How To Get Started With Freelance Writing As A Side Hustle

Sometimes, it seems that everyone in the world is looking for a work from home side hustle.

It’s not surprising; with the cost of living still on the rise, it’s natural for people to look for an income boost - and something you can do from home is always going to be the easiest option.

Freelance writing might seem like the perfect solution. All you need is a laptop and a way with words to get started, and you can carry out your work whenever and wherever suits you.

But is it really as easy as that? How do you find your first clients? And can you earn enough to make your new side hustle worth your time?

In this article, we’ll take you through all you need to know to make an informed decision about starting a freelance writing side hustle - and if you end up deciding it’s not for you, we’ve got a few alternatives for generating extra income that might be more to your taste.

What Type Of Freelance Writing Is Best?

‘Freelance writing’ is a pretty wide category of side hustle. It can cover all sorts of writing, from 50 word product descriptions to entire novels, and very few people can produce every kind of writing equally well.

It’s therefore important to decide on the kind of writing you’re going to focus on. Some of the most popular and profitable options for freelance writing side hustles are as follows.

Blogging

One of the most prevalent forms of freelance writing, and arguably one of the easiest. If you can write engagingly, with a friendly but authoritative voice, you’ve got the essential tools to write blog articles.

Ideally, you’ll specialise in a particular subject (such as travel, food, money etc), but if you’ve got a good head for research you can probably expand your subject matter to anything you’ve got a reasonable degree of familiarity with.

Many companies are in need of freelance blog writers, as blogs are often used as marketing tools, but you could also consider setting up your own blog (perhaps combining it with affiliate marketing) if you’ve got a pet topic you’d love to write about.

Copywriting

Copywriting focuses on writing for marketing purposes. This is a pretty wide field (and can include blog posts) - anything from product descriptions to email content to website text to actual adverts is counted as copy, so there’s lots of scope to specialise.

Experienced copywriters can make excellent money, but the market is also highly competitive, and you’ll need to feel comfortable with writing advertising material, which many writers find too explicitly corporate.

Freelance journalism

If you already have experience as a journalist, you could consider freelancing. You’ll write articles on spec, and hope to sell them to a news outlet - though unfortunately, you won’t have any guarantee of a sale.

This is a very competitive field, so we wouldn’t recommend that you try it if you don’t already have experience in journalism. Having an existing network of contacts is often crucial to success, as well as a solid portfolio to sell your work.

If you do have experience as a journalist, though, it’s certainly worth considering freelance journalism as a side hustle.

Ghostwriting

If you’re more of a creative writer, ghostwriting can be a lucrative side hustle. You might end up ghostwriting a minor celebrity’s memoir or children’s novel - or simply ghostwriting a novel for someone with a great idea who lacks the skills to turn it into a readable book.

You won’t see your name credited on your work, which can be a bit depressing having put in all that time and effort.

However, if you become an established ghostwriter the pay can be relatively good, and you may well have the satisfaction of seeing your work on the shelves of major bookstores, even if no one else knows you wrote it.

Technical writing

Technical writing is a much more specialised form of writing, and it’s probably best to tackle this kind of freelance writing only if you have experience of it.

Technical writing involves taking complicated information and conveying it in an accessible manner, for example in the form of reports, instruction manuals or product descriptions.

If you do have experience in this field, freelance technical writing can be an excellent side hustle. Because it requires some expertise, it tends to be better paid than some other forms of freelance writing, and your clients will know the value of a good technical writer.

E-learning writing

E-learning writing is another specialist form of writing, which involves the writing of online courses. Online learning has gained enormous popularity in recent years, with the result that more and more online courses need to be created and written.

If you have any experience of course creation, this kind of writing is something of a no-brainer - and because it’s more specialist than other forms of content, the rates of pay are typically better.

Video script writing

With the proliferation of video content online, script writers have become ever more necessary. While plenty of content creators will write their own material, many more prefer to have the assistance of a professional writer.

There are also huge numbers of companies using video content to advertise - and all that content needs to be written. If they don’t have their own in-house script writer, they’ll often turn to freelancers, meaning there’s a lot of demand for skilled freelance writers in this field.

How To Get Started With A Freelance Writing Side Hustle

1. Research. The first thing to do for pretty much any side hustle is extensive research. Before you invest any of your time and money in launching a freelance writing business, you need to know everything you can about the field you’re planning to write in.

2. Decide on the kind of writing you want to do. For many people, this will be an easy decision, as it will rest on the writing experience they have already. However, if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to work out the best type of writing to focus on.

