I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I took my business as a freelance content writer “full time”. It feels like just yesterday and forever at the same time.
It’s been such a busy year, full of new opportunities and challenges. Lots of change, growth and reflection. Throughout this time my freelance writing business has been stable and grown into something beyond what I’d imagined. I’m so grateful.
At some point soon I’m planning on writing a reflection on my first 12 months (well, more like 18 months) as a freelancer content writer. Until then, I thought I’d celebrate the journey so far by talking about some of the things I love about what I do.
It’s hard to narrow it down, but here are eight things I love about being a freelance content writer.
1. A schedule that works for me
The 9-5 sucks. It really does. I don’t know who invented it, but they’ve done most of us a huge disservice. I simply don’t believe most of us are meant to work in such a rigid way. Long days spent sat at a desk or in one space, marked with a (sometimes long) commute either side. It’s no fun and it doesn’t make sense at a time where remote working is easy to do.
My work schedule was one of the major reasons why I went freelance. I used to work part time – three days a week – but even that felt like “too much”. Which is weird, because these days I definitely rack up more than 30 hours per week – and that’s just on client work. But being freelance, and being a freelance content writer especially, your schedule is yours to set.
Freelance writing is such a flexible path when it comes to scheduling your day and week. You can write at whatever time of day suits you best. You can fit it in around parenting and caring responsibilities. You can take the weekends off, or take a midweek day off instead. You can work set hours a day or schedule in blocks of time in a seemingly random fashion.
I don’t think I’m at the point where my schedule totally works for me. I definitely work too much at the moment. But it’s getting there… slowly.
I’ve found that setting defined work days/periods and then scheduling with blocks makes sense for me. I’ll allocate time in 2-4 hour blocks, then schedule these into my calendar outline wherever they fit. It’s a mix of structure and flexibility, and there’s a lot of “give”.
The flexibility is a real essential for me. As a parent of two and someone who regularly deals with anxiety and stress, a rigid calendar just doesn’t work for me. I have to be able to move things around if there’s a school meeting, or swap one task for another if I need a less intense day. I’ve found freelance content writing works especially well for this as my deadlines tend to be on a weekly or monthly basis. This gives plenty of space in the week/month to play around with and make things work.
2. I can work from home in my cosy clothes
Everyone jokes about freelancers and home workers being sat at home in their PJs all day long. Sometimes they’re wrong, sometimes they’re right. While I’m not a fan of lounging around in my PJs on a work day (or any day, really), I definitely gravitate towards comfy clothes.
I spend a huge majority of my time working from home. I very rarely do video calls with clients. It doesn’t really matter what I’m wearing. Seeing as nobody can see me, I go for comfort above everything else. I’m usually in gym leggings and a t-shirt or jumper, sat cross-legged at my desk. Or on the sofa. I definitely work from the sofa a lot.
There’s something so relaxing about being able to work in clothes that feel comfortable. That doesn’t have to mean PJs or tracksuit bottoms, but just whatever feels comfy to you. There’s no “dressing up” involved in working from home. Not for me, at least.
I mean, sure, I do still have to dress in casual workwear sometimes. I work from a shared office one afternoon a week, so I kinda make an effort there. And obviously I don’t turn up to events (if I ever go to them) in gym leggings and a t-shirt. But most of the time, comfort is the go-to state. And I’m so grateful for that.
3. The variety of work
A bunch of people will tell you that you should have a niche. Find a niche and stick to it. The riches are in the niches. Go deep, not wide. That’s fun advice, but if you’re like me you’d probably get bored really quickly.
I massively appreciate the variety of work that I do as a freelance content writer. One day I’ll be working on an article for a wedding website. The next day I’ll be writing a piece about business broadband. There’s a real mix of niches and topics and I love the variety of it.
One thing I’ll say though is that while I enjoy the variety of different topics, I’ve learned to stay in my lane when it comes to the type of writing I do. There are some writers who specialise in one type of writing, and others who do a real mix of things. I prefer to focus on one – blog content.
I’d say around 90% of my work is writing blog content and articles for digital magazines. The only real reason why is because that’s what I enjoy. It’s also what I read, so it feels like a natural place to be.
4. My lovely clients
There’s no way I could write this and not mention my lovely clients. When you’re a freelancer you’re doing every job. That includes client communication and account management. You’ve got to enjoy working with your clients, otherwise it becomes tough for everyone involved.
I’m very grateful to work with some amazing clients. Sometimes it’s a one-off piece of work, or a contract to cover a few months. Other clients I work with on an ongoing basis. I work with a mix of clients and agencies and feel very lucky to have found such a great bunch of people. They’re organised, pay on time, offer generous feedback and make freelancing feel like the best choice.
There have been a few projects I’ve worked on where things didn’t feel quite right. You learn to just feel it out as you go and remember why it didn’t feel natural for you. Maybe it was that you felt under too much pressure or you got hit by impostor syndrome. Sometimes it’s that your communication style doesn’t match up with the client’s. And that’s okay. There’s plenty of freelance content writer clients out there who are a good match for you.
