Becoming A Freelance Writer

Becoming A Freelance Writer is made up of eight comprehensive modules, each focusing on a different aspect of freelance writing. You can progress through the course at your own pace and revisit completed lessons for a refresher whenever you like.

Along with informative written content, each module includes interactive elements such as writing exercises and quizzes. These are designed to test your skills as you progress through the course and highlight any areas you might want to revisit.

When you reach the final module, we’ll guide you through key revision areas and provide you with a mock assignment. This is an opportunity to practice for the final assignment and see the kind of industry-standard writing we’re looking for. The mock test isn’t marked by a tutor, but you can check your work against our model version.

When you’re ready, you can continue to the final assignment. You’ll write a 700-word blog post on your choice of one of two topics, which will then be marked by our tutor team. You’ll receive detailed feedback on your work, and if you score 80% or above, we’ll offer you the opportunity to write three articles for the Knowadays blog. You’ll come away with professionally edited, published samples for your portfolio to use as proof of your writing skills and help you secure your next clients!

If you don’t pass the assignment the first time, it’s no problem – you can purchase an additional attempt.

Our online writing course is for anyone who wants to create medium- or long-form content – whether that’s a company blog, a Substack newsletter, an online journal, or commissioned work for freelance clients. Reliable research techniques, a sound drafting style, and confident editing are valuable in all kinds of writing, and our course covers each of these areas.

If you aspire to work as a writer (or you need a skills refresher!), you’ll learn how to research both your topic and your audience, then align your findings with the brief to make sure every piece of content achieves its goal. That could mean writing blog posts for a small business that wants to connect with local customers or creating in-depth articles for a larger company looking to showcase thought leadership.

If you want to get ahead as a freelancer, you can impress clients with your understanding of SEO keywords and how to structure content for skim readers and accessibility. And if you’re just starting out, the course also covers the practical side of building a business, including how to find work, set prices, and deal with invoices, contracts, and other essential admin.

And this course isn’t just for writers. It’s equally useful for content strategists, marketers, social media managers, and web designers – anyone who works with content and wants a stronger grasp of what makes writing clear, engaging, and persuasive. If you’d benefit from knowing how to plan, structure, and edit content so it really resonates with readers, then Becoming A Freelance Writer is for you.

If you pass your final assignment with a distinction score of 80% or above, you’ll be fast-tracked into your first writing project with Knowadays! We’ll give you the chance to write three articles for our blog, which will be professionally proofread before publication. We will also include your bio and headshot in the Our Writers section of the website.

After achieving a distinction score, our content team will send you an onboarding pack with all the details. And then:

1. You’ll research and write your first blog post with plenty of support from our team
2. You’ll submit your first draft, then an editor will review it and send you feedback
3. You’ll use this feedback to develop further and write the remaining two blog posts
4. You’ll write a bio to accompany your blog posts, so we can credit you when the pieces are published

Your articles will be published on the Knowadays website, giving you three samples to kick off your writing portfolio and prove your skills to potential clients!

On average, learners complete the course in around 30 hours, but completion time varies greatly based on individual learning styles and schedules.

But one of the great things about learning with Knowadays is that you set your own pace. When you invest in one of our courses, the material is yours to work through and return to as often as you like. This means you can start whenever you want and take as little or as much time as you need (and that applies to the final assignment too). And if you get stuck, the tutors are available to help.

To complete our freelance writing course, all you need is a laptop or desktop computer with an internet connection. While you can complete the course on a tablet, a larger screen is better for study.

While Microsoft Word is ideal for completing the exercises and final assignment, Google Docs is an excellent free alternative, and our tutor team will be on hand to help you with both programs.

Other than that, all you need to do is set aside some study time, get motivated, and be open to learning about all things freelance writing.

You don’t need qualifications or previous experience – we teach you everything you need to know to start working as a freelance writer. This course is your path from complete beginner to confident, trained professional.

That being said, lots of experienced professionals take Knowadays courses too. If you’re looking to brush up on existing skills and improve your writing samples, Becoming A Freelance Writer (and our publishing guarantee) can help you do just that.

Becoming A Freelance Writer is accredited by CPD, a professional body that assures excellence in training. CPD-certified courses are rigorously assessed by industry experts, meaning they have been thoroughly reviewed and approved as being valuable professional training.

When you complete Becoming A Freelance Writer, you’ll receive a digital certificate that you can attach to your resume, portfolio, or online profile to showcase your abilities to potential clients or employers.

