When you first start pursuing your goals of being a full-time freelance writer, you’ll find writing can be hard. But like any skill, writing well and quickly gets easier with practice.
Start off by writing quick pieces on a variety of topics. If you don’t have an assignment to work on, go to a site like hubpages.com and work your way through the categories, writing lenses on as many different subjects as possible. This will hone your ability to write on unfamiliar topics, and build your research skills at the same time. With any luck, your lenses will also bring in some extra recurring income a few months down the line.
If you have a blog or a website of your own, you can write articles for sites like EzineArticles.com with links back to your site. This will build your traffic while keeping your writing skills strong. You should also, naturally, write something for your own website daily when possible.
Blogs, article sites and clients will often have different ‘voices’ and styles. Flex your writing muscles by changing up your writing depending on the site you’re writing for. Try writing in the first person on your own blog, second person on Squidoo, and third person on EzineArticles.com. It can be hard to be consistent when switching narrative forms at first, but the more you work at it, the more effortless it will become.
If you write an article for one site and one audience, try to repurpose it for a different audience with a different tone. For example, if you write about how hot tubs can improve your health for a Squidoo lens, consider writing on the same subject from a business perspective –why companies should have a hot tub for their employees to use — for EzineArticles.
Be sure to include all of your writing in your online portfolio. You’ll build a healthy list of links to your articles, and give prospective clients a good idea of what you’re capable of.
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