Finding a side hustle that needs the flexibility of a mom’s schedule can feel impossible and overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Many side hustles allow you to work around your busy schedules, but one of the best ones to consider is freelance writing. Why is becoming a freelance writer an excellent option for moms?
What Is A Freelance Writer?
A freelance writer is someone who writes copy or content for a company. These services could be website copy, email content, social media copy, or even articles for companies like Forbes. You will have a deliverable date to have the copy due, but in the meantime, you can work whenever and however you see fit.
Work in the early hours of the morning or late at night. You can work in a park or bed. You can work however it fits your schedule as long as you give the deliverable by the due date.
What If I Don’t Have Experience?
If you don’t have experience, that’s okay. There are many ways to build your portfolio and get clients as a new freelance writer. If you want to write blog posts, write a blog post for a general company in your ideal industry, then add it to your portfolio. If you want to write ads or website copy, do the same thing!
Create something to show your skill to your clients. Once you have worked enough and brought results to your clients, you can also add those to your portfolio.
What About AI?
AI like ChatGPT and Jasper.ai have certainly been a concern in 2023 for creatives. But, as someone who has worked in the industry for several years, you don’t need to be concerned if you’re great at your job!
If you can bring a client’s idea to life, obtain results, and have a can-do attitude, AI won’t be a problem for you. But, if you’re just writing because it’s easy, this may not be your right side hustle.
What Makes Freelance Writing The Perfect Side Hustle For Moms?
Becoming a freelance writer brings so many benefits to moms! Here are why you should consider offering writing services as a freelancer as your next side hustle.
Flexibility
This perk was mentioned earlier, but if you give your deliverable by the due date, you can work when it works best in your schedule. Depending on the client and the assignment, you may have a say in when your due date can be.
Take on a project or two when you need it, or don’t take on any when you’re busy or on vacation. Communicate with your clients and set your schedule.
Set Your Rates
Because you are a freelancer, you can set your rates or choose and choose to work with clients who will pay your rate. Your rates will depend on your experience, results, and how comfortable you feel charging your clients.
But, if you choose to work with publications, they may have a set rate for their freelancers. Usually, this is between $0.05-$0.50/word (may be higher or lower depending on the publication), but you can choose whether you move forward with them.
If the client doesn’t have a budget or allows you to negotiate your rate, you can choose to charge hourly or per word. Whichever you feel makes the most sense for the project with your client. Charge anywhere between $15-$50+/hour or $0.05-$0.75+/word.
Choosing your rates makes freelance writing one of the most popular side hustles for moms!
Low Startup Costs
If you don’t want to invest much money into your next side hustle, freelance writing may be your perfect new adventure. As long as you have a computer, you’re set! However, depending on how serious you are about your new journey, you may want to invest in some software. But we’ll get into that more later.
Choose Your Specialty
Whether you’re experienced with writing or brand new, you can choose what you offer. If you want just to do content writing and write blog posts or social media captions, you can do that.
If you’re more experienced and want to do journalistic work, you can do that too. Or, you just offer to redo a company’s website with better copy. Offer your strengths, work on your weaknesses, and become a fantastic freelance writer within your speciality.
Creative Freedom
Have a creative side? Then this is a great side hustle for you. Don’t have a creative side? It’s still a great option. Because you can choose your speciality, you can decide how creative you want to be. If you have a scientific side, write and conduct research for companies. You can unleash your creativity as a freelance writer!
Every Day Is Different
As a mom, it can be easy to get lost in routine and repetitiveness. But as a freelance writer, you will work with many clients and on various projects; every day will always be different. While this may feel overwhelming, it shouldn’t be! Work when it fits your schedule; just work on diverse projects that are fulfilling.
Meet Amazing People
It can also be hard to make new friends as a mom. But with this side hustle, friends are everywhere. You can choose to only work with clients who are also working moms. Or, meet friends who work with the same company.
You can also meet many supportive and wise leaders. Meet and work with people who want the best for you and push you to be your best.
Outsource Extra Work
If you realize you’re getting overwhelmed with the amount of work you’ve taken on, you can outsource your tasks. You can outsource writing tasks to other working moms or even outsource the more mundane or administrative tasks to a virtual assistant.
Depending on what you offer, you can hire a general virtual assistant, or a specialized virtual assistant, like a social media VA. Doing this can grow your side hustle into an agency, allowing you to bring in more money by doing less work.
Cons Of Being a Freelance Writer
No matter how great a side hustle may sound, there are always cons. Unfortunately, this applies to freelance writing as well. Here are some not-so-good things to consider before jumping into freelance writing.
Finding Clients
No matter how many people say finding clients is easy, it takes time. It will take a while before clients find and come to you with work. So, expect not to make money in the first few months of pursuing this side hustle.
But the great news is that you can offer incentives for your clients to refer you to their network in the future. Like, a free blog post or social media post. There are strategies for attracting and retaining clients, but it takes a while to find them when starting.
Marketing Yourself
You will have to spend time marketing yourself and your services. Depending on how serious you are about freelance writing depends on how much time you will need to invest in marketing. Marketing yourself can be simply cold emailing clients to creating content on Instagram. It can be challenging to be a successful freelance writer if you don’t market yourself, especially if you’re new.
However, you can spend the time marketing yourself when it fits your schedule. And depending on your experience and how serious you are about freelancing, clients will eventually find you with little effort on your part. It does take a while to get to this point, though.
Little Stability
Freelancing brings freedom and no income caps, but it also brings instability. Clients can say they love your work one day and then fire you the next (however, this depends on the contract between you and your client).
If there is a recession or your client suddenly isn’t doing well financially, it may be hard to find work. So, while you can work whenever you want, be prepared that there are many inconsistencies within freelancing life!
Scammers
Scammers are very real in the freelancing world. People will take advantage of new freelancers, not pay them for their work or send them a bounced check. But, there are some key indicators to know if you may be talking with a scammer.
- Hires you without a Zoom interview
- Doesn’t have any reviews on their website or social media
- Ask you to send money to someone while they mail you a check, but the check bounces (checks are a red flag for freelancers!)
- Asks for pictures of your identification paperwork to start work
These are just a few ways to ensure you’re not being scammed. But strategies are constantly changing, so be observant and trust your instincts. If you’re suspicious, don’t be afraid to ask in freelancing Facebook groups what they think of your interaction.
Where Do I Find Clients As A Freelance Writer?
While it takes time to find clients, don’t let it stop you from pursuing this side hustle. Everyone had to start somewhere! Consider joining or reaching out to:
- Friends and family
- Local Chamber of Commerce
- Content mills (like Verbilo)
- Freelancing platforms (like Upwork)
- Facebook groups where your ideal client would be
- Cold emailing your ideal clients
There are many strategies you can use to help you find clients. Just be prepared that it may take time before you get one. Many new freelancers get burnt out quickly because they aren’t ready for the time and energy it takes. But it gets easier the more you do it!
What Tools Do I Need To Get Started?
As mentioned earlier, there are several tools that you will need before you become a freelancer. Consider investing in:
- Design tool like Canva for your portfolio
- Google Workspace or Microsoft Word for deliverables
- Grammar tool like Grammarly
- Time-tracking tool like Toggl
These will help you get a headstart into writing.
Conclusion
Freelance writing is one of the best side hustles for moms. There isn’t an income cap. You can work when you want and with who you like. Choose your rates and offer services that you feel are strengths to you. But, no side hustle is perfect, and some cons come with it. However, there are always ways to improve those cons and make the best of it!
Consider becoming a freelance writer for your next side hustle!
