When I wrote my first freelance article at 17, I was working part-time at a marketing agency and had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a degree, a portfolio, or any formal training. I got paid $20 for my first piece and I was THRILLED.
Now, I run a six-figure freelance writing business that works with brands that are household names. I don’t have a team and I work ~20 hours a week. My freelance business fits around my life (not the other way around.)
In my almost 10 years of being a freelance writer, I’ve learned a lot along the way—often the hard way—and wish I found a “cheasheet” to help me get started. I couldn’t find it, so I created it… and now you’re reading it.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to start freelance writing without any experience or qualifications. We’ll cover:
- What a freelance writer does
- Whether you need qualifications to start
- Step-by-step guide to becoming a freelance writer
- Mistakes to avoid
- How much freelance writers earn
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What does a freelance writer do?
A freelance writer is someone who is hired to write content. The “content” can take many forms: blog posts, technical documents, website copy, landing pages, resumes, social media posts, eBooks, grants, proposals… the list goes on.
But as a freelance writer, all of your time will be spent writing. Self-employed folks wear many hats alongside the skill they’re selling:
- Pitching for new work
- Communicating with clients
- Sending (and chasing) invoices
- Networking
- Researching content
- Making revisions
Spend some time to decide whether those other tasks are worth doing to take on freelance writing jobs online. You can’t be a successful one without doing those things.
If not, and you just want to write, you could get a full-time job as a writer, or learn how to start a blog. Those alternative jobs mean you still get to write–but you don’t need to do the other stuff that comes with being a freelancer or business owner.
Do you need qualifications to be a freelance writer?
Clients care more about your writing than your resume. If you can prove that you can write clearly, meet deadlines, and understand their audience, you can succeed as a freelance writer—no official certifications required.
Plenty of successful freelance writers are self-taught or come from unrelated backgrounds (e.g., tech, healthcare, education) and use their subject matter knowledge to carve out a niche.
Take it from me: I started freelance writing at the age of 19 on the side of my day job as an apprentice at a marketing agency. I didn’t have any official qualifications, but I did run a blog for fun. That taught me the basics of online writing and marketing, which I leaned on to sell my services to B2B companies.
That said, there is a caveat: If you’re writing about technical, legal, or medical topics, relevant degrees help build credibility. Brands in those regulated industries will likely want freelance writers with credentials—at least at first.
But from there on out, it’s your skills and writing style that helps retain those clients and build a sustainable freelance writing business.
How to become a freelance writer in 10 steps
Have you decided that a freelance writing career is right for you? It’s a great way to make extra money doing the thing you love, and choose the clients (and topics) you write about.
Here’s to start freelance writing with no experience:
- Check you have the right skill set
- Decide what type of writer you want to be
- Choose a freelance writing niche
- Build a writing portfolio
- Create some writing samples
- Get active on social media
- Set your freelance writing rates
- Get your systems in place
- Find your first client
- Start building your personal brand
🧠 We cover all of this (and more) in our flagship course, Freelance Writing Essentials. Take 20% off with code TAKE20BLOG.
1. Check you have the right skill set
There’s no beating around the bush here: you need to be a good writer, or at least have some solid writing skills, to become a successful freelance writer.
If you don’t have them already, start to become a better writer by taking writing courses, practicing for fictional clients, and getting feedback from other people.
But there are some other skills you’ll need to be successful with freelance writing:
- Strong communication skills
- Organization
- The ability to prioritize
- Subject matter expertise
- The ability to write about complex topics in an easy to understand way
Checking each of those five skills off your checklist puts you in good standing to deliver content your client wants on time, every time. (That’s the secret to making a good living as a freelance writer.)
2. Decide what type of writer you want to be
Decide what kind of writer you want to be–and which type of content you enjoy writing the most. After all, it needs to be something you’re passionate about and enjoy doing, since you’ll be doing it all day, every day.
