Freelance Writing

Just like every other freelance writer, I have topics of interest. For me, these include sports, health, and real estate. While I am pretty sure that all three of these are common topics, they may not be as popular as travel. It seems that a large number of freelance writers are interested in the travel industry for one reason or the next. In my opinion, there are two main reasons for this:

1. If you get the right gig, you could end up traveling the world for free while simply being required to write a few articles along the way. Of course, this very rarely happens but most freelance writers interested in travel have this goal in mind. While it may be far fetched, there are jobs like this. You may not be able to secure one of these early in your career, but as you move forward who knows what will happen.

2. Freelance writing for the travel industry can be quite lucrative. A lot of this depends on the publications that you work for, but there are many that pay in excess of $1/word. My advice is to start out writing for local and regional travel magazines, and then move on from there. Once you are equipped with plenty of samples, obtaining the high paying, desirable positions will be much easier.

If you want to become a travel writer, the sky is the limit. As long as there are people roaming the earth, there will be tens of millions who are interested in travel. By putting your freelance writing skills to work, you may be able to land a gig that affords you the opportunity to travel the world on somebody else’s dime. Even though I am not particularly interested in this sort of writing anymore, the thought of getting to travel for free is quite intriguing.  

If you are going to be a successful freelance writer you must also be a successful salesperson. Although this may sound difficult, anybody can learn to sell themselves; it just takes a bit of time and some practice.

Generally speaking, your freelance writing resume and website’s about page are essential to a successful career. Sure, samples will help you to obtain jobs, but your resume and about page will help to peak a potential clients interest in your work.

Here are several points that you should consider adding to your resume and about page:

1. A quick overview of who you are. This does not have to be anything special; just some information to show potential clients what you are all about.

2. Credentials. This can be difficult if you are new to freelance writing, but if you think long and hard you can fill up this area. Include past jobs, academic degrees, and any awards that you may have won.

3. Information on the services that you specialize in. While you want to include a variety of offerings, make sure that you do not overdo this section. For instance, you could include writing, proofreading, and editing. You want to show what you offer, but also that you specialize in particular areas. In other words, don’t spread yourself too thin.

4. Within each specialization you want to add more depth. Writing should include sub-points such as web copy, sales letters, brochures, etc.

5. If you have a lot of experience, include a partial past client list. This is definitely a good idea if you have worked with “big name” clients. When a prospect sees that you have experience in their industry, they are much more likely to choose you as the service provider.

Make sure you spend plenty of time putting together the best possible freelance writing resume and about page.

As you probably remember, a few days before I made my “new design” live I was giving away free advertising slots. Of course, the new design only lasted a few hours as there were several major problems with the coding, IE compatibility, and much more. While I plan on writing a detailed post on what went wrong and how you can avoid my downfalls that is for a later date.

For now, I wanted to give a “shoutout” to all of those who were supposed to receive a free link for a month. Even though the last design did not work out, I will more than likely make a change sooner rather than later.

1. John Chow of TTZ Media.

2. Deborah of The Rhythm of Write

3. Adam T. of Young Entrepreneur

4. Mukund of A Geeky Life

5. Gigi of Re-Defined Designs

6. Tony of Queeroes

Although I am disappointed that the first design did not work out, especially because I paid for it, things are still going well with ChrisBlogging. November is already the highest month yet as far as traffic and earnings are concerned. Additionally, my RSS readership is closing in on 100.

Thanks again to the advertisers listed above, as well as all my readers!

There are many reasons that you may want to become a freelance writer. For me, it is a fun job that pays well. For this reason, I tend to take on projects that will be interesting while also paying at a reasonable rate. This leads to the question of whether or not you should ever write on spec.

Generally speaking, writing on spec is not difficult to understand. This is when a client will say something to the effect of, “write a sample article for us, and if we like it you will get paid or we will offer you a paying job in the future.” Believe it or not, this is something that happens quite often. And the problem with this is that it can be difficult to decide when to write on spec and when to say no.

