Wake up. Go to work. Come home. Eat dinner. Sleep. Do it again.
Women all over the world often feel as though they are losing themselves in the day to day ritual of living in the working world. We often believe we need to keep up with the men in our lives whilst equally supporting the family and frankly, it’s almost impossible to keep up a home without two incomes these days. However, working women - many of whom are working mothers - are finding ways to stay at home and work at the same time.
What if you could be home with your kids all day? Would you be willing to chance it all? Many are taking that chance every day, for the opportunity to work at home as a freelance writer.
Leaving a full-time job is often the biggest leap of faith that a working woman can make, but many of us brave women do it each year. We succeed, too, with the help of other entrepreneurs and online businesswomen who set a shining example for those eager to make the leap from office to home.
Many freelance writers began their career by working part-time from home, in the evening after work or on the weekends. If you are reliable and produce quality work, it doesn’t take long to amass enough contacts to quickly move up.
Here are a few of the different types of writing that freelancers produce:
Be a Website Content Writer
It’s hard to imagine all that goes into putting together a website until you break it down into several categories. A fully functioning site for a small to medium business will require webmasters, graphic artists, writers, and perhaps even a marketing team. Most websites revolve around offering of a product or service, which requires descriptive copy for the site visitor.
Content writers develop the pages of written material that show up on the various pages of a website. This includes sections such as FAQs, About Us, and the pages that have the descriptions of services and products offered. Most website owners will use freelance content writers to create the content for their site.
Writing in this capacity pays a bit differently than some other freelancing jobs. Most companies will pay writers an hourly fee for working on their website content. Depending on the size of the job, a flat fee may also be offered. Generally, website content writers do not work on a per word fee.
Be an Article Writer
Many new freelance writers will mistakenly call themselves content writers, when the majority of their assignments are informational articles. While it’s true that these articles may be posted in their entirety on a webpage - making them website content - there are marked differences between the two.
Informational articles often answer questions that visitors to a site are likely to have. For instance, it’s not uncommon to find 400-word pieces on ‘How to Change Your Oil in 3 Easy Steps,’ or ‘Choose the Best Bathing Suit for Your Body’. These articles are not always used on websites, either. They are often submitted to article directories, and the website owner links to their site from the directory where the article is found. It’s marketing without taking up precious room on a website.
Article writers are often paid by the word. Beginning freelance writers may have to start at a range of 2cents/word. Reliable and quality writers will have no problem quickly moving up to the 10cents/word or more range.
Be a Sales Copywriter
Copywriters are also often confused with other types of freelance writers. Content writers are said to write website ‘copy’, but true copywriters produce pages of sales material. We’ve all seen them. Those webpages that exist solely to sell an item, usually something high priced such as software, a seat at a seminar, or membership of a marketing club.
Sales page writers require special skills. With one page of content in which to produce a sale, the words chosen to direct to the reader are very important. There is also use of highlighting, colour, and images - all of which can be overdone if special care is not taken. There are often no outbound or navigation links, and the purpose is to keep the reader on that one page, scrolling to the bottom and clicking ‘Buy Now’.
Sales copywriters can make quite a bit of money compared to other writers. Top marketers may pay a high quality freelance writer up to $300 to write a spectacular sales page. They’re able to do this because a quality page will bring them much more return on their investment. However, there may not be as much copywriting work available compared to article writing.
Be a Press Release Writer
There’s a special spot in the writing world for press release writers. Some freelancers will write any kind of project handed to them, but many freelance writers who write press releases stick with media writing. A press release is written for one of a few reasons: a new business opening, a special event hosted by a business or organisation, or changes within a company that merit a media-wide announcement.
Press releases are written with a specific formula in mind. They have a format and style completely different than that of regular web content, or information articles. They take time and experience to be perfected by a writer. Because these releases are often written for very well known businesses, they must be high quality and ready to deliver to press release distribution services.
For these reasons, press release writers are often charging in the $300 range per release. Freelance writers are free to set their own fees, but this seems to be the current industry standard. New writers may charge considerably less to show what they’re capable of, though businesses paying for a quality press release writer may be suspicious of overly low fees.
If you are considering testing the freelancing waters, try your hand at writing. With a computer, internet connection, and a basic knowledge of English usage and grammar, it’s easy to get started - even while working full-time.
Recommended Reading
For more information and advice on freelance writing, take a look at the following books:
Starting Your Career As a Freelance Writer
Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments
Secrets of a Freelance Writer, Third Edition: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More
The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success
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