How To Get International Freelance Content Writing Jobs In 2021?
Aren’t you tired of getting treated like an absolute trash can by your clients? First, they call you at random hours of the day; second, they give you haphazard briefs; third, the pay is lower than your patience while dealing with your clients. This leads to frustration, which is never suitable for creatives like us, who thrive under good working conditions. Now, I am not implying that every Indian client is trashy, and every international client is a godsend gift for freelance content writers.
But, international freelance content writing jobs are generally high-paying (due to dollars and pounds’ value higher than rupees), and thus you work less and earn more. Moreover, due to their culture being work driven and professional, they like to be efficient and straightforward, which means you save time and energy when dealing with these clients.
But why are international online writing jobs this way? There must be a reason for these article writer jobs being profitable while saving you time and energy. Let’s explore why these international freelance writing jobs online are an excellent option for Indian content writers.
Why you should get international freelance writing jobs online
Ever since the internet became popular and digital jobs became a thing, people started working part-time and thus began the gig economy. The gig economy became more prominent in the USA during the 2008 financial crisis. People started juggling more jobs, and thus the gig economy was normalised. Therefore, in particular, the USA is familiar with freelance work and knows how to deal with them.
However, India is still adopting and formalising the gig economy and is struggling to maintain the freelance-client dynamic. Moreover, international freelance content writing jobs pay more due to the dollar’s higher value than the Indian rupee. Thus, you work less and earn more via online writing jobs.
Lastly, you can spend time finding clients you want to work with rather than working for clients just for the money. Since you don’t have to worry about earning your basic needs anymore, you have tons of time to upskill yourself, find better clients, take frequent breaks, spend time with your family, etc. When you work with international freelance writing jobs online, you get the luxury of more time without compromising on your income.
Steps to get international clients
Now that we have discussed why international clients pay more, let’s talk about getting international clients? What is the secret behind getting them, and is it too challenging? Let me tell you that it is not tough, given you are ready to put in the work consistently. Consistency is perhaps the most straightforward but most challenging thing to achieve, and once you are consistent, it will change the game for you.
But consistency does not mean that you do the same thing over and over again; it means showing up and analysing what works and what doesn’t work for you. It means you need to consistently tweak the process that we will share with you and make the necessary adjustments. Also, this process worked for us, and thus we are sharing it with you, do not hesitate to change it up (we promise we won’t come at night and haunt you). Without any more chit-chat, let’s dive into it:
Mindset shift
The first step is changing your mindset; you do not want to work for worse clients even if the pay is good. Moreover, you need to realise that your service is an asset for the brand, and you deserve to get paid for your service. You may also come across snooty clients who want to pay you less due to your nationality; this is a big red flag. And thus, you should respectfully decline. It may feel like a significant loss in hindsight, but in the long run, it will be in your best interest.
To avoid picking the wrong client for yourself:
- Make a list of qualities in a good client and a bad client.
- Whenever you get a lead, get on a discovery call and check which category the lead belongs to; if they belong in the good client category, onboard them.
- If they belong in the bad client category, do not go forward with the offer.
Freelancing is tough, so you need to be tougher and more resilient.
Pick a niche
International clients are looking for an expert in a field. Thus you need to stick to the industry and pitch to clients in that industry. If you are scared of limiting your clients, you can pick a large industry like health and wellness to pitch to sub-industries within these industries.
But what is the harm in being a general content writer? The simple answer is: low pay and leads. Since brands want an expert, they stay away from general content writers. Moreover, niching down will help you write better, faster, and create authority in that industry. If you want premium clients, choose an industry and stick to it.
How do you pick an industry? An ideal niche is an intersection between what you love, what pays well, and what is resistant to extinction. For example, artificial intelligence is here to stay, and tech companies that deal with AI get huge fundings, so you will be paid well. And if you are interested, bingo! You found your match made in (freelance) heaven.
If you are still unsure which niches are profitable, check out our blog on the 8 best content writing topics in 2021.
Make a website portfolio
Making a website portfolio is perhaps the most crucial aspect of getting international freelance content writing jobs for Indian content writers. As an Indian content writer, you may feel that a website is an unnecessary expense, but trust me, getting one will make you seem professional and protect your samples. International clients prefer candidates with a website portfolio and often ask directly for a website in their hiring forms. Thus, getting one is in your best interest. Moreover, once your samples are online, people can’t copy them and publish them on their website.
