If you’re interested in becoming a freelance writer, your timing is excellent.
With organizations more than willing to decentralize their content creation efforts, it’s never been a better time to take the plunge.
That said, there’s one big catch: You’ll want to get paid what you’re worth.
As someone who’s both written professionally for a while and had the privilege of hiring freelancers for several different projects, the secret sauce isn’t talent alone.
You need to put your best foot forward with every submission.
Otherwise, recruiters and potential employers will hit the Delete key faster than you can finish reading this sentence.
With that in mind, these tips represent the fundamentals you need to cover before sending in your applications.
Every writer’s strengths and journey in this industry are different, so where you take either of those afterward is entirely up to you.
But, if you follow this short checklist before submitting, you’ll be better equipped to receive job offers instead of rejection emails.
A caveat before we begin
This blog post assumes you already have at least a small portfolio in your arsenal. If you don’t, there’s plenty of information out there on the best way to create one. This post won’t cover any portfolio creation tips.
1. Check spelling and grammar in your portfolio
Speaking of your portfolio, the most common mistake I’ve seen in freelance writer submissions is, unfortunately, poor quality.
If the reader can pick out a half-dozen spelling or grammar errors in your first paragraph, your freelance writer application will be dead on arrival.
Why? Because, beyond displaying a weak grasp of the language, a portfolio full of typos comes across as unprofessional.
If you can’t be bothered to proofread and polish your work before submitting, then you can’t expect anyone else to take it seriously enough to hire you.
