7 Steps to Become a Paid Freelance Writer

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash Write, get paid, stay in pjs. 1. Pitch all the time. All. The. Time. It’s a numbers game. The more you pitch, the more work you’ll get. I cannot overstate this. Whenever I see people posting questions online about finding work, or complaints about work drying up, my initial thought is — you’re not pitching enough. You’re not looking hard enough. Pitch and follow up like your paycheck depends on it. 2. Stop trying to pick a niche, just get started. If you want to niche, you can do so by industry OR expertise, or both. But it doesn’t have to be either. You might not have enough experience or you might not know what you like. Try everything. Try it all. Learn about yourself while getting paid to write for someone else. Just get started already. After you’ve been hired, if you find that sales pages are your glory, niche. If it’s the tech industry or the healthcare industry, go ahead and niche. If you decide you love it all, don’t niche. Generalists make good money too. 3. Set rates you’re comfortable with. When you first set your rates, pick whatever you’re comfortable with. Some people say the industry standard is $0.10/word, some say $1/word. I started at $0.04/word and now charge per post, I make approx $120/hr. Don’t stress over this part. People will— most often— not reject you because of rates alone, so don’t stew over what to charge just to get the job. Set your rates and stick to them. When you start getting more work than you can accept, it’s time to raise your rates. 4. Stop fussing over a portfolio or a website. You don’t need a website or portfolio. I still, to this day, share google docs and PDFs as writing samples. Just write some samples and share them. Here’s how you can come up with writing samples in three steps: Look for a company you’d want to work with, check out their website. Pick a relevant topic and write it, mirroring their style and brand tone. Edit and format your sample. Then use that sample to pitch similar companies. Or find other industries and repeat until you have at least three samples. 5. Be super non-invasive. When you pitch, be short and concise. Focus on what the client needs, not your background or qualifications, or hopes, dreams, and desires. Write your pitch, edit it, edit it again, take out lots of words— more than you think you need to— re-edit it, and then send it. If you get a client on the phone, ask lots of questions about what they’re expecting and what the desired results are. You’re more likely to get hired if the client believes you’re going to offer them instruction and ideas, rather than ask for guidance. Take the lead. If your pitches aren’t landing they’re either too long or too focused on you. 6. Lookup marketing agencies in your area. Start […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/7-steps-to-become-a-paid-freelance-writer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-steps-to-become-a-paid-freelance-writer
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

TOP SECTORS THAT PROVIDE FREELANCING OPTIONS

Following article has been written by Mr Ayush Goyal, Founder & CEO, ExpertRight.com New Delhi, December 31st, 2019: Self-employment opportunities have widened so well that a vast population today prefers freelancing rather than confining themselves to the rigid office regimes. Multiple research state that over 20% of the people in India do freelancing to make their living. Freelancing, in the past decade, has risen opportunities in various sectors where individuals gain knowledge and expertise and further help as specialists to different corporate companies. Likewise, the economy of corporate companies has seen a rising demand for freelancers, for they tend to be much cheaper and better in quality than the in-house resources. Here are a few top sectors that provide freelancing options in the economy: Content Writing Writing in English or any language, maybe a cup of tea for anyone. However, when it comes to professional writing and presentation of the story as you want it to be, expert freelancing content writers are in huge demand. While every business, big or small, needs content, the field of content writing has attracted a large number of content creators. These include writers for websites, writers for white papers, emails, etc. SEO and other digital marketing requirements of business again attract freelancing content writers for blogs and other content marketing requirements. Content writing is a field where one will find full-time writers as well as part-time freelancing writers who look forward to making extra money for their livelihood. Digital marketers Digital marketing freelancers are most popular among start-ups who look forward to building their visibility in the market. With a new innovative reason that they bring out in the market, these companies hire digital marketers to help them create their visibility on search engines, social media and every possible platform. Since there persists a huge cost of training for digital marketing in-house, companies prefer hiring professionals and saving on their expenses. Financial advisors These are another set of freelancing professionals who help individuals, as well as companies, manage their finances. With a massive experience of serving a variety of clients undergoing different types of problems, the freelance financial advisors are most preferred by the people and the companies than an in-house team. Data analytics professionals Data analytics is another active sector that is seeing a growing number of freelance professionals. With extensively updated data for various industries, data analytics professionals help the start-ups gain insights into the market as well as help large companies keep up with their business. Web developers Web development professionals are another set of freelancers high in demand today. With a large percentage of the market operating online, web developers are in a high demand today among the new companies. Likewise, the dynamic web environment brings out a huge demand for developers in the IT sector to keep up with IT. Education and training Large corporates invite trainers to deliver interactive sessions for their employees on different topics that may help in their careers. For example, corporates call out […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/top-sectors-that-provide-freelancing-options/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=top-sectors-that-provide-freelancing-options
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

