Whether you found yourself choosing the freelance life or getting forced into it, you probably had big visions. Being your own boss! Creating your own schedule! Earning money doing what you love!
Only… a few months into it, freelancers sometimes find reality looks nothing like that picture. In reality, it can be hard to find clients, especially good ones. And earning enough money to live comfortably can be a big stressor when you’re getting started.
If this sounds familiar, listen up: we’re about to let you in on a solid way to get yourself off the feast-or-famine freelance treadmill.
It’s called recurring revenue.
In other words, clients who hire you to work for them on a regular basis: say, one project every day, week or month, which means getting paid by that same client again and again.
Why recurring revenue is a lifeline for freelance writers
This business strategy is so important for earning more — and stressing less — as a freelancer. Here’s what monthly recurring revenue can do for you:
Makes your earnings more predictable
Not knowing where your money is coming from or even how much you’ll earn each month is neither fun nor sustainable. Recurring revenue allows you to predict your monthly income, which makes it easier to assess how much more work you need to meet your goals.
Even if that recurring client represents only 20 or 30 percent of your total monthly revenue, it’s nice to know you can expect that regular paycheck.
Decreases stress levels
Financial stress is often the number one problem for freelancers, especially when you’re just starting out and maybe accustomed to receiving a steady paycheck each month.
Having recurring work and knowing you can pay your bills on time removes a huge amount of stress from your shoulders, which means you can actually enjoy the flexible lifestyle you’ve created.
Allows you to focus on working, instead of pitching
One of the biggest benefits of recurring revenue is you don’t have to spend all your free time searching for more work. More time doing the work, rather than trying to win it, means more money in the bank.
Most freelancers also tend to enjoy working more than pitching, so this approach could make you happier in that regard, too.
Land higher-paying gigs
When you have a steady income, the time you do spend trying to win work can be focused on higher-paying writing gigs.
Since you won’t be forced to take on projects just because you need the cash, you’ll gradually cultivate a stable of well-paying clients, leading to a lot more money as the years go by.
Foster meaningful relationships
When you’re working with the same clients month after month, you’ll inevitably foster deeper relationships. As a result, you’ll better understand what each client wants and how to help them, so you’ll serve them better. You’ll also learn, over time, how to complete your projects more efficiently, which is hugely beneficial if you can move from hourly work to value-based pricing (or getting paid for deliverables, rather than time spent).
Even better, these types of relationships often lead to more work from those clients or from other people in their networks once they refer you.
Tips for generating monthly recurring revenue
Finding recurring work is similar to landing one-off freelance gigs, but it takes a little bit of extra effort.
Every time you get a new gig, look at it as an opportunity to win a recurring client. Make sure your work is excellent, submit it before the deadline, and if you can, find a way to add an extra 10 percent of effort to really make it shine. Give that client reason to want to hire you again!
If it’s a reported story, interview a first-person source rather than just quoting an article you find online. If you’re writing a blog post, format it to match other posts on the blog, so the editor doesn’t have to do that himself after you turn it in. Whatever the project is, go above and beyond the basic requirements to stand out in a sea of other freelancers.
Now here’s the crucial step: Once you’ve proven your skill and reliability on a few one-off projects, let your client know you’d like to be considered for ongoing work.
Monthly recurring revenue can come in different forms. The client might commit, for example, to paying you for two blog posts each month. Or they might want to lock in five hours of your time each month.
Why would they do this? Because just like you don’t want to look for a new client every month, they don’t want to spend time looking for a new writer. If they can rely on you for a certain amount of work each month, it makes their life easier and helps projects progress faster.
If they can’t hire you right then, don’t fret. Stay in touch with the client via social media and email, and hopefully they’ll think of you the next time a recurring opportunity pops up.
On all of your projects, do your best to demonstrate your value, and you’ll soon be on your way to monthly recurring revenue — and a successful freelance business.
Do you have any recurring clients? How’d you find them?
The original version of this story was written by Alexis Grant. We updated the post so it’s more useful for our readers.
The growing field of technical writing — the work of creating user guides for new products, capturing how a business brings aboard a new customer, directing a user step by step through installing new software and thousands of other tasks — is a lucrative one.
I made the switch to in 2019 and wish I had known about the option far earlier.
I came to technical writing after working as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. Leaving the profession I’d loved for decades wasn’t easy, but I became even more grateful for my new career when the pandemic started and I became the sole breadwinner for our family of six. Back in March, my husband lost his job and finding a new one in the Covid-ravaged landscape took six months. I don’t like to think how our household would have fared if I’d stayed in journalism.
Money isn’t the sole reason to consider a job in technical writing, but it’s no small consideration either.
My work on a team handling information technology documents for a federal government contractor outside D.C. pays $70,000 — almost twice what I earned at my last newspaper job.
Want to make the leap into technical writing? Let’s break down what technical writing is and how you can get started in this niche.
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What does a technical writer do?
A technical writer puts things simply — translating complex information into a message that allows the intended audience, whether that’s a consumer or a software engineer, to take the desired action. Tech writers must decide the structure for best presenting the information to boost understanding for the end user.
Tech writers typically churn out standard operating procedure (SOP) documents, technical proposals, online help sections, installation guides, quick reference guides, white papers and more.
Technical communication is not only about writing, but editing (your own work and the work of others) and keeping terminology usage and other word choices consistent throughout a document and across multiple documents.
While the written word remains the focus for most tech writers, their documents increasingly aren’t printed on paper, but rather read online. And tech writers no longer rely on words alone to get their message across but turn to interactive technologies to deliver a blend of text, illustrations, photographs, screenshots, custom graphics, animation, audio and video.
Tech writers tend to cluster in information technology (IT) fields, with many working in the federal government or for federal contractors. Other popular fields include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, finance, research, engineering and green energy. Some tech writers create documents used solely “in house” while others focus on writing for consumers or the public at large.
Writers who live in high-tech corridors may have an easier time landing work though one of the silver linings of the pandemic has been an uptick in work-from-home jobs in the field.
How much can you earn as a technical writer?
The median salary for a tech writer was $72,850 in May of 2019, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook put out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s more than what comparable media professionals such as editors, writers, authors and public relations specialists make (their median salaries are in the low $60,000s) and significantly more than what reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts (with median pay of $46,270 earn.
There’s also demand for tech writers. In contrast to journalism, where layoffs and even shuttered newsrooms have become the norm, the number of tech writing jobs will grow in the coming decades.
Thanks to the ongoing boom in scientific and technical products overall, the U.S. will add 4,300 tech communication jobs between 2019 and 2029, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. (The forecast for the reporters category for that same period calls for 5,800 fewer positions, an 11 percent drop.)
What kind of skills does a tech writer need?
Mention “technical writing” and many people think of dense documents overflowing with acronyms, abstract concepts and jargon. In other words, not exactly pleasure reading. But the latest trend in tech writing substitutes hard-to-read gobbledygook for text that’s accessible to all.
This push, part of what’s known as the plain language movement, aims to make it easier for the public to read, understand and put into use all kinds of important info (everything from legal contracts to the steps involved in asking for a new Social Security card).
A good tech writer also has a knack for structuring information, laying out the key points in the logical sequence so the end user can zero in on what’s needed without reading every single word. Users can find what they need to know just when they need to know it.
Other building blocks that help a tech writer transition into the field include:
The ability to write clearly, concisely and in a neutral style
Curiosity
An analytical mind
An ease in interacting with busy scientists, engineers, illustrators, researchers, security analysts and various SMEs
Who should become a technical writer?
Most tech comm professionals have at least a bachelor’s degree, often in English, journalism or some other communications specialty. Some tech writers come to the field after careers in academia, elementary education, business or as foreign language translators.
Recovering journalists are also naturals for making the move to tech writing. Anyone who’s worked in a newsroom is likely an expert in conducting interviews with subject matter experts (SME), including being respectful of the SME’s time but also willing to ask follow up questions or even “dumb” questions if some essentials remain murky. They know how important it is to aim for perfection — from grammar and punctuation to all the technical details — but still turn in the work on time.
Being tech savvy in any specialty field is a plus (no tech writer has ever gotten turned down for a job for knowing too much) and being passionate about technology is a given. A person who writes clearly who also has a degree in engineering, computer science or another technical field probably won’t have trouble landing work as a tech writer.
Whatever your degree or previous professional experience, you’ll want a portfolio to highlight your best work. One way to get some strong samples: Find an entity in need of tech writing and show off what you can do pro bono. Maybe a small business in your neighborhood could use written instructions for a task or a how-to guide to operating a piece of equipment.
How to break into technical writing
Anyone mulling a tech comm career might want to connect with the Society for Technical Communication. Dating to the early 1950s, it’s the largest organization for tech writers. The STC offers certificates in tech writing and a slew of other resources. It also has local chapters that offer helpful blogs and newsletters along with conferences and networking events. Virtual seminars have become an STC mainstay during the pandemic.
Other strategies for training to move into tech writing include:
Enrolling in a college or university that offers tech writing classes or even degrees. The University of Maryland Global Campus is one good online option.
