From day one of starting my freelance writing career, I have had a plan. In fact, this has been a way of life for me for quite some time. No matter what I am doing, whether it is my career or anything else, I like to have a plan in place. When it comes to your freelance writing plan, you need to make sure that you include the right details. After all, this is more or less the roadmap that you will follow as you move forward with your career.
First and foremost, your freelance writing plan should clearly outline your goals. I have both short and long term goals in mind at all times. For instance, your short term goal may be to earn a certain amount of income by the end of July. Since you only have a few weeks to reach your goals, you will be forced to deal with them right now. On the other side of things, a long term goal, such as an annual income number, takes devotion over several months. As you can imagine, it can be difficult to stay on pace with your freelance writing plan month after month. But if you are to succeed at this career, you need to do so.
Your freelance writing plan should also include detailed information on the markets that you want to break into, as well as how you plan on achieving this. It is one thing to say that you want to begin to write sales letter, but another entirely to have a marketing plan for achieving this goal.
Perhaps most important is the fact that your freelance writing plan can change over time. This does not mean that you should change things around everyday of the week. But you should feel free to tweak your plan if you feel that it is necessary. Even with a lot of experience, I find my plan changing from time to time; this is something that I have become used to.
If you do not have a freelance writing plan how do you know where your career is headed? To stay on track and ensure that you reach all your goals, you need a concrete plan that will outline future moves. Â
There are many potential freelance writing mistakes that can be made time after time. As you can imagine, avoiding these mistakes will give you a better chance of all around success. One dumb yet common mistake that I see often is when a writer forgets to market his services because he has a lot of work lined up. This may not sound like a big deal, but what happens when the project ends and there is no more work?
There is no denying that this can be a difficult situation to deal with. After all, this requires that you manage your time with a high degree of efficiency and success. In other words, you will have to complete all of the work that you have accepted while also finding time throughout the day to market your services. Can this be time consuming? It sure can. But unless you want to run into issues in the near future you need to be willing to put in the time to avoid this.
This is not to say that you should take on more work than you can handle. Often times, a freelance writer will become afraid of running out of work so they will collect as many jobs as they can find. While a lot of work is good, make sure that you limit yourself to what you can comfortably handle. If you don’t, you could find yourself working seven days per week which is not always fun.Â
The good thing about this common freelance writing mistake is that it is easily avoidable. Now that you are aware of this issue, you can continue to market your services even when you have a solid flow of work. This will help to ensure that when one project ends, another is in line.
I receive many questions about blogging and how it corresponds with a career as a freelance writer. More specifically, many want to know if blogging is necessary. In other words, do you have to maintain a personal blog in order to be an effective freelance writer? The short answer to this question is absolutely not. I have only been running this blog for a bit more than a year. But well before that, I was having success as a freelance writer.
Of course, there are benefits of blogging if you are a freelance writer. First and foremost, potential clients can contact you via your blog. A couple times per week I receive inquiries from webmasters who read my blog and are in the market for content, or know of somebody who is. As you can imagine, this is a great way to increase business without having to do too much marketing.
Another benefit of blogging is that you can show samples without having to deal with attachments or “copy and paste.†In many cases, potential clients who have never heard of my blog ask to see any work that I have personally published online. And of course, this is where I send them.
Remember, you are not going to begin to receive inquiries until your blog takes off. Even though I get some work through this blog, it is far from what it could be. This is one of the reasons why I am thinking of expanding this site in the near future.
All in all, as a freelance writer I love blogging. It is a form of writing, and a great way to express my feelings and opinions. When writing for a client, I do what they say so that they get what they want. But with my blog, I can call all the shots. Even if I was not receiving traffic and work inquiries I would still post on a daily basis!
As a freelance writer you may not expect to talk on the phone a lot. And while this is true, there are going to be times when you have no choice. There are some situations in which I would rather talk on the phone than correspond via email. This is a great way to save time, because several “back and forth emails†can often times be discussed and taken care of over the phone within a matter of seconds.
In many cases, freelance writers are asked to complete a phone interview before a client will work with them. This may be formal or informal; it all depends on the client and what they are hoping to accomplish. Either way, you need to make sure that you are prepared for what lies ahead.
