Freelance Content Writing: My First Two Months

Content writing is one of the lowest risk ways to make money online. Let's dive into my experience as a beginner - and some of the questions I had before getting started.

I've been pursuing side-hustles since shortly after I started my full-time job as an engineer. I was motivated by the idea of making money on my own but wasn't sure where to get started.

I've tried drop-shipping, flipping items on eBay, sports card markets, and lots of other investing with variable success.

The problem with most of these, for me at least, is that the ROI was pretty delayed. I do understand that these efforts take time, but it's easy to get discouraged when you don't see the fruits of your labor.

That's one of the things that intrigued me about writing online - the opportunity to get paid gig by gig when starting out.

Naturally, my enjoyment of content writing has blossomed over the past few months. I enjoy the flexibility it offers me to make some extra money, and the chance to learn/write about topics that interest me.

Where to get started content writing?

The quickest place I've found success as a freelance content writing beginner is on Upwork.

Upwork allows you to create your profile, write a quick bio, and get started submitting proposals for blog/article writing jobs right away. For someone with little to no experience, I find it advantageous to be able to seek out and submit proposals to listed jobs, rather than posting your own gig and waiting for clients to come to you.

On sites like Fiverr, the most popular approach is to create a gig detailing your service(s), and then those in need will find your gig and reach out. The problem is, you're gig is unlikely to be featured in a search if it's new and has no reviews.

In contrast, submitting proposals on Upwork gets you a fair shake amongst clients, and allows you to advocate for yourself in a cover letter. This is a more active approach but has allowed me to break into the industry as a newbie.

Other freelance content writing websites to check out are Contena, Flexjobs, TextBroker, and Guru. I personally haven't spent much time on these sites, but quite a few are building off the legacy Fiverr/Upwork model to further empower freelancers.

What should I write about?

This was a question I struggled with initially  -  there are too many topics to write about, and I became a victim of analysis paralysis. The best advice I can give is to jump into a topic that you've willingly spent your free time learning about already. This will keep you engaged and excited in your first few jobs, and also make the writing jobs more approachable since you already have a background on the topic.

For me, this has primarily been the health and wellness space, as well as personal finance/investing topics. I always enjoy learning more about both, and getting paid to do the research is even better!

Another tip that has kept me engaged is to seek out writing opportunities that touch on topics you're interested in but haven't yet spent much time learning about. This helps me feel like I'm killing two birds with one stone.

How much money can I make freelance content writing?

I really had no idea what to expect when getting started. I took my first few jobs for far less than I should have, but was just excited to be getting paid to write. Since then, I've gotten a better feel for the market in different industries, especially on Upwork.

If you have the expertise or can demonstrate an above-average skill level on a topic, you have some bargaining power. Unfortunately, on Upwork, there is a lot of competition willing to work for pretty cheap. By demonstrating the quality of your work and filtering out certain jobs, you can still find reasonable pay for articles/blog posts.

This can be $20+ hourly or ~3–5 cents per word. Some will be more, and some will be less, of course. I can only speak for the jobs I've seen on the topics I write about. Technical articles tend to pay more, but require knowledge of the domain. Upwork does take a 20% cut for their services, so keep that in mind.

And remember  -  you can't expect to strike gold when first getting started. As your reputation is built, you can be pickier about the jobs you select and the rates you accept.

There are a number of freelance content writers who now make six figures without spending entire days at the keyboard. They've mastered their craft.

Content writing is a powerful avenue to make money online. Oftentimes, the financial reward is pretty correlated to the work put in. That's one of the things I appreciate most. I'm only a couple of months into this and have really enjoyed the process. But I am by no means an experienced person in the space  -  my take is a beginner's perspective. Hopefully, it can be helpful to you.

Follow along if you're interested in reading more about my journey toward financial freedom.