5. It’s relatively low stress
I know a few people will disagree with me here. I’d disagree with myself at times. On the whole though, I’ve found that being a freelance content writer is relatively low stress. Calmness is something I appreciate hugely, so this has been a really welcome surprise.
A lot of it comes down to the control you have over what you do. That’s the same for any freelance pursuits, I guess. You’re the one who decides when you work, how much you work and how much pressure you put on yourself.
With freelance content writing, I set my work on a weekly or monthly basis. There’s no set days or times where I work on something for one client or project. Nothing is set in stone. Everything in my schedule is pretty flexible, which helps when dealing with those inevitable unpredictable moments.
That’s not to say deadlines aren’t important, though. As a freelance content writer deadlines are hugely important. You’re part of an ecosystem where your work needs to be edited and approved, so sticking to deadlines is a must-do. The only times I’ve ever had to re-negotiate deadlines are due to extreme illness. It felt uncomfortable, I hate letting people down, but it’s unavoidable. That’s where having lovely clients comes in – not one of them added any pressure or stress to the situation.
There are times where what I do is stressful. Maybe a piece of work needs a more substantial revision than I’d scheduled for or I take on too much work for one month. But it’s nothing compared to the worries and constant pressure that come with other career choices.
6. It uses a mix of skills
I get bored easily. Doing the same thing every day, for every week of every month is my idea of career hell. I know this because I had one job where all I did was enter data from energy bills. It was easy, and the people were lovely, but it was boring work.
As a freelance content writer you get to use a real mix of skills. Writing is the obvious one, although sometimes it’s not even the most important. You spend a lot of time on research. Even if you know the subject matter well, you’ve still gotta find the right facts, figures and stats to support what you’re writing. And if you’re not an expert in the topic? A whole lot more research.
It’s not just content writing and research though. A lot of the content I write is designed to be better than what’s already out there, so there’s a whole lot of search engine optimisation (SEO) and user experience stuff that goes into it too. You need to know what you’re writing, why you’re writing it and why anyone should read it. It has to be valuable. It has to be meaningful. It has to help someone in some way. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t need to be published.
I’ve found that even though I specialise in freelance content writing, my other skills come in handy sometimes too. There have been times where I’ve helped out with email marketing campaigns, influencer marketing and social media strategy. Nothing you learn is useless. Especially digital skills.
7. It rarely feels like a chore
Writing is fun. It didn’t always feel like it in school, but in the real world it’s hugely rewarding. The work I do very rarely feels like a chore. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like work.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve said to people “I can’t believe people pay me to do this”. That’s not to undermine freelance content writing as a career. It’s the opposite, in fact. It’s disbelief that you can turn something you enjoy into a career. To get paid to write content that people will come across, read and hopefully take something away from.
When you spend your time doing something you enjoy and care about, it doesn’t feel much like work. I think that’s almost always true for creative pursuits like writing, filmmaking or photography. It’s your passion, so it feels very different to a traditional career.
Obviously there are times where being a freelance content writer does feel like work. It’s usually when I’ve overscheduled myself, or it’s a beautiful day outside and I have a deadline I need to hit. Sometimes it’s when I’ve taken on a project which isn’t a perfect match. Thankfully these are the exception not the everyday.
8. I’m always learning
In some careers curiosity could be a bad thing. If you’re a freelance content writer though, it’s fair game. In fact, it’s probably encouraged.
One of the best things about being a freelance content writer is that I’m always learning something new. I’d say around half of the content I write is on subjects I know well – like digital marketing, SEO and general lifestyle. The other half is often on topics that were completely or somewhat new to me – like software, mattresses or weddings.
Whether it’s a whole new topic or you find yourself down a path learning more about a subject you know, the learning part is a lot of fun. You gain a new appreciation for the work that everyone does. The expertise that people have in their own subject areas. The care, attention to detail and hard work that goes into every product or service you write about.
Being a freelance content writer involves a lot of research and learning new things. You build up a knowledge of pretty random facts about a range of topics. I still wouldn’t do well in a pub quiz though. My general knowledge is terrible.
Becoming a freelance content writer is the best career decision I made
It’s been over a year since I went freelance “full time”. It was the best career decision for me at the time, and it still is. There’s so much flexibility and reward that comes with being in control of the work you do and who you work with.
If you’re considering freelancing as a path, you might be interested in my post on how starting a business can help you with your life goals. It’s definitely helped me free up time to focus on mine. There’s also this really great guide on how to become a copywriter over at Joanna Journals.
Let me know if you’ve found this interesting and you’d like me to write more about freelancing or life as a freelance content writer. I’ll hopefully have more time for blogging soon and I’d love your ideas on what you’d like to see more of.
Header photo by Christin Hume via Unsplash.
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