How to Create a Freelance Writer Bio That Wins Clients

Learn how to write a freelance writer bio that lands clients.

The freelance writer is a jack of all trades, with skills and expertise in crafting content for social media campaigns, writing blog posts or articles, and other copywriting projects.

Freelance writers are often the go-to person for creating SEO-friendly yet engaging content that can capture potential customers’ attention.

A great way to win more jobs and increase your income is to write a professional bio that showcases your writing skills and services and essentially tells your story.

Many new writers find it difficult to write their professional bio, but it’s key to attracting the right clients.

Essentially, it’s your elevator pitch that goes to multiple places like on social media platforms and at the end of the articles you write as a guest blogger or for publications. Your bio is the hook that draws a potential client in.

If it’s optimized on your social media profiles, it can bring clients to you, so you don’t have to go searching for them. Many of my best clients found me on LinkedIn. And a good bio can entice someone to read your freelance writing resume and cover letter when you apply for freelance work.

All the content you write that gets published increases your visibility and can help attract new potential clients, so your bio needs to be on point and you should highlight a few skills that will attract companies in your niche.

In this blog post, you will learn what a freelance writer bio is and some tips on creating one. Plus, I’ll give you freelance bio examples so you can see how to write your own.

What is a Freelance Writer Bio?

A freelance writer’s bio is an online representation of you, your expertise, and skills that go everywhere and helps you win jobs.

Your bio is essentially the spiel you say to people to explain what you do, and it can be optimized on social media platforms like LinkedIn, guest posts, or for publications to help bring freelance writing clients to you.

It serves as a mini-resume so that your target clientele can learn exactly what you do and how you can help them. It can be a major deciding factor for companies searching for writers or authors on the internet.

Why Your Freelance Writer Bio is Important

Your professional bio needs to be on point. Since it’s your elevator pitch and can attract potential clients, it needs to be good. A good author bio can boost your online visibility and keep your client pipeline filled with clientele. It’s a good way to market your services.

And a well-written bio can get your writing cover letter and resume read and encourage people to look at your portfolio and samples when you apply for jobs online. They may even decide to Google your name to learn more.

That’s how important it can be because if done right, it can be very helpful in getting you more jobs and skyrocket your freelance writing career.

Plus, it gives people who need writers a way to connect with you through your story.

How to Create an Author Bio

1. Write a One-Sentence Summary About What You Do

First, you want to write a one-sentence summary that describes exactly what you do. This is your elevator pitch, so you want to be clear about what you do and the industry you serve. Your freelance writing niche should be obvious.

Your elevator pitch is your brief response to people when they ask what you do. For instance, one version of mine is – I’m a Certified Content Marketing Strategist and Freelance Blogger for businesses in the security industry.

Being clear and descriptive will help you get each job you want because businesses will know quickly if you’re the right writer for them.

It’s simple, describes what I do, and what my niche is – I write blog posts for companies in the security niche. This spiel is something you’ll say over and over again. 

A well-crafted bio will help you with any job search over and over again.

2. Include Your Skills, Qualifications, and Accomplishments

Highlight your writing skills and qualifications, as well as any accolades or certifications you have. You may also want to mention your writing experience.

But don’t list all your qualifications and accolades, only the most important ones. Focus on the hard skills, experience, and other vital things.

For example:

Certified Content Marketing Strategist from HubSpot Academy -Achievements in content marketing strategy include a 20x increase in web traffic over the course of three years using SEO and social media strategies for a security agency blog.

You want to list things you can prove, like publication in prestigious magazines, your education, years of experience and education, etc. You may also want to add a few relevant past jobs if you have room to add them in. For instance, if you ever were an editor or proofreader, that’s related to writing.

Just share the most important things that help you stand apart from other writers. Like if you have a degree in journalism or if you earned any special awards.

And I want to add that notice the bio example above gives an exact time frame. You don’t want to be vague, giving exact examples and using time frames like “four years” is more professional.

