If you are a writer trying to find a place for yourself on Upwork, there are several skills that will help you stand out from the crowd and land jobs and clients.
As a freelance writer, you must stay in a constant learning mindset, since everyday clients need new freelancers with skills that are necessary to make their business grow.
Learning how to do your job in the best way, how to attract clients and maintain those relationships, how to sell your work and promote yourself are skills that will undoubtedly position you better within your niche.
1. Excellent Writing Skills
A writer needs to master the language in which they write because if they doubt the ideas they want to convey or to spell, syntax, or any grammatical errors, it will be very difficult for others to understand.
Although anyone can doubt about some language issues, it is important to use all the resources that help you to improve and refine the technique.
Among them, you can consult dictionaries or take specialized courses to expand your knowledge of the language you work with, read guides or watch tutorials and tips on YouTube. The better you have command of the language, the better writer you will be.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- The Complete Punctuation Course: English Writing – Grammar
- English Sentence Structure Course | Speaking and Writing
- Grammar Boot Camp: Easy Lessons for Common Writing Mistakes
2. SEO
One of the skills that generate the most demand among writers is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This is a technique that is included in articles on web pages to achieve a good position in search engines.
This means that when implementing SEO correctly when you write an article on ‘how to cook potatoes’, when someone does that search in Google, your article will appear among the first results or on the first page.
This is of great interest to many clients as the aim of many writing jobs on Upwork are for creating content online. When your written content ranks well for your client, you can be assured that positive reviews and additional work will start flowing in.
It is also worth mentioning that if you implement that knowledge in your blog and articles you are likely to find yourself exposing your portfolio website to many more sets of eyes. Which really means increasing exposure of your services to potential clients.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- First Steps of SEO: Keyword Research and Website Optimization
- How to Write SEO Content and Improve Traffic to Your WordPress Site
- Blog Content Basics: Content Ideas to Increase Your Reach
3. Be Creative
In the world of writing, finding and delivering new ideas is an important factor; no one will want to read or listen to the same things that other media have published repeatedly.
Being creative means to be able to approach a topic from a different perspective, explore points that have been ignored before and incorporate visual tools that help the reader.
New ideas or being able to “flip” an already established idea is a fundamental skill in a copywriter, especially if they will be dedicated to the field of creative writing for advertising.
The good news is that you do not have to be born a genius or “funny” or eloquent to be creative, but rather (contrary to what many think) this skill is acquired and stimulated in many ways.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Fundamentals of Creative Writing: A project-based course to strengthen your writing skills.
- Creative Writing: Creative Exercises For New Writing Ideas
- Accredited Creative Writing Course – Master Tips For Writing
4. Mastering Digital Programs or Tools
Managing software and online tools is a skill that writers should not ignore either. Each software you learn to use is a new skill that you can include in your resume, and you can even specialize in some of them.
For example, there are clients who are looking for writers who know how to handle the WordPress platform or programs like Scrivener.
If you get a job as a copywriter or even if you do it as a hobby, chances are that others will end up reading you through a screen; therefore knowing and understanding technology is another of the fundamental skills in this trade.
Mastering digital programs and tools are necessary to know how and where to position a word in the text without making it too repetitive, to know how to headline so that they find your content easier, to become familiar with content managers, and to be able to include other types of formats that give dynamism to your text and make it more attractive.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Scrivener 3 | Full Course on How to Use Scrivener 3 for Mac
- Start Your First WordPress Blog | Step-by-Step for Beginning Bloggers
- All In One :- WordPress + Blog + Yoast SEO + Article Writing
5. Get Clients
Clients are an essential part of every freelancer’s career. To generate profits with your work, you should know how to reach clients who are interested in your work and in hiring you.
This process can be a bit frustrating if you do not have the necessary tools or knowledge, but if you take the time to learn how to relate, your freelance business will start to grow exponentially.
This skill is essential in such a competitive environment as Upwork, where there are thousands of other freelancers.
Learning how to get clients is not only about reaching new people who hire you, but about maintaining those working relationships so that they are lasting and positive over time.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Marketing For Freelancers: Get Clients With No Budget
- P.S. Write Soon: Retain Your Clients And Grow Your Business
- The Freelancing Guide: The Secret to Strong Client Relationships
6. Good Communication
This seems obvious to say, but one of the most important professional freelance skills is good communication. However, sometimes you can fail to maintain fluid communication with the client once the project is underway.
