oriented.

For more information about content writing services, contact me (Ashley R. Cummings) today! If you’re a copywriter that’s interested in SEO strategy, check out my SEO guide for copywriters.