For a new freelance writer, it can seem like a significant risk to leave traditional structure to carve out a career on your own, and taking the first steps may seem like the most difficult.
The freelancer’s world today, however, comes with more stability than it ever has.
There are platforms for content organization that make it easy for freelancers to communicate, collaborate, share resources and find work.
Here are four keys to keep in mind as you embark on those nervous first steps as a new freelance writer.
1. Your Market Share Is at An All-Time High
Content marketing is increasing on the back of an increasing reliance on market analytics used to tell marketers what’s working and what isn’t.
The results have shown that content marketing, the consistent release of valuable content to a targeted audience, has increased significantly.
According to Curata in recent years, marketers are increasing their content budget by 76 percent, showing a firm commitment to a form of marketing that is becoming more and more useful as we learn more about our audiences.
New freelancers are not entering a risky or under-appropriated market, by any means.
2. Qualifications Don’t Matter; Expertise Does
As enters the market as a freelance writer, it’s understandable to have some anxiety about how your credentials compare to your peers.
As some experienced freelancers will tell you, however, this comparison is more a product of your perception than a real concept.
More important than where or how you learned to write is what you develop a specialization for.
If you carve out a niche in the freelance market as an authority on a specific few subjects, you have a direct path by which to grow your personal business.
3. Build Loyalty and a Personal Brand
Many people equate being a freelance writer to being willing to take whatever work comes along, and it might be like that in the beginning, but over time you’ll be able to focus your career and refine the work you accept to specific customers and sectors.
This is where building your personal brand comes into play as a major factor for developing your identity as a freelancer.
You’ll find clients with whom you can maximize your benefit and become able to help each other’s businesses move forward.
4. Embrace Your Freedom and Take the Plunge
Freelance writing isn’t easy, nor should you expect it to be, like any other job. Unlike other structured work, however, freelancing garners you a freedom and versatility to keep your identity with you throughout the process.
Your earning potential is, within reason, whatever you want it to be and offers a flexibility unmatched by work in almost any other sector.
It takes a special type of person to want to take the first steps towards a freelance career, but typically it’s the same type of person who can be a self-motivated, successful part of the freelance market.
Do you have any tips that have worked for you? Let me know in the comments section below.