Freelance Writing Vs. Blogging: Pros and Cons

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“A blogger can be a freelance writer, but a freelance writer cannot be a blogger”.

This statement is true to an extent, and in today’s post, I will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages of being a freelance writer over running your own blog.

Freelance writing is one of the easiest ways to earn money online. If you have good writing skills, you can join any of these freelance writing websites, grab some writing jobs, and earn money. The same is not true for blogging, as managing your own blog requires more than writing skills.

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of both types of work.

Advantages and disadvantages of freelance writing over blogging:

Freelance writing and blogging have much in common:

  • Can be a part-time job or a full-time job
  • You can work from home or virtually anywhere
  • You can be your own boss
  • You can work in your jammies

That is the common ground between these two types of online work, but there are also vast differences between them in terms of revenue, branding, and much more.

Today’s post will be especially useful for freelance writers who are planning to start a blog of their own.

Freelance writing and blogging
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Short-term money or long-term recurring money:

This is where a major difference between freelance writing and blogging enters the picture. With freelance writing you take an order for a particular piece of work, you finish it, and you get paid. With blogging, on the other hand, you need to constantly be writing and updating your content, and the money can come from various sources, but it will take some time to see that money.

Freelance writing is research and writing, while blogging presents a larger source of your expertise:

A freelance writer usually writes about various topics by researching information and then putting that information together in his own words and offering his sources, etc. Even if they have no inherent knowledge of a particular topic, freelance writers can write about anything, according to the client’s needs. Here is a nice guide by Daniel on how to make money Freelance writing 

Blogging requires you to be an expert in a particular field. In blogging the writer is not anonymous.  Your blog posts have a face and a name.  You write in the first person and offer your expertise with opinions, reviews, advice, and guidance. And you continue to write about that subject or related topics over time.

There are niche-based freelance writers (for example in the tech niche or the financial niche), and these freelance writers tend to earn more money, because they have expertise and insight to offer about the topic at hand.

If you are a freelance writer and should you decide to remain one, we would advise you to try to develop expertise in a particular niche, as this will help you to earn more money from future freelance projects. More on this concept at the conclusion of this article.

Blogging is more than just writing:

One of the major advantages of freelance writing is the fact that it is a more simple process than blogging. When you run your own blog, you need to tend to a multitude of important factors including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Regularly updating your blog
  • Promoting your blog
  • Engaging with the audience
  • Content planning
  • SEO of your blog

Freelance writers accept a writing job, finish it, and get paid. They do not have to deal with the many and varied management issues of a blogger.

Freelance writers may end up working as ghostwriters:

This is one of the biggest disadvantages of being a freelance writer. Most of the time your article will not be published under your name. This is known as ghostwriting.

Your client usually publishes an article written by you under his name, or under a pseudonym (“pen name” or a fake name). In this way, freelance writing may miss out on the opportunity to brand himself or herself, and this removes all potential long-term advantages for the writer.

Tip: When you are ghostwriting, try asking for more money.

Other differences between freelance writers and bloggers include:

  • Freelance writers do not require original inspiration, as they are given a subject and a deadline.
  • A freelance writer’s expertise in writing and they can write on almost any topic.
  • Over time freelance writing may become monotonous and boring – with the propensity to have to write on similar topics over and over again.

Which is better for your future: blogging or freelance writing?

I have worked as a freelance writer, and I know for sure that freelance writing is great when you need quick money. I have earned around $150-$300 for a single post, and that is excellent compensation when compared with the time spent writing the post.

Articles that I have written as a freelance writer are based on information pertinent to the niche in which I have the expertise, and I was paid so well because I understand this particular niche very well (for example, SEO and WordPress).

The major disadvantage of freelance writing is that it offers a single cash infusion based on the work you have been offered.  But when you are not working or writing, there is no income.

When you are the creator of your own blog, you can continue to make money on a recurring basis, based on various monetization techniques. Your ads will be running on your old blog posts and will continue to make money for you, even when you are not actively writing.