Some popular options include:
- Freelance bloggers: You’ll write blog posts and search engine optimization (SEO) articles for a company’s website. This type of work usually follows the same structure: a heading, an introduction, a few subsections, and a conclusion. Think listicles, tutorials, and case studies.
- Freelance copywriters: You’ll write copy that helps a business achieve more aggressive sales goals. That might be advertisements, emails, or copy for their website. There’s a strong demand for writers to bring business results with their copy.
- Freelance ghostwriters: You can write any type of content, you won’t get the byline that other freelance writers get when their work is published. That means you can get paid more for doing it.
- Freelance technical writers. You’ll write documentation that explains complex topics—like software, engineering systems, or medical devices—for end users, developers, or internal teams. This can include user manuals, API docs, how-to guides, or white papers.
Understand how your role plays a bigger part in your client’s company. Do you help them get more organic traffic? More sales? More followers on LinkedIn? By understanding how your online writing services help them achieve their business goals, you can learn to create content to achieve them.
3. Choose a freelance writing niche
A freelance writing niche defines the industry (and client) you want to work with. You can niche in anything that comes to mind, from personal finance, to health, to software and technology.
If you were hiring someone to fix a problem with your sink, would you be more likely to hire a general contractor or a plumbing specialist? It’d be the latter. Clients think similarly. If they had the choice between a freelance writer who wrote about everything, and one who specialized in their industry, they’d pick the second option every day of the week.
Clients want to know that the writers they’re hiring are experts in their field.
Here are a few questions to help find your freelance writing niche:
- What could you talk about all day without getting bored?
- What experience could you pull from to talk about a specific topic at length?
- What topics do your friends and family come to you for help/advice on?
Once you’ve found your topic, think about the type of client you want to work with. We can break this down into three categories:
- Startups and small businesses: They might not have tons of budget available for freelance writers, but they can be easier to work with. It’s also easier to get your foot in the door with this type of client.
- Mid-size businesses: These businesses might have an in-house content marketing team, but need help scaling. You usually need some background experience (or at least some writing samples) to land this type of freelance writing client.
- Enterprises: Huge, million-dollar brands hire only the best freelance writers. If you can land them, they’re usually the highest-paying type of client.
4. Build a freelance writer website
By this stage, you know what type of writer you want to be, and the industry you’ll specialize in. Next, it’s time to put a writer website together that explains all of this–and helps prospective clients learn more about hiring you.
You can create a freelance writing website using tools like WordPress, Squarespace, or Webflow. Each is low-cost and has hundreds of free templates for you to turn your website into something that looks more professional than a personal blog.
At minimum, your freelance writing website should have:
- A domain name that’s easy to spell (preferably your name)
- A homepage that explains who you are and what you do
- A contact form or email address for clients to contact you
- A portfolio of work samples
You could also choose to have a blog on your freelance writing website. If so, write about topics your clients would be interested in.
For example:, if they’re in the healthcare industry, write about how pharmacies can use blog content to boost rankings for the keywords their audience is already searching for. (This blogging step is optional, but helps with your own SEO–and could show-off to clients that you can write.)
Create your freelance writing portfolio
A writing portfolio is a collection of documents that shows proof of your achievements and freelance writing examples. It can live on your website, a slide deck, or a freelance portfolio site like Authory.
We’re big fans of the latter (and use it for our own portfolios!) because Authory can:
- Scour the internet for your bylines and update your portfolio automatically
- Save copies of your work if it ever gets taken down or edited
- Filter writing samples by publication or topic
- Track results of your work, such as social shares, without asking clients for feedback
- Let potential clients follow your work with automated email digests
💡Tip: Take a free 30-day trial of Authory today.
5. Prepare some writing samples
Writing samples show-off how great of a writer you are–and convince new clients to pay you to write similar stuff for them.
You don’t need paid work to do this. Make up a fictional client that matches your niche, then create a piece of content that a fictional client would hire you to write.
Let’s say that you’re targeting small accounting software start-ups in the marketing industry. This type of client wants a blog post that guides their target customer through the process of opening a bank account. So, write it and publish it on your own blog, acting as if you’re the client.
