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Module Two: Getting Started

It’s time to decide what services you will offer and create a
portfolio that will help you land your first client.

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Now that you’ve done all the pre-work, it’s time to jump into the
basics of your freelance writing business.

In this module, you will decide what services you will offer and
create a portfolio that will help you land your first client.

Don’t panic! I’ll walk you through every step of the way.

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Lesson One: What is Copywriting?

First of all: let’s address the elephant in the room. What the heck is
copywriting?

Copywriting is any time brands use words to sell their products or

services. Forms of copywriting include (but are not limited to):

● Advertising copy (any words in print, digital, video, or radio ads)

● Packaging copy (like the instructions on a pack of noodles)
● Video scripts (like for a video ad or instructional video)
● Social media posts (like Instagram captions)
● Blog posts (when published on the brand’s website)
● Website copy (like words on a brand’s homepage)
● Email copy (like those emails you get from your favorite
clothing store)
● Product descriptions (those words that describe a product and
get you to hit buy)

Still confused? No worries. I’ll explain what these are in further detail

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Lesson Two: Choose Your Services

The first thing you need to do is decide what kind of freelance

writing services you will offer to your future clients. There are
countless types of freelance writing, but most freelance writers only
specialize in a few.

Here are a few of the types of writing you can do as a freelance

writer:

Blog Posts/Content Writing - Blog posts usually range from 300 to

2000+ words and take search engine optimization into account.
Clients usually want blog posts as part of their inbound marketing
strategy. Brands publish blog posts in order to help their clients and
ultimately sell their products or services.

A lot of people have a difficult time visualizing what these types of

blog posts are. When you hear “blog post”, if your mind goes straight
to personal blogs on Blogspot or bigger blogs like A Cup of Jo, you’re
certainly not alone. While there may be an opportunity to write for
larger blogs, that would actually fall under article writing (more on
that later).

The kinds of blog posts I am talking about are published by brands

on their own websites in order to attract readers through search
engines and convert them to customers by building trust.

Let me share some examples with you so you can see what I’m
talking about:

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Chewy.com’s blog, BeChewy

The Dermstore’s blog

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Calm App’s blog

Article/Feature Writing - The difference between blog posts and

articles is that blog posts are usually published by a brand on their
website’s blog, while articles are published by a media outlet like a
website, magazine, or newspaper. Articles are sometimes used to
sell products and services through affiliate marketing.

Email Newsletters - Copy for email newsletters can vary a lot from
client to client. Some clients prefer a plain text format that reads
more like a letter from a friend, while other clients use image-heavy
emails with very few words. Copywriters also handle writing the
subject line, usually providing several options for testing.

Website Copy - Copywriters also write all the words you see on any
business’ website. From the hero banner on the main page to the
“About Us” and the contact page—these are all the work of a
copywriter. This type of copywriting also takes user experience into

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account—how can you present your words and ideas in a way that
makes it easier for the customer to get to the next step?

Product Descriptions - Since e-commerce customers cannot

experience a product firsthand before purchasing, businesses
employ copywriters to write accurate and persuasive product
descriptions. Product copywriters strike a balance between
providing convincing information about a product and keeping copy
short enough for customers’ attention spans.

Social Media - Brands love having a steady stream of content on

their social channels, but who do you think writes all those pithy
little captions? A copywriter, of course!

And that’s just the tip of the freelance writing iceberg. There are
also other types of freelance writing, like direct response, white
papers, case studies, video scripts, cover letters, e-books, etc. Each
type of freelance writing has its skillset.

If you want to be a freelance writer, you don’t need to master all of

these forms of writing. Specializing in one when you start, like
blogs, will help you create better work and book more clients. As you
gain experience, you can add additional services to your lineup.

No experience? Start with blog writing.

If you don’t have any professional experience as a writer, I

recommend choosing blogging as your initial service.

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Here’s why:

● The internet is growing exponentially. Two million new blog

posts are published every single day, so the need for content
has never been greater.

● Most marketers already recognize the value of blogging. A blog

can be an amazing marketing tool for businesses. Blogs
increase authority, build engagement, and attract new leads. In
fact, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month
than companies without blogs.