To make sure that cash flow continues from the present into the future, we would suggest that you consider starting a blog along with your freelance writing job. Launching and maintaining a successful blog will require time and effort, but over time you will learn more about the various money-making opportunities within the profession of blogging, and you will earn more and more money over time, according to what you learn and what you create.

Some things to remember:

  • Your blog should be about one topic (stick to a niche). Choose a topic about which you are passionate.
  • Maintain a regular flow of updates on your blog. Depending on your schedule, you could publish one article a day or one article a week. Try to write evergreen content, instead of time-sensitive content.
  • Starting a blog is quite easy.  Read my previously published guide on how to create your own WordPress blog.  In addition, my WordPress guide will give you sufficient knowledge on how to use WordPress, and you can also watch these WordPress videos to learn more.

Advantages of having a blog for a freelance writer:

Having a blog allows you to establish yourself as someone who has expertise in your niche, and the blog itself acts as a sort of portfolio for you over time.  Not only will this assist you in getting better writing jobs, but you will also find more jobs in your particular area of interest. Once you have created a name and profile or brand for yourself with your own blog, other bloggers will want to use your name rather than asking you to be a ghostwriter for them on their blog or website. You will also be more highly valued and thus paid more money for your work.

Tip: A blogger can add a service page to his or her blog, and take freelance writing jobs to earn extra money.

The hardest part of the process of making a transition from freelance writer to blogger is to get out of your comfort zone and work in the direction of the change.  Once you have made this change, however, and you have started to work on your blog, you will be creating a far more significant asset, and thus a better future for yourself.

Please use the comments section below to tell us about your experience as a freelance writer, and to offer your views on the pros and cons of being a freelance writer vs. being a blogger.

If you find the information in this post useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues.

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Authored By
A Blogger, Author and a speaker! Harsh Agrawal is recognized as a leader in digital marketing and FinTech space. Fountainhead of ShoutMeLoud, and a Speaker at ASW, Hero Mindmine, Inorbit, IBM, India blockchain summit. Also, an award-winning blogger.

14 thoughts on “Freelance Writing Vs. Blogging: Pros and Cons”

  1. Isaac

    Great post and you’re right it doesn’t have to be an “either or” type of situation. Blogging can help your freelance writing career – and freelance writing can help your blogging.

    It’s no secret that a ton of talent writers have started earning a living through their blog – but a successful blog can act as a spring board to a freelance writing career. You can approach clients with a pitch along the lines of “I started X blog and grew it to an audience of Y visitors, and I can grow your audience too.”

    On the flip side, being a freelance writer gives you many of the skills needed to create a top-notch blog. There are plenty of talented writers that aren’t actually all that good at writing engaging blog posts. Plus you’ll be more experienced and better able to pump out posts in a reasonable amount of time.

  2. Elna | TwinsMommy

    Not sure I agree with everything you say. I’m a freelance writer and have had a blog dedicated to my freelance writing business since the get go. I treat my blog like a client and write every week. My blog has helped me land high-paying gigs too.

    I just recently started a personal blog which is growing rapidly because I know how to write compelling and engaging content. So yes, you can be an excellent blogger if you’re a freelance writer. I can whip out a 4,000 word post on my personal blog in under an hour because I’m a freelance writer.

    I know how the online world works and I know how to promote my posts since I’m often paid to promote my client’s posts. I also upload my client’s post into their CMS, which in turn, has helped me how to optimize my posts.

    So, being a freelance writer first has helped me be a better blogger and I have proof since in three months of starting a new blog in a new niche, I have almost 20k pageviews and thousands of shares.

  3. Jewel

    I was thinking about it yesterday! I think it depends on passion. But blogging is better in the long run. I also love it as a newbie. Superb comparison Harsh.