Checking out Techwhirl, an online resource with information helpful to experienced tech comm veterans as well as students and aspiring professionals.
Connecting with working professionals through LinkedIn’s tech writers group, Technical Writers United and other groups on Facebook
Creating a resume just for tech writing jobs.
You’ll want to read up on tech writing too. Tom Johnson, a California-based tech writer who started his I’d Rather Be Writing blog more than a decade ago, put together a list of resources he calls 40 Foundational Books for Technical Writing. He includes “Technical Writing Process” by Kieran Morgan and other guides to getting started in tech comm as well as two classics perfect for writers of all stripes: William Zinsser’s “On Writing Well” and Strunk and White’s “Elements of Style.”
So what’s it really like to be a technical writer?
The shorthand on technical writing: It’s a little dull.
Maybe that characterization comes from all the onetime journalists working in tech, those diehards who know nothing compares to getting the scoop on election night, snagging an interview with the celebrity visiting town, chasing down the latest twist in a political scandal.
But tech writing delivers its own quiet satisfaction. The job is not as routine as it might seem at first glance. One day a tech writer is updating an SOP to include newly implemented cybersecurity measures, the next calls for talking with an SME to add another question and answer to a website FAQ page.
So while tech writing lacks the buzz that drew me to writing originally, my new gig lets me draw on many of the skills I honed in journalism — but without the late nights, weekend work and Christmas Eves and other holidays stuck in the office.
It feels great to know my skills are in demand and that I earn enough to pay my bills and plan for the future.
Writers rarely spit out their best copy on the first draft. If you meet a writer who claims to have the secret for doing so, please let the rest of us know!
First drafts — and second drafts and sometimes thirds — exist to hash your ideas out on paper. After you’ve revised your book, story, blog post or article until you can revise no more, you just hand it off to your editor to clean up, right?
Well, that’d be ideal. But most of us don’t have the luxury of hiring an expensive editor to review our personal blog post It might even be hard to spend the money for a book editor. And since procrastination is the writer’s best friend, you might not even have time to even ask a fellow writer pal take a quick peek for errors.
And so, in some cases, it falls to you to be your own editor.
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How to edit: Follow these copyediting tips
Even if you don’t want to become an editor, you’ve got to learn how to edit. Is it really possible edit your own work when all the words you just finished writing are so precious? Yes! It can be done — and for the sake of making your writing stand out, it must be done.
So pull up your most recently saved draft, and get to work. To make it easy for you, we’ve added to the bottom of this list a downloadable and printable PDF that summarizes these copyediting tips into a checklist.
Here’s how to edit your own work.
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1. Cut long sentences in two
I’m not talking about run-on sentences. Many long sentences are grammatically correct. But long sentences often contain several ideas, so they can easily lose the reader’s focus because they don’t provide a break, leading readers to get stuck or lose interest, and perhaps the reader might get bored and go watch TV instead.
See what I mean? If you spot a comma-heavy sentence, try to give each idea its own sentence.
2. Axe the adverbs (a.k.a. -ly words)
Adverbs weaken your copy because these excess words are not truly descriptive. Rather than saying the girl runs quickly, say she sprints. Instead of describing the cat as walking slowly, say he creeps or tiptoes. The screen door didn’t shut noisily, it banged shut.
Find a more powerful verb to replace the weak verb + weak -ly adverb combo.
3. Stick to one voice
Sometimes it’s necessary to use both first and second person, but that can be jarring for readers. For example, you might start your introduction talking about yourself, then switch halfway through the piece and start addressing the reader. Try to stick to “I” voice or “you” voice throughout one piece of writing.
And if you must switch, start with one and finish with the other. Don’t move back and forth between the two. Your readers will get lost.
4. Remove extra punctuation
A powerful hyphen here and a thought-provoking semicolon there can be effective. But a piece of writing littered with all sorts of punctuation — parentheses, colons, ellipses, etc. — doesn’t flow well.
Oftentimes, you can eliminate these extra pieces of punctuation with commas or by ending a sentence and starting a new one. And that makes your writing that much stronger.
5. Replace negative with positive
Instead of saying what something isn’t, say what it is. “You don’t want to make these mistakes in your writing” could be better stated as, “You want to avoid these mistakes in your writing.” It’s more straightforward.
If you find negative statements in your writing that contain don’t, shouldn’t, can’t or another such word, find a way to rewrite them without the “not.” That will probably mean you need to find a more powerful verb.
6. Replace stuffy words with simple ones
Some people think jargon makes their writing sound smart, but you know better. Good writing does not confuse readers. If they need to grab a dictionary to finish a sentence, your writing has room for improvement.
To get your point across, use words people are familiar with. The English language has thousands of words. You can certainly find a shorter or more common word in your thesaurus than a jargony one.
7. Remove redundancies
You don’t need to say the exact same thing with two words. Did you catch the redundant words in that sentence? Here’s a better version: you don’t need to say the same thing with two words.
Brand new, advance planning, basic necessities… the list of these common phrases is longer than this blog post. Check out Thoughtco.com’s 200 Common Redundancies and then start snipping!
Sometimes sneaky redundancies are separated by an “and.” If you say your sentences are straightforward and to-the-point, they are neither. You don’t need both words. Your sentences are straightforward. Or, your sentences are to-the-point.
8. Reduce prepositions
Though prepositions (of, in, to, for, etc.) are helpful little words, they make sentences more lengthy because they cannot stand alone. Prepositions need lots of friends. By cutting the preposition and the words that follow, you can cut three, four or even five words. Sometimes a prepositional phrase can be replaced with just one more direct word, or cut completely.
An easy way to cut prepositions is to look for opportunities to make something possessive. The car of your neighbor is really just your neighbor’s car.
9. Cut “in order to”
You never need it. If you’re going to the kitchen in order to make a sandwich… Your sentence could be tighter. Because you’re really going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
That “in order to” makes it take a millisecond longer to arrive at the meaty part of the sentence, which means your story is dragging more than it needs to.
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10. Don’t use “start to”
Did you start to walk the dog, or did you walk the dog? Is the car starting to roll down the hill, or is it rolling down the hill?
“Start to” is a more difficult phrase to deal with than “in order to,” because sometimes you do need it. But more likely than not, you don’t.
Rather than making “start” the active verb, use the verb that’s actually more active — like walking or rolling — to tell your story.
11. Nix “that”
In about five percent of your sentences (total guess from the grammar police), “that” makes your idea easier to understand. In the other 95 percent, get rid of it!
“I decided that journalism was a good career for me” reads better as “I decided journalism was a good career for me.”
12. Replace “thing” with a better word
Usually when we write “thing” or “things,” it’s because we were too lazy to think of a better word. In every day life, we may ask for “that thing over there,” but in your writing, calling anything a “thing” does not help your reader.
Try to replace all “thing” or “things” with a more descriptive word.
13. Try really hard to spot instances of “very” and “really”
This is a very difficult one to remember. I almost never get it right, until I go back through my copy, and the word jumps out at me, and then I change the sentence to “This is a difficult one to remember.” Because really, how much is that “very” helping you get your point across?
It doesn’t make the task sound more difficult. Same thing with “really.” It’s not a “really” difficult tip to remember. It’s simply a difficult tip to remember. Got it?
14. Make your verbs stronger
“Make” is sometimes used in the same way as “start to,” in place of what could be a stronger verb.
For example, I first titled this post, I wrote “25 ways to make your copy stronger.” When I re-read it, I realized the verb wasn’t strong.
I’d used “make” as the verb, when it doesn’t tell the reader much at all. So I changed the title to “25 ways to strengthen your copy.” Eventually I realized “tighten” was an even better verb.
15. Ditch the passive voice
Passive voice sticks out to editors, but it can be difficult to notice in your own writing. Learning how to identify it and fixing these instances will make your writing stronger.
Here’s an example of passive voice: “The door was left open.”
To change that sentence to active voice, it would look like this: “Someone left the door open” or “He left the door open.” The idea is to be clear about who or what is executing the action.
If you want to get good at this, Self-Publishing School has a solid post explaining passive voice.
16. Refer to people as “who” not “that”
John is the guy who always forgets his shoes, not the guy that always forgets his shoes.
It’s easy to make this mistake because “that” has become acceptable in everyday conversations. But it’s more noticeable when it’s written down.
17. Avoid “currently”
Pro copywriting tip: “Currently” is always redundant.
Don’t write: “Tom Jones is currently a communications director.” Tom Jones is a communications director at that moment. You don’t need “currently” to clarify. Just get rid of it.
18. Eliminate “there is” or “there are” at the beginning of sentences
This is often a symptom of lazy writing. There are lots of better, more interesting ways to start sentences.
See how easy it is to make this mistake? Instead of starting a sentence with “there is,” try turning the phrase around to include a verb or start with you.
For example, replace the sentence above with “Start your sentences in a more interesting way.” If your copy includes a lot of phrases that begin with “there is” or “there are,” put some time into rewriting most of them.