To avoid this, establish from the beginning the frequency with which you will report on the progress of the work. You do not need to meet. You can use tools like Hangouts or Skype to talk remotely. The idea is that the client feels cared for and sees that communication flows.
But regardless of the way you choose, what matters is that you know how to communicate to the client about the progress and requirements you have.
Whenever you need to write to them, watch your spelling and writing. Make sure everything is clear and easy to understand and above all, do not disappear when responding to the customer.
It does not mean that you have to answer every email immediately, but it does mean that you establish a schedule in the morning and in the afternoon to respond to all your pending emails.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Communication Techniques For Mastering Communication Skills
- Email Etiquette
- Effective Communication Strategies at Workplace
7. Research
This is part of every writer’s job, but many do not take this into account. When it comes to research, it is not only about reading about the subject you should write about but also about the public to whom this article will be directed.
Before writing about a topic, it is essential to research to get an idea of the language you should use, the correct terms or concepts you should avoid. Writing about medical topics is not the same as writing about social media.
It is fair to say, any writer who writes without knowing anything about their reader is a writer who will potentially fail. If the writer does not know who they are writing to or who their audience is, then it is like shooting an arrow without aiming.
Understanding the needs of your readers and being able to align your content with these needs is one of the most important skills to be successful as a writer.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Research! Strategies for Writers
- Think Before You Write: How to Organize Research Ideas
- Get Started With Customer Research (When You Don’t Know Where To Start)
8. Editing
A very necessary quality in any freelance writer and one that without a doubt you should start to cultivate is to be editing your content whenever you can.
Maybe once is not enough and it is better to read and reread what you write to correct mistakes and give a more verbose and professional character to your text or work.
Going over your final draft with fresh eyes will will avoid mistakes and in the long run, build a better professional credibility and appreciation.
Sometimes you will also find clients looking for someone to proofread their texts, so knowing how to edit a text is something that can open more professional doors for you.
To develop this skill you must learn about rules of grammar, writing and also know what the client needs, how they want to transform that text, or what tone they want to give to it.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- How to Find and Correct Writing Errors: The Proofreading Guide
- Kickstart a Freelance Editor & Proofreader Career on Upwork
- Writing Editing Masterclass -Content Editing, Copyediting, and Proofreading
9. Marketing
As a freelancer, you should learn to promote your own work since that is how potential clients can find out that you exist and that you offer the services they need.
There are many ways to do marketing and it is a matter of finding the way that best suits your objectives and needs, however, it is good that you learn the basics of these strategies in general.
By having this skill you will be able to know how to make yourself known within the Upwork platform and any other that you decide to use.
Remember that within a platform where there are so many other freelancers, you must find a way to stand out. Knowing how to promote your services will put you ahead of the majority who sit and wait to be offered a job.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- 50 Digital Marketing Hacks – Social Media Marketing Growth
- How to Develop an Effective SEO & Digital Marketing Strategy
- The Ultimate SEO, Social Media & Digital Marketing MASTERY
10. Ability To Stay Updated And Open To Changes
Every day you can witness the birth of a new technique, a new platform, or a new tool that directly influences your writing work. Keeping up with all these news requires a lot of effort but it is certainly possible to be aware of the most relevant or important ones.
One tactic you can use is to evaluate which of these developments are really valuable to your work and which trends are postponed or directly not contributing enough to you.
Being up-to-date on everything related to content writing implies putting it into practice. Therefore, in addition to informing you about trends and news, you should invest time in not being just theory.
Leaving the comfort zone of content creation is more than recommended, but you must make sure that the time you dedicate to it means palpable benefits in your texts.
Following this advice will help you to find a job but if you need more tips, check this article about how to apply for freelance jobs.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Web Writing Secrets: Create Content That Captivates Your Audience
- 12 Technical & Business Writing Power Techniques for Success
- Comprehensive Strategies to Inspire Your Writing Muse
11. Ingenuity
Using humor as a turning point with your audience can be a winning point.
Creating extensive content that guarantees a complete development of the theme in question is something you must do but this does not imply that you cannot combine it with lighter pieces and that they play with ingenuity to be different and irresistibly attractive.
