At a first glance, a freelance writing career sounds enticing, however, the reality is that it's extremely hard to actually kick-off properly. Most people don't earn more than pocket change during a good part of their starting period. And thus, it is of no surprise that people easily drop out of freelance writing.
It hasn't been that long since I started with my freelance writing career, but since I have been (oddly) successful at finding great paying clients, I thought I would share some tips, I hope this article ends up helping someone.
What I would recommend for you to do is build a network. Easier said than done, of course. Here is what I did: I found someone I already knew and got them to give me a job. Now the trick is that I never accepted the (small) pay. Instead of accepting the payment, I told them "Spread the word about me, that's my payment". Now what it does is, speaking psychologically, it puts pressure on the client to actually spread the word. It's very different if you accept the pay, in that case the client will feel like they have done their part, and they will only give a hollow "Sure" to your "Spread the word".
This is what helped me start out, this client I did work for free brought me two clients. I did a good job (according to them), and so my network naturally grew, without me actually putting in much effort! By the way, the reason I recommend you to go for someone you already know is that there is a further obligation on them to spread your word that way, increasing the pressure. You can go for a random client too, but this psychological trick won't work as well.
Another tip I would give is that you should proofread well. A few mistakes can be really BAD when a client hires you despite you being a beginner. It can really hurt your chances of making a breakthrough in your career. My friend, for example, got a bad rep right out of the way because he messed up his first job. Reason? Laziness. So please, do put in your best. At least initially. The more effort you put in, the quickest you can start off your career for real.
The third tip I would give is: Research well. You would usually be going for jobs that require some extensive research because those are usually the high paying ones. You will need to research well enough because a factual inconsistency can look really bad. Though, in the end, this one comes down to the client. Some clients don't bother fact checking the info while some are really cautious about it. I wouldn't recommend taking the risk, though.
The fourth and the final tip I would give is to keep your expectations low. Building up a freelance writing career takes time and patience. There is a chance, though arguably small, that you will make your breakthrough soon enough. But don't count on it, put in the effort and wait. Your chance will definitely come later, if it comes sooner, then that's great. But even if it doesn't, that's okay too. It's just the very nature of the industry. Also, another thing is that even if you make your "breakthrough", don't expect all jobs to suddenly become as high paying! Freelancing is pretty unstable, you will earn a good amount one month and almost nothing the next. Of course, the better reputation you have, the higher chances you have for getting more high paying jobs. But oftentimes you will have to settle with a low paying job, so don't get too sad about it.
That's basically it, thanks for reading, do comment if you have any other tips to share!
A starter must read! Thanks for the tips! I'll keep those in mind!