19. Match up your bullet points
Bullet points are a popular and effective way to organize complex ideas. Just make sure your bullets correspond to one another.
Too often, writers mix and match mistakes with what you should do or transition to shoulds halfway through the post — which only confuses the reader.
If your piece is called 3 Career Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make, here’s a bullet point that works:
Forgetting to tailor your resume each time you apply for a job
Here’s one that doesn’t work (because it’s not actually a mistake — the writer accidentally switched to what you should do):
Make sure you tailor your resume
You can turn most any idea into a tip by adding a verb. For example: “Remember that sitting on your head helps you write better.” Make your bullet points consistent and your writing will read more smoothly.
20. Use contractions
Which sounds more personable: I am heading to the market that is close to my house, or I’m heading to the market that’s close to my house?
Contractions make your writing sound friendlier, like you’re (not you are) a real person. And that makes it easier to connect with readers.
Contractions can also make your post easier to read and comprehend. So go out of your way to include them in your posts! Your editor will thank you.
21. Steer clear of the “ing” trap
“We were starting to …” or “She was skiing toward …” Whenever you see an “ing” in your copy, think twice about whether you need it — because you probably don’t.
Instead, get rid of “were” or “was,” then eliminate that “ing” and replace it with past tense: “We started to …” or “She skied toward …” Pruning excessive “ings” makes your writing clearer and easier to read.
22. Check your commas with “that” and “which”
When used as a descriptor, the word “which” takes a comma. But the word “that” doesn’t.
For example: “We went to the house that collapsed yesterday” or “We went to the house, which collapsed yesterday.”
Over 200 people did not like your Facebook page — more than 200 people did.
Of course, everyone will know what you mean if you use “over.” In fact, the AP Styleguide, which many journalists follow as the bible of style, announced a few years ago that “over” is now acceptable in place of “more than.”
But if we’re being really nit-picky, using “more than” instead is still one a little detail that will help your writing shine.
24. Hyphenate modifiers
Whenever you modify a noun with more than one word, you need a hyphen. Lots of people don’t follow this rule, so it’s a great way to show you actually walk the walk.
That means you need a hyphen if you’re writing about full-time work. But you don’t need one if you’re working full time.
Got it? The exception: No need to hyphenate modifiers that end in “ly.” Those are OK on their own. So your newly hired employee doesn’t need that hyphen.
25. Identify your tells
No matter how good of a writer you are, when you sit down to write a first draft, you have a tendency to spit out sentences in a certain way or use certain words. The more familiar you become with editing your own copy, the more quickly you should be able to pick up on your tells. And, the more ruthless you can be to eliminate them from your writing.
“Start to” plagued me while writing my book; I made the “start to” mistake again and again. But once I knew to look for it during revisions, I was able to correct it.
(Hint: If this is a problem for you, try using Word’s or Google Doc’s search function to look for “start.” You’ll catch each one, so you can evaluate them individually.)
Bonus: An editing checklist for how to edit your work (it’s printable!)
Since we first published this post back in 2013, so many of you mentioned bookmarking and sharing the post that we whipped up a pretty editing checklist to go with it. It’s available to download and print.
Pin this baby up on the wall above your desk, whip out your red pen, and get to work! Your blog post, feature article, or novel will be tighter and stronger in no time as you learn how to make edits.
If you want to download or print the editing checklist, click on it to bring up the full size.
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
“Trying to make it as a freelance writer is scary AF.”
With a subject line that bold (and accurate), I wasted no time in opening the email. It was from a young woman who’d recently graduated with a dual degree in English and journalism, asking me how, how, how to become a freelance writer?
It wasn’t the first time I’d received an email to this effect, which feels patently insane. If you’d told me just a few years ago I’d be earning my keep as a full-time freelancer — let alone giving advice on the subject — I’d likely have laughed in your face.
Even when I was working a staff writing gig, I had never so much as drafted a pitch to an outside publication.
I only got brave enough to start submitting ideas after lots of encouragement from my good friend (and fellow TWL writer!) Susan Shain. Thanks again, Susan.
Now, I’ve got almost three years of working for myself under my belt — and in the first year, I actually earned more than I had as a staffer. I enjoy location independence and a workday uniform of yoga pants and t-shirts, so it’s no surprise that fielding the “how do you do it?” question has become a common conversation.
But it’s never easy to answer.
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So really though — how do you become a full-time freelance writer?
Here’s the thing.
There’s no guaranteed, step-by-step process that will land you the freelance writing career of your dreams. Ask 10 different writers, and you’ll get 10 different how-I-made-it stories — or, more accurately, how-I’m-making-it-up-as-I-go-along stories.
The actual mechanics of how to get started freelance writing are pretty simple, though not easy: Have good ideas, be good at explicating them clearly, and spend lots of time and energy on the Sisyphean footwork of finding publications that will pay you to publish them. (And convincing them to do so.)
As you’ve likely already discovered, this blog is a great resource for figuring out these logistics and improving your skills at each level. We also offer an ebook dedicated to freelance writing jobs for beginners.
The honest truth about how to become a freelance writer
As far as stringing it into a full-time living, though, I’ll be honest with you: A *lot* of it is luck, and also getting very cozy with rejection. If I get a positive response for just 10-15% of my pitches, I count that as a huge win.
But if you have your heart set on making it as a freelance writer, there are some actionable steps you can take to make it happen.
Here’s my best advice for how to start freelance writing.
1. Seek out education or training
Don’t worry; you don’t have to have a formal degree to be a freelance writer. But if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll likely want to educate yourself in some way, so you can produce quality work from the get-go.
If you don’t have the money or time to get a degree from a university, look for an online writing course. They’re typically more affordable than formal degrees, and you can work your way through them from home (and in the evenings or on weekends if you’ve got a day job).
If you’re planning to go to college or are in the process of earning your degree, you may want to consider formal studies that will help you achieve your goal.
Contrary to popular opinion, English major jobs can be profitable, and the same is true of other writing-intensive majors like creative writing, communications and journalism.
Studying humanities flexes your rhetorical muscles, which will make you a much better writer and pitcher. Plus, these programs lend you the soft skills employers look for — which is good, since you’ll likely need a day job while you’re finding a way to make the whole yoga-pants-forever thing work.
If college is already in the rear view, you might also consider grad school, or more specifically, an MFA. But be careful. The additional expense won’t guarantee you work down the line, and if you’re already dealing with student loans, you could just be digging the hole deeper.
In the case of freelancing, it’s more about experience and practice than the fancy pedigree.
Fortunately, if you’re aching to go back to school, you don’t have to go broke to do it. Many MA, MFA and PhD programs come with tuition waivers, provided you teach, or assist in teaching, a number of undergrad classes while you study.
You can also find fellowships, scholarships and other forms of loan-free financial aid if you’re diligent.
If you’re looking for a group to help you get the ball rolling on your freelance writing career, the Freelance Writers Den might be exactly what you need. It’s a group of like-minded writers who are all looking to take their writing skills seriously and start to grow their careers.
2. Consider starting with a staff job
Yes, I know: Finding an editorial position — or any job, really — is easier said than done.
But websites and publications do hire writers, and getting a full-time position will give you two amazing, irreplaceable benefits: an instant stack of clips and a world of hands-on education you just can’t get any other way.
Working closely with editors and other creatives every day will make you a better writer, period; if you work for a digital publication (likely), you’re bound to get some SEO training and other know-how in the bargain.
I know for a fact I owe my success to my tenure at The Penny Hoarder, whose managing editor — Alexis Grant, who also started this website — essentially handed me a writing career whole cloth in hiring me.
3. Get out there and start pitching
“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” – Neil Gaiman
At the end of the day, the only way to become a freelance writer is…to start writing.
That means taking a pretty scary leap: You’ve got to start pitching publications and applying for gigs even if you don’t have many clips. Hey, everyone’s a beginner at the beginning.
Of course, even if you’ve never published professional work, there are other ways to showcase your writing prowess. Got a killer short story that hasn’t found a home quite yet? Maybe even a particularly well-wrought essay from college?
I applied for The Penny Hoarder with a short memoir I wrote in grad school and — I kid you not — wine-tasting notes. Most employers and clients are more concerned with whether you’ve got the goods than where you’ve managed to land them.
Not sure where to start when it comes to finding paid writing gigs? Check out these online gold mines for finding freelance writing jobs.
4. Showcase your work online
Your pitches will be far more effective if you link to an online writing portfolio where editors can check out your work.
This doesn’t have to be anything fancy! A static website will do, even one created with a template.
As far as a portfolio is concerned, I recommend Contently. Not only is it a clean, easy-to-use digital showcase, but it can also land you valuable work: the platform matches editors with writers and other content creators based on specific beats and skill sets. I’ve earned literally thousands of dollars simply because I chose to use it.
If you want to take this a step further, consider starting a blog. Writing regularly is a great way to practice your craft, and you might even grow a following for your work.