● While most marketers recognize that blogging is valuable, few

have the skills or the time to write blog posts themselves. This
is one of the first things that marketers will contract out if they
have the budget.

● You’ve probably already read hundreds of blog posts yourself,

which will make it much easier for you to write blog posts.

● It’s really easy to tell if a brand needs help with its blog. If you
go onto a brand’s website and they have a blog that hasn’t been
updated in several months, you already know that they need
your help.

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Lesson Three: Choose Your Niche

Next, you need to decide your niche. Your niche is the industry you
sell your writing services to.

I know that committing to a niche sounds terrifying (especially if

you’re a commitment-phobe like me), but having a specific niche and
target client is key to landing projects and making money as a
freelance writer.

Don’t believe me? Imagine this.

You’re a client who sells, let’s say, olive oil. You’re looking for a
content writer to help you write your blog content. You post a job
online and get two applicants: one who has samples about all kinds
of random stuff like cars, dermatology, and HVAC units.

The other applicant is a food writer who specializes in

Mediterranean cuisine. Guess which one you’re going to hire? The
food writer of course! Even if they cost more, you’ll be happy to pay a
little extra for someone who knows their stuff. You’ll trust that
they’ll get the job done.

You want to position yourself as THE expert in your category

because experts make the big bucks.

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When I started writing, I chose blog posts for beauty brands as my

niche. I chose this niche because I was very interested in beauty, I
had a lot of experience writing blog posts thanks to the blog I wrote
in college, and I already had appropriate samples thanks to a
relevant contractor role.

Now that you know the merits of having a freelance writing niche,
it’s time for you to choose one for yourself. Not to worry! It’s easy.
Here’s what to do.

1. Make a List of Topics

Start by making a list of topics you know about. These topics could
be things you studied in school, your favorite hobbies, or things
you’ve learned at previous jobs. For example, if I were making a list of
niche ideas for myself, it might look a little something like this:

● Beauty (I already had examples of beauty work before

freelancing)
● Music (I’m a musician, duh)
● Personal development (I read a lot of books in this genre)
● Landscaping (I worked at a garden center for two summers
during college)
● Anthropology (I majored in it in college)
● Romance novels (I love romance novels, duh)
● Recovery (I quit drinking last year)
● Weightlifting (I used to work for a fitness apparel company and
it’s one of my hobbies)
● Marketing (I have a lot of job experience in this field)

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2. Think About Potential Clients

For each of the topics in your list, try to quickly think of several
clients. Returning to the example above, here are some client ideas
for each of them:

● Beauty – Skincare brands, haircare brands, makeup brands,

e-commerce sites like Sephora, beauty bloggers
● Music – Music publications like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and
Stereogum, record labels
● Personal development – Coaches and other figures in the
industry
● Landscaping – Local landscaping companies
● Anthropology – Consulting firms that utilize ethnographic data
● Romance novels –???
● Recovery – Rehab centers?
● Weight lifting – Gyms, personal trainers, supplement
companies, athletic equipment manufacturers, fitness apparel
brands
● Marketing – Advertising agencies and marketing firms

The reason you are doing this is to see how easy it is to come up
with clients.

If you can’t think of any clients for a particular niche, you shouldn’t
choose that niche because it will be too hard for you to find clients.
Cross it off your list!

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Some of these niche ideas, like beauty and weight lifting, generate a
lot of client ideas. With niches like these, you will never run out of
potential clients to cold pitch to. That’s great! However, there is a lot
of competition in those fields as well. It might be harder for you to
stand out, but there is plenty of work to go around.

However, don’t write off the smaller niche ideas. There might only
be a handful of consulting firms that utilize ethnographic data, but
there are probably only a very small number of freelance writers that
specialize in this niche. If you’re a good writer and can demonstrate
your expertise in that specific field, it will be very easy for you to
convert those clients. Plus, you can charge more because there will
be very little competition.

3. Choose a Niche You’re EXCITED About

When it comes to choosing your freelance writing niche, I want you

to pick a niche that you’re excited about.

