How to Become a Freelance Web Copy Writer

Hopefully, you'll soon be doing this all day.

It is unknown how many new websites pop up in the web per day, but they need good writers in order to get their message across. If writing is your passion, then you can make a decent living writing content for web pages and blogs. As with any profession, you start off not making much and then work your way into more lucrative jobs. The language of the Internet is mostly American English, so writers with solid English writing skills are always in demand.

Things You'll Need

• Resume on Word or equivalent program
• PayPal account
• Bachelor's degree in any major (optional, but recommended)
• Non-fiction writing samples

Instructions

1. Graduate with a four-year Bachelor's degree in any subject, preferably in English, journalism or some other writing-focused major. You can still try for jobs without one, but having one does improve your chances of getting writing clients.

2. Do a lot of writing in your spare time or whenever you can schedule it, even on days when you don't have paying writing assignments. This exercises your mental writing muscles.

3. Get a PayPal account and at least one email address for your business needs. Most web content clients will pay only through PayPal, especially international clients.

4. Go online to any writing job websites you can find, including Craigslist, Online Writing Jobs and Problogger, and apply for all the jobs you can, even if you are not entirely qualified. Ignore all jobs that pay less than $3 per 400 words. As you progress, you can up this rate. Good entry-level Internet content jobs are for bloggers or for keyword article writers.

5. Get your assignments in on time. This is usually by email or by accessing a forum at the client's website. You do this just as you would get a homework assignment in on time. If your client does not like it, they should suggest corrections or what direction the assignment should take. Do the corrections as soon as possible.

6. Keep accurate records, either written on paper or on a spreadsheet program like Excel, or both. Write down the article title, client's name, pay amount, due date and pay date. This not only helps you keep track of your money, but helps you keep track of how much tax you will owe.

Tips & Warnings

• The more you write, the better you will get.

• Getting a PayPal account is free. Remove the payment limits when you get it, so you can be paid more than $500 per month.

• Knowledge of WordPress is great for blogging jobs.

• If you need web publication clips, join a site like Helium, where you can write about what you want to and get it immediately published onto the web. You can get a "writing mentor" if you go to the Helium Community forum and ask.

• Don't use freelance job listing sites that you have to pay to join. You won't make more than you would by using free web classifieds.

• Don't assume that you know written English as well as spoken English. They are different.

• Don't immediately quit your current job to be a web content writer. At least have a year's savings or spouse or parent to share expenses until you have your own business up and running, which can take a couple of years.

Resources

• Freelance Writing Jobs
• Online Writing Jobs
• Problogger Job Board
• What is Helium?
• Guide to Grammar and Writing