A blog also gives editors more samples to review when they click over to your site from your pitch; every blog post is an example of the kind of work you do. That doesn’t mean they have to be perfect, but know that if you have a blog, editors will look to that for insight on your skill and creativity.
Finally, having a website will make you feel way more legitimate. (Impostor Syndrome is totally a thing in this business, so get ready!)
Oh, and while you’re at it, make sure your social media accounts reflect well on you, too. Any good editor will explore those to learn more about you.
5. Networking: Yup, it’s a thing for writers, too
As a serious-business introvert, “networking” has always felt like a four-letter word to me. In fact, I was drawn to freelancing in large part because it got me away from the noisy, crowded office environment.
Nevertheless, my first major client — the one that made quitting my day job possible, and whose work still makes up a sizable percentage of my income — was an opportunity I landed in part because of a shared connection.
I’ve also written web copy for gym acquaintances, friends and family members, which were gainful projects both financially and in broadening my experience.
The Write Life’s managing editor Jessica Lawlor blogs about how she landed her first freelance client, as well as the ones she found thereafter. From sorority sisters to Twitter friends to existing professional connections, nearly every single story involves networking.
Case in point: Don’t overlook any of your current social spheres when it comes to writing opportunities, and get ready to actively work to increase them. Everyone needs the written word sometimes!
Inside of the Freelance Writers Den, you can learn how to use LinkedIn to your advantage when it comes to networking. Instead of cold pitching, there are ways you can simply adjust your profile and settings and connect with a ton of potential clients.
6. Figure out how to get paid
This sounds obvious, but it can be a hurdle when you’re just getting started. Once you’ve found a client and produced the work you promised, you need a way to get money from their bank account into yours.
Many freelancers have given up on paper checks and rely primarily on online payments. If you’re just testing the waters as a freelancer, keep it simple by creating a PDF invoice and emailing it to your client, then asking for payment via an easy-to-use system like PayPal.
Not sure what to include in your first invoice? We’ve got you covered! Here’s how to write an invoice, plus an invoice example.
Once you feel confident you’re sticking with freelance writing, it makes sense to move to a software that will create the invoice for you and help you track payments. We’ve got a list of some of the best invoice generator tools for freelancers.
7. Know this: the work isn’t always glamorous
When I tell people I’m a freelance writer, they often think I’m publishing exclusively in glossy magazines with chic, single-word titles. The closest I’ve come to that, so far, is Yahoo! — a byline I’m very happy with, but whose trademarked exclamation point does not exactly bespeak elegance or sophistication.
The bulk of my paying work is far less illustrious, but critical for rounding out my bank account. Website copy, SEO work and listicle-style blog posts aren’t what anyone dreams of when they feel the pull of the pen, but they’re some of the most reliable ways for freelance writers to pay the bills.
Many businesses can provide a steady stream of this kind of work, becoming the anchor clients by which you build a semi-reliable paycheck.
The idea is to pick up as much of this bread-and-butter work as you need to survive, and then use the rest of your time to pitch those dreamy projects you can’t wait to work on.
It can be a hard balance to strike, but even un-fun writing counts as valuable practice. You’ll hone your craft and earn your keep all while amassing more clips — and better chops — to show off when you’re pitching the big boys. Then, you can slowly scale up to working exclusively on better-paid, more interesting content.
8. Expect the unexpected
Fickle income, weird hours, totally unmitigated refrigerator access — working for yourself is a strange and sometimes dangerous world.
At the very least, you’ll want to prepare yourself financially for things like managing income flow and expenses, paying your own taxes, buying your own health care and funding your own retirement.
And for even the best writers, clients come and go, so be sure to build up a significant cushion for those inevitable dry periods.
It’s also a good idea to impose rules to lend your otherwise-loosey-goosey day structure — like deciding you’ll only write at your desk as opposed to your couch, for instance, or making yourself put on real pants for the duration of your work day. (Or maybe not. Let’s not get crazy.) This is especially true during times like the holiday season when you’ll need to be extra disciplined to get your work done.
If I had to summarize it all in brief, I’d say this: Becoming a freelance writer requires equal parts semi-pathological levels of type-A dedication, boundless curiosity, and total insensitivity to rejection.
Oh, and luck. A lot of luck.
But like all of the best things in life, even though it’s not an easy journey, the road to the write life is definitely one worth taking — and one we’re excited to help you travel.
Ready to take the next step?
You’ll want to check out the Freelance Writers Den if you’re looking to succeed as a freelance writer. It gives you all the tips and tools you could possibly need to succeed.
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
Whether you’re learning how to become a freelance writer or an experienced freelancer slogging through a slow period, figuring out how to get clients can be nerve-wracking.
Here’s the hard truth: You have to hustle to get new writing clients. Even the most experienced freelancers have to expand their circles on a regular basis to ensure they have a stable stream of paying work.
Websites that post freelance writing jobs are plentiful, but require a critical eye. It’s easy to get sucked into a trap of getting paid $1 for every 300-word post you research and write. And while that might be a good place to start, especially if you’re looking for freelance writing jobs for beginners, it pays to take a more strategic approach once you’re ready to level up your income.
How do freelance writers get new clients?
If you’re going to get high-paying writing gigs and repeat clients, you’ll have to think beyond the job board.
While these strategies can be more effective in the long run than job sites, they might take longer to show results. A job board offers the possibility of an immediate project, while the ideas outlined below sometimes return client opportunities months or even years after you put in the effort.
When you’re ready to go the extra mile, here are some fresh ideas for how to find clients.
1. Personalize your cold calls and emails
Don’t send your pitch to a generic inbox. Do some research to figure out which editor will review your pitch, and then spend more time sleuthing to find their contact information.
“Make sure the right people — the decision-makers — see your message,” advises Francesca Nicasio. “If you’re dealing with a small business or startup, the company’s founder is usually a good bet.”
Yes, this takes more effort than dashing off an email to a company’s inbox for general inquiries. But it’s far more likely to land you a byline.
2. Partner with other freelancers
Do you know any project managers, web developers or graphic designers? Their projects often require top-notch writing skills, which opens opportunities to work together.
If your web development buddy knows you’re willing to team up for a website redesign project, she can recommend you to the client. By sticking together, you might find ways to help one another.
“I have a list of writers I trust to get my clients to hire,” writes Paul Jarvis, who specializes in web design. “I know writing makes or breaks websites and I know the difference a professional makes. So I always suggest experienced writers to all my design clients and they often hire them.”
Supporting other writers can generate referrals, too, as writers who don’t have the bandwidth for a project often want to pass along the name of a qualified writer who can do it instead.
3. Volunteer your services
Volunteering may not pay the bills, but it’s a useful way to network without having to deal with small talk at happy hour.
“Volunteering is a great way to get to know influential people who can help with your freelancing career — especially if you volunteer to do the writing and promotional duties for those projects,” writes Narendra Motwani. The people you meet while volunteering could turn into connections at companies you’d love to write for.
4. Book a speaking engagement
This tip only works if you’re comfortable in front of a crowd. But if you’d rather give a speech than approach strangers at happy hour, it could be a fit. And remember, even speaking in front of 20 people counts; you don’t have to keynote to an audience of thousands of people to be effective.
In an ideal world, you’d speak to audiences that could become clients. For example, if you write in the healthcare space, look for opportunities to speak to people who work at healthcare companies.
But even if you can’t find a perfect match for your niche, getting in front of any audience could pay dividends. Share knowledge that shows you have something to offer, and the people who see you speak might pass your name to someone who needs your expertise.
5. Get back in touch with former clients
If you’re not in regular contact with previous clients or organizations you’ve volunteered for, you could be leaving business on the table.
This outreach can be as simple as a short email or LinkedIn message to check in with someone you once worked with. Look for a way to mention that you have bandwidth for additional work. “You never know when a client might send work your way simply because you popped up on their radar at the right time,” writes Samar Owais.
6. Search for opportunities on Twitter
You’ll never get any work done if you spend all day on Twitter. But by scheduling time each week to use Twitter’s advanced search, you might notice when companies are looking for help.
David Masters has a quick how-to that will get you started and help you refine your search terms. Or you could lean on a service that aggregates Twitter opportunities, like Sonia Weiser’s Opportunities of the Week newsletter.
7. Use your skills in a different way
If you feel like you’re banging your head against the wall trying to land a certain type of paying work, push yourself to be more creative about how you use your skills.
For example, can’t find a freelance writing job you feel good about? Consider going after transcription jobs instead. You might find a new niche you enjoy!
8. Write a niche blog
If you’re looking for work as a blogger, you should certainly write a blog of your own. Your blog should focus on a niche, says Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing, although the topic doesn’t have to line up exactly with your target market.
“Clients love to see that you understand how to develop many strong story ideas on a single theme, stick to a topic, write great Internet headlines, attract subscribers, and how to get engagement — comments and social shares,” Tice says. “[Potential clients] will want you to do all that for them.”
9. Sell a product
You only have 24 hours in a day, but selling a product you created help showcase your expertise, which can lead to clients over time. Plus, it never hurts to make money while you sleep.
