Freelance Content Writing with Preparation – A Guide | Oliveboard

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation: Preparing for an exam can be quite a task. It requires patience, resources, and most importantly, funds. While it is difficult to prepare for an exam while working, there’s an alternative. With this blog, Oliveboard will give you a brief guide on how to work and earn without compromising on your preparation. This guide is for the ones with an interest or knack for writing!

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation: The What, Why, and When of Freelancing

First, let’s take a look at what exactly it means to freelance, why it’s a great option, and when you can freelance.

What is Freelancing?

The dictionary.com defines freelancing as follows:

A person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer.

www.dictionary.com

Basically, you are your own employer. Freelancers build a portfolio of work through self-research and/or internships. They can then start taking small work that will help build their credibility and skill. Eventually, freelancers can pick and choose whom to work with. Some companies hire freelancers for an easier content generation without many formalities except payment.

So how is this relevant to someone who wants to prepare for an exam?

Here, we address the Why.

Why Freelance?

Freelancing provides the freelancer freedom. You are not tied to any organization or time. You may mostly be working with deadlines that you set according to the work you get. This provides for a very flexible routine that will give you enough time to devote to your preparation.

Briefly the following are the benefits you get from freelancing:

1. Flexibility in routine and work load
2. Building experience even while preparing for an exam
3. Multiple sources of income
4. Location benefits
5. Work from home benefits

So with so many advantages, let’s see when exactly you can jump into freelancing.

When Freelancing?

If you are someone who is in self-learning streams like coding, design, content, testing, brand marketing, etc. it would be easy for you to get into freelancing. This way while you are preparing for your exam, you will stay in touch with your current profession as well. So freelancing is really for people with the following constraints-

1. Are committed to preparing for an exam and want alternative income
2. Do not wish to limit themself to one organisation or project type
3. Like the freedom of working from wherever they wish and whenever they wish

So say you have coaching 5 or 6 days a week. Freelancing means you can do your work in your downtime and earn to supplement your smaller monetary requirements.

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation

Now let’s get down to the specifics. Content Writing.

Content writing is of many types, mainly formal and informal. Formal content writing would be more longform content like blogs and articles. Informal content writing would cover shorter content, say for social media. But both require the skill to adapt content to different formats. In the commercial world, content helps with setting a tone and voice for a brand and that’s why freelance content writers are very sought after.

So if you have experience or even knack for content writing, freelancing can become a fruitful endeavor.

So how do you start freelancing in content writing from scratch? Let’s take a look.

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation: Step-by-Step Guide to Freelancing

Even though freelancing is less taxing than full-time work, it is also not easy to get a hang of right off the bat. A lot goes into setting yourself up to be employable. Let’s begin at the start-

1. Vision

You will save yourself a lot of time by making a firm decision on what exactly you want to freelance in. If you are already experienced in a certain skill then you can easily freelance in that, in this case, content writing. However, you should have the right outlook to get into the basics and learn about content writing.

This means setting out what services you want to provide, how much and in what medium. You should also think who your target audience is.

2. Resources

If you are an experienced content writer then you can skip to point 3. However, if you are unfamiliar with content writing but wish to freelance in it as you prepare for your target exam, you should learn the basics of the skill. The following avenues are great resources for learning about content writing-

1. YouTube
2. Coursera

There are n number of free and paid courses that will take you through the whole beginning and beyond of content writing as per the present industry. The following are the points that you should see are covered in your preferred course:

1. SEO
2. Keyword Research
3. Google Analytics (not mandatory but preferred)
4. WordPress for blogging
5. Social Media Marketing

3. Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of works that a professional builds over time. It is record of their work and experience. Most employers ask a form of portfolio to see if you can cater to their needs. For freelancers, a portfolio is their face. It is what helped the clients see if the freelancer will fit their requirements or no.

You can build a portfolio in the following ways-

1. A document
2. A video presentation
3. A website

The most preferred medium to showcase work and offer your freelancing services would be a website or blog. You can create pages for different aspects of your work such as- Samples of work, Services offered, Prices, etc.

For beginners, once you are thorough on how you’re going to go about content writing, build your portfolio. Write and create work samples which can be readily shown to employers. You can even offer to do content work for your acquaintances for free, just for the work samples. This way when you start freelancing seriously, you will have a collection of work samples to show.

4. Marketing

Since you are freelancing, you will be your own PR. So here are a few ideas on how to put yourself out there and get potential clients to notice you:

1. Start with friends and acquaintances. Word-of-mouth is a great marketing strategy.
2. Starting an Instagram page and linking it back to your website. Blogging and posting work on social media are some of the ways you can market your work.
3. For more serious considerations, start up a LinkedIn account. You will be able to connect with people who work in the industry and more importantly, be able to apply for jobs directly. Make sure to have a few samples up on your profile along with recommendations from past clients.

When you get your first client, remember to do the work well and on satisfactory completion, add the work and the client’s feedback to your website for record.

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation: How to Balance

So when you have your freelance business up and running, you may find yourself to busy in the initial few days. But once you are in the groove, it will be easier to find time for other things- namely your preparation for any government or bank exams you may want to give.

Here are a few ideas to help you balance your freelance business and your exam preparation:

1. Schedule

Make a schedule for your learning and adapt it to your work. Remember, freelancing means you can be flexible with how and when you work. Take advantage of that and devote your good hours to learning. You can incorporate your work as a break.

2. Work Load

It may be exciting to start a new business on your own, but remember to not bite of more than you can chew. Manage your work load in such a way that your studies are not compromised.

3. Writer’s Block

A scary thing. Content writers, no matter the form or medium of content, will be familiar with writer’s block. This occurs when you know you have to write but are not inspired enough to write. In such cases, put off the work for a while and turn to learning. Preferrable something light, which does not require much application.

When you are refreshed, you can come back to your content and give it another shot.

4. Health

Maintaining your health will help make sure you stay on schedule and have enough stamina to handle both your freelancing business and your exam preparation. Eat light and exercise. You will get more out of your day this way.

5. Patience

The biggest thing of freelancing is patience. You may not get a client as soon as you start marketing yourself, may be not even for days or weeks. You should be patient. Add to your portfolio and consistently study. Having a routine will help distract and focus rather than overthink on why things are not going right.

Freelance Content Writing with Preparation: Conclusion

So while we have put out a guide, starting a freelance content writing business isn’t as easy as it sounds. It will require a lot of time and effort and most importantly, patience. However, with enough determination you will be able to have a freelance content writer business and support yourself during your exam preparation.

Balancing a business and exam preparation is also not easy, but since it is freelance, you have a lot more flexibility. With good planning, you can work and learn efficiently.

Best of luck!

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