So You Wanna Start Freelancing?

I started my freelancing journey by taking a course –– Content and Copywriting by MyCaptain. It was a 6-month course.

Though it helped in some ways, it cost a lot of time (and money).

That’s why I’m writing this — to show you how to start freelancing without any course. Just simple, practical steps.

But first, here’s something I learnt from that course:

You don’t need to master them all. Get started by holding one part of the thread, and eventually you’ll find your place.

Here’s how you can start your journey— no course needed.

Step1: Start with your interest

• I got my first gig (SaaS company) through a LinkedIn hiring post. 

• I got the second work (copywriting) through documenting my journey of freelancing on LinkedIn.

• And the third one (mental health blog writing) is through outreach.

I have an interest in psychology because of my own journey, and I've read a lot about it. Which made me go and do outreach to mental health organisations. I was open to writing free samples and even committed to doing 3–4 posts for free until they were okay with giving me paid work.

Luckily, the sample was enough for them, and I got the work.

I also tried getting some finance gigs, as I've done an MBA in finance, so I had some credibility and confidence for those gigs.

I think this is where you should start as well — from your interest or career background.

I know someone who likes fashion, and she runs her newsletter, Popculture Sponge, where she breaks down the styling aspects of shows and movies.

Step 2: Pick the Platform

Once you have a niche, you can select the form of writing you want to start with. You don't have to limit yourself to it. It is just to get started.

• Start with whatever is known to you and you are comfortable with. Maybe you want to start with blogging, as you may have heard about it before. 

• You may want to start with ghostwriting LinkedIn posts, as you are already writing posts for yourself.

• Maybe writing a newsletter interests you more because your favorite creator writes a newsletter. 

The baseline idea is to not overthink and get started from somewhere.

I started with LinkedIn by documenting my freelancing journey.

Step 3: Start writing to build a portfolio

Once the niche is figured out and the format is figured out (for now).

You should start your own account.

• Interested in ghostwriting for wellness coaches? Then start talking about wellness on LinkedIn. 

• Interested in writing about cricket? Then start your own newsletter about cricket.

• Interested in storytelling? Then start making videos on IG to learn scriptwriting.

Then you can take that writing of yours as a portfolio and pitch.

Like I’m writing this newsletter which I’ll use as a portfolio to pitch the newsletter clients.

Alternative ways to go about

What I suggested above is one way of going about it, which I think is the best way. There are other ways as well, like

• You can ask your friends or Chatgpt to give you a few topics on your selected niche, and then you can write about it and build some sample work through it. This way, you can even build samples on multiple niches.

• You can, of course, go through the traditional route of doing internships and figuring it out through that.

And there might be other ways that I can't think of right now.

I hope you got some ideas to get started.

Step 4: How to get the work?

Now that you’ve got clarity on your niche, platform, and some samples — let’s talk about how to actually get clients.

Here are the 3 simplest ways to begin:

LinkedIn hiring posts:
Search for terms like “hiring freelance writer” on LinkedIn and filter by ‘Past 24 hours’ or ‘Past week’. Skim through the posts and apply to the relevant ones. Keep your pitch short and tailored.

Outreach:
Find brands or people you’d like to work with. Send them a cold DM or email introducing yourself, sharing your relevant work, and how you can help them.
Start small — even 2–3 messages a week builds momentum.

Referrals:
Reach out to people you already know — past clients, friends, or anyone in your network.
Let them know what kind of work you're looking for. Sometimes, one message can lead to your next gig.

More about outreach in my previous newsletter–– 3 outreach strategies.

Bonus: 2 things that helped the most

I think what helped me dearly when I started was :

• my LinkedIn presence 

• the network I made through it

This is what I'll suggest as well. Build your presence on social media. Start with any platform you are comfortable with, share your ideas there and be creative (as hell). Once you have built enough presence, you can move it to other platforms like X, IG, Medium, and Substack.

Add writers to your network. Watch, connect and learn. 

You don’t need a massive following. You just need to show up consistently, be helpful, and share what you're learning. The internet is your co-working space.

And…. that’s all from me for now.

TL;DR

1. Pick a niche based on your interests or background (e.g. psychology, fashion, cricket).

2. Choose a format – blog, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, etc.

3. Start writing publicly to build a portfolio (talk about your niche, share ideas).

4. Find work via LinkedIn posts, cold outreach, or referrals.

I hope this gave you some clarity and a starting point.
You don’t need a roadmap. You need a direction. The rest, you’ll figure out on the way.

Try things. Experiment with them. Build again. That’s the whole point of Charaiveti — keep moving.

I’ll be back soon with another — no fluff, just what’s working.

Until the next time,
Radhey Shyam

More at: 

• Free Resource: LinkedIn Content Calendar

• 3 tried and tested Outreach Strategies