Consider writing an ebook or white paper as a starting point. With so many online platforms and tools available to digital sellers, it’s never been easier to collect money for your work. If you’re not sure where to start, check out GumRoad, ConvertKit or Substack.
10. Pitch guest blog posts
Guest blogging might not bring in revenue — only some sites pay for guest posts — but it will get your name in front of a lot of potential clients. In fact, some businesses find freelance writers by looking at who writes for their competitors’ websites.
Don’t spread yourself too thin by guest-blogging for everyone, though. After all, you’ll need plenty of time for paid work as it comes in.
11. Sharpen your skills
Still getting nowhere? You might consider investing in yourself by taking some online writing courses.
Of course, you never want to put yourself in a position where you’re spending more than you can earn, but sometimes it’s worth paying for training to set yourself up for success. Many online courses offer feedback from the instructor and interaction with other students, and that could lead to insight about your own skills or approach.
What are your tried-and-true methods for reeling in new clients?
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
One-off assignments are a good starting point, but what you really need to form a reliable income stream is writing projects that continue over time: a company that wants you to write a blog post each week or a white paper each month, for example. Work (and pay) you can count on.
So how do you impress an editor with your first few assignments, with the goal of getting more assignments or even become a regular contributor?
I have spent much of my career building writing teams, including hiring freelance writers who contribute regularly to the websites my teams have managed. But most of those teams haven’t advertised openings for regular freelance contributors.
Why? Because we pulled from writers we already worked with, contributors who wrote a great first assignment for us, then another great assignment, then another.
How to convince someone to hire you for another writing job
When I hire a regular contributor, I want to know I can count on that writer to submit high-quality content on a regular basis. I might take a risk when assigning just one post to a writer I’ve never worked with before, but to bring on a regular contributor, I have to be absolutely certain the writer will pan out.
So how do you impress an editor to the point that they want to hire you for a recurring blogging job?
Here’s how to convince someone to hire you:
1. High-quality writing
This sound obvious, but it’s surprisingly difficult to find awesome writers. With so many writers looking for freelance writing jobs or blogging jobs, you’d think editors would be up to our eyebrows in quality contenders. But in reality, every editor I know is on the hunt for people who write well.
And here’s the thing: You don’t just have to write well, you have to write in a style that suits that particular publication. An increasing number of online publications and company blogs want to share ideas in an informal, friendly voice, not one that sounds stiff and stuffy. I’ve made the mistake before of hiring writers with excellent reputations and experience… only to find out they can’t nail that informal voice.
High-quality writing for the web also means eye-catching headlines, an engaging introduction that will hook the reader and easy-to-read paragraphs with lots of white space.
If you’re able to deliver high-quality work consistently, editors will clamor to get you on their roster.
2. Meet deadlines — every time
For an editor to rely on a writer on a regular basis, she has to be absolutely certain that person will meet deadlines, every time. Simply put, deliver what you promise. This quality is far more rare than it should be, so when you do deliver what you promise (or over-deliver), you will stick out, in a good way.
When writers don’t file posts when they say they will, editors end up scrambling for content to fill that spot, and that makes the job stressful.
Editors don’t like stress. They like writers who make their job easier.
This deadline aspect is so important that I’ve declined to work with writers simply because they missed their first deadline. Sure, emergencies happen and things come up, but if you’re working with an editor for the first time, get your work done ahead of your deadline, so you deliver what you promised even if something unexpected happens.
As a bonus, if you complete a piece and file early, that will most certainly put you on that editor’s list of writers he wants to work with again.
3. Turn in work that’s ready to publish
Take time to do little things before you file that make the editor’s job easier. Your assignment should be pretty much ready to publish when it lands in her inbox.
For example, look to see how the blog is formatted. Does it use H2s for subheads? Use those to format your post. Does each story include links to other posts on that blog? Find relevant places to add those links. Is each author bio just two sentences long? Shorten your four-sentence bio before you file, so the editor doesn’t have to ask you to do it later.
Go out of your way to adhere to those little details, because it means less work for the editor. You might not know all the rules the first time you write for a blog, but if you carefully watch all changes the editor makes, you’ll be able to make those same tweaks next time before you file the post. Your editor will notice! (More on this in the next bullet.)
On several of the blogs my team has managed, for example, posts need a two-sentence excerpt that shows on the homepage. First-time contributors don’t typically add this to the top of their posts, but sometimes, when we ask a contributor to write for us again, that writer adds the excerpt without us asking for it. The writer notices a preference and delivers it. That’s always a sign of a mutually beneficial relationship.
Learn how to edit your own copy, and deliver the post so it’s completely ready for publishing, and you’ll make your editor over-the-moon happy.
4. Be open to edits, and note the editor’s preferences
Writing is only half the job — you also have to be ready to make edits per the editor’s request. Too many writers assume their first draft is the final copy. Instead, assume you’ll need to make yourself available to answer questions, clarify points and maybe even reorganize your work to the editor’s liking.
And by all means, don’t take edits personally. Don’t get too attached to your darlings. Yes, sometimes an editor will suggest a change that does not improve your work. But most of the time, editors will make your work shine, so it’s worth your time to make changes they ask for.
While an editor doesn’t expect writers to know the publication’s preferences perfectly the first time they contribute, most will watch closely to see whether the writer makes an effort to incorporate changes on subsequent posts before they file.
For example, if I use track changes to add subheads to a writer’s post, I watch the next post he files to see if he added them himself. If I ask a writer to trim a post to 500 words, I hope she’ll know to do that with the next post, without me pointing it out.
In other words, editors like to work with writers who learn quickly and are smart and thoughtful enough to incorporate feedback. This not only shows your ability, it also demonstrates that you respect my time, just like I respect yours.
Time to ask for a regular writing gig?
Once you’ve proven just how great of a writer you are and how easy you are to work with, don’t be afraid to ask your editor whether she could use your work on a regular basis. But make sure you’ve strutted your stuff first!
Don’t be that writer who asks for a regular column before they’ve even written one post. I typically expect a writer to file at least three or four times before committing… and 90 percent of the time, that writer does not turn out to be the type of contributor we’re willing to invest in. This post-by-post trial period saves me from spending money on writers who don’t turn in the quality we need, and it also helps me spend less time editing blog posts that aren’t up to par.
Once you’ve proven yourself, let the editor know you’d love to contribute more often. Some blogs want regular writers to contribute once a month, while others might look for posts from regulars twice a month or even once or twice a week. This varies according to the company, so don’t be disappointed if a once-a-month column is all the editor can offer you.
If you’ve written for the editor several times and they still don’t bite when you ask for a regular gig, it’s probably due to one of these factors:
Your writing isn’t good enough. Keep practicing, and follow the advice above.
The editor doesn’t have space for another regular contributor.
The editor doesn’t have the budget to pay you regularly.
Even if you don’t score recurring work, it isn’t a waste of time to ask. Budgets and writing teams are always in flux, and if the editor truly likes your work, he’ll keep you in mind the next time an opening comes up.
Good editors have high standards. But if you check all of these boxes, you’ll put yourself in the position to land a writing gig — or two or three! — as a regular contributor.
Have any questions you’re dying to ask a blog editor? Go for it in the comments!
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
As Halloween draws nigh, I’d like to introduce you to 10 monsters that haunt my nightmares.
Now, these guys and ghouls don’t regularly visit me, but they are a source of fear from time to time. And what’s often most troublesome is that I can seldom tell if they’re going to turn into a monster when we first meet.
Plus, I’m not the only one they visit.
I surveyed a group of editor friends on Facebook and discovered they’ve been visited by these monsters too.
Editorial monsters
1. The ghost
This possible editing client frightens me with their exuberant abuse of the exclamation mark in their first email. They’re so excited to work with an editor that they can hardly wait to take the next step.
But when I reply, the ghost vanishes, never to be seen or heard from again.
The ghost silently glides by the cardinal rule of working with an editor: At all steps in the editing process, seek to communicate clearly and in a timely manner.
2. Frankenstein’s monster
This would-be client has written a book that’s a monstrous mishmash of genres, styles, tone or plot. The editor (and therefore the eventual audience) doesn’t know what to expect from one chapter to the next, or even one sentence to the next.
And the monster’s creator, thinking that what he’s made is the pinnacle of creation, doesn’t see the readily apparent flaws in the book that everyone else sees.
Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t truly know what he is, but he expects someone else to make sense of it for him. When editors start doing that, they effectively turn into ghostwriters.
3. The werewolf
After receiving edits, the werewolf bares his fangs. He turns from a reserved client into an irate animal.
In less time than it surely takes to review his edits, he fires off an email of unprecedented anger and bile. He can’t believe how ruined his work is now. He may be nicer the following morning.
The werewolf has failed to learn respect for experience and expertise or just doesn’t know how to argue his point without being combative.
4. The vampire hunter
She questions an editor’s rates. The vampire hunter believes most freelance editors are bloodsuckers who move from one paycheck to the next, seeking their next victim, er, client with little regard to the dripping-red pages they’ve left in their professional wake.