Why Is Digital Marketing So Important

The importance of digital marketing is growing with every passing day. Turn back the clock 20 years you would find the only handful of businesses having their websites, 10 years back the SMEs joined the club and today your next door brick and mortar store have its own website. As you read there are more than one billion websites and still counting. Naturally having just a website won’t offer you the traction you need. To rank high on the search engines you need to run an SEO campaign. If you are planning for the one you have three options at hand – hire an digital media agency like inin.io , have your in-house team or get a freelancer to assist you with the project. Here we take a look at which is the best option for you. Getting Your Work Through Freelancers Let’s start with the cheapest option you have at hand – a freelancer. You will find hundreds of them at LinkedIn, Facebook and Craigslist. So who are these freelancers? They are often former agency executives or students who want to generate a passive income stream with skills they have picked up along the way. While they may promise you services at jaw-dropping prices you need to be a little apprehensive about hiring one. The reason we say so is that for every skilled SEO freelancer there are hundreds of ‘self-rated’ experts. If you get your choice wrong your SEO campaign will go haywire. Secondly, freelancers are often ‘jack of all trades’ and they have basic knowledge in keyword research, content and analytics and you can’t expect the highest level of expertise in different skills that help you achieve desirable results. Third and perhaps the most important is with continuity – a freelancer may take up a full-time job and leave your campaign in a lurch. Making Own Startup As Digital Marketer For starters, one of the most important aspects of digital marketing is effective use of social media. Active and smart use of social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ is a great way to build up your consumer base and interact with them on a daily basis. Marketing through emails in the world is an efficient way to get to your targeted audience and make good conversions. You can even get them aware of your updates and also do branding with those techniques. Important Facts About Digital Marketing Another significant part of digital and social media advertising is website architecture. In any case, most organizations don’t give it the significance it facts. Consider it like this: while your advertising may snatch eyeballs and force individuals to make a move, your web architecture is the thing that normally chooses whether they will make the buy or not. Numerous examinations have presumed that around seventy percent individuals choose the validity of a business based the structure of its site. It likewise affects transformation as changing your site design for a crusade can work well […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/why-is-digital-marketing-so-important/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-is-digital-marketing-so-important
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

