So you want to become a freelance writer? Well, if you’re someone who has a good grasp of the English language you’re closer than you think.

The internet is full of writers’ websites and resources that’ll not only help you become a freelance writer but also help you earn more.

But if you’re a beginner freelance writer the many websites and writing resources online can be overwhelming. This leads to a common problem: which ones to follow and where to start.

So, I’ve curated a list of 9 websites that’ll  solve this problem. Aside from these sites, I’ll point you in the direction of extra resources. All the resources are free. Write Worldwide receives no commission from these.

1. Writers in Charge

Professional freelance writer and blogger – Bamidele Onibalusi – shares practical advice on how to be in charge of your writing career. He’s no stranger to the Write Worldwide team. I’m sure you’ll recall our recent interview.

In July 2016 he shared a strategy to help freelance writers earn $1000 in less than two months. He created a pseudonym – Joseph Ola – and documented step by step how to earn the $1000. He achieved the goal in lightning fast speed- 37 days to be exact.

This is the strategy we followed to earn our first $1000 in two months. If you’re new to freelance writing I highly recommend it.

Resources 

1. Earn Your First $1000 as a Freelance Writer Challenge: My Strategy Revealed.
2. Sign-up to his mailing list you’ll get a master list of 110 websites that pay writers.

2. Writing Revolt

Jorden Roper went from being fired to earning $5000/month in only four months. She devotes most of her time to creating content for Writing Revolt – an online resource that helps freelance writers make a full-time income.

In a recent interview with Jorden, she gave advice for aspiring freelance writers. Some of the key points were:

1. The importance of building your writer’s website.
2. The power of cold-pitching to land high paying clients.
3. Being professional, but not letting it mask your personality.

No one embodies this last point better than Jorden. You only have to look at her friendly, conversational tone in her blog posts. Her personality is always on the forefront.

Resources

1. Free Make Money Freelance Writing Course
2. How to Set-up Your Freelance Writer Website

3. Make a Living Writing

In comparison, The Make a Living Writing Blog has been around for many years. Carol Tice owns the website. She’s been a freelance writer since 2005 and worked with several top clients like Forbes and Entrepreneur.

This is a must-follow blog for any freelance writer regardless of where they are in their writing career. Not only does she share free valuable content, but she also offers a membership community. The Freelance Writers Den is a community which connects you with thousands of writers, provides ample resources, and offers a job board.

Resources

1. Carol has a dedicated page for newbies who want to become freelance writers.
2. Sign up to her mailing list and you’ll receive a free ebook with 100+ freelance writing questions answered.

4. Diary of a Freelancer

Zoe Wells established Diary of a Freelancer in 2015. Though the site itself is rather young, Zoe has over four years experience in content marketing.

She offers different perspectives on her blog. For example, in a recent post about how to become a freelance writer she suggests that new freelance writers keep their niche fairly general to start. She also recommends that newbie writers select several niches as opposed to the one.

I agree with her because often people get so hung up on selecting a niche to start that they never start. So keeping things general minimises these road blocks. Besides, as you write the niches often choose you; you don’t have to choose them.

Resources

Aside from reading the above post, sign up for her free email course, From Blogger to Freelance Writer.

5. ProBlogger

Darren Rowse, owner of ProBlogger has built a website that is the go-to resource blogging, whether it’s writing, optimising blog posts or growing your blog.

It’s a great resource for those setting up their writer’s website and wanting to grow their business. You also have access to the ProBlogger Job Board. Take note that there is a lot of competition on the job board.

Be sure to follow the instructions and think of ways to differentiate your pitch from the competition. For example, when I applied for a job I applied through the online portal and contacted the relevant decision maker directly. In doing this I was recently shortlisted for a job among 150 submissions.

Resources

1. Starting a Blog
2. Make Money Blogging

6. FreelancerKenya

Are you from Kenya? Whilst majority of the content on this site caters for freelance writers from Kenya, all writers can benefit.

The owner Walter Akolo has over six years experience as a freelance writer and internet marketer. He has also trained more than 900 writers and bloggers.

Resources

Sign-up for his free mini-course for freelance writers.

7. Leaving Work Behind

Becoming a freelance writer is one thing, but if you want to succeed you need to treat it like a business.

Professional blogger and owner Tom Ewer helps people create profitable online businesses by showcasing what’s worked for him. He’s not an advocate of get-rich-quick schemes and emphasises the importance of hard work and persistence.

Resources 

Tom offers a FREE Leaving work behind Blogging Mentorship program.

This program gives you access to an experienced team to guide you on your blogging journey. They’ll help you install and setup WordPress, offer you a personalised theme, explain how to customise your site, show you how to write engaging posts, and much, much more.

They’re able to offer it for free because they get a commission when you sign up for web hosting through their recommended provider.

So, if you’re struggling to set-up your writer’s website this may be the resource to help you. In the process, you’ll also get free professional blogging mentorship. If that’s not a steal then I don’t know what is.

8. JacobMcMillen.com

Jacob is a copywriter, web designer and content marketing specialist and his blog is jam-packed with content to help freelance writers. He shares his expertise with many top marketing blogs like HubSpot, Kissmetrics and Crazy Egg.

I came across this website last year sometime. I love everything about the site from the design to the high-value content. You can also see how focused he is on the visitors, with a landing page that reads, “I use the power of words to increase your online revenue”.

Resources 

1. Interview with Aaron Orendorff on how to become a freelance writer. Aaron recently made $19k in one month.
2. The No-risk Pitch Method I Used to Land My First $5K Writing Gig –  he shows how he landed a $5k writing gig despite no writing samples – which the client asked for, for that specific gig.

9. WriteWorldwide

We couldn’t resist including our own website in this list. WriteWorldwide was launched in March 2017, following a challenge create by Bamidele Onibalusi.

WriteWorldwide provides, advice, tips and bucket loads of free content to help writers who use English as a second language (ESL writers) succeed in the world of freelance writing. Though the target is ESL writers there’s content to help any freelance writer.

Resources

1. How to Build Your Foundation as a freelance writer
2. Sign-up and join a growing community and receive our 6 email series, “6 Simple Steps to land Your First Freelance Writing Gig.”

Wrapping it Up

The many websites and online resources for writers can cause overwhelm. For someone wanting to become a freelance writer, it can be crippling, with questions like:

1. Which websites do I follow?
2. Which resources do I use?
3. How do I even start?

But this shouldn’t stop you on your quest to become a freelance writer. Follow these 9 websites, consumer their free resources, and implement the strategies. Do it, and you’ll be well on your way to not only becoming a freelance writer but a successful one at that.