The vampire hunter may rely on outdated numbers or unfounded anecdotal evidence for their beliefs about rates. Instead, she should have an honest, open conversation with her chosen editor about the value that editor offers for such a rate.
5. The zombie
Barely alive, the zombie doesn’t want to do much work on her own. She may not do any work. She’s slow to accept changes or reply to time-sensitive communications. She also wants to dine on an editor’s brain so as to somehow consume that knowledge without doing the educational work the editor has done.
The zombie needs to realize that the work of creating a book is work all the way through. Handing off the book to an editor does not mean the zombie’s work is done. She still needs to be involved, especially when an editor asks a question. Don’t make an editor wait more than one to two business days for a response.
6. The witch
The witch demands magic. She knows her prose is as awkward as a three-eyed newt, but she believes an editor can turn even that into something princely.
The witch may need to ride her broom into a writing workshop before submitting work. Or she may need to enlist some beta readers to see if her work is even ready for an editor.
7. The shapeshifter
He agrees to one thing but asks for another. For instance, he may request and sign a contract for copy editing but ask for “just a quick read through” as well.
The shapeshifter should understand the different types of editors, what kind of editing they need, and what kind of editing their hired editor offers. This should be done when vetting an editor.
8. The mummy
Wrapped up in their own little world, the mummy takes so long to reply to emails or calls that the editor is certain they’ve fallen asleep — or worse.
Like the ghost, the mummy fails at the chief commandment of working with an editor: communicate!
9. The (copy)cat
This fabricating feline sprinkles plagiarized content around their books like catnip, hoping no one will notice.
Never plagiarize. Editors can sniff out that content almost instantly. Even if they can’t, plenty of online tools exist to help editors doublecheck suspected plagiarism. Plus, once you’ve plagiarized just a little, it calls your entire manuscript into question. The result? An editor won’t want that cat to cross their path again.
10. The blob
This ever-growing monster keeps adding content to his manuscript even as it’s being edited. Even worse, they keep adding content after it’s been edited!
The blob needs to know when to say when. He should do his best to achieve his best work before sending it to an editor. Any substantial changes during or after the editing phase should be — you guessed it — communicated to the editor.
How not to work with an editor
Now, this isn’t a complaint article about editing clients. Rather, it’s meant as a curtain-parting glimpse into what editors deal with in terms of unprepared, underprepared, or naive clients. It’s what not to do when working with an editor.
Additionally, many of these “monsters” come by it honestly. Because they don’t live, breathe and eat writing and publishing as editors do, they just don’t know what’s conventional or expected. Most editors understand this and are glad to help new authors learn the ropes — so long as the author is receptive to expert advice.
Be a monster this Halloween, but don’t be a monster to your editor.
We frighten easily, which is ironic given how much red we see.
There’s no sugar-coating it: The world of SEO can be tricky to navigate — but it’s absolutely doable, even for the newest of newbies.
It’s so worth it, too. SEO is a powerful long-term approach writers can utilize to boost (free!) traffic to their websites or blogs.
Sure, you can build an SEO article from the ground up. (Might I suggest this writer’s guide to SEO writing?) But it doesn’t have to be that complicated just yet. You can start by optimizing your existing content.
I’ll walk you through my approach — as a writer myself — to on-page SEO optimizations.
On-page SEO optimizations: What does that mean anyway?
Let’s start with the basics. In the SEO world, there are a ton of technical terms, but don’t let that scare you.
When we talk about on-page SEO optimization, we’re talking about taking an existing article or page and updating it to increase its chances of ranking on Google — aka attracting more eyeballs.
On-page SEO optimizations can be a relatively easy way to step into the SEO world. After all, you already have the content out there. You just need to make some updates so Google will take notice.
How to identify content worth optimizing for SEO
First and foremost: It’s not worth attempting to optimize every single article on your website or blog. You have to remember different pieces of content serve different purposes. Some will work better on social. Others are perfect for your email newsletter audience. And some just might have the potential to rank on Google.
So how do you determine which of your existing articles are worth optimizing?
I suggest starting with the low-hanging fruit. Using a free SEO tool like Ubersuggest, search your website’s URL. You’ll see which pages get the most traffic through Google and with what keywords. You might identify a great opportunity to optimize what’s already working well and climb the (Google) ranks.
If you don’t yet have enough traffic to your site, or you’re not spotting any obvious keyword potential, you can always do a quick DIY survey of your content.
When doing this, I like to think about what folks Google. I look for articles that take the shape of ultimate how-to guides, “best of” lists, product comparisons, recommendations, questions answered… you name it. These posts tend to be more all-encompassing and lengthy in nature. Perfect for Google.
Let’s take a quick assessment of some articles on The Write Life and use them as examples.
I’m seeing articles about the best laptops for writers, how to self-publish a book, how to get paid to write and a guide to Upwork. I suspect people are searching these terms, so these all have the potential to make strong SEO articles. (And in many cases, they do!)
On the other hand, something like “ways writers can recreate the coffee shop experience” probably isn’t something that gets searched a ton, so you probably wouldn’t want to focus your efforts on optimizing it. However, it’s great content for other platforms like social pages, community groups or newsletters.
Once you pluck a few ideas from your site, it’s time to dive in with some keyword research.
A step-by-step guide to the on-page SEO optimization process
This is the fun part of SEO optimizations (at least in my humble opinion). I’ll walk you through each step I take when optimizing an article for SEO.
Step 1: Pinpoint your target keyword
If you don’t already have a selected keyword, you’ll need to do some research. Remember, your keyword is the word or phrase you want to rank for on Google.
Use a keyword research tool for this. We love Ahrefs around these parts, but again Ubersuggest is a great (and free!) alternative.
So let’s say you want to optimize an article about cold brew coffee. Type the core terms into Ubersuggest. In this case, it’d be “cold brew coffee.” Leave out any unnecessary adjectives, prepositions or articles. Here’s another example: If you were optimizing a post about how to self-publish a book, you might simply search “self-publish book.”
Going back to the cold brew coffee example, when you search that term in Ubersuggest, you’ll find there’s a high search volume (49,500 when we looked). That’s great! That means tens of thousands of people are searching the term each month.
However, you’ll see the SEO difficulty (SD) is pretty high. (At the time we checked, it was 58.) The SEO difficulty ranges from zero to 100, and the closer you can get to zero, the better.
If you scroll down, you’ll find more keyword ideas. View all keyword ideas to see what related terms people search. Consider the different angles.
Remember: Your goal is to find a relevant keyword with a high search volume and a low SD.
Also, keep your reader top of mind. The keyword “how to make cold brew coffee” has a lot of potential — 33,100 monthly searches with a 22 SD. But if you want to optimize a review you wrote of the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew from Starbucks, readers are less likely to click because you’re not giving them what they’re looking for.
For the sake of this example, let’s optimize our hypothetical article with the keyword, “how to make cold brew coffee.” It has a high search volume and a relatively low SD.
Step 2: Read Google’s mind
You’re about to read Google’s mind. Think you’re ready? It’s not as difficult as you might think!
In this step, your goal is to better understand what Google considers top-ranking material for this keyword. Really, you’re just surveying your competition.
Here’s what you’ll need to do: Search your target keyword in Google, and take a good look at the first page of results. Start taking notes on:
The top-ranking articles: Read through the top three to five ranking articles. What content do they cover? What questions do they answer? Take inventory of headlines, formatting, tables and graphics.
The featured snippet: For some keywords, Google will populate what’s called a “featured snippet.” This is the box of text that populates at the top of your Google search. Note the content it’s highlighting. This is Google saying, “Hey, here’s the best answer!” If you can rank in this top spot, you’ll get more views, but fair warning: It’s pretty tough.
People also ask: This box contains questions related to your keyword. Consider: Are these relevant questions you could answer in your article? For instance, people also ask, “Can regular coffee be used for cold brew?” You could probably easily answer this somewhere in your article: “You can use regular coffee for cold brew. In fact, you can use any sort of coffee you’d like.”
Related searches: Finally, scroll down the related searches at the bottom of the first page. See if anything stands out. You might get some good ideas for topics you can add to your existing content like, “how to make cold brew in a mason jar” or “how to strain cold brew coffee.”
Again, the goal here is to simply take inventory and survey your competition. In a way, you’re getting inside Google’s brain to see what it “likes.”
Step 3: Beef up your article
It’s finally time to write!
With on-page optimizations, you’ll work with the existing content you have. There’s rarely a reason to delete everything and start over. You simply want to beef up your article with additional information, reporting, graphics or sections you noted in step two.
Of course, you never want to copy what exactly another top-ranking site is doing. Make this your own! But maybe one article included a neat graphic, and that sparked an idea. Or maybe another article listed several cold brew coffee recipes at the end of their guide. Perhaps you add one or two of your own. Again, use your research as inspiration and guidance — not your rulebook.
As you work, keep your reader in mind. This is one reason I love SEO writing — your goal is to serve the reader and give them all the information they’re seeking. Now, this doesn’t mean you want to jam-pack your article with every single element you noted from the top-ranking articles.