New-age loan options for gig workers, freelancers and young students

In some cases even without any income you can get small ticket personal loans While it is easier for individuals with decent income proofs and established repayment track to get loans quickly, many people such as gig workers, part-time workers, freelancers or young students, who have never accessed any credit, have been struggling to get loans to meet even small funding requirements. However, technology has facilitated the borrowing options for these people. Many new-age lenders are coming up with innovative tools to provide lending to hitherto unattended segment of borrowers. Credit to all Whether you are a part-time worker without any income document, or a freelancer with irregular income pattern or a self-employed person with inconsistent income, you can still get a loan today. “The majority of our customers are new to credit and we have built our policies and products in a way that it enables smooth experience for these first-time credit users. The range of products that we offer to these new-age professionals is often not available in the market,” says Rajan Bajaj, Founder & CEO, SlicePay. In some cases even without any income you can get small ticket personal loans.”Any Indian college student over the age of 18 is eligible to borrow money instantly using the mPokket mobile app. It’s a very simple process where the user needs to install the application from the Play Store and then do a phone number-based registration. Once he is registered, he/she needs to provide basic documents such as identity and address details. We validate the details entered and then they are ready to take the loan. Our primary target is college-going students,” says Gaurav Jalan, Founder & CEO, mPokket. Also Read: Medical emergency – what are your last minute funding options? Typically the amount needed by students is not bigger so the loan option also comes in small ticket size. “The average ticket size of borrowing on mPokket typically ranges from Rs 500-2000, but the limit could go up to Rs 20,000, depending on special scenarios and emergencies. However, we primarily cater to those who do not have huge monetary needs. This explains why the average ticket size on mPokket is relatively smaller than other players in the market. Borrowers get up to three months to repay their loans,” adds Gaurav Jalan of mPokket. Not necessarily a costly option Revolving credit that is given by credit card providers is one of the costliest forms of credit as it allows you to postpone repayment by paying a high finance charge and a very small part of principal. You get EMI conversion option in your credit card to bring down the interest cost and repay the dues in instalments. Some of these features you can get from these new-age lenders as well. “We have no minimum due concept, unlike traditional credit card companies. Hence, if a customer is unable to pay the whole bill, he can convert them into monthly EMIs. Our EMIs tenures are up to 18 months,” says Bajaj […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/new-age-loan-options-for-gig-workers-freelancers-and-young-students/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-age-loan-options-for-gig-workers-freelancers-and-young-students
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

5 Questions You Always Wanted to Ask About Freelancing

Freelancing is on the rise and getting very popular for all the right reasons. It is providing a great facility to earn for people who can’t leave their houses and who want to make some extra money. There are many freelancing sites where you can register yourself and start working. You can earn good money from freelancing; you have to choose the field of your interest. There are several fields to choose from as per your skills. Freelancing is helping many people to sustain their careers, provide a job so they can make money from it. For someone new to freelancing terms, it is a service that you provide to people who hire you for some task, and you get a certain amount of money in return. It is like a job, but there are no 9-5 timings involved, and yes, you don’t have to leave your home for this job. For a person who is new to this platform, they might have any question, today we will answer the top five questions people ask or want to ask about freelancing. Can we make money by freelancing? All of us have never seen our parents working at home and making money, so this seems very unnatural to all of us. It is not a very traditional way to make money, so everyone will have a question that do we get paid. Many people still doubt that you can earn decent by working from home. So, our answer to all such questions is, YES, you can make money by freelancing if you are following all their guidelines. People are making a decent amount of money by working as a freelancer. Can you do other things at work time? Freelancing is not your regular 9-5 job with a strict office environment. It allows you to work as per your schedule, but a time frame or a deadline is given. Yes, you will have a flexible schedule, and you can do other random work along with your job, and it gives you the freedom to do things as your routine. How does it feel to work without a boss/supervision? Another critical question freelancers get how you can work without any boss or supervisor. It is also not a very traditional way of job; in freelancing, you have to be your boss. You have to work as per your schedule and without anyone supervising you. The flexibility in freelancing is a significant advantage for everyone. Can you get a vacation anytime you want? It is also a common question that comes to freelancers, that you have a free routine, you can get vacation anytime you want. Yes, we don’t get paid for holidays, but we can work from anywhere in the world. Can I start as a freelancer also? Yes, you can be a freelancer, but it is not a piece of cake; you have to be fully committed and honest with your work. If you have some skill and you want to […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/5-questions-you-always-wanted-to-ask-about-freelancing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-questions-you-always-wanted-to-ask-about-freelancing
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