And the most significant advantage of a website portfolio is getting inbound leads. When you start using the steps below, your prospects will find you and check your profile out. They won’t even need to message you when they want to see your samples since your samples are available publicly. Moreover, a website helps you create a personal brand, and in the future, you can optimise your website for search engines and get clients via search engines.
The return on investment of a website is far more significant, and thus I urge you to get a website ASAP. You can hire a freelance web developer, and he can make it for you. Apart from the developer’s cost, you would have to buy domain and hosting, and you are set to go.
Establish a social media presence
Remember how we talked about getting inbound leads? Yes, the secret of getting inbound leads is establishing a social media presence and building your personal brand. Plus, you are an Indian content writer who has no access to international clients except social media. Thus leverage these platforms and see the magic of the internet. LinkedIn works the best since it is a social media platform designed for connecting with potential employers. However, Twitter, Facebook groups, and Instagram can also work for you.
Platforms may differ, but the underlying principle of attracting inbound leads is the same: connecting with your potential clients and putting out content that helps and shows them that you are a content writer with the necessary skills and expertise. When you start frequently appearing in your customer’s feed, they will eventually reach out to you when they need it.
Not sure how to establish a social media presence? We have comprehensively covered how to find freelance content writing jobs on social media in this blog. There will be tweaks to the method since you are reaching out to international clients; one of them is your customer persona.
Who needs content writers?
Every business has a customer persona, and so should you. If you don’t have one now, you can start today! You know the location of the client, i.e. USA, UK, Canada, etc. Moreover, you know that they work in the niche of your choice and have problems crafting content for their business. You now have a rough idea about your client and can prepare your messaging to connect and show them that you are the expert they need to solve their problems.
But, you need to make them notice you first. Thus, you should engage with their posts by leaving meaningful comments. Remember, meaningful commenting means you add something valuable and relevant to the conversation. Leaving comments that make you notice is tricky, but you can get better at it with practice and observation.
Once you have caught their attention, you should send them a follow request (on LinkedIn) and a direct message on Instagram and Facebook. Sending the perfect first message is tricky, too, since first impressions matter, and thus you need to personalise your notes instead of sending a general message. You can start by referencing a post or blog they wrote and saying that the blog resonated with you (remember to be genuine in your compliment, ingenuity is never a desirable trait in a person one wants to work with). You can end by saying that you want to add a valuable person like them to your network.
Keep tracking your request status to understand which connection requests work and which doesn’t, so you can optimise your future connection messages accordingly. On Instagram, you can either reply to one of their stories or send a cold message about your appreciation for their work and such.
Optimise your profile
Perhaps your client is actively searching for a “fintech content writer”. Wouldn’t it be great if you appeared on top of the search? They can easily see your website portfolio with relevant fintech samples and reach out to hire you. You need to optimise your portfolio to make that happen, and we have discussed optimising Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook profiles in our how to get freelance content writing jobs through social media.
If you want a summary of how you can do it, you just need to use your keywords, such as fintech content writer, in your headline, bio, and about you. Adding it to your profile banner will also make it abundantly clear that the client is looking for an expert like you.
You need to add your website link to a place where your prospects can see it on your profile. On Facebook and Instagram, you need to add the link to your bio. On LinkedIn, you need to add the link to your featured section. Thus, your portfolio is visible on top of your profile, and your leads are much better in quality since they know what you are capable of before talking to you.
Post content
You are now set to start posting original content on your profile. You must remember these guidelines before posting content:
- The first few lines should grab attention and be catchy.
- The post should be short and to the point.
- It should be relevant to your service as a content writer and your niche.
- It can be inspiring, information-packed, or entertaining.
- You can start sharing your past successes and what you learned from that experience. These types of posts show that you are constantly learning and evolving as a content writer.
You should know about a hack: batch your content to remove the pressure and stress of ideating, writing, and posting every day. Moreover, you don’t necessarily need to post every day; you just need to post consistently. Consistency can be thrice a week, twice a week, or once a week. You must figure out a balance between consistency and creativity to sustainability post on the platform of your choice.
