Freelance Writing

Today is the last day of 2007! It seems as if only yesterday I was putting together my business plan for the year. Although it is always nice to get off to a fresh start, if you are like me, you probably have some jitters about the new year. While there is nothing to be worried about, I always get a bit uneasy when one year turns into the next. After all, this forces me to tie up all the loose ends from the past year, while simultaneously looking towards the future.

I plan on working most of today, and then working on some administrative tasks later on. After all, I want to make sure that I am good and ready to hit the ground running on January 1. If you have yet to take care of any details for this year, you should do so right away. After all, you don’t want to waste time early in 2008 worrying about what happened last year. If you do this, it is less time that you have to work on growing your freelance writing business.

Keep an eye out for my December freelance writing income report by the end of the week. Although I had a good year in 2007, everything starts back at the beginning in less than 24 hours! Are you ready for your best year to date?

Where do you draw the line on trying to get started as a freelance writer, and taking jobs that pay slave wages? Early this morning I was perusing GetAFreelancer to see what was new, etc. While there were many jobs that stuck out in my mind as poor, one of them stood out above the rest. There was a buyer offering to pay $1 for 1,000 words! I am all for finding a way to break into the industry, even if it means lower rates, but this is ridiculous.

If I were to take a job like that, which I wouldn’t, my rate would work out to somewhere around $5/hour. Maybe there are some people who think that earning $5/hour is a bargain, but in the United States it is not going to get you very far. In fact, this is a couple bucks short of minimum wage.

I have always said that taking low paying projects is a good way to get involved with freelance writing. But at the same time, you need to use some common sense. If you are not even going to earn minimum wage on a job, you should really leave it for somebody else. Hopefully nobody will bid on this job, and the buyer will see that they are not contributing anything useful to the freelance writing industry.

What type of quality can somebody expect for $1 per 1,000 words? I would love to see who this buyer chooses for their project, and what type of articles they end up with.

Do you spend a lot of time worrying about your freelance writing competition? If so, you should change your ways in 2008. Time that you spend thinking about your competition is time that you could spend increasing your business and profits. When it comes down to it, there are several reasons that you do not need to concern yourself with your competition.

1. There are enough freelance writing projects to keep everybody happy. Even though the market may seem small, this is because you are not looking at the big picture. There is no reason to be envious of your competition. Instead, work hard to find your own projects. Once you carve out a niche, you will be well on your way.

2. Is it really possible to keep track of all your freelance writing competition? The answer is no. There is no possible way that you could keep tabs on every freelance writer in the world. So if you cannot track what all your competition is doing, why track what some of them are doing? Remember, almost every business has competitors. It is your unique features that will allow you to pass them by.

3. You are better than your competition! Not only does this probably hold true, but it is also a frame of mind. You do not have to be the best freelance writer in the world to find work; just good enough to appeal to some clients. And as mentioned above, you need to be confident in your skills. This will show through in your work, as well as when you are communicating with clients.

As you can see, constantly thinking about your freelance writing competition is a waste of time. Instead, concentrate only on what you can control!

This post is going to be a bit different than usual. Instead of offering information on freelance writing, I am hoping to get some feedback from you!

If you read ChrisBlogging on a regular basis, it is safe to say that you are interested in freelance writing. With that being, said would you be interested in enrolling in a freelance writing course sometime early in 2008?

After a lot of research, I have found that courses teaching how to make money online are quite popular. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across any that offer top notch information on starting and maintaining a freelance writing career; this is what I hope to change.

Some basics of the freelance writing course would include:

1. Daily information including tips, hot markets, and updates on my career. The main point of the course will be to guide those who are interested in starting a full-time freelance writing career.

2. Access to the inner workings of my freelance writing career. This will include income breakdowns, the chance to view documents including income spredsheets and many others.

3. Access to me via email and/or instant messenger. I get a lot of emails and chat requests, but simply don’t have the time to always answer in a timely manner. By starting a membership site, it would allow aspiring freelance writers to ask me questions whenever they come up.

4. A monthly fee that has yet to be determined. Again, this is something that I would like feedback on. What would you be willing to pay for the features and benefits listed above?

5. A limited number of members as to keep things personal, and not over saturate the market.

As mentioned, all of the details have yet to be worked out. I am still gathering information and ideas. Any feedback that you can provide via comment or email would be great. Hopefully there will be enough interest to get the freelance writing course up and running in the early part of next year!

Is hiring a freelance writer the same as buying a car in the way that the price is negotiable? Well, this all depends on the writer, as well as how he or she runs their business. Some feel that making freelance writing rates negotiable is part of the industry. Of course, I know just as many writers who like to stick to their fee schedule no matter what.

Consider the following three questions when thinking about whether or not to make your freelance writing fees negotiable.

1. Do you have any wiggle room in your price? In other words, can you afford to negotiate down to a lower price, but still earn a reasonable hourly wage? This is an important question to answer. If you can lower your price but still do well for yourself, you may want to consider doing so. For this reason, it may not be a bad idea to set your freelance writing fees a bit high to start. This way, if the client agrees you are ahead of the game. And if they want to negotiate, you have room to do so as well.

2. Who is attempting to negotiate with you? If it is a client who you have done a lot of business with in the past, you may want to consider lowering your price. After all, some clients are simply better than others. There is nothing wrong with lowering your price for a client that offers a lot of work, and is good to you overall.

3. Are you willing to keep your prices lower for a client? Or will you attempt to raise them to your standard for future jobs? If you lower your price once, a client may expect you to do so on all future work. In many cases, if you attempt to charge them your standard rate on future jobs they may balk and feel that you are cheating them. This is why it is very important to consider the situation and who you are dealing with before negotiating.