If you accept a spec project, it is a given that you are not working for any specified amount of money. Is this something that you are willing to do? If not, you never want to give this type of assignment a second thought. Of course, there is a positive to writing on spec. If the client likes what you have written for them, they will pay you for it. And not only will they pay you for it, they now know that you are a good writer and may hire you for future work.

Should you take on these types of projects? In my opinion there are two reasons that you may consider doing so. First off, if you are new to the industry, writing on spec will help you to get your foot in the door. Even if the client does not use the work you deliver, at the very least you will have a sample to add to your portfolio. Additionally, if you really want to do business with a company and the only work they are offering is on spec, you may consider moving forward. You never know when you will forge a lucrative and long lasting relationship.

There is no way of saying for sure whether or not you should write on spec. Some freelance writers have no problem with this, and others are totally against it. Early in my career I took on a couple of jobs like this, and none of them turned into anything in the long run. Of course, you may find that your experience is entirely different.

The main thing is that you know what writing on spec means, and that you consider the pros and cons of doing so. 

Just because you are a freelance writer does not mean that you can escape jury duty. I have found this out first hand as I am set to fulfill my duty all day today. Even though I would rather be working at my computer, there are a few work related tasks that I can take care of while waiting around as the jury selection process unwinds.

1. I have several books on freelance writing and business to take with me. These will surely keep me busy for hours on end.

2. With so many new projects in the pipeline, I am going to attempt to get them organized today the good old fashioned way, with paper and pencil. This will help me to get everything in order as the year comes to a close.

Hopefully the above two tasks will keep me busy throughout the day. It is better to attempt to be productive than to simply sit around while the day wastes away!

Freelance writing is a great career for me because it is something that I enjoy. And of course, I would be lying if I said that I was not happy with my freelance writing income. With that in mind, what do you do with the money that you make as a freelancer?

Generally speaking, I would have to imagine that full-time freelance writers deal with income a bit differently than part-timers. After all, the money that I make is the only money that I have to live. If I was freelance writing on a part-time basis I would have the ability to combine this cash with income from another job.

For me, my freelance writing income is broken down into several categories. First and foremost, I pay my bills; this is something that has to be done, even if it is a pain in the neck. From there, I take a close look at how much money I have left from that particular month. This usually leads me to putting a certain percentage towards savings, while also keeping some for pocket change. After all, not all of your freelance writing income should go towards bills and savings. You want to have some fun, right?

No matter if you are a full-time or part-time freelance writer it would be interesting to hear how you break down your monthly income. My guess is that some part-timers probably use their entire freelance writing income for nothing more than entertainment related expenses. Maybe I should look into getting an office job? Although the additional money is tempting, don’t count on me heading back to the corporate world anytime soon!

If you are just getting started with freelance writing, you should consider contacting local businesses in a variety of industries. Believe it or not, both small and large companies in your area hire freelancers for tasks ranging from web design to writing, and much more. And if you live in the area you have a much better chance of winning their business. After all, most companies like to keep their outsourcing local if at all possible.

How will you get in touch with local businesses? As you can imagine, this can be done in two ways. Most freelance writers rely on email as a way of getting in touch and showing their interest. This may be successful from time to time, but it will more than likely be a waste of time. Instead, you should consider calling local companies and telling them who you are and what you have to offer. When you speak with a decision maker on the phone you have a much better chance of success. While they can delete an email before reading it, they cannot do the same on the phone. Not to mention the fact that calling gives you a better chance to establish a relationship. And since you have something in common, your location, you will definitely have an icebreaker.

There are enough clients in your local area to keep your freelance writing business running strong for years on end. If you devote time each day to cold calling these companies, you will see your profits and success skyrocket.

The internet helps in so many ways, but it can also hold people back at the same time. This is definitely the case when it comes to freelance writers. Too many of them get caught up in email, and trying to work for clients that are on the other side of the world. While there is nothing wrong with this, you will want to work hard on obtaining local clients as well. You will find that you have the best chance of winning these jobs. 