Follow content writing best practices:
- Create an outline first to keep yourself on track
- Forget about word count
- Delete wordy phrases (“You should…”, “It’s important to…”)
- Know how to research
- Bring your writing down a reading level
It doesn’t matter that the content wasn’t written for a specific client, nor that you’re doing it without getting paid. It’s just a writing sample that showcases your skills.
6. Get active on social media
An online presence shows potential clients you’re involved in your industry, and will most likely be the best freelancer to get their job done.
Plus, clients often look for freelance writers on social media sites like X and LinkedIn. Set-up a profile there and make it obvious you’re looking for freelance work. It’s a good way to get clients coming to you, rather than having to pitch them.
Your marketing strategy doesn’t have to be anything groundbreaking. Just cover the basics:
- Use the right platforms. If you’re targeting B2B software companies, get on LinkedIn. If you’re going after local businesses, perhaps consider Facebook Groups or local subreddits.
- Show your expertise. Share content strategy advice, behind-the-scenes of your workflow, and personal wins to build credibility.
- Build or join a community. Interact with people in your niche–like other freelancers, content managers, and interesting industry people—so people can relate and start building a relationship with you online.
- Share your work (with results). Once you start to grow your freelance business, share links or screenshots of work with permission from the client. Highlight the results or goals (e.g., “This post helped the brand increase organic traffic by 32%”).
- Be consistent. You don’t need to post every day. Two or three times a week is enough to build visibility.
7. Set your freelance writing rates
The pay schedule for freelance writers can vary. Generally, they have one of three payment structures when writing for clients:
- Per word: The writer and client agree on a set rate per word for an article. Freelance writers being hired to write blog posts, for example, usually start with a per-word rate of $0.10. This can go as high as $1+ for experienced, in-demand freelance writers.
- Per hour: Some clients want to hire freelance writers on an hourly basis (as in, “we’ll hire you for 4 hours a week”). We generally avoid hourly billing because it can be a pain to manage. It sets the expectation that a client hires you for your time, not the quality of content you’re creating for them.
- Per project: Our favorite! The writer gives the client a rate for a project they want to complete–be that a series of emails, a blog post, or a website rewrite. The client pays that rate regardless of the word count, or the time it takes you to write it. It’s much easier to manage this way.
8. Get your systems in place
Understanding pricing, finding clients, getting paid, managing revisions, developing processes, and improving your workload (should we carry on?) are all business management tasks that run in the background.
Get these set up early on to avoid last minute scrambles when a client asks for something you haven’t yet mastered.
Here’s a quick checklist of systems you’ll need in place as a new freelance writer:
- A client onboarding system that includes your contract, payment terms, and project scope
- A project management system to track deadlines, pitches, and ongoing client work.
- A separate bank account to separate business transactions from personal ones.
- An accounting platform to send invoices and reconcile expenses.
Once you get to a certain level, it’s more cost-effective to register your freelancing job as a standalone business: a LTD company in the UK, or LLC in the US. That does come with its own advantages and disadvantages, though. The bookkeeping is more complex; you may need to register for VAT; and filing your tax returns is harder.
(We only registered as official business owners once we started to earn more than $80K through our freelance writing businesses.)
When you’re first starting out, the self-employment route is easiest. You can dip your toe in the water by being a freelance writer, and see whether it’s a career you want to run with, before making the next step.
9. Find your first freelance writing client
Unlike a full-time employee, freelancers have to go out and find their own work. They often have multiple clients at the same time. But if they don’t go out and find writing work, they won’t make any income.
The challenge is: when you’re starting out as a new freelance writer, it can be difficult to convince new clients to take a chance on you.
Here are three proven ways to get your foot in the door.
Job boards
Some job boards have gigs specifically for freelance writers. There are some rubbish, low-paying ones on there, so it can take some time to find hidden gems. Just be aware of common freelance job scams (like endless rounds of unpaid test assignments):
Use your existing network
Referrals are the easiest clients to close because the client already trusts you’ll do a good job. (This is how successful writers get most of their leads.)
