Freelance Writing 101: How to Start Your Writing Career from Home

The truth is that so many of you moms out there have probably passed up this post because you don’t consider yourself to be an award-winning writer or novelist. Well, the good news that I have for you today is that you don’t have to be! Yes, you heard me right. If you do happen to have an interest in writing and want to make money from home, you can start to build up your career slowly by selling your work online in the form of articles, blogs, e-books, and web copy.

And here is how to get started…

• Create a profile. You can work from any number of websites, like Elance.com, Guru.com, or Odesk.com, which allow you to set up your own profile and sell your services as a freelance writer. Most of these websites are free to join or charge a small membership fee, which is definitely worthwhile. As an insider tip, it is better to pay for a $10 or $20 monthly membership fee than sign up for a free website because that will immediately increase the caliber of jobs available. Trust me. You’ve got to spend money to make money, right?
• Build up your portfolio. Unless you happen to have quite a few writing samples from college or a past job, you should take the time to whip up a few quality samples to have in your portfolio. This is the fun part. You can write about anything that enters your pretty little head in any style that you would like. If you consider yourself to be a serious writer, then write a well-researched article that would potentially appear in a news publication. If you want to write lighthearted and fun blogs, then make sure to write in that style within your area of interest. These pieces should be strong and catchy since they will serve as your portfolio until you get your first few jobs.
• Choose a specialty. If you want any hope of starting out as a freelance writer making money, then you need to choose a specialty. I am personally licensed as an aesthetician, so I started primarily writing on beauty and skin care. As a mother, you may want to write on parenting, a hobby that you specialize in, or anything related to your college degree. The point is that you must market yourself as a specialist so that clients will choose you as a new writer over other more experienced writers because of your unique skills.
• Start bidding! Many people who start out freelance writing online give up quickly because they only put out a few bids and don’t get a job. I have to tell you that initially you will need to bid and bid and bid before you get a job. You will also need to be willing to bid at a lower rate until you start to improve your credentials and portfolio, where you can then raise your rates accordingly. Having this type of persistence will only pay off in the long run when you have the luxury of working from home, taking care of your children, and earning a substantial income.

Good luck!

Bethany Ramos has been a full-time freelance writer for two years and co-owns her own website, The Coffee Bump. For a great selection of the Bunn home coffee maker, check out Bethany Ramos’ website, The Coffee Bump.