How To Be A Writer In The Philippines

Becoming a freelance writer in the Philippines is filled with opportunities and unique benefits. But one question you may ask at the very start is how to be a writer in the Philippines?

Today we are going to be addressing this very question. You will find out the unique five-step plan on how to be a writer in the Philippines, how much freelance writers earn in the Philippines, and lastly, we will also find out three powerful tips to help you become a successful writer.

The focus today is specifically on freelancing and setting up your own writing business. Alternatively, working as an employee is another excellent option. Often, the best places for these jobs can be found on Jobstreet & Indeed.

Table of Contents

How To Become A Freelance Writer In The Philippines?

1. Obtain The Writing Tools

When you are looking at how to be a writer in the Philippines, the most crucial step is obtaining the tools to carry out the writing tasks. Luckily you do not need many tools, and the tools can often be purchased at a very low price. Later, we will discuss added extras such as a website, but you will only need access to a laptop/PC and a stable Internet connection for this section.

Recently a friend of Filipino wealth wanted to start her own freelancing business. Hence, we decided to help her look for the equipment, we searched in many malls around Cebu city and some other online stores, but ultimately we found the best price on Lazada. In addition, some sellers also include free items such as virus protection and Microsoft office, which can be beneficial for a freelance writer in the Philippines.

One of the most important free tools I would recommend for all writers is Grammarly Grammarly is the world’s best free spell-checking service, which can be added on as an extension on your google doc, Microsoft office, and Google Chrome. Even though this is free, they do offer an extremely useful premium service, which is fantastic.

Once you have your laptop/PC, basic editing applications (Microsoft Office, Google Docs, etc.), and a Grammarly account, it’s time to move onto our second stage on how to become a freelance writer in the Philippines.

2. Gain Writing Experience

Gaining experience is the next critical part of our five-step plan on how to be a writer in the Philippines. This step can sometimes be overlooked but can be the key to success. If you are an experienced writer, you could skip this step, but there may be some benefit from gaining additional experience.

So how do you gain experience writing in the Philippines? There are two legitimate strategies. First, you can either sign up to sites such as Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, TaskRabbit, Upwork, Toptal and offer your services (some new writers provide their services at a very low rate to build up feedback). Or the second option would be to Join Facebook groups such as “Freelance Writer Philippines” or others.

Both options have pros and cons, and you may decide to build experience through both of these platforms. Once you have built up a reasonable level of clientele and have received testimonies, you can then start to move on to the next stage of the process.

3. Build Your Portfolio

Section 3 on the five-step plan to be a writer in the Philippines involves building your portfolio. At this point, you have most likely worked with several clients on various projects. Therefore, this stage aims to build your portfolio.

At this stage, it is best not to under quote your client, and any entry-level prices you set for yourself should be raised to match your skillset. As you have worked with many clients during this time, your skills have improved, and therefore, you should be paid more than an entry-level writer. This is sometimes the most challenging shift to make, especially if clients offer a very low rate.

When you are building your portfolio, it’s wise to either set up a website or a social media account specifically for your freelance writing. If funds are slightly tight, we have a list of free web hosting services for the Philippines.

Having your website also puts you above other freelancers. I’ve spoken and worked with many freelance writers across the Philippines, and very few of them own a website. Those who did immediately got my attention for all the right reasons. There are also external benefits such as the ability to take payments via your website, for example.

4. Market Your Service

Step 4 on how to be a writer in the Philippines is to market your service. For example, if you have decided to take the route of gigs on Fiverr, you can advertise your services directly on the Fiverr platform. Alternatively, if you use social media such as Facebook, you can promote your Facebook page accordingly.

The great thing about social media is that if you choose to advertise your services, You can target your ideal client very specifically, thus eliminating wasting money. If funds are a little bit tight currently, then you have the option to use LinkedIn, as this is often the best place to find professionals.

Do you want to write for a Blogger? Do you want to write a book? Do you want to translate languages? These questions will help you assess your marketing strategy effectively.

5. Grow Your writing Business

The last stage on how to become a freelance writer in the Philippines involves the stop, start, and continue the method. This is a self-assessment of you and your business, which is conducted to help you make more money, cut unnecessary bills, and ultimately help you grow.

Start: What things do you need to start doing to take your business on to the next level? Perhaps this is marketing, networking, YouTube, or anything else. Whatever the new process is, it should be something that will allow you to grow if you start doing it.