Tap into your business network to build relationships and encourage people to book a discovery call with you. Send a message to your LinkedIn connections, email previous co-workers, and make it known online you’re looking for freelance writing work.
💡Fun fact: Word of mouth referrals is the most common way for six-figure freelance writers to find writing opportunities.
Send cold pitches
A common way to find freelance writing gigs is to pitch companies you want to write for.
You can do a cold pitch (where the person has never spoken to you before), or a warm pitch (sent after a few interactions with the person.)
A warm pitch is better since you get on a potential client’s radar before asking them to hire you. It works by finding the content manager (or equivalent) at the company you want to write for, and engaging them before your pitch. You can pitch them on X, LinkedIn, or even through email.
In your freelance writing pitch, be sure to include:
- Who you are
- Unique skills or experience
- What you can bring to the table (AKA, the problems you’ll solve)
- A reason for them to reply—for example, “I have one left for this month. Do you want it before I offer it elsewhere?”
10. Start building your personal brand
Ever heard the phrase: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? The same concept applies to freelance writing.
The secret to getting long-term, high-paying clients is a relationship. Solid friendships with people in your niche means you’ll become the go-to person for the type of writing you do. And you can back this up with testimonials that prove you’re the best person for the job.
Marijana Kay, a successful freelance writer for B2B SaaS companies, mentioned that this relationship-building actually helped get her first freelance writing client.
She reached out to the organizer of a conference and asked whether he thought she needed qualifications to start writing. Marijana then went on to work for the conference, and wrote a blog post summarizing a talk from an agency owner speaking there:
“I wrote about his masterclass and he saw it and literally emailed me and said, “Hey, thank you so much. That was amazing how you wrote about us. Do you want to give us your skills too?” And that was pretty much it. It went from this person that I reached out to help me enter marketing, to a year and a half later, getting me to write about someone who then became my first actual client as I left my in-house job to go full-time freelance.”
You can build similar relationships with people (and sometimes land a job at the end of it) by making friends with other freelancers, content managers, and agency owners by:
- Engaging with them on social media
- Asking to be a guest on their podcast
- Guest posting (and staying in touch with the editor)
Mistakes to avoid when you start freelance writing
New freelance writers often make common mistakes that can slow down growth or cost you opportunities. Here are some of the big ones to watch out for.
Joining content mills
Freelance marketplaces like Upwork (formerly Elance), Craigslist, and Fiverr are often the starting point for newbies who want to start freelance writing. But, they’re a race to the bottom. Clients using those sites rarely have the budgets you’ll need to make serious money as a freelance writer. We recommend avoiding them if you can.
Undervaluing your work
Cheap rates attract low-quality clients and lead to freelance burnout. It can also impact your perceived value: you might think that $50 per article is a steal, but to a client, it signals a lack of experience that can make your services appear lower quality.
Instead, use our benchmarks to set your rates—and don’t be afraid to justify why you’re worth them instead of defaulting straight to price cuts during negotiations:
- $250 to $399 for a 1,500 word blog post
- $500 to $999 for a whitepaper
- $99 to $249 for a marketing email
- 16 to 20% premium for ghostwriting
Poor communication (or worse, ghosting)
Landing a freelance writing client is only half the battle. Instead of having the constant pressure to find new ones, focus on retaining those you’ve already got.
Higher paying clients want reliability as much as skill. Missing deadlines, vague replies, or disappearing mid-project can kill your reputation fast.
The answer to this one is simple: Do what you said you’d do, when you said you’d do it.
Expecting too much too soon
Even if you’re on top of your freelance writing career from day one, finding reliable work can be tough. It can be difficult to reach your audience as a freelancer, especially when you have a small marketing budget. And it doesn’t help that you’re up against freelance content mills.
