How to Become a Freelance Writer

How to Become a Freelance Writer

So, you want to become a freelance writer?

You’re in the right place. Freelance writing is the most common path for people who join Location Rebel. It’s how I started when I first joined LRA over 10 years ago.

This blueprint is going to show you the basic stuff you need to know about getting started with freelance writing.

What you'll find here is what I would do right now if I were starting from scratch. 

These paths, strategies, and tactics are things I’ve developed over the last few years when I focused on niching, made a huge jump in my income, and built a solid, reliable base of clients.

Just because this is the path I took and the way it worked for me does not mean it’s the only way out there. 

So keep that in mind. I know this path works, but you might find a few shortcuts or different approaches that work just as well (or even better) for you.

All of that is ok. The goal here is two-fold:

  1. Get you started freelance writing (today).

  2. Make real money doing it.


Here’s how it’s going to work.

This course is a set of phases that generally go in order.

Skip around if you want, especially if you’ve got the basics down. But, it never hurts to start at the beginning as a way to refresh your knowledge and pick up a few tips along the way.

Before we get started, there’s one more thing to note.

Becoming a freelance writer is hard work. It’s not difficult, but it takes some time, consistency, and patience. When I started freelancing, I made a ton of mistakes along the way, mostly because I didn’t have the patience to put in real-time and be consistent.

Our hope is this guide is going to save you from a lot of those mistakes.

We’ve broken this blueprint into phases. Within each, we’ll show you what you need to know to become a freelance writer. As you might have guessed, there is a lot to learn about freelancing and that can overwhelm people.

To make it a little bit easier, we’re covering the basics here. If you want more information on a particular topic, we’ve got a page at the very end of the guide (in Phase 5) called Further Reading. You’ll find more recommended reading there.

Also, feel free to ask any questions in the forums.

Of course, I’m sure you’ll make some mistakes along the way, I still do, that’s life. But I’m confident that if I had access to something like this when I was starting (and followed it), I would have started making real money a lot sooner.

This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, effort, some skill, and luck. 

The more time and effort you put into building your expertise, the luckier you’ll be — at least that’s how it’s worked for most of the freelancers I know.

If you’re ready to dig in, follow the path, and put in the work, you’re in the right place.

Let’s get started.

4. How to Become a Freelance Writer

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  • How to Become a Freelance Writer

Freelance Writing: Phase 1: Introduction

  • You Can Do This
  • What is Freelance Writing?
  • Freelance Writing FAQs
  • Things to Remember Before You Start
  • Simple Blog Post Template.pdf

Freelance Writing: Phase 2: Preparing Yourself to Start

  • Thinking About Niches
  • Building Your Portfolio
  • Airtable Outreach Template
  • Google Sheets Outreach Template

Freelance Writing: Phase 3: Thinking Like a Business

  • Tools That Help You Start
  • Invoicing and Payments
  • Setting Your Rates
  • Contracts and Proposals
  • Standard Freelance Contract Template.docx
  • LRA General Pricing Guide

Freelance Writing: Phase 4: Marketing

  • Creating Your Client Profile
  • Finding Potential Clients
  • Walkthrough Exercise
  • Pitching and LOIs
  • Creating Your Marketing Mix
  • A Big List of Places to Find Writing Work
  • Simple Pitch Templates.docx

Freelance Writing: Phase 5: Start Writing

  • Building Your Writing Habits
  • What Matters When Creating Content
  • Writing Blog Posts
  • Final Thoughts
  • Further Reading
  • Simple Blog Outline Template.pdf