3. Decide on a niche. Even within your chosen type of writing, it’s wise to specialise. If you’re going to write blogs, you might choose to focus on personal finance, travel, or fitness. If you’re going to offer copywriting services, you might dedicate yourself to product descriptions or to email marketing.

4. Build your portfolio. To snag your first clients, you’ll need to have impressive samples of your writing to show them. If you already have writing experience, you’ll have plenty of material to put in your portfolio, but if you’re starting from scratch you’ll have to put more work in.

You might be lucky enough to have a friend or family member who’ll employ you to write your first pieces, and pay you for your time.

If not, you can simply offer your work for free to neighbouring businesses, or even imagine the briefs you might receive for businesses you find online and write the content accordingly.

5. Decide on whether to use freelancing sites - and sign up if so. You may not feel the need to use any freelancing sites, especially if you already have potential clients lined up. But if you’re going to seek work through sites like Upwork or Fiverr, you should get your profile set up and your portfolio published in advance.

6. Set your rates. It’s wise to research other freelancers in your chosen field and niche to assess their rates, and set yours accordingly. You may need to start off by undercharging for your services, if you aren’t already an experienced writer, to offset your lack of experience. Once you’ve got some experience under your belt, you should be able to increase your rates to a more profitable level.

7. Market your services. There are lots of ways you can consider marketing yourself. Many freelance writers start by cold emailing companies they consider likely to be in need of their services, but you can also join relevant groups on social media, boosting your profile on freelancing sites, and using your existing network to spread the word about your services.

How Much Can You Earn From A Freelance Writing Side Hustle?

Unfortunately, this question is particularly difficult to answer for a side hustle like freelance writing! The going rates vary drastically between types of writing, and will also depend on your niche, your level of experience, and your area.

Even the way your work is costed will vary depending on the type of content. For content like blog articles, for example, you might be paid by the word, with many writers charging roughly £0.04 to £0.07 per word for blog articles (which works out at £40-£70 per thousand words).

Other types of writer will charge by the hour, with rates varying wildly from as little as £10 per hour to £75 or even £100 per hour, or by the project, as is often the case for ghostwriters.

To get a good idea of the kind of money you’re likely to earn, your best bet is to research how much each type of freelance writing usually pays and what other freelancers in your niche charge for their work, and use that information to set your own rates.

Tips And Tricks For Freelance Writing Success

• Combine with other skills. If you’ve got other complementary skills, such as graphic design, editing/proofreading, or social media, they can be hugely useful to you as a freelance writer. 
  
  Many companies are looking for ‘content creators’ who can both write and create images, or social media experts who know social media well enough to create full posts, not just the text for them. Your potential market will be much wider if you possess other skills you can combine with writing.

• Be willing to accept low pay to start with. As you build your portfolio, you’re likely to be able to demand higher rates - but to begin with, you’ll probably need to work for lower pay in order to establish yourself.

• Be wary of freelancing sites. Although sites like Upwork and Fiverr can be very useful when it comes to putting you in touch with clients, they’re also awash with scammers. While that doesn’t necessarily mean you should avoid those sites altogether, you should take care to ensure your clients are legitimate. 
  
  You may also find that even real clients can be unreasonable and demanding, even (or especially) if they’re paying very little, so you should use the tools offered by freelancing sites (such as time loggers and recorded messaging) to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.

• Specialise. If you’ve already got specialist knowledge, that’s a great place to start when it comes to what you write. Rather than attempting to acquire knowledge on any subject a client is looking for, seek out clients who need content written on subjects you’re already expert in, as your best quality pieces will come from fields you know well.

• Advocate for yourself. While it’s important to please your clients, you shouldn’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of. For example, if you’ve included two edits in your price for a piece of content, be firm on that number - if your client wants extra edits, they should pay extra. 
  
  You’re a business, and that means you need to act in your own interests, as no one else is going to.

Pros And Cons Of Freelance Writing As A Side Hustle

Alternative Side Hustles For Extra Income

If you like the sound of starting your own side hustle, but you don’t want to be tied to your computer, there are plenty of other things you could do!

For more active side hustles, you could try gardening, or dog walking. Or, if you’d prefer to work from home, you could offer music lessons, or sell handmade crafts.

Another alternative is to try Matched Betting, probably the best side hustle you can do without any specialist skills. It’s a great way to make potentially £300-£1000 a month - and it can all be done from home!