Why? Because honey, you’re going to be writing about this every

single day of your life.

You must be passionately in love with your niche. If you love what
you’re writing about, you’ll be much happier and you’ll do better work.

What about the competition? As I mentioned before, there are

benefits to large niches and small niches. Don’t be afraid to choose
a large niche because you think it will be too competitive.

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There is plenty of work in the world! And don’t be afraid to choose a

small niche because there are too few clients. You will experience
less competition in smaller niches and there are always way more
clients in a niche than you think.

Is it a Subject or a Niche?

Your niche must be a money-making industry.

Why?

Because money-making industries are competitive, which means

brands will allocate a certain amount of money to marketing their
products or services so they can stand out from the competition. If
your niche isn’t money-making nor an industry, it’s probably just a
subject.

For example, let’s say that I’m interested in dragons. Dragons are not
a money-making industry (unfortunately), which means that dragons
are a subject and not a niche.

However, you can often tie subjects to a niche.

As a fan of dragons, ask yourself what kinds of products or services

you are buying that are related to this subject. Are you paying to go
to conventions? Buying supplies to make dragon costumes?
Shopping for medieval collectibles? Then you may have just found
yourself a niche, my friend.

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Niche Examples

Need some niche examples? Make sure you download my list of

niche examples in the course downloads tab!

What to Do if You Can’t Decide

Now, I know there will be students out there who made their list,
checked it twice, and STILL can’t decide. If that’s you, here’s what I
want you to do:

1. Narrow your list down to your top 2.

2. Close your eyes and pick at random. That’s it! That’s your niche!
If you feel disappointed by the answer, then you wanted the
other one. Choose that one instead!

Here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter what niche you choose as long as
your freelance writing niche meets the following criteria:

● You know about it.

● You like it.
● You can find clients.

If you are good at writing and follow the steps I’ve outlined in these
blog posts, you WILL make money. And if it doesn’t seem to be
working out with your freelance writing niche for one reason or
another, you can always go back and choose another one. It’s not
the end of the world!

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Think About Your Ideal Client

After you figure out your niche, it’s time to think about your ideal
client.

You want to figure out your ideal client so you can get into the mind
of that ideal client and tailor your freelance writer portfolio to them.
If you were your ideal client, what kinds of writing samples would
you want to see?

As a beauty writer, my ideal client is a mid-range beauty brand that

sells effective products and is heavily invested in content creation. In
my portfolio, I show off what I can do for that specific type of client.
When that type of client goes searching for a beauty writer, I can
demonstrate that I am the perfect hire for them. I don’t concern
myself with any other type of client.

Here are two questions to help you find your ideal client:

1. What is the main problem you are trying to solve for your
client? For example, if you are a blog writer, you are helping
your client by saving them the time and hassle of writing blog
posts themself.

2. What kind of client would require your services as a

freelance writer? Get super specific. What kind of product or
service do they sell? What is their core philosophy? Who is
their customer? Think big here. You want to choose clients you
are excited to work with, so make sure that their business
philosophies align with your personal beliefs. For example, if

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you’re a beauty writer but you’re also vegan, you’ll want to only
work with cruelty-free brands.

Get out a notebook or open a new Google doc and brainstorm! Once
you have a good idea of who exactly you’re pitching your services
to, you’re ready to move onto the next step.

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Lesson Four: Build a Portfolio

Now it’s finally time to build your portfolio!

Here is the exciting thing about freelance writing: it’s really easy to
get started as a beginner because you usually don’t share your
resumé with potential clients. Instead, you share your portfolio.

Your portfolio holds examples of your work that help potential

clients understand what you can do for them.

But what if you don’t have any experience? Don’t worry. There is a
simple workaround that you can use to create a client-attracting
portfolio even if you’ve never published anything before.

If you already have samples in your niche, you can skip this step!
Choose your three best examples, then skip down to the section
called “Showcase Your Work”. If not, follow these steps:

1. Write Three Spec Pieces

You’re going to write three pieces on spec in your niche. On spec just
means you’re writing for free.