If you were published in Forbes or ThriveGlobal, by all means, add that to your bio. You can also mention past clients even if they aren’t well-known but are in your niche. Just make sure you get their permission to add them to your bio.

If I’m being honest, I need to update mine to include accomplishments. Just know that your writer bio is always a work in progress. This is good as you’ll want it always to reflect the work you want.

Adding this information increases your credibility in the eyes of potential employers and serves as proof that backs up your claims.

But what can you add if you have no previous experience or writing samples? Well, if you have passion for your niche that often shows through your messaging. You can also create samples that show your writing skills. In the long run, people just want to see that you can write.

3. Include a Professional Headshot

A professional headshot is crucial and you’ll need one if writing is to be your career. You want to make a good first impression with your bio, so include one that highlights your best qualities and shows off the personality you want clients to see when they contact you for services.

Even if you don’t like taking pictures, a professional headshot is a must. If you take your career seriously, you need professional pictures taken by someone else.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve been asked for a professional headshot when answering HARO queries and guest posts. For the longest time, I had a crappy old picture that was pixilated. People noticed, so I had to get professional pictures taken. It’s important.

A good photo helps people connect with your story.

4. Use Keywords for Your Niche

What do you want your name associated with? What type of writing job is best for you?

Do you want to be a financial writer or write case studies for businesses in the cannabis industry?

Choose keywords that illustrate exactly what you do. Many people found me because I included that I wrote for security businesses and had many years of experience in law enforcement.

Do you specialize in technical writing or financial writing? Do you write case studies or white papers? Think of words that your ideal client would search for.

Here is an example of a bio with some keywords thrown in:

Sharon May writes SEO-optimized blog articles for businesses in the Cannabis industry. She’s written articles for Cannabis Daily and Cannabis Times as well as 123 Daily News. Sharon also provides ghostwriting services, and editing, and coaches other writers.

Her educational background is in business and journalism, so she has a background in content writing. She has helped some of her clientele increase their website traffic 2x and helped them gain more email subscribers. You can learn more about her services at cannabiswriter.com. 

These, of course, are made-up publications, but you get the gist.

Keywords are powerful when marketing your freelance writing business and can get you prospective clientele and freelance writing jobs. 

Just don’t forget to add these phrases and words on the websites you sign up to get writing jobs on like ClearVoice or even Upwork and Fiverr. Though if you want to hear what I really think about Upwork and Fiverr, read my article – Is Upwork good for beginners.

5. Personalize Your Author Bio and Add Personality

Of course, you’re a professional writer, so your author bio needs to reflect that, but you also need to customize it to each publication or company you write for.

For instance, if it’s for a freelance website, you want to tailor it to that site. I wrote an article for Make a Living Writing on getting over fear as a freelance writer. It was my first guest post, so please ignore the bio. Maybe I could have written:

Example:

Heather Ritchie is a freelance writer for the security industry, but her true passion is helping other women leave their 9-5 to work from home as freelance writers. When she’s not writing, she’s reading business and mystery books and whipping up new recipes in the kitchen and lives with her family in Virginia. You can learn more about Heather at Writer’s Life for You.

If I’m writing for a business website on how to run a freelance business, I may say:

Heather Ritchie is an SEO content writer and Certified Content Marketing Strategist for hire. She specializes in writing long-form content and editing for businesses in the security industry and has over 20 years of law enforcement experience.

When she’s not writing blog articles, she’s teaching new recruits at the academy and learning new cooking recipes in the kitchen. 

Okay, so I’m not teaching new recruits anymore, but you get the gist. If it’s a niche topic, you want to stay within those boundaries.

You can also show a little bit of your personality and add a personal touch too. You could say:

Heather Ritchie is the owner of Writer’s Life for You, a blog that helps women who want to ditch their boring day jobs to work from home as freelance writers for a better work-life balance.

She’s passionate about long-form content writing that makes Google happy and helps other bloggers who don’t have time to write blog articles for their business. Follow her on Twitter @Writerslife78 and visit her website, Writer’s Life for You. 