Stop: Stop is on the other side of the coin. What things do you need to stop doing for you to grow? For example, do you need to stop picking up small clients, do you need to stop offering discounts or promotions?

Continue: At the last stage of growth, we have continue. Continue is the process of seeing what has worked for you and continuing with those tasks.

This five-step plan on how to be a writer in the Philippines will take you from an entry-level amateur writer to a successful freelance writer. But what about the salary… I mean …it’s an important question. How much do writers earn in the Philippines?

How Much Do Writers Make In The Philippines?

An entry-level writer can earn between 17,000 – 20,000 pesos per month. An experienced writer typically earns between 20,000 – 35,000 pesos a month. Alternatively, a full-time freelance writer can earn over 35,000 pesos a month. However, the total amount depends on your location, the type of client, and the nature of the task.

If you are based in Metro Manila and are looking to work for a corporation and not write freelancing, an entry-level writer can earn between 16,000 and 22,000 pesos per month.

How Do Freelance Writers Find Clients?

Through Social Media: Social media is one of the quickest and free methods to find freelance clients. Several groups are set up on sites such as Facebook, where clients often post the job, the task, and the salary. It’s always best to be aware of social media accounts as, unfortunately, there are many fake accounts.

Though Cold Emails: This is another option that is not as popular as social media but can help you find clients or your dream job. If you come across a well-established business, sending them a message offering your services may seem like a useless activity, but it might just land you a new client.

Though Marketing: If you have the funds available, marketing is a great way to build your clientele. Typically social media tends to be the cheaper option; however, many other alternatives may be more suitable depending on your specific industry.

Though Word Of Mouth: if your clients are within the Philippines, then word of mouth is slightly more common; however, word of mouth still works for international clients. This is often a great way how to build your business.

3 Powerful Tip For Freelance Writers

So now we know how to be a writer in the Philippines and how much writers make, it’s time to look at three powerful tips to help you with your freelancing business in the Philippines.

Always Write In An Active Voice

There’s a big difference between an active voice and a passive voice. If you re-read this article, you will notice that in certain parts, I use passive speech. Unfortunately, It is best to avoid passive voice in some cases. See the table for some examples.

Active	Passive
I Do My Homework	My Homework Is Done
She Will Deliver The Letter	The Letters Where Delivery
Sally Drove Her Van	The Van Will Be Driven By Sally
I Have Served Dinner	Dinner Has Been Served

As you can see in the active section, the subject (such as the person) has come before the action. Therefore, the active voice sounds very logical and easily readable. In the passive voice, it is still easily readable, but the sentences can be confusing to read in some cases. In short, the active tone shows stronger writing.

The active voice conveys a strong, clear tone, and the passive voice is subtler and weaker. Here’s some good advice: don’t use the passive voice just because you think it sounds a bit fancier than the active voice. Grammarly.com

Become An Expert In Marketing

Marketing is such an essential part of business and one that, in time, can be neglected. There are many different types of marketing; one of the hottest and best types of marketing at the moment is YouTube.

This is such a great source of marketing because it allows you to market yourself in a different way than traditional social media. There are also many ways how you can make money from building a YouTube channel. The best YouTubers use YouTube as a marketing platform to send their audience to a product, service, or call to action. When they do this, they are effectively killing two birds with one stone (in other words, potentially earning twice the income).

Use Voice Software To Cut Down On Time.

The reality when you are looking at how to be a writer in the Philippines is that writing, unfortunately, takes time. However, some writers have found that they can save much time through voice software. Speaking to a few users, a 4-5 hour article can be cut down to only 1-3 hours on average. Microsoft Office is an excellent tool for this as they have their own inbuilt Microsoft speech service.

Conclusion: How To Become A Writer In The Philippines

Becoming a writer in the Philippines is a great business that can be started relatively quickly compared to other similar professions. If working for a website owner, it’s a great idea to become familiar with WordPress or whichever website builder they are using. This is because many website owners, such as bloggers, like to outsource the whole process (from writing to uploading), which could earn you extra income.

If you are starting your own freelancing business, you have many options in terms of your business direction and salary; therefore, having a structured plan will help you in the beginning stages of business.

Filipino Wealth has a business template that you can download for free to help you get started. We wish you every success in becoming a writer in the Philippines.

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