I was a freelancer for years — mostly to supplement the income from my main job, but for almost a year, freelancing was the only source of income for me and my family.

It’s a wonderful way to make a living, and a horrible way.

Wonderful, because if you enjoy writing (or doing other types of freelance work such as photography, design, graphics etc.), you can do it for some great publications and get paid doing it. You have freedom, you can work with great people on your own terms, and the pay isn’t bad.

Horrible, because the pay isn’t wonderful (full-time work is generally better paying) unless you really hustle and produce a crap-load of assignments. And there isn’t any consistency — you aren’t sure if you’re going to make as much money this month as you did last month, and if you stop working, the income dries up. You are also responsible for billing and collecting, hustling for assignments, managing all the tasks that go with the various assignments you’re juggling.

Still, if you’re looking for a way to get some extra income, or a good transition between your current job and a full-time blogging career, freelancing is a great option.

How I Became a Blogging Freelancer

I was a freelancer for print magazines and newspapers for a good number of years. Before that, I had been a reporter and editor for my local newspaper for almost 10 years, and I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Freelancing for print publications was easy for me — I knew how to write, so getting assignments was easy. It was just a matter of finding the time to do all the work.

When I had a full-time job in addition to the freelancing, I had to find little pockets of time to make phone calls, do interviews, write articles, and do the admin work that goes along with freelancing.

When I started Zen Habits, and later decided blogging might actually be my calling, I decided to consciously migrate my freelance work from print to blogs. I still wanted to make the same amount of income, so I did it gradually, dropping print freelance work only as I gained regular blogging freelance gigs.

Here’s the process I used:

1. I scouted blogs that had a good readership, that had content I could write about, and that used freelancers. Most blogs don’t use freelancers — they’re personal, one- or two-person blogs. But some larger ones do, and I found the ones I liked: Lifehack.org, Web Worker Daily, Dumb Little Man and FreelanceSwitch are a few of the blogs I targeted.
2. I contacted the editors of each. I mentioned my freelance history, linked to my blog (which already had a lot of strong content), and suggested that I write regularly. I contacted these blogs one at a time, as I didn’t want to take on too many new gigs at once. My blog showed that I knew how to write for blogs, and that I already had a growing readership (probably over 1,000 at the time) that liked my writing.
3. As I was accepted by these blogs, one at a time, I dropped my print freelancing gigs. I worked the new gigs into my schedule.

I did my best to produce my most powerful content for each of these blogs — that’s important if you want to keep your job. At the end of each post, I was given a link to Zen Habits in the credits of the article, and that helped increase my readership and brand awareness.

At the same time, I linked to these posts from Zen Habits, which served two purposes: it helped grow the traffic of the blogs I was writing for, and it gave some useful content to Zen Habits readers.

Eventually I dropped freelancing as my blog income grew, but for more than a year, it was a great source of income and exposure.

How to Apply for a Freelancing Spot

To effectively apply for a freelancing gig, first scout out potential blogs. Find blogs that fulfill at least the first two of the following 3 criteria:

1. They hire freelance writers.
2. They fit in with the type of writing you’d like to do.
3. They have a large audience and a decent budget.

Figure out what the blog is looking for — what kind of writers they want, what kind of content they produce. They might even have a “hiring” page where they specify all this. Send a concise email, no more than a few paragraphs. All you need is to say that you like their blog, that you’re a freelance writer who would love to write for them, and that you have a great blog with well-written content that they can check out for more information.

If you get an email back, the editor will either decline your proposal (in which case, move on to another blog), or ask you some questions. Usually they’ll ask what rate you’d like to start with. I started low in my first pitch: $25 per post. But as I got more confident and as my blog grew, I asked for higher rates — $50, eventually $75 and $100 per post. That’s probably too high for many blogs, but you’ll need to get a feel for it.

Other Tips

Freelancing, as I said earlier, is something you can try from the start.

• You can put up a page on your blog advertising your freelance services — it’s good to include a portfolio if you can, or at least links to your best posts. Advertise this page from within the header or sidebar of you blog, so people will know it’s there, if they visit your blog.

• Be professional at all times. Don’t beg and don’t get mad if you’re rejected. Be sure your emails are courteous, friendly and spell-checked.

• A reference from another blogger you know, preferably one you’ve done a guest post for, can help.

• Guest posts are great because they go on your freelancing resume — saying you’ve written for a fairly large blog is a good credential, and if you’ve written for 3-5 of them, that’s even better.

• Freelancing doesn’t just apply to writing — you can hire out any services, from photography to graphic arts to website design to editing. Most of the above tips apply, or can be adapted, to any field.

• Keep track of your assignments and invoices. There are plenty of programs that can do this, but I just used a Google Spreadsheet. I’d put a line for each assignment, any details necessary, due date, and publication date. At the end of each month, I copied and pasted the assignments into a Google Doc that I’d formatted as an invoice, and sent it to the editor.

• This is obvious, but be on time. Breaking deadlines is not a good reflection on you as a freelancer, and it gives the editor an extra hassle he or she doesn’t really want. Make it easy on the editor — turn it in on time and do any extra work that will make the editor’s job easy.

• Communicate well. Another obvious one, but neglected by many freelancers. Be sure you know up front what the editor is looking for in an assignment, and what the terms of the assignment are — due date, length, rate of pay, format, any other requirements.

• Do an amazing job. Nothing recommends a freelancer better than great work. Put your best into every assignment, and be sure to check it over for quality. Don’t have spelling errors or other obvious errors that should have been caught and deleted.

Author: Leo Babauta