Set realistic expectations upfront. It’s unlikely that you’ll make a six-figure business overnight (all of the writers we surveyed in that income range had at least 2 years experience).
But the more effort you put in, the quicker you’ll get there.
How much do freelance writers earn?
Freelance writing is lucrative, and you can make a lot of money by taking freelance writing jobs online. But how much do writers actually earn?
The short answer is: it all depends on the type of content you’re writing, and how many freelance jobs you take on each month.
Let’s use blog posts as an example. As a new freelance writer, you can expect to earn between $100-$150 for a blog post. If each took five hours to write from start to finish, and you took on four blog posts per week, that’d be between $1,600 and $2,400 per month.
Experienced freelance writers can demand higher rates, especially if they make a name for themselves in a particular industry. Those top-level writers can earn over $1,000 for a blog post–hence why it’s possible to make six figures as a freelance writer.
Of course, take into account that these figures are turnover, not profit. There’s a lot to come off this top-line figure:
- Taxes
- Insurance
- Payment processing fees
- Vacation or sick leave
- Tools and software
- Time spent on non-billable tasks (e.g. invoicing, replying to emails, posting on social media)
Our very own Brooklin Nash, the creator of Dear Freelancer, recommends to work out how much time you spend on client work, then add a 1.3x multiple to account for taxes and fees.
Become a successful freelance writer in 2025
Unfortunately, freelance writing has got a reputation for being a “get rich quick” scheme. Budding writers try to find clients as a side hustle, only to realize that it takes a lot of time (and effort!) to become a freelance writer that can charge top-end rates.
We’re not going to say that becoming a freelance writer is easy. Because it’s not. You have to deal with finances and accounting software, clients and deadlines, even marketing yourself is tough. It takes time, skill, and writing experience to make a comfortable living from it.
That being said, you do have two huge things on your side:
- The barrier to entry for beginner freelance writers is very low. You don’t need experience to become a freelance writer. You can get your first few jobs and learn on the go (like we both did.)
- The gig economy is in full swing. Companies are waking up to the fact they don’t need full-time employees to sit in their office and write for them. Remote work is on the rise–and so is the number of companies hiring freelance writers.
As a general rule, though, we don’t recommend quitting your day job instantly to start freelance writing. We both started picking up writing gigs on the side of our jobs. That way, we built a small (but secure) network of potential writing clients who’d hire us when we became full-time freelance writers.
🧠 We cover all of this (and more) in our flagship course, Freelance Writing Essentials. Take 20% off with code TAKE20BLOG.
How to start freelance writing FAQs
How to start freelance writing for beginners?
The easiest way to start freelance writing is to choose a niche and type of content you want to create. Use this to create writing samples and build a portfolio you can use to pitch potential freelance writing clients as a complete beginner.
How do I start freelance content writing with no experience?
- Choose the type of content you want to get paid to write
- Build your skillset
- Prepare writing samples
- Assemble samples in a portfolio
- Send cold pitches
- Apply to freelance job boards
- Lean on your existing network
- Join a freelance community
How do freelance writers get paid?
Freelance writers typically get paid via bank transfer, PayPal, Wise, or platforms like Upwork. Payment terms are usually set in advance—either per word, per project, or hourly—and outlined in a contract or agreement.
Is freelance writing difficult?
It’s easy for new freelance writers to fall into the trap of thinking their new freelance writing job will be easy. Reality is: you’ll spend time doing other admin tasks–like finding new work, creating a freelance website, and dealing with accounting. All of those things eat into your schedule, but you don’t get paid to do them.
What are the requirements to be a freelance writer?
There are no formal requirements to become a freelance writer. There is an exception for regulated industries: if you’re writing for healthcare companies, for example, most clients will look for a formal healthcare qualification.
What is an example of freelance writing?
An example of freelance writing is creating blog posts for a tech company’s website to help them attract and educate potential customers. The writer researches the topic, writes the article in the brand’s tone of voice, and delivers it by a set deadline—all as an independent contractor, not an employee.
