14 Freelance Writing Skills in Kenya You Need to Succeed

Last updated on July 6th, 2023 at 06:41 am

In this blog post, we will reveal the freelance writing skills in Kenya you need to succeed.

See, new freelancers in Kenya are often caught off guard by the difficulty of securing and maintaining writing assignments. 

Many aspiring writers assume that if they have a degree in English or another related field, a love of reading and writing, and a willingness to spend their nights and weekends working from home, they’ll have no problem finding clients and keeping them happy. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The market is saturated with writers who are underqualified to meet client needs or overqualified to drive down rates. 

As a new freelance writer in Kenya, you need to understand your competitive advantages so that you can stand out from the crowd and make sure your clients keep coming back for more.

In order for your writing career to thrive rather than struggle, you need to understand what sets you apart from other writers as well as what other writers bring to the table that you don’t. Here are 14 freelance writing skills that will help you succeed in this competitive industry.

1). You’re a storyteller

Freelance writers in Kenya are storytellers. They tell the stories of their clients, and they tell stories about themselves. They weave words into interesting narratives that captivate their readers.

Freelance writers are not journalists. Journalism is fact-based, and it relies on a strict code of ethics to remain objective in its reporting. 

Freelance writing is based on opinion, and it offers writers the opportunity to share their personal experiences with readers in an engaging way. 

Freelancers aren’t required to be unbiased, but they do need to understand that their opinions will influence the way readers perceive their clients’ businesses or organizations and how they feel about them as people. 

2). You have a unique voice

In order to capture your readers’ attention, you need to have a voice that stands out from the crowd of other writers offering similar services for similar rates. 

Your voice should be clear, concise, and engaging so that your clients keep coming back for more even after they find another writer who can meet their needs for less money or more free time than you can provide them with at this point in your career. 

3). Know Your Niche

The single most important freelance writing skill in Kenya you can have is a clear understanding of the niche in which you want to work. You need to know who your audience is and what you can offer them.

Why is this important? 

When you know your niche, you can tailor your writing to meet their needs. This will make your writing more relevant and interesting to them. It will also help you form the right relationships with clients, which leads us to our next point…

What sets apart the best freelancers in Kenya from the rest is their ability to network with clients in order to build relationships that last. Your job as a freelancer is not just to write content for your client but to also cultivate a relationship with them.

If you are able to do this, then clients will stick with you long after they’ve received their last piece of work from you because they know that they can always turn to you when they need help or advice on their projects. 

And if there is one thing that every freelance writer in Kenya needs, it is good relationships with their clients.

4). Learn Copywriting Skills

Copywriting is the art of using words to convince people to take action. As a copywriter, you’ll be able to craft content that is persuasive and engaging.

This will help you get your ideas across to your clients and persuade them to work with you rather than the competition. And when you’re able to do this, you’ll also be able to grow your freelance writing business.

Good copywriting helps keep readers on your page and encourages them to read on. This means that they will be more likely to read all of your content, which is important for both the writer and the client.

Here are some tips for writing content your readers will love:

• Use power words. Words like, risk-free, guarantee, and delighted
• Write in a conversational tone
• Keep ideas simple
• Write to sell – whether it’s a product or idea
• Write for the benefits, not just the features

5). Learn About SEO and Searcher Intent

You need SEO as one of your freelance writing skills in Kenya.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about making your content findable on search engines. This means that your content must be easy to find, by both people and search engines.

In order to do this, you must learn about searcher intent.

Searcher intent is the reason why people are searching for something on the internet. It’s the purpose of their search, and it’s important to understand this so that you can create content that satisfies their needs (and therefore ranks highly in the search engines).

For example: Let’s say that a potential client has a small business and wants to know how much it costs to advertise online. She searches Google for “cost of advertising online” and types her query into Google.com.

In order for her question to be answered, she must click on an organic result (i.e., a listing at the top of the page that doesn’t have any ads next to it). In other words, she doesn’t want to pay anything for her answer – she just wants it!

This is searcher intent: The searcher only wants information – no action needed! If she were looking for a solution or product – like “advertising agency near me” – then she would be performing an action and would pay more attention to ads than organic results.

Instead of writing content that only talks about how much advertising costs per month or week, you should be writing content that answers the searcher’s question by providing information about how much advertising costs per week or per month.

Related:

• How To Become A Virtual Assistant In Kenya With No Experience
• 10+ Best Ways to Make Money from Home on the Side

6). Research Skills

You need researching as one of your freelance writing skills in Kenya.

The best freelance writers in Kenya are adept at research. They know how to mine the web for relevant data, how to spot trends and patterns, and how to find industry trends that they can use to their advantage.

So be sure to study up on research skills! If you’re not already familiar with free tools like Google Trends, Google Correlate, and Google Keyword Planner, make it a point to learn them as soon as possible.

In addition, you should also know how to use paid tools like SEMRush and Moz Pro so that you can get more in-depth information about your target audience and the markets that you want to serve.

7). Ability to Understand What the Client Wants

The best content marketers are able to understand what the client wants.

You should be able to figure out exactly what your client is trying to accomplish with their content and how you can help them do that effectively.