Four ways work will change in 2020

Over the last few years, the workplace has changed almost beyond recognition. With an increase in freelancers, more remote workers than ever, and advances in technology all shaping the way we work, the coming year is set to be big. Here are some of the key trends. The gig economy and flexible work The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people taking part in the gig economy by trading in one long term position for shorter-term or more flexible work. Temps, contractors, freelancers and remote workers all fall into this category, often working for companies for shorter amounts of time, on project-based or ad hoc work. For some, this is a way to build a more flexible life, working outside of traditional working hours, or working for multiple companies at once. Intuit actually estimates that by 2020, over 40% of U.S. workers will be independent contractors. It’s not just how people work, but where, that’s changing. There has been a huge shift over the last few years in terms of remote working. A survey by the Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs found that remote work has grown 91% over the last 10 years, and various research has concluded that by 2020, half of us will be working remotely in some form. Some companies now operate entirely remotely, with no communal office space and employees spanning multiple time zones, some companies have one or two remote team members, and some offer all employees the option to work remotely for a day or two per week. This kind of work has a huge impact on HR, from the hiring/onboarding process to company structure to communication practices when dealing with part-time workers. While this undoubtedly means there are challenges to overcome, this ever-increasing flexible working trend isn’t going anywhere. HR leaders need to take a look at just what the gig economy means for their company, and how best to cope with the demands of short-term, flexible and freelance workers. This can be through the increased use of performance management tools, regular team-wide video conference sessions, or revamping onboarding processes. People enablement People enablement was highlighted as one of our 2019 trends and it’s still set to have a huge impact in 2020. This more holistic, less top-down focused approach enables employees to unleash their potential and progress in their own way. The concept relies on three core pillars: Professional growth: accelerating the speed at which managers and individuals learn and grow Clarity and alignment: keeping everyone aligned on strategy, objectives, and process Value and impact: building a culture where everyone feels valued and receives recognition By implementing all three of these things, companies can ensure their people feel in control of their work and progression, increasing overall engagement, growth, and productivity. People enablement has a major impact on the employee experience, something which helps companies outperform those with less people-focused practices. HR chatbots The use of chatbots may already be common in many HR departments, […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/four-ways-work-will-change-in-2020/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=four-ways-work-will-change-in-2020
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

4 Year-End Tax Tips for Freelancers

As a freelancer, you get to enjoy the freedom of setting your own hours, establishing rates that reflect your effort and talent, and generally calling the shots. But if there’s one drawback to being self-employed, it’s the hassle of dealing with taxes. With that in mind, here are some tips that will help you avoid a world of hassle during the upcoming tax season — and perhaps save you some money in the process. 1. Gear up for your last estimated tax payment When you’re self-employed, you don’t have taxes withheld from your earnings. As such, you’re required to pay that tax as you go via estimated quarterly payments . Though your final payment for 2019 isn’t due until Jan. 15, now’s the time to figure out what you’ll owe the IRS — and whether there’s a way to reduce that number. Keep in mind that the more you contribute to a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan , the more of your income you can shield from taxes. If you’re self-employed and want to cut your 2019 tax bill, you can look at funding a traditional IRA. But if you’re a higher earner, you might benefit from a Solo 401(k) , SIMPLE IRA , or SEP-IRA instead. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. 2. Defer some income If you’re worried about owing a lot of money to the IRS on your 2019 tax return, then you’d be wise to not get paid any more money for the rest of the year. Hold off on billing clients for another couple of weeks so they’re not tempted to pay you before the year closes out. And if you have clients you’ve already billed, you may want to pick up the phone and make it clear that you’re happy to be paid in 2020. 3. Rack up some extra deductible expenses The more legitimate business expenses you’re able to write off, the less tax you’ll have to pay on your income. Though 2019 is almost over, if you have supplies or equipment you need to buy for your business, making those purchases in the next week or so, as opposed to early 2020, could work wonders for this year’s tax bill, so stock up on office supplies and any other materials you use in the course of your business. 4. Find tax help if you need it If you’re relatively new to freelancing, you may find that filing your taxes is a more confusing process than you’d like it to be. That’s why it pays to start looking for a tax professional now — and if you wind up paying for a consultation, squeezing it in before year-end will give you one more expense to deduct on your next tax return. A tax professional may also be able to advise you on whether it pays to start an actual business , like an S-corp or LLC, so aim to find someone who works with self-employed individuals and small operations. There’s plenty to be gained by […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/4-year-end-tax-tips-for-freelancers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-year-end-tax-tips-for-freelancers
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