Think back to your ideal client in your niche and create a project for
them. Don’t worry about copyright infringement. As long as you
make it clear to your potential clients that this was just a spec
project and not the real deal, you’re fine. If you’re worried about it,
you can also just change the name of the company.

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Need some inspiration? Look up the blogs of your ideal clients.

Google freelance copywriters in your niche and see what they’ve
worked on.

This is your time to shine! Do your best work on these pieces

because your freelance writer portfolio is what is going to sell your
services to clients.

Not sure how to write a blog post? I’ll get to that soon, so hang on.

2. Edit Your Work

Your spec pieces must be 100% error-free and grammatically

correct. Your portfolio, after all, is meant to reflect the quality of
work that you will produce for your clients. If your work is filled with
errors, potential clients will not want to work with you. A simple typo
can make or break a relationship with a potential client.

This is especially true if English isn’t your first language. No matter

how fluent you are, there are always little quirks of language and
regional dialects that you’re not going to know. And that’s okay!

You just need an editor. A real, human editor (not an app). Many new
freelance writers use Grammarly, but Grammarly isn’t perfect.
Nothing beats having a truly professional editor look at your work.

Luckily, editing services aren’t that expensive. You can hop onto
Upwork and look for a copyeditor or proofreader. If money is an
issue, ask a literary friend to look over your work.

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Just make sure that your editor is a native speaker of English. This
will guarantee that your pieces flow correctly and will convince
native speakers that you can get the job done.

3. Showcase Your Work

You don’t need a website or anything fancy to showcase your work

(though we will get into how to build a website in a later module).
Choose something easy and free to set up as well as something that
makes it easy for clients to access and digest what you’re
showcasing. That way you can start getting clients ASAP.

I recommend using Google Drive to share your portfolio because it’s

free and it’s easy. Here’s how to do it.

1. Create a PDF of each of

your spec pieces. If you
didn’t create your spec
pieces in Google docs,
copy and paste your
content into a Google
doc. Then click File, then
Download, then select
PDF Document (.pdf).

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2. Go to https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive and click

the New button.

3. Select Folder.

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4. Give your folder a name. I suggest using your name and

“Freelance Writing Portfolio”. Make it crystal clear to your
clients!

5. Add your PDFs to your portfolio. Open each PDF and click
the three dots in the top right corner.

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6. Select Move to.

7. Navigate to your portfolio folder and click Move Here.

Repeat with your other writing samples.

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8. Finally, you need to make sure that anyone with the link
can see your portfolio. To do this, open up the folder in
your Google Drive. Click the triangle next to the name of
your portfolio.

9. Select Get link.

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10. Click on the triangle next to Restricted and select Anyone

with the link. Then click Done.

And that’s it! Now you have the link to your portfolio, which you’ll need for
Module Three.

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Lesson Six: How to Write a Great Blog

Post
Okay, buddy. Now that you know how to set up your portfolio, let’s
get into the nitty-gritty about how to write blog posts.

Choosing a Topic

First things first, make sure you choose a good topic to write about.

This topic should be relevant to your ideal client’s customers.

For example, if your ideal client is a real estate agency, you want to
write something that will attract their ideal client: potential
homebuyers.

The easiest way to do this is to imagine what types of questions

potential homebuyers are going to Google. Why? Because that’s how
blogs work! Clients are dying to be the top search result for their
customers’ most burning questions. So do a little research into your
ideal client’s customer. Who are they? What do they want to know
about?

For example, a potential homebuyer may Google questions like

“What is escrow?” or “How do I apply for a mortgage?” So you want
your blog posts to answer those questions.

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Writing the Post

Now let’s talk about what you should include in the post.
Basically, you want to answer the customer’s Google query as
logically and succinctly as possible. Thus, it’s imperative that your
post be well-organized and follow what I like to call “logical
progression”.

What is logical progression? It’s getting into the mind of the reader
and answering their next question for them. See how I just did that
right there? I knew you were going to ask what logical progression
was, so I answered it for you next.

In my opinion, the easiest way to accomplish this is by writing an

outline. Make sure you get all your thoughts and research organized,
then write the post.

In the intro, acknowledge the question that the reader is seeking an

answer for.