Believe it or not, many freelance writers are afraid of the phone interview process. They feel intimidated, scared, and anxious. While this is natural to a certain extent, you need to realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. When it comes down to it, you are being interviewed because the person on the other end of the phone sees something good in you; they see that you have something to offer.
How long does a phone interview last? Again, this can and will change depending on the situation. I have had phone interviews last five minutes, and others that have pushed an hour. While preparing for an interview, make sure that you leave yourself plenty of time. After all, you do not want to find yourself having to rush. This will put more pressure on you, while also making you look bad.
Before your interview starts, make sure that you have all the information you will need directly in front of you. In most cases, you will be told what you will be talking about which should lead you to know what you need. In most cases, I suggest that you collect information on the client, your resume, and any samples that they may want to discuss. Of course, you will also want to be sitting in front of your computer so that you can easily access websites or files during your conversation. It is not uncommon to be asked to check out a particular website during the interview process. In fact, this happens to me more times than not.
A phone interview is not as bad as you may think. If you are prepared, you will find that these can actually be a lot of fun! Â
Why is my freelance writing income stagnant? A lot of freelance writers are interested in the answer to this question. Some have an idea of why they are not making any progress, and others feel that they are simply getting the raw end of the deal. No matter what, there is probably a reason that your income is not growing as much as you would like.
When I look at my income, I can see where there is room for improvement and what I need to do in order to take advantage of these areas. Through my experiences, I have found that there are three common mistakes that hold the majority of writers back from earning more.
1. Your rates are too low. This is the most common and well known reason for not being able to increase your freelance writing income. That being said, increasing prices is not an exact science. In other words, you should not decide to increase your rate from $.05/word to $.50/word overnight, for instance. If you do, your current clients are going to question this and you may find it more difficult to locate new work.
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If you believe that there is room for you to increase your rates, you should do so by all means. But of course, you need to move forward slowly. For example, you could bump up your rates by $.05/word for new clients while keeping things the same for existing clients until 2009. This will allow you to increase income with all new work while also keeping current clients happy.
2. Are you content with your income? If so, you may not have the drive or desire to seek out more money. There is nothing wrong with being happy with the amount of money that you are pulling in. If you are comfortable with your income and corresponding workload, you may not want to do anything to rock the boat. But of course, I have not met too many freelance writers who do not want to earn more if possible.
This is not to say that you should be money hungry. But if you can increase your income in a smart and effective manner, you might as well do so. After all, more money is always better!
3. Wasting time is one sure fire way to find your freelance writing income staying the same. Are you putting in eight hours per day? If so, you are doing a lot of work and should be happy with your output. But if you are slacking off from time to time and not really chasing your income goals, you are going to find yourself in a tough spot. The bottom line is that you need to make the most of your time. If you work hard for six to eight hours per day, five days per week, you should be happy with your output.
Are you a victim of one of the three common mistakes above? If so, you are lucky. All of them are easy to overcome. And when you do, there is a good chance that you will see an increase in your income.
I am sure a lot of you get tired of me talking about marketing your services. But when it comes down to it, if you are going to succeed as a freelance writer you must also be good in the marketing department. If you do not have a good marketing plan to follow and fall back on, you are going to struggle from time to time. Remember, once you find what works you will have an easier time as your career moves forward.
Here are three ways to beef up your marketing plan without spending too much time or money:
1. Make a list of clients that you want to work for. They can be big companies, small magazines, or anything in between. Once you have your list in place, do whatever it takes to get in touch with the person in charge of hiring freelancers. This may mean a cold call, or quite possibly a query letter. Do not stop until you talk with the right person, and establish the next step in the process.
2. Get over your fear of the marketing process. Yes, it can be scary to market and sell your services; you are not alone. But I am not lying when I say that it will get easier once you become more experienced. For instance, your first cold call will be terrifying. But your 100th call is sure to go much more smoothly.
3. Use your website and/or blog to your advantage. If you do not like marketing, why not look for ways to bring clients to you? While I get a couple of inquiries per week through this blog, my other sites do even better. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars on your site. Anything that is clean, to the point, and full of information will help to put you on the right track.
