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How to make money as a freelance article writer

Updated on June 18, 2013
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I have been a chef for the last 10 years but I enjoy writing as a hobby. I really enjoy writing for Hubpages because it is fun!

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Making money as an online writer

Before discussing how to make money as a freelance writer you should know exactly what a freelance article writer is. Basically a freelance article writer is a person who writes articles as a way of making an income. Usually freelance article writers are self employed article writers who enjoy the independence of working for themselves and not being tied down to one particular employer. Article writers who work freelance have the choice of having contracts with several different clients so can pick and choose exactly what they want to write about.

The internet has made it easier to become a freelance article writer because there are so many people out there who need content for their websites or blogs and they turn to freelance writers to fill this need. It is really quite easy to make money with the writing skills that you have. Unfortunately there is a lot of competition out there on the internet so before deciding to become a full-time freelance article writer it is a good idea to think long and hard about whether you have the drive and determination to become a successful freelance writer.

One of the most important things you need to know to become a freelance article writer is exactly what your clients want. You must understand the type of content your clients want and you need to do a lot of research into customising your writing style to what will work for your client. Some clients will want articles, some will want blog post and some may want reviews, there are big differences between these types of contents so you must look into what these pieces of content require.

As a beginner freelance article writer it is important to build up an easily recognisable online profile. Write and publish as many examples of your work online and build up your portfolio. The more you publish the more recognisable your name will become. It is a lot easier if you have chosen a niche in which to write. That way you can publish as many articles within your niche and eventually become considered an expert in your chosen niche. Once you have built up a decent portfolio and promoted yourself on the internet you will find that clients will check these articles out in order to see what your work is like. Clients will base their decision to purchase your services on the example work you have published online.

There are several ways to show of examples of your work. It is often considered that creating a simple website or blog showcasing a selection of your best articles is one of the best ways of building a good client base and getting your name out there. It is a good idea to try to show different types of writing styles that you are able to write in on your blog or website so that potential clients can clearly see your writing abilities. If you have not got a specific niche that you want to write in then show off several articles that you have written about different topics.

If you cannot afford a website or do not wish to spend money on a website because you are starting out as a freelance article writer then you can show off your articles on a variety of free publishing platforms.

The following sites are free to publish your articles on and are great for showing off your work:

There are a lot more sites like these that can publish articles for free and the best thing about these sites is that they are well liked by Google. This means that you can get quite a few people to view your articles and some of those may become potential clients.

Once you have built up a good profile you will then need to fish for clients. There will be people out there who want to buy your work once you start promoting yourself. If you use the above websites to publish your articles you will have the option to write an authors resource box or something similar. Utilise the resource box and you will be able to advertise your services as a freelance writer in order to sell your articles. You can also post in various different forums advertising the fact that you are a freelance writer and have articles for sale.

There are also websites that allow you to publish your work and sell them through the website. One of the most popular choices for inexperienced freelance writers is Constant-content.com. Writers from around the world publish their articles there and put them up for sale. There are other websites that work on a similar format and they are easy to find using Google.

The amount of money that can be made through freelance article writing depends greatly on how well you promote yourself and your work. It also depends on the types of articles that people wish to buy. It is not unheard of for full-time freelance writers to make in excess of $2500 per month. It is a difficult job and success will not be instant for most people but if you persist and hone your skills and learn everything you can about freelance writing you could make a decent living off your freelance writing.

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