So you want to be a freelance writer. Well, what’s stopping you?

How about things like what to write about, where to start, how to get your story published and how much to charge?

Seems like everyone has a blog but are they making money from it? Most blogs don’t generate much of an income and the successful bloggers usually make the majority of their money from things other than their blog.

Successful bloggers use their blog as a foundation for their other endeavors. Things like writing e-books, selling photographs, membership sites and freelance writing.

Opportunities abound for freelance writers. Writing blogs, newsletters, content for company websites, magazines and more. The problem is where to start.

You can’t expect to jump right in and be a featured writer in a major publication. Just like anything other job you need training. Even if you are a stellar writer, you need to learn how to market yourself, how to pitch articles to editors and more.

There are more than a few courses online where you can learn the basics about various types of writing. Whether it be Travel writing, Business Content writing or something else, there are several places where you can get the necessary training to be successful.

This is one area where you can’t be jack of all trades. You will need to find a niche or a couple of niches and market your skills to those areas. In order to do that you need to look at what your background and interests are.

Print and Online Magazines, Blogs, Financial Institutions, Attorneys, Medical Providers, Non Profits, Government Agencies, Churches, Manufacturing Companies, Service Companies and Mom and Pop Companies all need and use writers.

Everything from company blogs, newsletters, website content, annual reports, internal communications, proposals, sales copy and more all need writers. When Acme Widgets runs a sale chances are the Sales Manager doesn’t sit down and write the sales ad for the newspaper or company website. Instead the company relies on a copywriter to write convincing copy to get customers to buy the widgets.

The same is true for Hospitals. Look at any Hospital website and you will see a lot of information covering everything from basic information to what the hospital specializes in. That information on the website wasn’t written by a Doctor. The Hospital hired a writer to write the website content.

You can see examples for Law Firms, Financial Institutions and just about every company doing business.

Of course there are the magazines both print and online. Have an interest in model trains? There are magazines and numerous online sites about model trains. Coin collecting, history, travel, horses, parenting, business, investments, pets, cooking, sports and well you get the idea. With all the businesses, websites and print publications that exist there is a need for writers both in-house and freelance writers.

For someone just starting out there is information overload. You are searching everywhere for information on how to make money writing. In order to get the best information and get your freelance writing career jump started, here are a few resources that are useful.

Check them out and sign up for the daily emails. Most offer courses covering everything from pitching editors to finding your niche. You don’t have to sign up for the courses right away. Start by reading their websites, get on the email list and then decide if you want to invest in more focused training.

Copyblogger

Anyone who has a blog or writes for anyone should follow Brian Clark and his team at Copyblogger. Free and paid courses a job board, a blog and guest posts from the most successful in the industry makes this a must have in your favorites list.

Problogger

Darren Rouse is a powerhouse in the blogging world. His website offers tips on starting a blog how to make money blogging, content writing, business blogging and more.

Make a Living Writing

Carol Tice has a couple of sites one is Make a Living Writing which offers tons of free resources. Everything from websites that pay writers to tips on writing e-books can be found on her site. Carol also offers a paid membership site, The Freelance Writers Den , that she opens up to new members from time to time.

The Renegade Writer

Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell have put together a great website full of resources for the new and established freelance writer.

Goins, Writer

Jeff Goins knows about writing. From blogs to books he has done it, done it successfully and can teach you how to do it.

Writers in Charge

Bamidele Onibalusi has made a living as a freelance writer since 2010. Starting with nothing he has achieved what most freelance writers want. He offers tons of resources and tips and has one goal, to help make you successful.

It is easy to become overloaded with information and your inbox gets so clogged that you are swamped just trying to keep up. But follow these people, sign up for their email updates, read the articles and go back on their sites and read the archives. That is the first step in learning how to be a freelance writer.

You don’t have to invest a lot of money but you do need to invest your time if you want to be successful.