---
title: "How to start a freelance writing business in India"
date: "2020-03-02T18:00:54"
url: "https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/skills/how-to-start-a-freelance-writing-business-in-india"
---
# How to start a freelance writing business in India

Knotting down words in multiple styles and techniques to convey ideas, sounds like your passion? If so, then here’s a secret: you can turn your passion [into your profession](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/skills/how-to-start-a-side-hustle-successfully) with a freelance writing business!

> All you need is a passion for writing, a few tools, an internet connection and some patience.

The best part: you get to become your own boss and work from any corner of the world.

#### Learn what thousands already know

While freelancing is still at its nascent stage in India, it contributes for [one in every four freelancers](https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/gig-work-india-contributes-1-in-4-freelancers/story/267601.html) globally, thanks to our country’s colossal population. However, people are skeptical about freelancing because of the lack of security and irregular paychecks.

But here’s a fact: if you work hard for a few months with proper planning, you won’t need to worry about your finances. Freelance writing pays a tidy sum if done with a proper strategy, patience and consistency.

Best of all, you can start freelancing on the side of your full-time job.

## The 6 steps to starting a freelance writing service

If you want to start freelance writing business in India and thrive, here’s how to do it:

- Choose a niche or specialty
- Create a website.
- Do guest blogging.
- Use social media to build a following.
- Invest in personal branding.
- Utilize freelance marketplaces.

If you have a love of words and are willing to work at it, freelance writing could be a promising new path for you. Let’s explore how to get started.

### 1.Choose a niche

![Freelance Writing Woman on Laptop](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/wp-content/uploads//freelance-writing-woman-on-laptop-min.jpg)

*Are you skilled in a particular field such as healthcare or tech? This could be your niche.*

This is probably the most-asked question by freelance writers, *to have a niche or not*. The reason being, once you declare a specialty, you won’t be able to take every project. And that results in low earnings, right?

But that’s certainly not how it works. Without a niche, you may get more projects but with a niche, you get **better-paying projects**. Having a niche allows you to become a subject matter expert rather than being a jack-of-all-trades. And once you establish yourself as an expert, people will be ready to pay you higher than the typical freelance writers.

> A niche is your area of focus or skill, such as medical writing.

Also, there are people who search for “**freelance technical writing**” or “**freelance medical writing**” rather than simply “freelance writers” because they desire an expert and not the all-rounders.

### 2. Create a website

When you start out as a freelance writer, chances are you don’t have any published write-ups online. And in order to land writing projects, you need to show your writing samples, every time.

So how to do that?

Set up your own website. A website will enable you to publish your articles and showcase them in front of the internet world. Also, with a website, some blog posts and [proper SEO](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/smallbusiness-in/what-is-seo-and-why-is-it-important-for-your-website), you pave the way for recruiters to find you through the search engines.

Here are the basic steps of building a freelance writer website:

- Choose a domain name
- Set up pages like About Me, Services, Portfolio and Contact Me
- Write at least three to four articles related to your chosen niche

You can find start-to-finish instructions on building a website with [GoDaddy’s Website Builder here](https://www.godaddy.com/en-in/websites/website-builder).

### 3. Do guest blogging

While it’s not necessary to do it, this can be a game-changer for your writing business.

Simply put, guest blogging means to contribute your write-ups to other websites to showcase your skills and knowledge in front of more people.

But how does it help? Guest blogging:

#### Promotes your services

With every guest post, you get to show your face, samples and services to a new and [highly targeted group](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/skills/how-to-identify-the-target-market-for-your-business) of potential clients.

#### Gets you new clients

It is obvious that the more people see your work, the more they will trust your expertise. This trust means more business for you.

#### Builds your own tribe

It may not get you cash, but having a following can definitely help you in the long run as a writer. Over time, these people can help spread your reputation as a reliable freelance writer.

![Freelance Writing People in Coworking Space](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/wp-content/uploads//freelance-writing-people-in-coworking-space-min.jpg)

*To publish your first blog post, you could offer to write free for a blogger in your field. Photo: [Shridhar Gupta](https://unsplash.com/@shridhar?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/working?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)*

But the question is, how does one become a guest blogger when you’re just a beginner?

- Make a list of websites as per your niche that accept guest posts. For this, a little Googling may help.
- Research what kind of posts the target website publishes. Use tools like BuzzSumo and Ubersuggest to check out their most popular posts.
- Write some in-depth outlines of blog posts to send to the blog owner.
- Pitch them via email or use the blog’s submission form, if provided.
- If accepted, write a masterpiece and send it.
- Now, wait until it’s published :)

Once your blog post is published, you have a sample you can share with potential clients. You’re on your way!

### 4. Use social media to build a following

Social media is no longer just a way of connecting with peers around the globe. Now it is a tool for marketing your writing business.

> It’s not for building only a successful freelance writing business but any business.

Facebook being the second-most popular website after Google holds tons of opportunities for freelancers. There are many Facebook pages and groups that help freelance writers — both newbies and experts — to land writing gigs.

Apart from Facebook, LinkedIn is another great platform for freelance writers. Every day, several recruiters post their requirements on LinkedIn. All you need to do is keep a bird’s eye on the latest projects and apply to any that fit your skills.

### 5. Invest in personal branding

The competition is fierce in the freelance writing industry. In order to get high-paying writing gigs, you need to stand out. And that’s where investing your time and effort in [creating a personal brand](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/brands) helps.

Now if you think that having a logo and a website is all you need, then you’re highly mistaken. Branding is much more than that!

In a nutshell, personal branding means to create an image around your name and position yourself as an expert in your niche. When you start to work on your [personal brand](https://www.shopify.in/partners/blog/what-is-personal-branding) and put yourself out there, your ideal client will come to you instead of you going to them.

### 6. Utilize freelance marketplaces

![Freelance Writing Man Writing at Desk](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/wp-content/uploads//freelance-writing-man-writing-at-desk-min.jpg)

*Create profiles on a few of the freelance marketplaces, then take any work you get.*

There are tons of [freelance marketplaces](https://www.godaddy.com/resources/in/skills/top-freelancing-websites-in-india) like Upwork, Freelancer, Truelancer, etc. that can help you to land writing projects.

> You can first take low paying gigs to get some good ratings and then try for the high-paying projects.

However, to get projects via these marketplaces as a newbie isn’t a cakewalk because the competition is really high. Yet there are many freelance writers who completely depend on these marketplaces and earning a pretty penny.

## Take the plunge and start your freelance writing business

With a passion for research and writing, and the ability to meet deadlines, you can build a successful freelance writing career. It will take time and patience but once you have one good client, you will never need to look back.

Happy freelancing :)