  4. Rajeeb

    Blogging is always better than freelancing. 😀 Although I don’t have patience . I prefer blogging to freelancing

  5. Siddhant

    I am running my own blog but looks like i am not getting good traffic from it, and i was going to start my hands in writing as a freelancer, however after reading this post of yours i think i should wait more and keep on writing content for my own blog and i hope i will do better in writing for myself.
    Thanks for the post.

  6. motupally

    Harsh , feel good content you placed here . As a blogger and SEO freelancer i am very much impressed with your in detail explanation . Each and every point of this content will be perfect inputs for new bloggers & Freelancer . As you said freelancing is instant money generator and Blogging is long turm money generate .

    While Blogging we should be very much aware with google seo updates ( Like , penguine , panda ).

    Any how, you made me to read feel good article today . I am very much connected with this content. while reading this post , i recollect all the mistakes which were done at my early blogging days….

  7. Stephen Malan

    Great post Harsh. I do a mixture of writing my own posts, probably 85% and using a free lance writer for larger articles, reports, etc. I enjoy blogging because the revenue stream is ongoing.

    Anyway, nice comparison of bloggers and writers.

    Thanks again,

  8. Ambika Choudhary Mahajan

    I ventured into the blogging arena after a hugely successful career as a freelance copywriter & eBook author. I have had more work than I could handle at prices which most Indian writers can only dream of.
    Well, freelance writing is surely quick money but it is not easy money either. And if you are pursuing your goal with a passion as a blogger, success will definitely be yours one day.
    I knew NOTHING abt blogging when I started my first blog last June, but have learned a lot over the last 9 months. That is because I am hungry for success, driven by passion & put my heart and soul into everything I pursue- be it freelance writing or blogging.
    I completely disagree with the statement that, “A blogger can be a freelance writer but not vice versa”.
    Infact, most bloggers write such terrible English that they are surviving merely because of good SEO skills. I fail to understand who would hire them as writers. Except, of course, the people who look for $1/500 words writers!
    😀

  9. mnbachari

    Hi, Harsh. This post is too good to be missed. It’s always between making quick money and creating something that earns you income for a long time. And freelancing is not that easy either. So one should start a blog and add a ‘hire me’ page.

  10. Nizam Khan

    Excellent Post Harsh! Agreed, freelance writing is easier than blogging, because in blogging there is a lot of extra things to be done like regular updates, SEO, promotion and so on. Whereas, in freelancing it’s kind of take the task, finish it and get paid. Thanks for sharing and tweeted 🙂

  11. Edson Hale

    You highlighted well the pros and cons of both the trades; one thing I would mention here if you are a writer by nature you should not try blogging because it needs another type of temperament where you have to be jack of all trades and content writing is one of its trades. So instead of just impressing by huge earnings of bloggers; a content writer should first examine himeself whether he has the patience to wait for an year and even after that put his best quality time to retain the level and keep trying to escalate it.

  12. shiwangi peswani

    Too good Harsh. While reading the post I felt as if your words are describing exactly what I feel being a freelancer writer trying to become a blogger. However your statement saying ‘“A blogger can be a freelance writer but a Freelancer writer cannot be a blogger” demoralize me a bit, but then again all the points you mentioned are true.
    You know what, one major advantage is that in freelancing, you do not need to search for the topic, which takes too much time…sigh…..
    While I love freelancing too much but hope to turn into a blogger in the near future.

  13. Ravi kumar

    I have my own blogs for which I used to write. It was awesome experience to interact with your readers.

    I used to write for various clients as a freelance writer and also work as a full time Freelancer SEO writer. I was always seeking to read such type of post. Thank you Harsh for your effort. In India also, users of blog are increasing. 🙂

  14. Saadi

    Thank you very much Harsh for this beautiful post. I have been working as freelance writer since 4 years and in between, i have tried running my own blog as well. One thing that i would like to add here is; running a blog along with freelancer writing is a challenging job. You have to be dedicated towards your plans.

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