How to Choose Freelancers: The Building Blocks of Your Startup Business

How to Choose Freelancers: The Building Blocks of Your Startup Business (Photo : pexels.com) After a student graduated from college, the first step is to look for an office-based job. But today, in the period where internet and online transactions are taking over the system of every business , millions of regular employees are willing to give up their careers and startup freelance employment since being a freelancer can give them more flexible time to create the standard of living they want. This kind of desire is kind of impossible because of the unmatched shift and routine that the majority of companies around the world offer. Looking for freelance workers to hire is getting more conventional and striking for many new business entrepreneurs . It promotes career growth that can sustain self-employed laborers. When you already dare to start up your new endeavor as an entrepreneur, contracting freelancers is one of the best options to line up the blueprint of the company. The probability of finding the best workers you needed for a team is high. But how can you tell that the applicant is worth employment? Here are the things you need to know as a new entrepreneur on how to choose freelancers when starting up a business : Concrete framework Every project and assignment given by the client should be designed accordingly to the requirements. Planning ahead of time is essential. We are not living in a fantasy world. Freelancers are not fortune tellers that can get exactly what you want them to do after a few emails and limited information. Giving them the data and guidelines they needed is not equal to “spoon-feeding”. You need to spend time and identify carefully what does your client needs. Doing this will help you find the right person for the job. From the very start, make a list of the skills required and the job description to do to ensure that misconceptions are avoided when it comes to the job seekers. Check your resources Assess your ability to pay. Hiring an employee means paying money. If you like to save pennies or if you have limited funds, you may consider looking for freelancers overseas that you can deal with a reasonable price for a given project and also get results that are skillfully done. You need to find your own balance. Evaluate when you should pay more or pay less. Get things done accordingly in the most practical way. Initial screening. Sometimes the first impression really lasts. You should immediately eliminate those unqualified applicants. Filtering the candidates from the beginning will help you save time when finding the right one. You can proceed to further methods after that if you want. Employers usually require phone interviews and video as well to know more information about the freelancers. You can assess their interest and check if they know even single information about the field that they are applying for. Do they have previous experience of what you need? Some can […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/how-to-choose-freelancers-the-building-blocks-of-your-startup-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-choose-freelancers-the-building-blocks-of-your-startup-business
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