A lot of freelance writers that I speak with share the common problem of becoming frustrated because they do not have any samples to show prospective clients. In turn, they feel that their career is never going to take off. While it is true that obtaining work experience and samples can be difficult, there are several simple ways for doing so that you may be overlooking.

1. Simply put, you can volunteer to write for other people. Yes, this means that you are going to have to work for free. But remember, this is something that a lot of freelance writers have to do to get their feet wet. You can volunteer for webmasters, nonprofit organizations, or local businesses among others. As you can imagine, there are a lot of people who would love to get something for free; especially good content. In many cases, those that you volunteer for may offer you paid jobs in the future if they like your work.

2. Do you know a friend or family member who owns a small business or holds a high position within their company? If so, ask them if they need anybody to help with writing related projects such as newsletters, blogs, web copy, marketing copy, etc. You may be surprised at how many companies are in desperate need of a quality freelance writer. Most companies do not have a full-time employee who handles all writing related tasks. In turn, hiring a freelancer is necessary.

3. If you are not yet a full-time freelance writer, ask your current employer if you can help within the company in this capacity. They may allow you to work on company newsletters, sales letters, and other writing projects that need to be completed. This is especially true for companies that do not employ anybody who is solely responsible for writing.

These are three of the best ways to obtain freelance writing samples in no time at all. If you exercise all three of these options, especially number one, it is safe to say that you will collect plenty of samples in no time at all. It is not always fun to work in this capacity, but in order to get samples it is something that you may have to do. Look at this part of your career as an investment. This will help you to quickly obtain several quality samples so that you can then move on with better paying jobs.

…this one does! Even though everybody needs some time off, I find this quite difficult to say the least. As you probably know, today is Thanksgiving for those of us in the United States. Even though I do not plan on working the entire day, I will definitely put in a few hours in the morning before the day’s festivities kick off.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with working on the holidays. I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but if you want to be good at what you do you should be devoted. While I take this overboard sometimes, staying away from the computer all day is hard for me to do.

Since most people don’t have the time to read a long blog post on Thanksgiving, I’ll stop here. If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you are working today. If so, good for you!

Chris, how do freelance writers spend their days? I can’t tell you how many emails I have received asking this same question. Every time I get an email like this it gets me excited. Why? Simply put, if somebody is asking this question they are probably very close to making the leap into the freelance writing industry. With that being said, this is a difficult question to answer because no two days are ever the same.

Even though it would be impossible to show everything that I do throughout the day, here is a basic outline. Keep in mind that this changes from day to day.

6:45 am

This is when I get out of bed on most days, including the weekends. Of course, this changes based on what I have going on that day, as well as what I did the day before. I love getting up early because it gives me plenty of time to work, while also giving the feeling that my productivity is at its highest.

For the first hour or so of the day I read and respond to emails, get together anything I need for the day, and take a look over the to-do list that I created the day before.

7:45 am

At this time I begin to work through my list of items that need to be completed for the day. How long does this take, you may ask? Well, this all depends on the length and depth of the list. As I am writing this, there are nine items that need to be taken care of. Some of them are as extensive as writing a feature article, and others are nothing more than research.

On most days, I have all of my work out of the way by 11:00 am. This is when I move away from my freelance writing tasks, and start to work on other projects such as this blog, sites I am developing, etc. For the most part, this lasts until 4:00 pm.

4:00 pm

Generally speaking, this is when my day ends. Of course, I usually find myself back at the computer for a few hours in the evening to check email, read message boards, or research new ideas. Before closing everything down, I always make sure that my to-do list for the next day is complete. I like having this done the day before as opposed to having to deal with it in the morning.

As mentioned above, the amount of time and order that I work changes on a regular basis. But if you are interested in my basic freelance writing work schedule, this is it.