Hello Young Adult Money readers! This is Sarah from The Frugal Millionaire and today I’m going to be sharing how I got into personal finance writing and offer tips on how you can do the same.
While no two freelancing careers are exactly alike, it’s always helpful to see how others got to where you want to be.
My writing career began almost three years ago right around the time my first daughter was born. Since I was a new mom, I started out slow – very slow. Typically, I wrote one article per week and at the time, even that seemed like a challenge!
I remember thinking if I could somehow make $500 per month I would be golden. We had been living off of my husband’s income for nearly a year by that point, but having an extra $500 would allow us to save, travel and not be on such a strict budget. Little did I know that this would only be the beginning of a long, wonderful journey into personal finance writing.
If you’re passionate about personal finance and hope to one day get paid for sharing your advice, you’ve come to the right place. The beauty of being a personal finance writer is you don’t need any degrees or certifications (though those don’t hurt!), you just need to be willing to be open and honest with your own experience. I happen to be one of the odd ones that does have a degree in finance, but trust me, I don’t share complicated mathematical formulas that would have your head spinning.
If you love saving money, increasing your income and growing your net worth as much as me, perhaps you should consider getting paid to do what you love with a career in personal finance writing.
Here are my 5 tips on breaking into personal finance freelance writing.
Write on any subject
Personal finance may be your preferred topic of choice, but you need to be flexible and willing to write on a variety of topics when you’re first starting out. By doing this, you’ll be networking, growing your portfolio and learning the ins and outs of freelancing. I didn’t start out only writing financial pieces and in fact, I still don’t. For the first year of my freelancing career I wrote on everything from food and travel to health and relationships. While now my focus is personal finance, I do still write the occasional home improvement or landscaping post.
Start a blog
While starting a blog won’t automatically make you an expert on a subject, keeping up your blog by posting regularly will. You could start a blog on your own personal journey with paying off debt, a blog on saving money and couponing, a blog on side hustles and earning more money or your own combination.
Having a blog also makes for a fantastic addition to your resume and if you love to write, it should be something fun to do in your free time. DC has a quick guide on How to Start a Blog in 5 Steps if you are interested in starting one.
Reach out to other bloggers
You can get your name out there by guest posting on other personal finance blogs. Send them an email introducing yourself and your blog along with a few ideas for a guest post. I do this regularly and it’s allowed me to grow my own blog audience, bring in new readers to the site I’m posting on, fine-tune my personal finance writing skills and network with other bloggers.
Scour job postings daily
Even though I’m currently busy in my freelancing work, I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting opportunities. I check two sites daily for new job postings – freelance writing gigs and Problogger. You can join freelancing groups, check job search engines (Indeed is my favorite) and other sites specifically geared towards freelancing (there are thousands!). With freelancing, jobs come and go, so it’s important to always be on the lookout for more work.
Contact personal finance sites
Do you have a favorite personal finance site you love to read? Contact the editor and ask if they are looking for new writers. List your qualifications, experience, blog URL, pitch ideas and give an exact time frame as to when you could have the articles completed by. You can also ask if they are looking for guest posters as opposed to paid writers. Guest posting is a great way to get your foot in the door and could very well lead to a paid gig.
The method you use to break into personal finance freelance writing will be different from mine, and that’s OK. Success comes from consistent hard work, the desire to keep pushing forward even after you’ve been rejected and a passion unlike any other. If you have these three qualities, you will succeed as a personal finance freelance writer.
Have you considered personal finance freelance writing? If not, what topic do you freelance write about or wish you wrote about?
About the author: Sarah Brooks is a wife and mom to two little girls blogging about their journey to increase their income, save as much as possible and reach financial independence. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, being with her family and baking. Follow along at The Frugal Millionaire!
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First Photo by Pete Schwager
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All great tips Sarah! I think I did all of these when I was starting. So much of it comes down to getting your name out there and applying for the right jobs. There are so many companies and sites out there looking for content that you can make decent money if you want.
That’s awesome that you looked outside the box for ways to make money from home. There are so many options if people stop complaining and start looking!
Eyesonthedollar Exactly!! I feel like there are SO many opportunities everywhere. If I didn’t have the little ones, I would definitely be pursuing TONS of work and taking advantage of all that’s out there!
FrugalRules Definitely! It’s all about being proactive and not giving up. It can be discouraging to apply for job after job and never hear back, but all it takes is one to get your feet off the ground. Thanks for the comment!!
For the websites that you mentioned for freelance writing to do you have a resume prepared? Linkedin, etc?
EvenStevenMoney I have a resume prepared :) It’s a general freelance writing resume, but I tweak it to fit the specific job I’m applying for. For example, if it’s a personal finance writing job, I’ll include links to previous personal finance work I’ve done. If it’s a small business writing gig, I’ll include links to small business articles. Hope that helps!!
Thanks for the motivating post Sarah. It seems like I’ve been in a recent slump as far as hearing back from people but I just gotta keep at it. Great tips.
I think consistency and building relationships is key. Ive had other blogs and with the one I have currently this is why I think it became “successful”
Your story sounds a lot like mine. I started writing when my daughter was a baby, and it’s been such a nice way to make money from home. These are great tips for newbies!
thebrokeprof Definitely keep at it!! It only takes one! I apply for jobs ALL the time and rarely here back…but when I do I’m reassured that all that effort was worth it.
Good luck!!
Beachbudget Great point – building solid relationships is definitely key. They say it’s who you know, not what you know…and I think that rings true in freelancing as well!
TheWriteBudget Thanks!! Writing from home is an awesome job for stay-at-home moms! I love that I can work whenever, make some money and still be with my kids!
Welcome Sarah! Good to have you on board.. I’ll check out your site as well, probably subscribe and you may see me hanging around :)
I’m definitely considering freelancing and looking at para-planning, not sure if it’s called the same thing in the US, coaching or even writing, doing some research on it now.
A few questions I had were:
How long ago did you start?
What sort of rates are you normally paid?
Are there any additional tips you’d have on getting started i.e. you mentioned networking above
Cheers and congratulations on your side hustle :)
Thanks for sharing your journey. I have a very strong interest in personal finance and love reading about how people go about their journey. Right now I feel that I wouldn’t be disciplined enough because of my full time job and other responsibilities at home but hope one day to participate in the personal finance community. In the meantime, thanks again for sharing.
mycareercrusade Hi!! Thanks for the comment!! I started freelance writing just under 3 years ago. As far as rates, they vary (even still, haha!). I do write for a content mill (which is a great way to get your foot in the door) and they pay the lowest. I started working for them about 3 years ago when I first started out and still work for them to this day b/c it’s relatively easy and I can crank out 2-3 articles per hour, which raises my hourly rate. For personal finance writing, I typically charge $50-$100 per piece. It’s all about what your clients are willing to pay you though! Start high as there is usually room for negotiation!
Best of luck to you! Let me know if you have further questions!
yvettedog Hi! Thanks for the comment! A great thing about freelancing is you can take on as much or as little work as you want, so if it’s something you’re interested in, I recommend trying to find a small job and seeing how it goes! Best of luck!