Of course, the usefulness of this skill also depends a lot on the niche in which you operate, but being able to create entertaining and unique texts is a skill that clients value very much and that can open doors for certain niches.
To add this dose of ingenuity, the content writer has a series of catchphrases to lean on: a bit of humor, a reference or quote of interest, even an image or a gif can spice up the content, enriching it as much as needed.
To impact the audience through writing, you have to look for elements of impact and humor certainly is.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Humor Writing: Write Funny for the Internet
- Writing Funny: Introduction to Humor Writing
- Humor Writing: How to Think, Write, Speak, and Be Funnier!
12. Organization
Not only because it may work for several clients, but also because for everything there are going to be deadlines and editorial calendars to meet.
If a writer delivers something late, it gives a bad image and also takes time away from the client to review the final work.
It is also likely that to write you need to follow guidelines that are crucial to obtain the result that the client expects, so do not be dispersed and try to have all your work in order.
Being organized will allow you to deliver all your work on time and you can do everything you need to do within the estimated time. If you work without keeping an order, you will surely waste time trying to figure out how you can do certain things.
This skill will make your client see that you are someone who works professionally and that you are someone who takes their job seriously. It will also help you project responsibility and trust, key aspects for a client to want to continue working with you.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Note Taking Essentials: How to Keep Organized and Effective Notes
- Notion 101: Organize Your Personal & Work Life
- Todoist 101: Learn How to Manage Tasks Effectively
13. Constant Learning
Although you do not need a specific university degree to find a job as a writer on Upwork, if you want to find clients on this platform, you should keep learning new things constantly.
For this, you can take courses or certifications, but the point of this is that you show your clients that you keep learning every day to improve the quality of your work. As a freelance writer, you cannot stay behind the competition.
If you take care of doing courses and studying, this will make your profile become more valued than those who do not have any course or certification.
By taking courses, your services are likely to be valued at a higher cost, you will acquire more experience and chances are that clients will want to have you in their work team.
If you want to stay ahead of the writing niche, try to be better prepared academically than the average.
If you are interested in improving in this area, you can take the following courses:
- Ninja Writing: The Four Levels Of Writing Mastery
- Professional Technical Writing: Advance Your Writing Skills
- Introduction to Content Writing: Writing Principles, Tactics & Career Options
Professional Tips for a Successful Freelance Editor
1. Define the Audience for Which You Will Write
The first step is usually the most important and this is no exception. Therefore, answer: who will you write for? What is the type of audience that you intend to conquer?
In the world of freelance writing, each audience segment has specific characteristics, which will require a greater or lesser degree of skill.
2. Take Count Of Your Talents And Abilities
A copywriter will not only write articles for various publications but can also bring other talents to the company they will work with. Therefore, document your main skills, which will be part of your CV, such as the languages you speak and the ability to create content in different formats.
3. Define Well What Your Professional Goals Are
It is an important part of the process, as it will help you find the ideal place for you to develop your talent. Where do you want to go? Whether you decide that this will be your main occupation, or you dedicate yourself to it occasionally, in any of the cases you must be absolutely responsible for the delivery times that your clients demand.
4. Write With One Goal in Mind
Whether you need to inform, entertain, or educate your readers, your work must faithfully reflect that intention. Also, always try to write in a professional, but simple way, since a large part of the audience will not appreciate the bulky or elaborate language.
5. Continue Preparing Day By Day
Reading up on trends in your industry, as well as topics of general interest, is an essential part of any successful writer.
Alongside you should continue studying everything that is necessary for the proper development of your work, even learning new languages to offer a broader catalog of services, or specializing in a single genre of writing, each new skills expands your horizons.
Becoming a freelance on upwork will bring you benefits, great experiences, and help broaden your professional reach to a worldwide client base.
You Can Become an Excellent Writer
Upwork is an excellent platform to boost your career as a freelance writer and if you have the right skills, you will be able to get loyal clients with whom to establish a lasting working relationship.
This does not mean that if you do not have these skills you will not be able to find a job on this website, but you can take the initiative to expand your knowledge and grow professionally.
In addition to these important skills, being consistent, persistent, and patient will also help you land jobs and improve your reputation within Upwork.