Make that Money: Your Guide to Starting a Side Hustle

You’ve got an entrepreneurial mindset and a burning desire to do more with your life, but no time to start a business. You’ve got lots of great ideas, but no professional platform to showcase them. Don’t get discouraged—get a side hustle! These days, practically everyone is starting a side hustle or is looking for one. These part-time gigs don’t require that you develop a business plan, file articles of incorporation, file a separate tax return, or even have a separate PO Box. That makes side hustling ideal for people who have limited time availability and no desire to round up some start-up cash.

Developing Your Side Hustle Ideas

Although small gigs don’t take up a lot of time, most people doing them are already working full-time or part-time jobs, or going to college and working part-time. You need to choose a side hustle that aligns with your interests. Otherwise, you might have trouble staying motivated to give up some of your free time to work (although those extra paychecks can do wonders for one’s motivation). So grab a notepad and brainstorm a list of your interests. Freelance writing gigs often fall into these categories:

• Home improvement/home sales/home design
• Healthcare policies/technical medical writing/consumer-oriented health writing
• Legal marketing
• Education/early childhood education/K-12/higher education/adult education
• Financial/personal finances/credit/banking products/taxes/retirement
• Technology/cybersecurity/IT careers
• Automotive/DOT

Of course, this is just a small sampling. Side hustling writers might share their DIY expertise one day, and blog about current trends in biomedical engineering the next. You don’t need to be an expert in a topic before you can start a side hustle. You just need to be willing to do the research and learn as you go.

Defining Your Side Gig Criteria

In addition to considering the type of writing work you’d like to do, figure out your client criteria. Some side hustles require you to perform a certain amount of work each week. Others let you pick and choose what you’re able to do. Some jobs have strict deadlines (can you handle a one-day or even a one-hour turnaround?). Some gigs are more like micro-jobs that can be completed in part of your lunch break. Others require you to set aside time each day to chip away at a major project.

It can take a little searching before you find a legit side hustle that meets your criteria. The good news is that the Internet is full of opportunities—there’s something for everyone. Keep these criteria in mind as you scan listings of writing gigs.

Finding Time to Start Your Side Hustle

If the idea of starting a side hustle is new to you, there’s a good chance you’ll make the mistake of biting off more than you can chew. Ambition is a good thing, but so is being pragmatic. Take a look at your current schedule and see where you can carve out a little bit of time each week. An hour or two here and there is really all you’ll need to get started with micro-gigs. If you’re looking for a more substantial extra paycheck, you’ll need to work at it most days of the week.

For a week, do a mock schedule to make sure you aren’t taking on too much extra work. Each day, set aside your side hustle time. You can use this time to do some more research on how to start a side hustle, if you wish, but don’t let yourself work on any personal projects, day job projects, or housework. Then, you can more accurately judge whether using that time for your side hustle is placing too much or too little of a demand on your schedule.

Building a Professional Portfolio

Let’s be honest: Clients aren’t going to want to hire a freelance writer unless they know that writer can deliver the sort of quality work they want. When you’re just starting out hustling up writing gigs, it can be tough to convince a client to take a chance on you. This is why building a professional portfolio is so essential, and it’s why the portfolio is such a prominent feature on Writers Work.

You might have already heard that companies who request a free writing sample can be scams. This is true, but it’s not as cut-and-dried as you might think. Any legitimate side hustle you’re going to get will also require a writing sample. This might be a published clip from your portfolio, or it might involve writing a new sample that aligns with content the company needs. Remember that your clients are taking a chance on you just as much as you’re taking a chance on them. So beware clients that want you to write a 1,000-plus word behemoth as a sample, but consider being a little more flexible about writing a smaller clip for the company.

One way to cut down on the writing sample requests and improve your own credibility is to develop a professional portfolio. It isn’t necessary to get published first. It’s perfectly acceptable for your portfolio to consist of unpublished pieces. As you land more clients and complete more assignments, you can add your best pieces to your portfolio.

So what should you write about first? Defer to the list you brainstormed a while back. What verticals interest you most? Are you passionate about education? Consider writing an overview of IEP meetings. If health and wellness interest you, you could write about the dangers of rhabdomyolysis or the bioavailability of curcumin in turmeric.

Always keep your audience in mind. In the case of your professional portfolio, you actually have two audiences: your prospective clients and your clients’ target demographics. In other words, you need to write high-quality, engaging content that will interest your clients’ clients, while fulfilling the primary needs of your own clients.

This might seem a little confusing and vague, but let’s imagine that you’d like to break into the legal writing marketplace. For your portfolio, you do a piece on the grounds for absolute divorce in Maryland. It provides useful information for the prospective clients of a family law attorney, but it shouldn’t instruct those readers to do anything that would divert business away from the law firm—your own client. So you couldn’t write about downloading court petition forms and filling them out to do a DIY, attorney-free divorce, but you could touch on the benefits of securing legal representation.