Instead, ask yourself: If I wanted to learn how to make cold brew coffee, what would I want or need to know?
Additionally, maintain your natural writing style and voice. Although SEO writing may feel a bit more prescriptive, you’re not writing for a robot. Avoid keyword-stuffing at all costs. (That means awkwardly wedging keywords into your post.) Again, SEO is all about the reader.
You’ll want to pay close attention to your headline (or title tag), excerpt (or meta description), you subheads (or H2) and your image descriptions. If you can do so naturally, include your keyword in these.
Links also help boost page rankings, so find opportunities to link out to credible sources. Or, once you republish your newly refreshed article, see if you can find other pages to link to it on your site (again, when relevant!).
Step 4: Give it a week and check in
The optimization process is ongoing, and it’ll likely take a good bit of experimenting.
Once you update your content, give it a week or so before checking in on it. Again, you can use Ubersuggest to peep your top pages and keywords.
After a few months, take another look at what’s ranking on Google for your intended keyword, and see if there’s anything else you can do to boost your rankings.
The ultimate key? Patience and persistence. The optimization process is ongoing. Google is constantly shifting its algorithms, and new articles are jumping in to compete for those rankings each day. Just keep your fingers to the pulse, and keep working. I have faith you’ll land on the magical Page One eventually!
Got an article in mind you’d like to optimize? Share your updates in the comments below!
“The headline is the most important element in most advertisements. It is the telegram which decides whether the reader will read the copy.” –David Ogilvy
Ask any copywriter and they’ll likely agree with Ogilvy.
The headline is what hooks the reader’s attention. If you fail to write a gripping headline, you’ve failed your assignment, no matter how captivating the rest of your copy.
But attention isn’t enough — especially in today’s cluttered digital world where attention spans are shorter and newsfeeds longer. Now more than ever, writers are challenged to compel readers to stick around beyond the headline. But how?
Subheadings, also known as subheadlines and subheads.
If the headline is like a highly-anticipated first date, full of excitement and intrigue, the subheading is the follow-up call that makes or breaks the deal. A lackluster follow-up can diminish the chances of an ongoing courtship, and no follow-up at all quickly negates those chances.
Too often, subheads are overshadowed by headlines, poorly executed or neglected altogether.
To craft compelling subheadings that convert browsers into readers, you first need a functional understanding what defines a subhead. Let’s take a look.
What is a subheading?
Subheadlines come in two common forms, depending on what type of content you’re writing. The rules are more or less the same, but the location and function varies.
1. The short-form subheadline (just one, under the headline)
If you’re writing short-form content, such as a web page or advertisement, your subheadline will appear directly below a prominent headline at the top of the page or ad. The purpose is to expand on your headline and drive the reader to your call-to-action (CTA).
Contently once had this great example on the homepage of their website. The bold headline is eye-catching and gives a high-level explanation of what Contently offers and to whom. Meanwhile, the subheadline offers a more detailed explanation before asking the reader to take action by watching a video.
Image: www.contently.com
2. The long-form subheadline (multiple through the story)
If you’re writing long-form content, such as blog posts, editorials or whitepapers, you’ll likely use multiple subheadlines.
For example, you might include a subhead directly below the title, similar to the web page example, and you’ll also likely use subheads throughout your body copy to clearly divide sections, as I’ve done in this article.
Using multiple subheads throughout your writing serves several purposes:
Outlines your main points in an easy-to-scan format
Draw your reader’s attention to each section
Optimizes your post for search, so it shows up high in Google results (Our SEO writing post explains this in more detail)
Nicole Dieker’s article, The 3 Biggest Pitch Mistakes This Editor Sees Every Day, shows editorial subheads in action. Her title tells the reader there are three pitch mistakes, while the three subheads throughout the article expand on those mistakes so the reader can quickly identify what each section is about.
Think of subheadlines like supporting characters. They’re not the star of the story, but without them the plot lacks context and development. Just as every great protagonist has a great supporting character, every great headline has a great subheading.
What’s in a subheading?
Now that you have a solid understanding of what a subhead is and where it appears in various types of written content, it’s time to put your pen to paper — or fingers to keyboard.
The most effective subheadings pack a punch by answering your target readers’ questions with concise, benefit-oriented copy.
Here are a few tips for crafting successful subheads.
1. Answer questions before they’re asked
Whether you’re writing about a product, service or idea, make it clear upfront who you’re writing for and what you’re writing about.
Recall the Contently headline. It states what’s being offered (storytelling) and for whom (the modern marketer). Although interesting, the headline alone leaves room for questions like: What does this storytelling help the modern marketer do? Enter: the subheadline, which further explains who uses Contently (the world’s best brands) and what they use it for (engaging audiences and driving measurable business outcomes). Now the target audience has a broader understanding and is more likely to take action.
Here’s how to apply this thought process to your own writing. Once you’ve nailed down your headline, make a list of every outstanding question your audience might have. Then, write down answers to your hypothetical questions. This exercise will help you refine your subheadlines and ensure you’re answering the right questions.
2. Choose your words carefully
You have roughly seven seconds to make a first impression. This is about the time it takes to read a headline and subhead.
In an ideal world, a perfect headline would inspire readers to carefully comb through every sentence you write. In reality, today’s readers are toggling between social feeds, email inboxes, text messages and internet browsers — and writers must vie for their attention.
Don’t waste readers’ time with superfluous words. Keep your headlines and subheads concise, without sparing clarity.
Take this subheading for example: “Researchers recommend leveraging high intensity interval cardio training to optimize fat-burn and increase overall workout effectiveness.” (Are you still with me? Okay, good.) Now let’s simplify. By removing unnecessary words, we get a more engaging subheadline: “Researchers recommend HIIT workouts to boost fat-burn and effectiveness.”
When in doubt, make your subheadlines easily digestible in order to connect with distracted, on-the-go readers.
3. Give your readers what they need
If you’re writing on behalf of a company, client or publication, you’re not writing for yourself. You’re writing for their audience.
Know the audience and determine how your writing can improve their lives in some way.
With this in mind, use your subheadlines to provide a snapshot of the benefits they’ll receive by reading on. Benefit-focused subheads are a powerful tool for persuading readers to care.
For example, if you’re writing an article titled, What 10 Minutes of Exercise Each Day Does to Your Brain, your subhead can emphasize the benefit by saying, “Adding these three activities to your daily routine can sharpen your mental wit.” The subhead doesn’t reveal everything, but does hint that the reader will benefit by learning about three specific activities.
Readers need a reason to care, whether it be to gain useful information or enjoyment. Use your subheading to make your reason clear.
Yes, headlines are often the most important element in any content piece. But a compelling headline paired with an impactful subheadline is a powerful combination that can greatly increase the clarity and effectiveness of your writing.
4. Make the reader want more
While you want to provide plenty of information so the reader gets what they need, sometimes it works to ask questions or give readers a hint of what’s to come so they keep reading.
This post, for example, asks in the headline, “Is Upwork Legit?” And then in the subhead, “Why do freelance writers hate Upwork so much?” If the reader is curious about that question, she knows she’ll get what she needs if she keeps reading.
When done well, this feels good, and the reader leaves feeling satisfied. When it’s done poorly, for example, when the question isn’t answered entirely, it can feel like click-bait. If you make a promise in your subheading, be sure to deliver it.
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
As writers, we know that the process of writing is composed of work and worry. The work is a grind of word counts and applied methodology, but the worry — a mix of fear, doubt, stress and resistance to the process — can be more difficult to navigate.
During the four long years I spent writing my first novel, A Propper Man, I learned the importance of craft and routine in managing both the work and the worry.
If you’re wondering how to start writing a book, these strategies could help you meet your goals with less stress and fewer struggles. The thoughts on craft help form a plan of attack for completing your daily work, while those focused on the routine and ruminations about the writing life help you put that plan into practice and find the will to finish.
Craft tips for writing your first novel
Although the idea of craft can seem like a witch’s brew when applied to fiction, it’s no magical thing.
Sure, there are elements of fiction that are useful weapons for your arsenal, as well as tried and true storytelling methods that are helpful to know about. Mostly, though, the craft of fiction is composed of relentless practice and process: the stumbling, mealy-mouthed verbosity of beginning and ending and revising that you must apply repeatedly, ad-infinitum.
As a writing professor once explained on the first day of class, “I’m going to dump out my toolbox here on the floor. Take everything you need — but know you might not need everything.” Below are a few to consider.
1. Have a roadmap
The word “outline” is a polarizing one for fiction writers. We all know about this structure, but depending on our experience and mindset, we either love or loathe it.
Whatever opinion you have about outlines, it does help to have some sort of map or outline for where you’re going, even if you only know the approximate route and have a few key landmarks scribbled on a bar napkin. As E.L. Doctorow famously said, “Writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
I experimented with four different outline systems before abandoning them altogether in favor of building my own. I used notecards that each held a simple statement about the action that occurred in each scene, then taped each card in chronological order to a whiteboard in front of my desk. If I needed to replace a scene, add one, or move a few around, it took seconds. And when I lost my way, I only had to look up to my roadmap. From there, I moved to a more detailed scene-level outline that helped me to structure the cause and effect that advanced each scene and the story as a whole.
