In today’s technology-laden economy and increasingly virtual working landscape, it is becoming more and more possible to find a job that can be accomplished remotely. From coding jobs to customer service to roles in many other lines of work, the possibilities available for remote careers are far-reaching and cover a widening variety of skill sets and interests.
The perks are significant — today’s remote-working professionals can work often from wherever they would like and have the ability to tailor their schedules and life rhythms free from requirements to be in an office every workday.
One career type that is particularly adaptable to remote-work arrangements is writing. There are a variety of writing jobs available in the world today and many of them can be accomplished completely remotely. If you are interested in the freedom that comes with remote work possibilities, writing is a skill that you can successfully leverage to secure this kind of job. All you need are a few tips and tricks to help you start building a fantastic online writing career.
Writing Roles That Can Be Accomplished Remotely
As mentioned above, there are a variety of distinct types of writing jobs that exist across multiple industries. They each have distinct characteristics, emphases, and uses. It is important to know what types of writing roles are available to you as you begin pursuing an online writing job.
Digital Journalism
Digital journalism is a popular avenue for some individuals to pursue. Securing a job in this field can sometimes be a little bit more difficult than other types of writing jobs, and may require a more demonstrable set of communication skills or professional experiences.
However, journalism positions can be highly lucrative and often allow lots of room for advancement or further opportunities down the line. If journalism is an interest and you can demonstrate strong writing skills or previous communication experiences, securing a job in journalism can be an excellent way to begin a writing career that you can do remotely. Once you build up some bylines, it will open up even more doors as an online journalist working from home or while traveling.
Digital Marketing Content Creation
A broad category within the field of writing that covers a large number of different uses and varieties. These kinds of jobs can range from creating sales copy to social media posts, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) content, public relations publications, sponsored content, product reviews, and much more.
Because this sector is a bit broader, content creation jobs can often be a bit easier to secure if you are just starting out and can create a strategic entrance point for your writing career. Marketing content jobs can exist within marketing firms and agencies, in-house teams for organizations, nonprofit entities, and many other institution types as well. You can earn per article, with affiliate marketing, through ad revenue, network marketing, and/or selling your own digital products.
Technical Writing
This is a specialized type of writing that can often accrue a much higher salary than entry-level writing jobs. Technical writing often takes place in academic settings, manufacturing settings, or product development settings. Technical writers might create instructions for electronics products, write engineering briefs, or work in labs or research facilities.
This job type requires a high attention to detail and strong writing clarity and accuracy. Because it is a bit more specialized, jobs in this field can command top dollar in compensation and also experience a high level of job security.
Communications Management
Communications management jobs can be highly lucrative positions that combine writing skills and responsibilities with strategic planning and management elements. A communications manager position in marketing, internal communications, operations, or similar departments within an organization is a fantastic opportunity to pursue once you have gotten an initial bit of writing or management experience under your belt.
Tips On Looking For Online Writing Work
Because remote writing jobs have increased substantially in demand in recent years, it can be difficult to sift through various opportunities and determine which of them are actually legitimate or worth your time. Here are a few tips that can help you shorten your search and land you a strong writing job rather than getting sucked into things that aren’t as good as they seem.
Don’t Get Scammed
Because the idea of working as a remote writer appeals to a lot of people, and because securing a quality remote writing job can take a little bit of legwork upfront, plenty of scammy websites have been built promising instant access to endless remote writing jobs. Many of these websites are not legitimate.
If you are not sure what you are looking at, here is a simple tip: Any legitimate professional writing opportunity will ask for writing samples so they can vet your skills. And almost any scammy writing job website will charge you a membership fee before showing you the “jobs” they have available. If you are asked to pay for access rather than submit examples of your work, don’t waste your time or money. This is the sign of a writing job scam or at least a lousy company.
Pitch Your Content To Blogs
If you search for just about any topic under the sun in Google, the top results will often be large content websites that publish lots of content regularly. These aggregators often pay independent writers to provide a fresh stream of articles and posts. These can be excellent clients for your online writing career, especially if you are interested in marketing or content creation writing. If you look, many of these sites have guidelines for how to begin writing for them. Establishing connections and publishing an initial piece or two can pave the way to becoming a regular contributor.
Search For Remote Content Creation Jobs
It might seem a little bit too obvious — however, content creation is now a significant part of many companies’ workflow and success. From marketing to products to communications and operations, writing jobs are actually relatively easy to find by looking at standard job search sites like Indeed.com or Monster.com.
To find remote opportunities, just include “remote” in your search term or use a filter to limit jobs to ones that have been posted as remote work opportunities. You will probably be surprised at how many well-paying, remote writing openings you will find.
These tips can help you begin your foray into the world of online writing careers. Though it can take a bit of research and legwork at the beginning to land your first client or paid opportunity, you will quickly amass experience, skills, and the portfolio you need to quickly move up the ranks and create a fulfilling writing career that you can do fully online. If you are interested in the freedom and flexibility of remote work, this is the year to take the plunge into an online writing career.