Moreover, LinkedIn supports multiple formats such as text posts, pictures, videos, and carousel. The same applies to Instagram, but posting reels will give you more reach and posting carousels or images will showcase your expertise. For example, posting reels twice a week and static posts thrice a week is a healthy balance. If you are not an expert at making aesthetic posts for Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, use Canva. They have ready-made templates, and you can easily use the platform for all your content needs. If you are using Facebook groups to fetch clients, posting on Facebook groups is the way to go, and you can use any format; however, avoid carousels since Facebook doesn’t show the entire carousel properly.
Inbound leads
Congratulations, your lead generation machine is ready! When you have done all the above steps, you will start getting inquiries that you can take up further on a video call. Remember to sign contracts and get an advance payment when you have asked them the appropriate questions to seal the deal and start working on the project.
Advance payments are critical, and you should never skip them; take at least 30% of the total amount as an advance and start working when you receive it. If the client refuses to pay an advance payment, let go of the deal. We have talked about how to charge your clients below; keep reading to find out how you should charge and what you should keep in mind when calculating the cost.
Cold emailing
Start cold emailing people you wish to work with online. There are tools like Snov.io that help you get emails from people’s LinkedIn profiles. Once you get their email, start sending at least 20 cold emails every day. Not sure how to send cold emails? Check out our blog on how to send a cold email. Cold emailing is a gold mine and can reap rewards you never thought were possible. Thus, keep continuing your efforts on social media and simultaneously sending cold emails to increase the chances of landing high-paying international freelance content writing jobs.
How much time would it take to get international clients?
Let us be honest, we cannot predict accurately how much time it would take you to get your first clients because:
- We are not omnipresent magicians.
- Every person, their style of work, learning curve, skills, and circumstance are different.
However, we have seen results from the above method and therefore are confident that it works. We urge you to give it at least six months. If you can commit to spending two hours every day for six months, there is a high chance that you will land some pretty great clients. Give the process its due time and be patient; eventually, your efforts will pay off. Talk to other freelance writers and learn from them too, and improvise accordingly.
How much should you charge your international clients?
Another question that many people have is the industry standard charges for international clients, and sadly there is no precise answer for this due to various reasons. One of them is that the charges vary from industry to industry. Additionally, the charges may differ for native content writers and Indian writers. Since clients outsource the work to India due to cheaper rates, you will have to consider that when negotiating with clients. However, as per my experience, you should never charge lower than 8 cents per word. However, you can also easily charge 15 cents per word in the beginning.
As you gain more experience and are equipped to deal with international clients better, you can charge more. There is also another way of charging, and that is per hour charging. However, it is better to charge on a per word basis since it gets tricky to calculate the amount of time it will take you to complete the work. Once you are comfortable writing for international clients and know how much time it would take you to write on a particular topic, you can start charging on a per hour basis too.
You must also keep experimenting with charges because that’s the only way to push the limits as a content writer. When you’ve been working at, say, 15 cents a word and want to earn more, pitch 20 cents per word to your next lead and observe if they are willing to pay or not. If they are not, you can negotiate a bit, and if they are willing to pay you, congratulations, you now have new charges. You don’t need to alert your previous clients but pitch the exact charges to your future leads.
Another factor to keep in mind when chagrin your client is to remember that PayPal or any other service you use will deduct their respective charges too. In the case of PayPal, they remove their own charges and an amount when you convert dollars to rupees. Therefore, you can add these charges and let your customer know that they need to pay extra charges.
Mistakes you should avoid when looking for online writing jobs.
- Using bidding sites to get clients. These sites are highly saturated, and it is difficult to get clients without lowering your service price.
- Not being consistent.
- Not setting boundaries in terms of the client calling without prior communication about the meeting.
- Not learning and improving your skills every day.
- Not experimenting with the amount of money you charge for your services.
Conclusion
To sum it up, we discussed why getting international freelance content writing jobs is the way for you. Later we discussed a step-by-step process of getting online writing jobs using social media. We talked about various aspects of setting up a social media profile to attract article writer jobs. We also discussed how much time it would take to get your freelance writing jobs online and when you do get some, you should charge for your freelance content writing service. Lastly, we discussed the mistakes to avoid when looking for online writing jobs from home.
But remember that you can get international clients despite your limiting beliefs regarding your own capabilities. It is not your skills that are holding you back; it is your mindset holding you back. Once you accept that you can achieve what you set your mind to, doors will start opening in ways you never even thought of.