For example, if you’re writing a blog post about how to go kayaking

with your dog, begin it with a statement like, “If you love your dog
and kayaking, it’s only natural that you’d want to combine the two.”

After acknowledging the reason why the reader is reading the blog
post, tell them what they can expect to learn (i.e. “Keep reading for
our complete guide on kayaking with your dog”).

Most brands will want you to write blog posts in the first-person
plural, not the first-person singular. So that means you’ll write things

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like “we recommend this dog life jacket” rather than “I recommend
this dog life jacket”.

In a similar vein, you will not be writing about your personal

experiences. Every once in a while, you will encounter a brand that
encourages more personal blog posts. But for the most part, brands
want you to write in the first-person plural as the voice of the brand.

When writing a spec piece, make sure you tie it back to a brand
(whether real or imagined). Always end the post with some kind of
call-to-action. What should the reader do after reading the post?
Should they buy something? Sign up for an email list? Let them
know at the end of the post.

Write in a clear, simple, and direct style. Save the flowery language
for your creative writing projects! If you struggle with this, copy and
paste your blog post into Hemingway. Hemingway is a free online
editing tool that can help you to identify run-on sentences, overuse
of the passive voice, and more. Hemingway also assigns your text a
grade reading level. Shoot for Grade 7 or below.

Nail the Title

It doesn’t matter how well-written your post is if it has a boring title,

because no one will click on it. In online content writing, titles are a
big deal. So spend some extra time thinking about what will get your
client’s customer to click. Need some ideas? Refinery29 does an
amazing job with this.

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Formatting Tips

● All paragraphs should be three to five sentences. A

one-sentence paragraph can be great for emphasizing an
important point. However, excessive use of one-sentence
paragraphs is fatiguing to many readers.

● Add subheadings every few paragraphs. Make some of them

into questions to excite curiosity. Better yet, make your
sub-headings tell the entire pitch so that skimmers will
understand the gist without reading a word of body copy. (You
can change sub-headings by highlighting the text and
selecting the dropdown next to the font name –where it says
“normal text”).

● Break up the monotony by setting key paragraphs or

statements in italics or bold.

● Use numbered lists or bullet points whenever possible.

● Add images. After all, articles with images get 94% more views.
But don’t just add any images. Add beautiful, relevant photos.
Grainy, lame, or cheesy images degrade the quality of your
work. I like to use Unsplash for high-quality, free stock
photography. iStock also has some decent options, if you’re
willing to dig.

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● Include captions with all your photographs. People typically

read captions more often than body text.

● End each post with a question to encourage engagement.

● No fancy fonts! Just use the generic Google Docs font (Arial).

Get Feedback on Your Portfolio

Once you’ve completed your portfolio, it’s time to get some

feedback. You know, from other writers.

As a member of The Freelance Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy, you get

free access to Portfolio Workshop. Portfolio Workshop is designed
to give you constructive feedback on your work so that you can
make improvements and feel confident when looking for clients.

Here’s how it works:

1. Periodically, you’ll receive an email from my team with a link for

registration. Make sure to sign up ASAP, because spots go fast!
2. My team will send out links to all the participants’ portfolios for
review. You will have four days to review their portfolios and
take notes on your feedback.
3. We’ll meet on Zoom to review the portfolios, workshop-style.
Each participant will have their portfolio reviewed in real-time.
You will also receive notes after the call on how to improve your
portfolio.

Then just make those changes and you’ll be ready to roll!

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Module Two: Actionable Steps

To Do (finish these before moving onto the next module!):

Choose which services you will offer. If you are completely new
to the world of freelance writing, start with blog writing.

Choose your niche. Your ideal niche will combine your

knowledge and experience with your passion. Remember, you
can always choose a new niche if your first niche doesn’t work
out!

Learn more about your niche.

Select three samples of your best work or create three spec

pieces that show off your skills to potential clients.

Hire a copyeditor to review your spec pieces to ensure that

they’re 100% perfect and error-free.

Create PDFs of your spec pieces and add them to your Google
Drive portfolio.

Register for the next Portfolio Workshop to get feedback on

your work.

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