Usually, when looking to start an online content writing job, students (and other people interested in this subject) imagine something like having to write slogans, advertisements, or custom essays. Although it is also a part of the profession—especially in the case of beginner freelance writing jobs—there is much more to do as well. The choice is actually wide: creative writing, scientific journalism, blogging, writing for all kinds of “know-how” and “how-to” websites, healthcare, commercials, lyrics for songs, you name it. Considering that the Internet is infinite, and any website needs content, having chosen online writing as a job was a right thing.
Now, let us discuss some of the opportunities you as a freelancer could make use of.
Career Opportunities for Freelance Writers
In this list, we are going to explore some of the career opportunities afforded to you.
- It may sound awkward considering that we tend to view freelancing as an occupation for “free birds,” but one of the best ways for a freelance writer to make a living is to find a regular customer who would periodically supply him or her with orders. Usually, such customers are companies which need high quality custom-written texts on specific subjects; for example, a pharmaceutical company starting its new website might need a copywriter who would write about the company’s products on a regular basis. Or, you might run into an outsourcing advertising agency. Anyways, a regular customer is your goldmine, and potentially, any client you work with can become a regular one.
- Creative writing. We’ve all heard the expression “ghostwriters,” although not all of us probably know what it means. In brief, a ghostwriter is a person who writes texts, speeches, poems, songs etc., but is not credited for this work—all the credit and glory goes to the person who hired the ghostwriter. For example, imagine that Stephen King calls you in the middle of the night, and says, “Man, I need you to write a horror story, 500 pages, in a month” (just in case, we never doubted King’s creativity—it’s just a jokey example). Anyways, you write the story, it sells well, but guess whose name will be printed on the book cover? Stephen King’s, not yours. But, if you are not after glory and fame, ghostwriting might be a nice source of money for a freelance writer like you.
- Songwriting. This is somewhat similar to the previous point; you would be surprised if you knew how often more or less popular singers hire freelancers to write songs for them. If you are interested, you can start working in this direction, and who knows, maybe in a year or two you will be hired to write a song for Rihanna or Justin Bieber. – Specialized writing. By “specialized” we mean writing narrowly-focused content. A good example of such writing are beauty blogs, websites dedicated to healthcare, popular science blogs and websites, industry news (any industry: automobiles, fashion, entertainment), and so on.
- News writing and editing. Some news agencies might be looking for freelancers to fill their news feeds, or edit materials written by someone else.
Writing Work at Home is Versatile
Most of the time, you will be writing, yes. However, an advantage of being an independent writer is that you can focus on whatever fields and subjects you like. You will learn something new every day: not only in terms of the area you are working in, but also in terms of improving your mastery and honing your skills. Freelance writing is an opportunity worth trying out, so if you have been thinking about whether you should explore this kind of job, leave your doubts behind: you should.