freelance writers

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   Leland Johnsonposted 5 years ago

   Are any of you freelance writers?  If so how did you break into the industry and how's it going for you?

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      galleryofgraceposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      If you are writing on Hubpages -You are a freelance writer.

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         Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         haha- yes!  But I was thinking of something a little more along the line of obtaining private clients, assignments from businesses, etc.

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            Jean Bakulaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Leland,
            You are a freelance writer if you write here and make money.
            
            I did get several offers over the years to write in my astrology niche. I have contributed to other people's blogs once a month and got paid for it. I write a quarterly article for a Metaphysical Center I have attended for a long time.
            
            It's fun writing for other people's blogs. But they have specific topics they want, and due dates, and you have to have time to do that. I've been busy lately. Plus I have an astrology business out of my home. It didn't come directly from HP, but I have a Google presence when it comes to my niche, so it did contribute to my success in that way. Plus I like being able to set my own time frame because I have a waiting list at times, and other times it's slow. If I have too many other obligations, it gets overwhelming.
            
            I used to write business resumes for people. It's a nice way to pick up some easy money. Some people really don't know how to portray themselves in a resume. I was shocked to read some really awful ones. Try it! Suggest helping a friend, and let the word get out you will write resumes--for a price.

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               Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks Jean- Resume writing is the direction I've been leaning toward, at least to get my foot in that door.  Thanks for your advice, it makes a lot of sense. I have friends on hiring committees and they tell me, as you said, it's shocking how bad people's resume's can be.  I

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                  theraggededgeposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Indeed, but watch out for rogue apostrophes

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                     Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                     I will watch out for those little, dastardly, scoundrels! (scoundrel's???) lol

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      Mike Hardyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I have my blog about Michigans Upper Thumb. It started covering the wind enegy development that took off several years ago. ThumbWind has evolved to cover tourist and local events. I took to HP to expand into writting about other topics. HP makes a tiny fraction of what i do on my blog but im still getting started. Have fun with it.

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         Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for responding Mike and I wish you continued success.

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   theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

   I was contacted by another web publisher via hubpages, must be four years ago now. I have written three articles for them every week since then. Before that I was writing for Demand Media and Squidoo. I've also done work for several people via UpWork, but didn't like it much so not doing that anymore.
   
   At the moment I'm sticking with HP in the hope it will keep improving and I can earn a full-time income by the end of the year.

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      Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like you've made big gains in the writing field.  I'm taking courses in copywriting through AWAI right now and hoping it will help me get a foot in the door.  Thank you for commenting.

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   NateB11posted 5 years ago

   I've done a little freelance on BlogMutt but I don't have private clients. The work on BlogMutt, frankly, was more work than it was worth, to me. However, I've heard that money can be made if you take on your own clients. Haven't taken that leap yet though.
   
   My understanding is that, if you have the time, it's worth it to do freelance work with your own private clients.

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      Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Nate- that's exactly what I'd like to do- freelance full time.  I'm thinking of starting a resume' writing business.  Everybody needs'ed and nobody really enjoys writing them.  Thanks for your thoughts.

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   twitchtoolsposted 5 years ago

   I have a friend that is a freelance writer, so maybe I'm qualified to provide some sort of meaningful answer from what he has told me.
   
   He said that he started off using his writing skills to create unique blogs and tutorial sites in whatever field he's knowledgeable enough in to write about. I think the term I'm looking for is "micro-sites". He did this with the intent to make money from adsense and eventually, he scored with a site that managed to rank well in Google, and make him some cash via affiliate links.
   
   Taking his experience from that, he wrote about his successful project and made another blog out of it (an informative blog about patience and tips & tricks), which eventually got spotted by someone that works for a large company. They started to throw him work here and there, writing articles about products and having an "SEO guru" make suggestions and tips, so that they could fully maximise the content he was producing.

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      Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      twitch- thanks for commenting.  your post reminds me that I really need to get a handle on SEO.

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   poppyrposted 5 years ago

   I think a good way to break into the industry (beyond HP) is to have a niche. I've been living in Japan for five years so I could talk all day about Japanese food, sightseeing, weather, language, etc, and have been writing for sites like Japan Info, Taiken Japan, etc for ages. Those who are in education can make money writing for an education website, those who have studied psychology could perhaps write for a relationship and romance blog or magazine. If you know a lot about one subject, your knowledge can make you money if you enjoy writing about it.

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      Leland Johnsonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      great advice, poppy.  Thanks

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         poppyrposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         You're very welcome.

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   Jodahposted 5 years ago

   Hi Leland,
   You may like to check out Fiverr. It is where I advertise my services and get most of my clients. It took over a year to get really established, and although still far from a full-time income I have made up to $450 per month.  You may also get returning customers who may employ your services privately as well.

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   Leland Johnsonposted 5 years ago

   Hi Jodah,
   Thanks for the tip.  I'll definitely check them out.  May I ask what your field of writing is?

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      chef-de-jourposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Check out Constant Content for regular quality work. I've consistently sold book reviews with them and receive updates on writing jobs and other opportunities and stuff.
      LinkedIn - regards contacts and openings for careers.
      
      There are so many sites out there for freelancers! I'd get doing some research if I were you - well, you've started already - experiment here and there - and then write the ultimate freelance writer hub!

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      Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Leyland, I write mostly poetry and text (rhyme and prose) for children's books. I also have been required to write verse and logos for various commercial purposes.

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   paolaenergyaposted 5 years ago

   Hi Leland
   
   I have been a freelance writer for years and in my experience it's getting a bit more difficult to stand out. I have a couple of clients through in person networking and got some writing projects from my website, as people contacted me after reading my articles.
   
   I often look on Indeed for writing jobs, maybe you can check it out too (I am not affiliated with them).
   
   Best of luck!
   
   Paola

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   Tinskyposted 5 years ago

   Aside from my articles published here (which dwindled as I gained freelancing work elsewhere due to time constraints though I'm always hoping to add more), I also work as a subcontractor for a couple of locally based writing/web marketing companies in Australia. As well, I have a couple of private clients with ongoing monthly contracts who pay in advance.
   
   While I specialise in the arts industry for my private clients, I write outside of that as a subcontractor (topics include HR and OHS where I have prior experience and learning). I have my own business website and I am registered as sole trader. I picked up my private clients through a combination of my business' Facebook page and my writing website. For the subcontracting roles, I approached them after seeing advertisements for contract writers on their websites.
   
   I tend to avoid places like Upwork or Freelancer as the competition is fierce, they also want you to pay them to prove your skills and boost your networking capabilities. For me, the money you earn doesn't seem worth it? However, I have a friend who works as a freelance translator and she found using these services helped her to establish lasting contacts who were eventually willing to pay more and work directly with her. She also swears by Linkedin.

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    Rob DeLucaposted 5 years ago

    Ever since coming back to hubpages i have been thinking about writing full time, especially since i am out of a job currently. Anyone have any recommendations where i may be able to start? Even if it's minimum wage, i don't mind. Something is always better than nothing.

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