How to Start a Freelance Writing Side Hustle

If you’re interested in writing and looking to boost your income, a freelance writing side hustle could be just what you need. But what is a side hustle, and why is freelance writing a good choice? In this post we will answer those questions and provide tips on how to get started.

Why Is Freelance Writing a Good Side Hustle?

So what is a side hustle? It’s something that you do on the side (hence the term) – i.e., alongside your main occupation – to earn money (and this time, unlike the definition of the term hustle, it’s totally honest).

Writing is something that you can do wherever and whenever you have time and access to a laptop and the internet (or to a pen and paper). Working freelance enables you to take on the work that interests you when it suits your schedule. And with a growing demand for writing – blog posts, articles, emails, advertising copy – and the ability to set your own rates, freelance writing can be pretty profitable too.

How to Start a Freelance Writing Side Hustle

If you’re sold on the benefits of freelance writing as a side hustle, how do you get started? Here are our top tips:

1. Choose Your Niche

Even though you might enjoy writing, there may be subjects that don’t appeal to you or where you feel you lack expertise. Freelance writing, particularly as a side hustle, is your opportunity to focus on subjects and types of writing that interest you. This will be your niche, and finding it will help you to target your research, skills, résumé, portfolio, and marketing.

2. Do Your Research

As with most things in life, the better prepared you are, the more successful you’ll be. Doing some groundwork to find out what a career in freelance writing involves will help you to target the skills you’ll need, the rates you can charge, the amount of time you’ll need to set aside, and what sort of writing suits you best.

3. Brush Up Your Skills

However good your writing is, it never hurts to sharpen those skills. After all, if you’re being paid to write, you’ll want to offer the best service you can. The better the quality of your work, the more work you’ll get and the higher the rate you can charge.

4. Update Your Résumé

It may have been some time since you last applied for a job, and that job may have involved a different set of skills from those required for your writing side hustle. So that you are ready to provide your résumé to prospective clients, now is the time to give it a polish and highlight your writing skills and experience.

5. Write Some Samples

Most clients will want to see a sample of your work before hiring you to write for them. It doesn’t have to be anything you’ve been paid for, so start putting together examples of your work now.

Producing some new samples would be a good way to practice your skills in writing about your chosen subject using different content styles: blog posts, articles, website copy, etc.

6. Produce a Portfolio

As you produce or find samples of your writing, make sure to include them in a portfolio. Setting one up online with your own website or on a portfolio platform is pretty straightforward these days, and it’s a great way to showcase your skills to potential clients.

If you have already done some writing for others – maybe for your local community newsletter – you could ask them for a testimonial to include in your portfolio. This will be helpful in persuading others of the quality of your work.

Make sure to keep your portfolio updated with examples of your writing, and any testimonials as you receive them.

7. Promote Yourself

Work won’t simply turn up just because you’ve decided to do it. Producing your portfolio (even online) won’t guarantee that someone will see it and contact you with a writing job. You will need to promote yourself. It may sound scary – and a lot of work – but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’ve set up a website to house your portfolio, try including a blog and updating it regularly. You could also include a link to it on your social media to put the word out about the type of writing work you do. You could directly approach people or organizations, or if that doesn’t appeal, you could apply for freelance writing jobs advertised on job boards, such as ProBlogger and Peak Freelance, or advertise your services on work marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr.

8. Don’t Forget the Day Job

If you’re looking to write as a side hustle, remember to balance it with your main job – and don’t neglect your down time! Making some extra money on the side is all well and good, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of your main income or time with your family and friends. Finding the right work–life balance will be key to any successful side hustle.

Becoming A Freelance Writer

Does a freelance writing side hustle appeal to you? If you’re interested in exploring it further and brushing up the necessary skills, why not give our Becoming A Freelance Writer course a go? You can even try it out for free.