Depending on the magazine, journal, blog, sites, or whatever you’re writing for, you can add as little or as much personality as you want. Just make sure to follow their guidelines and understand the messaging they want to express. 

And you’ve probably noticed that professional bios are written in the third person and not the first person. Instead of “I’ve been a screenwriter for four years”, you would say, “Heather Ritchie has been a screenwriter for four years.”

Adding personality to your short biography allows you to get creative too.

6. Include a Link to Your Website

When you embark on, your website is the place for potential clients and employers to learn more about you. It should have an overview of who you are as a freelancer and include samples of what types of writing services you provide.

For this reason, I tell all people they really need to create a freelance writing website. So, writers’ bios must contain links back to their site so people can find out more about you and if you’re the right person for the job.

Do not forget to include a link to your website in the text of your freelance writer bio! Also, don’t forget to add writer for hire or something similar, so people know that you’re actively looking for new freelance clients.

You can also link to resources and incentives. For instance, I have a free email course for students called Freelance Writing Path to Profits. I could link to it in certain bios as well. 

7. Add a Call to Action 

As you can see, some of the above examples have a clear call to action (CTA). Tell the person reading your freelance writer bio what you want them to do.

If they want to hire you for business writing, make sure you invite them to contact you or direct them to your website to learn about your services. 

Examples of CTAs include:

• Visit my website 
• Follow me on Twitter
• Contact me at [email protected]
• Schedule a free consultation

You can be creative with the way you sneak in a CTA.

Your CTA is the point where you ask the reader to visit your Hire Me page, or something similar. Adding a CTA increases your chances of landing freelance writing gigs based on your author bio.

8. Make Your Freelance Writer Bio Easy to Read

Bios should be formatted in a way that is easy to read. Try including bullet points, numbers, and short paragraphs, so it becomes easier for people to scan your content quickly.

Your goal is not necessarily text-based ads but rather attention-grabbing headlines or images with clickable links back to the full post on your site.

The design really depends on where you’re posting it but making it easy for your target client to read certainly helps. By making it easier for readers and possible clients, you’re helping people decide if they want to go further with you.

Plus, it may be a little more fun to read your list of writing skills this way and help people scan the page your bio is on to get the most important information quickly.

FAQs

What should I write in my freelancer profile?

As mentioned above, you want to mention your writing skills and accomplishments and add keywords that your perfect client would use to search for writing services. Also, include a link back to your website so they can see your portfolio and samples of content that you’ve written for others.

Make sure to customize it to each place you use it and add a call to action that tells potential clients exactly what to do. You must also be sure to add a one-sentence summary and professional headshot if possible so readers can connect with you. 

If you have the room, you can add details about your personal life that may make you more interesting for an even better connection.

What you can add depends on how much space you have. Some profiles have more space than others, so use the space you have wisely. And you can be creative as long as it’s not silly.

What is a short bio?

A short bio is a brief, concise paragraph that includes who you are and what you do in short form. When you don’t have room for your complete author bio, your one-sentence summary works well as you can still include some personal skills and accomplishments. 

Sometimes you’re given a few sentences as a short bio. So, why do some sites only allow short bios? Because people don’t have time to read long paragraphs on a page. Most people scan information anyway.

Final Thoughts on Freelance Writer Bio

Now that you know the important elements to include in your professional writer bio, it’s time to craft your own! You can even use your writers bio to land clients on social media platforms or when you’re guest posting.

Writers who want to find high-paying clients must perfect their one-sentence summaries and bios. It will aid your job search every time and act as a hook to draw potential clients in. And you can even be a bit creative which makes every writer happy.

After all, a good biography can lead them right to you with the keywords they use. Be sure to include the words your clientele would use to search for a writer like blog post, article, case study, etc.

In this digital age, you’ll find the more places you put your bio on the internet, the more success you’ll have as it plays a key role in finding work for freelancers today.

Want to learn more about getting started as a freelance writer? Sign up for my free email course on how to start a freelance writing business. 

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A freelance writing bio can help you make more money as a freelance writer when you optimize it.