With the three tips above, you will be able to take your marketing plan from ordinary to extraordinary. It may take time, but in the end you will be happy with the results that you receive!Â
To me, it is funny to hear so many people say that the majority of freelance writers live off of cheap food and borrowed money. I can’t remember how many times somebody has asked me how I make a living as a freelance writer, and whether or not this is a sustainable career. All of this leads me to the question of whether or not beginning freelance writers should be frugal? While I do not want to turn this into a personal finance post, it is definitely something to consider if you have recently moved into writing as your full-time career.
First things first, you need to know where you stand financially. It is much easier for some people to become a full-time freelance writer because they have the support of a spouse, money saved in the bank, or in many cases, both. Once you know how much money you have and what you will need in the future as you start your career, you can then determine just how frugal you have to be.
That being said, freelance writers must also spend money to make money. Luckily, this is not nearly as bad for writers as it is for other entrepreneurs. What will you need to spend money on as a beginning freelance writer? A short list of possibilities include: computer, printer, desk, office supplies, reference books, internet connection, website design, website hosting, and service site fees (bidding sites, etc.) among others. If you are lucky, you will already have some of these items at your disposal.
There is nothing wrong with being frugal when you start your freelance writing career. After all, you are now working for yourself and a steady paycheck is no guarantee. Just make sure that you do not tighten your wallet so much that you miss out on the essential items needed to get off on the right foot.Â
I received two emails this week from two aspiring writers asking pretty much the same question: is it possible for a freelance writer to work seven days a week? While this is a strange question, I assume that they are asking because they feel that more hours on the job will result in more income. Although more hours can equal more income, this is a very tricky question to tackle.
Simply put, any freelance writer can work seven days a week if they so desire. After all, there is no rule that says you have to work eight hours a day, five days a week. With that being said, working everyday is sure to bog you down sooner rather than later. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious, but as I have mentioned in the past, freelance writing burnout can be a major issue. If you attempt to work everyday of the week, you are going to find this creeping into your career. This is not to say that you shouldn’t try to work this many days, but be prepared for what it may bring.
When I first started my career as a freelance writer, I would say that I was working almost six days a week. And even with one day off, I was still burning out from time to time. Not only was my mind wondering, but my wrists and arms began to hurt as well. You can only type so many words before your hands, wrists, and arms begin to ache. This led to me cutting back to five days a week, and a more reasonable work schedule.
So yes, you can work everyday of the week if you have the time and desire. But just like most freelance writers who try this, you will probably fizzle out soon enough. When this happens, take the time to revise your work schedule to better suit your life.Â
Just wanted to make a quick post wishing everybody a happy 4th of July. Even if you do not live in the United States, you can still have a great day.
Why are you working on the 4th? This is a question that I have been asked several times this week. I am going to put in a couple of hours this morning, but for the most part I will probably take it easy. With most of my clients also celebrating the 4th, there is not really any reason for me to be at the computer all day long.
Is anybody else in the United States working today? If so, make sure that you leave some time for family and relaxation as well. After all, you do not want to burn out!
Listen up: finding freelance writing projects is hard work; especially if you are just getting started. Obviously, I had a more difficult time finding work when I first started than I do right now. But guess what? Even established freelance writers can find it hard to locate clients that they are willing to work with.
One of the main reasons that the majority of aspiring freelance writers fail is that they are not expecting to run into any issues. In other words, they think that earning a healthy freelance writing income is a piece of cake. Yes, it is possible to earn a solid living as a writer, but far from easy. If you are not willing to put in the time to find projects and grow your client base, you will simply become another statistic.
Of course, it is easier said than done, right? Well, you are definitely correct in thinking this. I can sit here all day and offer tips on how to find clients, such as through cold calling and query letters, but it is you, the writer, who has to get moving in the right direction. It is one thing to know how to find projects and clients, but another thing entirely when it comes to getting out there and doing it.
My post yesterday, The Legitimacy of Freelance Bidding Sites, is a perfect example. Why do most freelancers, writers or not, like to use these sites? Some of them see it is a great way to add some new clients when not marketing in other ways. But the majority of people using these sites do so because they are simple. It is much easier to bid on a job than to cold call a local company, find the right contact, and then give them your sales pitch. But guess what? While using bidding sites may be easier, it is probably not going to help you reach your goals anytime soon.
Simply put, finding work as a freelance writer can be a long, hard, time consuming road. This is something that you should be aware of when you decide to enter this industry. This is not supposed to scare you away. Instead, it should show you that if you are willing to work hard, results will follow.