What do you think? Are your freelance writing fees negotiable? Personally, I will negotiate with particular clients and am more prone to do so with those that I have worked with in the past. As long as I can still earn a solid hourly wage, slightly lowering my fees in return for business is a trade off that I am willing to deal with. 

Putting together freelance writing fees is often times easier than presenting this information to potential clients. This is when you will find out if you have priced your services correctly, or if changes are in hand sooner rather than later. When it comes down to it, the way that you present your freelance writing fees to clients is very important.

Since a lot of people may find you via your website, you will not have to worry about the formal presentation of fees. Of course, this only holds true if you list your prices online. Instead, buyers will go over your rates and then get in touch if they like what they see. It is important to not scare potential buyers away with complex pricing. If you do this, you will find that you do not receive a lot of inquiries via your website.

Unfortunately, things are not always this easy. There are going to be times when you are contacted via email or phone, and asked questions about your freelance writing fees. Handling this situation with care is very important.

Simply put, when a client asks for pricing information you want to be to the point and truthful. If you know what your rates are, you should not have any problems supplying this information. Tell the potential buyer how much you charge for a project like theirs, as well as why if you feel that an explanation is necessary. Remember, this is your business. You should never act in a shy or apologetic manner when giving out price quotes. If you do this, the buyer may feel that you are asking too much and in turn attempt to negotiate a better price. While you not want to lose the business, you need to stick to your guns. If you make an exception for one client, you are more prone to do it for others. In the end, this means that your fee schedule is pretty much a waste of time.

Some freelance writers will negotiate with clients, whereas others never deviate from their set schedule. This decision is up to you. When I first got started with freelance writing, I usually did whatever it took to obtain new business. As I gained experience and confidence in my work, this happened less and less. Now, I very rarely lower my prices and have found that most clients have no problem with this. They may ask for a better price, but after I explain myself and what they are getting, they agree to the original quote.

Finally, never present a “final” quote until you know exactly what the project entails. Although a 500 word sales letter may sound simple enough, until you know every last detail, hold off on quoting exact price. You never know what else the client is going to expect from you.

The way that you present your freelance writing fees has a lot to do with the number of interested buyers that you convert into clients.

Like the majority of people, I am not working long hours today. After all, it is Christmas! With that being said, I wanted to write a quick post wishing everybody a safe holiday. Christmas only comes around once a year, so have a good time. I’ll be back to posting tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

When I used to work in sales and marketing, clients would always send me cards and gifts around Christmas time. These thoughts were always well appreciated, and personally, those were the type of clients that I wanted to continue doing business with. Of course, I also sent out my fair share of cards at the same time.

Do you ever send thank you notes to your freelance writing clients? There is no better time for this than the end of the year. If you forgot about this and missed the window for sending a Christmas card, you have not missed the boat just yet. Remember, you can always send a card directly after Christmas wishing your clients a happy New Year.

Believe it or not, thanking your freelance writing clients can go a long way. You may think that this gesture will go unnoticed, but the fact of the matter is that you are probably wrong. Most companies, especially smaller ones, take great notice of who sends them what over the holidays. This is not to say that they are materialistic, but it only makes sense that they know what is arriving in their mailbox.

Before I even sent out any cards a few weeks back, I received five from clients of mine. If they are going to send me a Christmas card it only makes sense for me to return the favor, right? This has a lot to do with business, but at the same time it helps to keep things personal as well. Remember, when you have a personal relationship with clients they will want to do more business with you in the future. And it is always more difficult for a client to stop sending you work if you are friends with them.

There is no better time of the year to thank your freelance writing clients. All you need is a box of cards, some stamps, and the time to head to the mailbox. For a few bucks you can show clients how much you care about them. It is safe to say that you will more than earn back the cost of cards and stamps with repeat work in 2008!

Christmas is only a few days away, and I have yet to go shopping! While this is nothing new to me, I really thought this year would be different. I always vow to get my shopping done early, but it never quite works out that way. With that being said, I always have time to write a blog post or two.

If you are going to be near your computer on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, be sure to check out ChrisBlogging. Although most blogs will not be updating on these days, I hope to add a little something; even if it is nothing too in-depth or complex. Remember, if you do not have time to update your blog, the WordPress timestamp features can do wonders!

For now, I am going to wade through a sea of people at the mall. Hope all of you are done with your shopping. If not, time is running out; you better get started!

What would it take for you to quit your current job and move into freelance writing on a full-time basis? You all know what may freelance writing income looks like, but when I started I was not nearly as successful. It took many months of making no more than $2,500 to reach my current income level.

Before you decide to jump into freelance writing full-time, you need to know what number you are chasing. Generally speaking, this should be the income level that you must reach in order to keep your head above water. For instance, if you can live on $2,000/month, you should strive to make at least this much. And remember, you will have to pay taxes on your income. If you need $2k to live, you will have to bring in right around $2,500 or so per month to break even. Not knowing how much you need to earn can make for a very painful transition into the world of full-time freelance writing. This is why it is a good idea to have some extra money saved that can carry you for a few months. 

As you can see, you are the only one who knows how much money you need to make. Some people will do just fine with a couple thousand dollars from freelance writing, whereas others would need much more to support their family and current style of living. No matter what position you are in, make sure that you know what you are striving for. From there, break down your income goals into smaller chunks. This will allow you to know just how much you have to earn each day to successfully reach your freelance writing income goal for the month.