Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Ever since the pandemic has taken over the world within the last two years, more and more people have had no choice but to resort to working from home. However, if they are not swamped with digital paperwork, people seek to do freelance projects to help relief some of the tasks that owners cannot do. Another option for freelancing is to have a side hustle to complement their full time job.

Freelance work has become more and more popular, and more people are quitting their full-time jobs to pursue working online for much better compensation and fewer working hours. 

Freelance work can consist of designing websites, creating graphics, editing podcasts, and the list goes on. However, I would have to say an essential type of freelancing job many people are starting to invest in is Content Writing, even if you have no experience.

What is a Content Writer, you ask?

A content writer can produce engaging and well-researched written content for their clients. Once they deliver their content, the client can utilize their services to educate their audience on topics they are struggling to comprehend. Content writers can work freelancing gigs in a digital online marketing agency or an in-house agency.

Content writers can write on a range of subjects and can create a variety of content to publish for different platforms such as:

• Blog Posts

• Social Media Captions

• Newsletters for Email Marketing Campaigns

• Website and sales copy

Content writers have to start somewhere to gain their experience and exposure. So, if you are planning to dip your toes in content writing but unsure where to begin, I will give you tips on becoming a content writer with no experience.

Narrow Down Your Niche

If there is a particular subject that you have a lot of knowledge about and can talk about it for hours on end, it is only standard you will want to write on a topic you are passionate about. For example, I can talk about my love of food for hours. With a broad area in food, I can niche down to healthy eating or foods to avoid when decreasing your blood pressure. 

Choosing a niche with one primary focus is beneficial because it can get chaotic if you are trying to cover all niches.

   Photo by Hannah Grace On Unsplash

Start Practicing your writing skills. 

One of the best ways to become a content writer with no experience is by building up your portfolio. Your portfolio will be a collection of writing samples that you can showcase while applying for writing jobs. However, if you are a beginner, you will have to start practicing your skills by seeking Fiverr and Upwork. 

Fiverr and Upwork are paid freelancing sites you can search for all types of content writing gigs, whether  one-time or a recurring projects. For example, you would post that you are looking to write a blog post for X amount of dollars, and if the client agrees with the price and turnaround time, they will just pay for the writing gig upfront.

Another way to hone your writing skills is to post in Facebook groups where your ideal clients hang out. For example, potential clients who own online businesses need help with content creation. Once you know your niche, you can search and join the free Facebook group to start networking. I suggest you have a few writing samples in your portfolio to present to your client as a good fit for the job.

Start Writing your Content On Your Platform

Another way to write content with no experience is to start writing your content. For example, if you are a freelance blogger who loves to write for fun and wants to only write for your audience with no expectations, I recommend starting with Medium.com. On the other hand, if you're going to capture an audience with educational content that can uplevel their business, a WordPress website will be ideal. 

WordPress is a self-hosting site where bloggers can write their blog posts and have the blogs ranked by Google and Search Engine Optimization (Seo). In addition, WordPress sites allow you to install plug-ins such as Yoast to help you format your blog posts to the SEO standards to show up on the first page on Google.

Once you familiarize yourself with Seo optimization, you will be able to manage potential clients' blog posts on their backend since it is in high-demand service.

Invest In A Mentor Or A Coach

If you feel you are not confident to start writing your content, another option is to get help to get started as a beginner. If you have the extra money, you can invest in a coach or mentor to teach you 1:1 lessons or pay for a coaches’  evergreen course. 

I have never invested in a private coach, but I have taken online courses to educate me on content creation. I realized how I love writing blogs, social media captions, and repurposing old and new content onto different platforms and i had no experience. There is that option to follow your favourite mentor on Youtube for free content if you need to save money.

Once you start writing, you never know that it can open up more doors for you and introduce you to different elements of content writing that you never knew existed.

Julie Lavia is a Blogger and content writer who specializes in creating content for female small business owners in the digital marketing space. She has guest blogged for other sites, has appeared as a guest on her first Podcast, and will be the co-author for an upcoming book due to be released later on this year.

Website: https://virtualstarletsservices.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliechristina_va/