To give your clients what they want, you need to be able to understand how they think and how they make decisions.

You also need to know their business inside and out so that you can anticipate their needs.

8). Pitching Skills

Pitching is another one of the skills you need as a freelance writer in Kenya. You have to be able to pitch your skills and what you can do for your client.

The skill of pitching is the ability to communicate with confidence and effectively. I know many people who are great writers, but they don’t know how to pitch themselves. When you’re pitching, you’re trying to sell yourself or your services and you need to be confident about it.

This is also why it’s important that you have a portfolio of work that shows off your writing skills and what you can bring to the table for your clients.

To pitch effectively, you need to know how to do the following:

• Know your market: You’ll have to know what your client is looking for and what their needs are. You have to be able to communicate with them in a way that they can understand. This is a skill that takes time and practice, but it’s definitely worth the time invested.
• Know your services: You have to know what you can do for your clients. If you don’t know your services, how will you know what to pitch? You have to be able to communicate with confidence about the services that you offer.
• Pitches are a big part of being a freelance writer and in freelance writing positions. It’s important that if you want to be successful as a freelance writer, you hone these skills and learn them well.

9). Marketing Skills

You need marketing as one of your freelance writing skills in Kenya.

You need to be able to market yourself as an online writer. You have to be able to promote your services and your work so that you can make more money.

You also have to know how to do the following:

• Know how much you can charge: You need to know how much money you can charge for your work and what the going rate is in your field. If you want more clients, then you need to raise your rates or offer something that is different than what other people are offering.
• Know how long it takes: You’ll have to know how long it takes you to do a certain amount of work and what amount of time it takes on average from start to finish. This is crucial as it will help with pricing as well as time management for marketing purposes.
• Know who your target audience is: You need to be able to target your marketing efforts toward the type of client that will pay for the work that you do. If you don’t know this information, then you won’t be able to make effective marketing decisions.

10). Communication Skills

This is another skill that is necessary for any kind of work you are going to do. You need to be able to communicate with your clients, co-workers, and even your friends.

A lot of people don’t think that it is important to have good communication skills, but I think that this skill is vital in the business world. If you can’t communicate effectively with others, then you will never be able to gain the respect or trust of those around you.

If you have good communication skills, then people will see you as a person who is trustworthy and can be relied upon for help. People are less likely to take advantage of you if they know that they can get in contact with you easily.

11). Time Management Skills

You need time management as one of your freelance writing skills in Kenya.

This is another skill that is very important for every freelance writer in Kenya. 

You need to know how much time it takes on average from start to finish for a certain amount of work so that you can plan on how much time each client will take up during the allotted period of time. This helps with keeping track of your schedule so that everything goes smoothly.

If you don’t know how much time it takes on average from start to finish per client, then there is a chance that things will not go as planned.

And when that happens, this could cost your business money in the long run if mistakes are made because someone was rushing too much or not enough due to a lack of planning (which could lead to losing customers).

12). Blogging Skills

Another one of the must-have freelance writing skills in Kenya you need to succeed.

What is blogging?

Blogging in Kenya is a great way to share information with your audience in a very visual and engaging way. It can be extremely beneficial for your business because it allows you to interact with your customers on a one-on-one basis and provides them with the ability to ask questions about products or services.

For you to be able to blog effectively, you need basic skills in writing and researching. This means that you need to be able to write content that is informative (and not boring) and that is easy for people to understand.

You also need an understanding of how various blogging platforms work (which is important because not all of them are the same) and how to promote your blog content.

Related:

• How To Start Blogging in Kenya

13). Spelling and Grammar Skills

The fact that your freelance writing business in Kenya is online means that you will have to have a good grasp of the English language in order to write quality content for your customers. 

Even if you do not speak English well, you still need to be able to spell and use proper grammar. There are countless spelling errors on the Internet and it is very easy to misspell a word or not use a hyphen correctly. 

It is also very easy to forget a word or leave out some punctuation in your posts. 

If you do this, then it will be hard for others to understand what you are trying to say. This is especially important if you are trying to make money online selling products that are based on the English language (such as a product review website).

14). Editing and Proofreading

Another one of the freelance writing skills in Kenya you need.

When writing, you need to be able to edit your work. This means that you need to proofread your content. 

Proofreading is the process of reading through a piece of work and fixing any mistakes that might have been missed. 

The best way to proofread is by going over your content again and again until you are 100% sure that it is error free. 

This can take many hours and will most likely be one of the most time-consuming tasks when it comes to writing online in Kenya.

Final Thoughts

The best freelancers in Kenya are those who are able to get their clients to buy in so that they are happy with the end result and will come back for more.

In order to do this, you need to be able to research your topic thoroughly and be able to provide your client with an outline for their blog as well as a finished piece.

You also need to be able to explain why you think a certain approach will work better than another and provide them with reasons for your choices.

If well-reasoned, thought-out research results in a blog post that is informative, engaging, and well-written, then your client will have the knowledge and confidence to make an informed decision about which online marketing strategy is most likely to help them reach their goal. 

And when they feel confident and supported, they will be more likely to take action and succeed.

Which of these freelance writing skills in Kenya do you lack?

Let me know in the comments below.

I am here to help you.