It took time to find an approach that worked. I prefer analog, but you might feel more comfortable with a digital tool like Scrivener.
Experiment to find what works for you and then modify it to align with your approach to storybuilding. But have a map — even at night, you may need to pull over and refer to it now and again.
2. Consider the importance of conflict and stakes
Among Kurt Vonnegut’s eight tips on how to write a great story is this gem: “Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.”
What makes a story truly compelling is how that character goes about getting it. What stands in his way, and how will he overcome those impediments? One of your tasks as a storyteller is to manipulate your character in such a way that the journey feels worthwhile for the reader — even if all that character wants is a glass of water. Fundamental to this reader buy-in are the elements of conflict and stakes.
In literature, conflict is an inherent incompatibility between the objectives of two or more characters or forces. Conflict creates tension and interest in a story by adding doubt as to the outcome.
Be clear about your conflict: how the setting, other characters, or even local and global events slam into your character’s desire to get what he wants. When conflict is clear, you help the reader better understand what drives your character’s motivation.
Stakes show the reader what happens if your character doesn’t get what he wants after the altercation with conflict. Have some fun raising the stakes to force your character to take action that might be abnormally, even fantastically, out of character.
Consider this scenario: A man sits on the highway twenty-five cars back from a slow-moving roadblock on the interstate, thirty minutes from his home. He could be stuck there an hour, maybe longer. With low stakes, he’s annoyed because he might miss the first quarter of Monday Night Football. So he flips on the radio, checks his smartphone and ekes along in line.
Now, what happens if the man receives a message that his young son is mortally wounded, and he’s the only one who can reach him in time to save his life? Suddenly, he’s offroading into the median, blowing past the roadblock and racing toward his house at 100 mph with police cruisers in hot pursuit.
High stakes change motivation and put your characters in interesting situations you didn’t initially imagine, which results in compelling, page-turning fiction.
3. Maintain measured scene beats: Your novel’s heartbeats
Scene beats, or micro-tension, make up the dramatic action that propels a story forward. In his Wonderbook, Jeff Vandermeer calls them “micro-cycles of ebb and flow, progress and setback playing out within a scene.”
I wrote four versions of my novel before I finally pegged its current course. The challenge? I wrote a collection of disparate and at times tangentially-related scenes. In a vacuum, these scenes were fine, but when woven into a tapestry of scenes and chapters, many of them fell flat. The setting, the dialogue and the characters didn’t exhibit enough micro-tension to move the story forward.
While most readers won’t identify that your scene is missing a beat, they’ll likely feel it in the way their minds drift as they consider turning another page or picking up their smartphones to check the latest Buzzfeed list.
Be sure to analyze the beats — the cause and effect — to maintain a measured progression of the scene’s shifts in emotional tone. Make sure they build upon one another. The character enters the room thinking one thing is going to happen, only to find something else. As he realizes this, it’s a beat. Or, the character is investigating a mystery, and discovers something shocking that changes the purpose of her quest. How she feels about that discovery, in that moment, is another beat.
If you’re struggling with a scene and you can’t quite figure out what’s wrong, lay out the beats on the page. After each beat is a decision: open the door or pretend you’re not home; get in the car or call a cab; take the blue pill or grab the red pill. What does your character choose, and how does that choice affect her? Once on the beats are laid out, you’ll be able to see where the scene is lagging — likely, where it lacks stark emotional shifts.
4. Approach the revision process with passes, not drafts
Drafts are hulking, beastly things. They sit in the corner and sulk as you plod through, page by page, trying to do everything at once to reach the Second Draft.
Instead of looking at your revision process in terms of drafts or versions, think of passes. Passes are lighter, more jovial folks. They allow you the freedom to consider elements of revision and to move more quickly through the process, like a painter adding layers of color to a painting that is not fully realized.
One pass might be for research, another few for character development and continuity; perhaps you add one pass each for setting, tone, and consistency of speech. Editing and re-editing the same copy repeatedly can seem Sisyphean — and eventually leads to unproductive tinkering.
Identifying the passes necessary to finish your project, then remaining disciplined as you move through each pass, makes the revision process seem less arduous.
Routine: It’s essential to writing your first novel
Once you have the right tools and you know what you’re going to build, how do you go about doing it? That’s where a sound personal approach to the psychology and routine of fiction becomes crucial.
You first build a novel in your head, so it’s important to ensure it’s a safe and productive place to work.
5. Recognize and overcome resistance
In his fabulous book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield focuses on resistance as a primary culprit in avoiding creation. The forms of resistance are myriad and highly personal.
For me, the usual suspects were errands, cleaning and looking for “legitimate” jobs online. I ate up hours, even entire days, resisting the process of putting words on the page, until I was honest with myself about how I resisted writing. I kept a list and acknowledged my modes of resistance each time they popped up.
What modes of resistance do you fall victim to on those days when writing doesn’t feel fun? Write them down on big piece of paper and hang it over your desk. In time and with practice, when you recognize resistance, you’ll stop what you’re doing and return to work. Your ability to overcome resistance is fundamental to establishing a routine.
Maintaining that routine is often the only thing that will help you through the pits of despair in the middle of your novel, when the fun has drained from your writing and you’re left with the ditch-digging required to finish the project.
6. Write to a word count
Time and writing are strange bedfellows. Who is to say how long it should take to finish a story? But we all face a simple truth: You can’t write a novel if you don’t put words down on the page.
Writing 100,000 words takes time, discipline and some semblance of an organized routine. Each writer approaches this process in their own way, but my routine involves a commitment to a daily word count rather than a time block. Writing to a word count rids me of the pressure of feeling constantly short on time.
Some days, a thousand words takes me forty-five minutes. On others, I might stretch three writing sessions out across several hours: at the coffee shop, at home while making dinner and waiting for the rice to cook, and sitting up in bed for a few minutes after I finish reading. Looking back, I won’t remember the amount of time each session required, only that I hit my word mark.
Set your own word count and make it achievable. Is five hundred words all you can manage? Great! Shoot for that mark and hit it. Then stop. Don’t edit, don’t ponder, just go and when your hand or fingers need a break, tally up the words. My guess is you’ll find you have written more than your daily target.
If you’re inspired to write more words, do so. But give yourself the opportunity to stop. And when you stop, think for a moment about what you’ve accomplished, and how it felt. Learn to finish. Now do it every day, forever… until you need a cheat day.
While we’re on the subject, check out our guide to the ideal word counts for novels and other books.
7. Have a cheat day
Dieting is a dirty word, but I love the concept of a cheat day: the one day each week when you eat anything you want and refuse to feel guilty about it.
Sure, we all want to be perfect adherents to the dogma that writing every day is the only way to improve, but sometimes life just gets in the way. And that’s okay. You may have kids, or kids and a crazy job — or all the above, plus a house with a yard. If you can make time for writing, great, but if you can’t, allow yourself one day where you don’t judge your perceived lack of productivity.
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle posits that the mere act of observing something ultimately changes that which is being observed. So stop focusing on the days you don’t write. Look away. In time, you may find removing guilt from the process, focusing your attention elsewhere, makes it easier to commit to a routine. Funny how that happens.
8. Learn to separate fact from fiction when dealing with fear and doubt
Fear and doubt are perhaps the most damaging forms of resistance; they’ve likely prevented more art from reaching humanity than any other form of artistic oppression.
When you’re experiencing fear and doubt, take a moment to separate fact from fiction. Break apart those things you know as fact; “writing is hard,” “finishing a novel requires that I write a lot of words,” “publishing is complicated,” from the fiction: “no one will ever read about what I write,” “writing is a waste of time and effort,” and “I have no talent.”
This is a key practice of mindfulness and it merely requires that we actively recognize and compartmentalize thoughts. We all tell ourselves various fictions about creating art. The key difference between those who persevere and those who quit is the ability to recognize the fallacy of subjective thought, and power on through despite it. To paraphrase Seth Godin: the question is not how to get rid of fear, it’s how to dancewith fear.
Putting this all into practice
The truth of the matter is that there isn’t any one recipe for creating great fiction. If it works, it works. The old saying about methods and madness is true: no matter how crazy or esoteric an artist’s routine, there is almost always a method present. Building your own is crucial.
If you’re like me, you find little joy in finishing a novel; you want to finish a great novel. You also want the next novel to be even better. Crucial to this process is understanding yourself: your your innate abilities, and those that require more work and practice.
Listen to and record what you learn from your writing projects. Take from your writing the lessons that teach you as much about yourself as they do about your craft. In time, and with hard work and faith, this discipline will help you finish the personal masterwork you’ve always dreamed of creating. You will build the method behind the perceived madness of your creative process, and the work emanating from it.
Have you written a novel or other fiction project? Do any of these lessons resonate with you?
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
5. The zombie 