Most definitely! AI tools can churn out content, but you can tell it comes from a machine. AI-generated blog posts and articles tend to include repetitive phrases, bland descriptions, and predictable structures. Since search engine algorithms penalize this type of low-quality content, it’s bad for SEO and bad for business!

More than ever, there’s a need for professional writers who have the skills to craft engaging, relevant, and high-quality content that educates, entertains, or informs, while also boosting SEO and increasing traffic to websites. And that’s what you’ll get from Becoming A Freelance Writer!

There are so many different options out there, and weighing them up can be a tricky task.

One of the best ways to decide if a course is right for you is to get a feel for it – which is exactly why we offer two lessons from the course for free! You can gauge what it’s like to learn with Knowadays by exploring the sample, and you can reach out to the tutor team if you have any questions before you decide.

It’s also worth asking yourself:

• Does the course start from the basics?
• Does it include practical exercises?
• Do I get access to learning support?
• Do I receive a certification?
• Does it have positive reviews?

Becoming A Freelance Writer check all of these boxes – and more!

Before you make any kind of career change, we recommend asking yourself some questions:

• What do I enjoy doing?
• What skills do I possess or would be willing to learn?
• What work would make me happy?

A career in freelance writing might be for you if you:

• Love reading and writing
• Are good at researching and planning
• Would rather work from home or while traveling
• Want a rewarding career where you’re always learning
• Prefer to work at your own speed

There are a number of skills you need to succeed as a freelance writer. They can be split into two categories – hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills, also known as technical skills, involve the use of specific software, tools, or subject knowledge. You’ll need to be comfortable with word processing software and communications tools such as email and video calls. It’s also important to have a good grasp of written English, including understanding correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. If you need to brush up on your language skills, you might like to check out our Becoming A Proofreader course.

Soft skills, also known as non-technical skills, are about how you manage your workload and how you interact with others. Self-motivation, time-management, and communication are all valuable skills for a freelance writer. If you’d like to read more about what qualities you need to succeed in a freelance career, check out our blog.

As a successful graduate of our freelance writing course, you’ll be ready to take on professional content writing assignments. Publishing houses, content agencies, nonprofits, and many other types of businesses and organizations all need written text for marketing purposes, and there’s an increasing demand for professional freelance writers who can write content to a high standard.

You could choose to work independently as a freelancer and build your own client base, join a writing agency or freelance marketplace, or pursue permanent employment with a single business. You can explore even more routes to finding work in our blog.

And with your Knowadays training and qualification, you’ll have the skills and flexibility to pick the approach that suits you best.

Absolutely! There are several factors that influence how much a writer can charge, and figures on average income vary depending where you look. However, they all have something in common – they show it is definitely possible to make a living by writing.

According to Salary.com, the average annual income for a freelance content writer in the US is $53,607, but top earners report figures of more than $100,000 a year. While the EFA (US) suggests an hourly rate of $50–$79 for blog posts, the rates you charge as a writer can vary significantly based on factors such as:

• Your experience
• The job’s complexity
• Whether you specialize in a specific subject area
• The type of client

When you begin, you might not be able to charge high rates for your services immediately. But as you build experience, skills, and a roster of clients, you can raise your rates. You can read more about average earnings and how to set your rates in our blog.

As with any freelance career, you have to be willing to put in the work to develop your skills, find clients, and gain experience. But with some work and determination, you can succeed.

There are multiple ways you can find work as a freelance writer, and you can generally do this from the comfort of your own home! First, you’ll need to prepare yourself and your professional credentials:

• Make sure your resume is up to date
• Build an online presence (e.g. by using social media or creating your own website to network and promote your services)
• Start building a portfolio with examples of your writing

Once you’ve got the basics set up, your next task is to put yourself out there and start looking for work:

• Consider joining a freelance marketplace
• Sign up to online groups for freelancers or writers
• Cold email potential clients
• Explore the Knowadays blog for freelance tips!

There are plenty of resources out there, but Becoming A Freelance Writer will set you on the right path. Not only does the course teach you the ins and outs of writing great articles, but it also includes a dedicated module on building your business and finding clients. This means you’ll learn how to write and also how to get paid for it!

Email us at hello@knowadays.com with your questions, or ask about scheduling a chat with one of the tutors.

For more general queries, you can also visit our main FAQ page.