Discover the essential skills needed to succeed as a freelance writer in the competitive gig economy. Learn from top editors what abilities can make you stand out and boost your marketability. Develop your skills with online courses from Learn from Fiverr.
Beyond Writing, Freelancers Are Wanted for Their Skills
In the US, there are more than 57 million independent contractors, or 36% of the labour force. And each of them is battling for a slice of the gig economy. Therefore, if you work as a freelance writer, you must possess more than just writing skills. You must be able to demonstrate to potential clients that you possess a variety of skills that you can apply to produce high-quality work and advance their brand or magazine.
For this reason, we surveyed five editors to find out exactly what they look for in a freelancer and what abilities writers may utilise to stand out in the burgeoning freelance market. They stated the following.
1. SEO expertise
"When a freelancer exhibits a fundamental mastery of SEO, I'm highly impressed. It can be as easy as including headings, bullet points, and organically occurring keyword interspersion into the writing. Although I don't expect my writers to be industry specialists, having some experience makes them significantly more desirable candidates. Michael Boley, Zappos' Content Marketing Manager
2. HTML formatting and CMS.
Today's content is mainly found online. When a freelance writer is able to publish and structure their own content directly in a website content management system (CMS), including knowing how to choose and use photographs, use headers and subheadings, link to pertinent content, etc., it is very beneficial to marketers.
For designing your material, it helps to be familiar with popular CMS platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Joomla, and Drupal and have a basic understanding of HTML." — Nancy Huang, Travel Tripper's director of marketing
3. Use of social media.
"We appreciate dealing with independent contractors who are eager to promote their published work on their social media accounts. It conveys their pride in their work while also exposing their own followers to fresh and interesting information from a company they know and trust." — Team Lead at the Quicken Loans Zing Blog, Victoria Araj
4. Knowledge of brand voice
Before submitting their own projects, the best freelancers review our current portfolio of work. They become thoroughly familiar with our editorial style manual. They are familiar with our diction, tone, and structure. This helps me visualise their work appearing alongside ours in print, saves me time throughout the review process, and gives me confidence that they will represent our brand effectively the following time. — Rachael Perry, HubSpot's managing editor