Try for a mix of pieces in your portfolio, but only have your portfolio represent the work you’re actually willing to do as a side hustle. If you don’t intend to write scripts for YouTube videos, there’s no point in putting that sort of work in your portfolio.

Additionally, time yourself as you write. Keep track of the time it takes you to research, outline, write, and edit each content type. Figure out your average time per hundred words or so. When you’re looking for side gigs to pick up, knowing your average time commitment will help you determine if the offered pay is worth it, and whether you’ll have time to complete the assignment within the deadline.

Landing Your First Client

This is the point where new side hustlers start getting sweaty palms. What does it take to actually land that first client? What will the client ask you? Are there questions you should ask the client? And just how the heck do you convince someone to hire you for a contract project?

Relax. Take a deep breath. After your first time pitching to a client, you’ll realize it really isn’t that hard. And don’t get discouraged, either, if you don’t get a nibble the first time you bait your line. Some of the best writers out there today were rejected umpteen times before they got a foot in the door. Every time you don’t get a nibble, use it as an opportunity to refine your pitching technique.

Each prospective client is looking for something a little different. Once you read a writing gig ad that appeals to you, read it again. Take note of any instructions or requests, and follow them to the letter. Some companies post bare bones ads, like “Contract writer wanted for short-term gig.” Others post job listings that are almost as long as the content they’re looking for. Some job ads may have instructions similar to the following:

• Put your resume and writing sample in the body of the email only—no attachments, please.
• To apply, submit a paragraph describing your experience—no resume needed.
• Use this particular phrase in the subject header of your email.
• No phone calls, please.
• Provide links to your published work online.

This last requirement shouldn’t necessarily deter new side hustlers. You can just give the company a link to your portfolio on Writers Work. Know that many recruiters post silly instructions (e.g., “Use the phrase Content Ninja Superhero in the subject header”) simply because they want to hire freelancers who read instructions and follow them. So oblige them.

If you’re just figuring out how to start a side hustle, you might be tempted to ignore job listings that don’t give specific application instructions, since you can’t tailor your response to what the client is looking for. But remember that many other freelancers avoid these ads too, and there’s nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

When you’re responding to an anonymous company’s one-line listing for unspecific content writing, there’s no need to get fancy with your application. Send them a brief note letting them know you’re available and asking for more information about the gig. Here’s an example:

Hello,

I saw your job posting on Writers Work for a short-term contract writer. I’m interested in hearing more about the sort of content you’re looking for. My areas of specialization include B2B marketing, but I’m a generalist at heart who loves to research new topics. I’d be happy to pass along my resume at your request. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Jane Doe

If you do have prior experience, you can mention it. If the job recruiter or company included their name with the posting, use that to personalize your greeting. And if the job ad did specify that they’re looking for a specific content type, then by all means, mention your expertise in this area, if any.

If you hear back, but the work they offer isn’t what you’re comfortable doing, don’t feel like you have to try to do it anyway. Send them a quick note thanking them for their time, such as the following:

Hello Ms. Job Recruiter,

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Unfortunately, that industry is outside my area of expertise, but I’d appreciate your keeping me in mind for any future content needs in these industries: (fill in the blank).

Best regards,

Jane Doe

If the content request does appeal to you, then follow the recruiter’s instructions for passing along your resume and writing samples. Once you’re officially hired, don’t hesitate to request clarification on the project you’re working on. The people who hire you would much rather take the time to answer a few questions than to receive work that doesn’t fit their expectations. Some good questions to ask include:

• Are there any particular style guidelines you’d like me to follow?
• Would you like this formatted in any particular way?
• Should I email the completed work back to you or submit it elsewhere?
• Are there any particular service lines/products you’d like me to emphasize in this piece?

When you’ve received the specifics of your assignment, plan to get it done as quickly as possible. Even if you’ve got a week to finish it, try to complete it at least a day or two early. Set it aside, and then edit it like there’s no tomorrow. Editing and proofreading with fresh eyes is critical, as humans naturally see what they expect to see. Let’s say you’ve just written a sentence like, “Green Acres Veterinary Clinic welcomes your furry fiend to our office!” If you proofread that sentence shortly after you write it, your brain can trick you into seeing “friend” instead of “fiend.”

After you’ve submitted the assignment, the client may give you some brief feedback. If it’s negative, offer to do a revision. If it’s positive, ask the client if they’d be interested in sending a brief testimonial your way.

Congratulations! You’ve officially started your very own side hustle!

The freelance world is competitive and growing bigger every day. Stand out from the crowd by building your professional platform at Writers Work. You’ll get step-by-step guidance on becoming a successful freelancer, regardless of whether you’re just looking for a legit side hustle or you’re interested in earning a FT income. Join our exclusive community of friendly freelancers today!