How to Boost Your Credibility as a Freelance Writer

Updated: October 28, 2020

If you’re new in freelance writing, how can you make prospect clients believe you?  Are there simple steps you can take to increase your confidence in promoting your services?

Here are five things that can help you boost your credibility as a freelance writer.

Five Ways to Boost Your Credibility as a Freelance Writer

1. Written Work

You need to have sample works that you can show your target clients.  

Start a personal blog.  Your articles don’t have to be hosted on a paid website.  There are third-party platforms with an existing audience where you can publish and share your work.  WordPress, Medium, and LinkedIn are some of them.

If you’re into copywriting, you can even start a Facebook page and share your own rendition of typical sales copy or advertisements you find online.

When you create written materials regularly, regardless of the type of content, you are improving your skills, too.  It helps you notice how you are faster and smarter in molding your thoughts into words.  So keep writing and adding to your sample works.

Read our blog post about creating your portfolio.

2. Reviews

Find people who will review your work.  Talk to friends or co-workers who can share something great about your writing skills.

Request for recommendations on LinkedIn.  If you’re a creative writer, you can send a Facebook message to a relative who has read your poems or short stories in the past.

As soon as you work with a few clients, ask them for a review or testimonial that you can publish in your portfolio.  I keep a Google Docs file of all my client reviews to use these in sales pages or proposals I create.

3. Influence

Online presence creates influence and will help people remember you as a freelance writer.  Join communities of writers and freelancers. Here are some Filipino Facebook groups for freelancers that we recommend:

• Online Filipino Freelancers
• Freelancers Hub Philippines
• Freelance Writers of the Philippines
• Copywriting Dojo
• Email Marketing Philippines

We also have our own community of writers! Join us on Pen Movers.

Remember, you don’t always need to join a new social media platform. Look at what you are part of first. If you’re into writing quotes or blog posts, you can share some of your work on your Instagram account.

4. Technique

Attending seminars and getting certifications can create a professional impression.  Learn techniques to improve your skills.  

Aside from writing, these are the complementary abilities you may want to consider under your belt:

• Project management.  Even if you can create an exceptional ebook or blog but couldn’t deliver client requirements on time, you’ll have a problem.  Knowledge in project management can help you control your time and resources to provide quality outputs.
• Branding and design.  Most writers and content creators need to create images or videos.  Learning branding and design principles will be an advantage.
• Marketing.  When you take the hat of a freelancer, you are your own marketer.  You can hire someone else to promote your services, but that will cost you some cash. Minimize expenses when you’re just starting. Understanding basic marketing principles can help you with pricing and promotion strategies that can land you more clients.

5. Execution

Create a plan on how to go about launching your freelance writing career.  Then execute! The fastest way to gain confidence is to practice what you know.  

Here’s a simple process you can repeat and get used to:

• Write Sample Works
• Send Proposals
• Close Deals
• Complete Project
• Evaluate
• Repeat Step 1

Note: The project you completed will now become part of your sample work

Watch this Video

Remember the acronym W-R-I-T-E to build your confidence and credibility my friend.  

• Written Works
• Reviews
• Influence
• Technique
• Execution

Recommended Online Course

Learn to build your portfolio, choose your niche, get rid of the fear of rejection, and many more! Jumpstart your career as a freelance writer from this online course, Freelance Writing Road Map.