60 Million People in the U.S. Are Freelancing: Is It the Future of Labour Market?

In the modern world with an incredibly high level of technological development more and more people use tech benefits in building their careers. Instead of daily commuting to and from work, they choose to freelance. Some are quite skeptical about such a way of earning money and believe that freelancing is more about something you do when you can not get a real job. However, they are wrong, and we are going to prove it. Freelancing is a fast and affordable way to start earning an income from home. Freelancers can serve every demand that a business venture might have. Besides, they are supposed to be at the same time the owner, director, and the financial manager. They bring their specialized skills in social media marketing, copywriting, and publicity. All you need to earn money in this way is a PC, Internet access, and, of course, some skills that you will use to offer your services. The list of perks accompanying freelancing is endless: an ability to work from any part of the world, flexible working hours, excellent opportunity for advancement, continuous learning through work, and more. Upwork, a platform for freelancers that connects businesses with talented professionals, has made up a list of the highest-paying freelance jobs that allow making as much income as $90,000 per year or even more. The list is based on the recent research conducted by Upwork together with Freelancers’ Union and an independent research company Edelman Intelligence. Named “Freelancing in America: 2019”, the study shows how freelance fits within the overall U.S. economy, finds out the reasons people choose freelancing, gauges the challenges that freelancers face, and makes some predictions for the future of freelancing. The concept of freelancing appeared not so long ago, but there are more freelancers than you may think. As it was reported by CNBC, in the U.S. alone nearly 60 million people freelanced in 2019, which is about 35% of the American workforce. About 45 million are part-time freelancers and 15 million freelance full-time. It is notable that every 5th of them earns more than $100,000 per year. Adam Ozimek, chief economist at Upwork, stated: “People should look at this list and think a little differently about the freelance economy. There’s too much focus on a narrow corner of the freelance economy and lower-skilled workers. This report shows how diverse this segment of the economy is and how much of it is high-skilled work.” The experts believe that the upcoming 2020 will be successful for freelancers and open new perspectives to them. The list of top freelance jobs expected to be in high demand next year includes intellectual property attorney, corporate legal counsel, contract drafter, litigator, general counsel, IT specialists, economics and statistics experts, marketing specialists, and more. Steve King, a partner at California-based research firm Emergent Research, commented: “High-end professionals are going to have a great year next year, whether they’re freelance or not. The job market is just so tight, and those skills are really hard […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/60-million-people-in-the-u-s-are-freelancing-is-it-the-future-of-labour-market/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=60-million-people-in-the-u-s-are-freelancing-is-it-the-future-of-labour-market
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

Going Freelance? Here’s How to Keep Your Budget Afloat

Flamingo Images / Stocksy She Makes Money Moves is a new podcast from Glamour and iHeartRadio. Hosted by Glamour editor in chief Samantha Barry, the podcast shares intimate, unscripted stories from women across the country along with advice from financial experts to help guide those women—and women everywhere—forward. Download a new episode every Tuesday, then visit glamour.com/money for an article like this, with more insights from that week’s expert. 57 million Americans are freelance workers. That’s 35% of the U.S. workforce. And according to a survey from Upwork and the Freelancers Union , more people are beginning to view this work as a long-term career choice than ever before. While freelancing has a multitude of benefits—flexible work schedules, for one—it can also be tough to navigate from a financial standpoint. Money is hard enough when you have a W-2 income with regular paychecks. Adding the volatility of freelance life to the mix makes it that much more complicated. This week’s guest on the podcast has been a full-time freelancer for two years. While she loves the freedom it provides her, she’s about to have her first child. So she’s currently evaluating the trade-offs of the freelance lifestyle compared to working in an office to determine what’s best for herself and her family. To help her weigh her options Barry welcomed Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, founder of the Fiscal Femme , back to the podcast. Here Feinstein Gerstley offers five tips to maintaining a stable budget in the freelance economy. Set aside money for taxes. One of the most common pitfalls I see freelancers (and all entrepreneurs) make is that we don’t put money aside for taxes and we end up with a big tax bill at the end of the year. This can wreak havoc on our cash flow and cause us lots of financial stress. The good news is that taxes are something we can plan for. Freelancers can create a fund for taxes by opening a separate online savings account and labeling it “taxes.” You can either put aside a percentage of every check you earn or a percentage of your profit each month, but regardless of your approach you want to get it into your tax fund as soon as possible so the money is there waiting when it’s time to pay taxes. Charge what your work is worth. I’ve found that many freelancers aren’t charging enough for their services. One of the reasons is that when we price out a project, we only take into account the hours we are physically working on it. We don’t consider the administrative tasks that goes into working on that project, the cost of gaining the expertise to be able to take it on in the first place, and all of the work in between. This can leave us with a much much lower hourly rate than we anticipated. I’ve found one of the most helpful resources is to band together with a group of people in a similar field. […]

from Freelancing Buzz https://freelancingbuzz.com/going-freelance-heres-how-to-keep-your-budget-afloat/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=going-freelance-heres-how-to-keep-your-budget-afloat
via https://freelancingbuzz.com

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started