Writing for a living is something very possible, now that we have the internet around. Quite a few people have taken to the online airwaves to make their fortune, and freelancing as a writer is one of the best ways to build a skilled portfolio that could soon lead to a 6 figure income. Of course, it’ll take a lot of time and effort to get there, but it’s doable! As long as you learn how to write properly.
Get your pen and paper out! Or even better, your laptop and your wifi signal! (Pexels Image – CC0 Licence)
Find a Profitable Niche
First thing’s first: find yourself a niche that’ll make you money. There are a lot of them online, but not all of them are going to fork out for work done within them; some may have pennies for you, some may have nothing at all. After all, every freelance writer out there has a specialty, and you need to find yours before too long!
But how do you do that? Think about the topics you’re interested in. Travel, technology, digital media, social media… the list could go on and on, and it could be multiple things you specialise in! But once you’ve come up with a topic or two, it’s time to do your research.
Find out which are the biggest blogs within those niches, and see what kind of content they post on a regular basis. See who they have affiliate agreements with. Look up what social media channels they operate on. Because you’re going to need to follow in their footsteps to find a tribe of your own!
Get a Grasp on SEO
SEO. It’s a small acronym for such a big thing: search engine optimization. What does it mean? In short, it’s the digital world’s way of making sure relevant topics are pinged back and forth to the people who are looking for them. And when you’re learning to write for a living, you’re going to need to get a grasp on SEO, sooner rather than later.
Because it does take time to master, but once you do, the online world could be your oyster! And if you have a blog of your own to take care of and post on, you’re going to want to be sure your SEO efforts are in alignment with Google’s algorithm. You want to be the top search result, whenever someone searches for an idea within your niche. And to do that, your content has to be quality and consistent.
How can you make sure of that? Well, you can find the right style and tone to write with, and then use something like a keyword planner to bulk your efforts out a little bit more. And make sure to keep posting, and keep writing, to build up a quality content backlog. That’s what leads to the referral links!
Want to write for a living? Scope out the place first, learn the skills, and then put yourself out there!