It has been a while since I last posted about my freelance writing course. The reason for this is that I have been very busy with my regular members. That being said, there are currently two spots available. As always, let me know via email if interested as I don’t expect them to last more than a day or so.
As of late I have been receiving many of the same questions regarding the course:
How long do members usually stay enrolled? Generally speaking, most stay in the course for 2 – 3 months. Of course, some stay around longer and others depart after the first month. And believe it or not, three members have been on board since the course opened in June.
Do I have to commit a certain amount of time to you and the course? Definitely not. One of the biggest benefits is that you can work at your own pace knowing that I am always available to answer questions and help in any possible way. Some members touch base once per day, others once per week, but the majority somewhere in between. Although there is structure it is loose to ensure that every member gets the most out of the course.
If you have any other questions you can visit the “freelance writing course” page at the top of the blog or email me.
Again, if you are interested in taking one of the two available spots let me know as soon as possible.
To those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, have a great day. Even if you are not celebrating be sure to make the most of the day, and of course, get plenty of work done. While I am working for a couple of hours this morning, I am not going overboard. After all, freelance writers need to take time off just like everybody else.
No matter if you are celebrating today or not, take some time to think about why you are thankful for your freelance writing career. Even if you are just getting started in the industry it is safe to say that you are thankful for something; whether it be the freedom, the potential income, etc.
On this day I would love to hear what you are thankful for as far as your career is concerned. And of course, if you would rather touch base via email, instead of leaving a comment, that is fine as well. I love hearing from other writers!
Are you tired of telemarketers annoying you during work hours? Worse yet, do they call on the weekends or while you are trying to eat dinner? If so, you should do your part in stopping the madness. One of the best ways you can do this is by becoming familiar with a website service such as PhoneSpamFilter.com.
Generally speaking, PhoneSpamFilter is easy to understand and simple to get along with. When a telemarketer calls, head for this site to submit the phone number. This alone will go a long way in helping to cut back on the number of annoying calls that are placed to millions of people throughout the year.
What if I don’t live in the United States? After all, Americans are not the only ones who have to deal with telemarketers. Fortunately, PhoneSpamFilter also offers international services for those in Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United Kingdom.
Instead of dealing with telemarketers why not do your part in slowing this industry down. It only takes a few seconds to report a call, and in the long run you are helping yourself as well as many others. Imagine a life without annoying phone calls bugging you at the worst time of the day.
I enjoy reading internet marketing blogs that discuss how to make money online, build a business, etc. That being said, there is a trend that has been getting under my skin as of late. It seems as if more and more people are spreading the news about how easy it is to become a freelance writer. On one hand I agree that breaking into the business can be simple if you have the right skills and determination. But on the other hand, there are entirely too many people promoting the fact that anybody can make money as a “freelance writer.”
Through my research it appears that most of these people feel that being a freelance writer is nothing more than churning out cheap content for online clients. In my opinion, this does not make for a freelance writer. Sure, it is a form of writing and there is nothing wrong with it. But there are two things that bother me: 1. Many of these writers don’t care about their clients or the quality of their work. 2. They feel that their low quality content is the same as what every freelance writer offers. While there is no rule saying you must care about clients and offer quality work, it is something that most true freelance writers realize is very important. Secondly, there is a big difference between writing cheap keyword articles and offering professionally copywriting services. I think that most professional freelance writers will agree with this.
This post is not meant to scare people away from freelance writing or to talk down on others. But it is meant to show the difference between those who write low quality content on the cheap and those who offer professional copywriting services.
In the end, I am glad for anybody who can make a living as a freelance writer. If you truly care about your clients and the content you produce there is no denying that this is a career that can be lucrative and exciting.
I always find it easy to work with clients who have been around for many months. In fact, I have some clients who have been sending work my way for several years. We have a good relationship, and it is always easy to ask questions, make suggestions, etc. But of course, breaking in new clients is part of the freelance writing business. If you want to expand your career you must be willing to work with new clients on a regular basis. Remember, every long term client started out at the same place.
The most important aspect of breaking in a new client is to get off on the right foot. In other words, you don’t want to start your relationship with a misunderstanding or a missed deadline. It is very important that you value every client relationship. If you forget to do this it is safe to say that many of your new clients will not be around for the long haul.
When breaking in a client it is essential to: 1. Show them how you work 2. Learn as much as you can about them. Remember that your client is going to be attempting to break you in as their writer. For this reason it is important to show the client how you work from day one. This includes everything from communication to progress updates and much more. Secondly, you want to learn as much as you can about your new clients. Where are they located? Who is your primary contact? What industry are they in? The more you know the better off you will be.
The way you break in one client may not be the same as the next. I have had some who want to get acquainted through a conference call, and others that send a quick email and tell me to get started. As a freelance writer you should be excited anytime you have the chance to work with a new client. This means you are expanding your client base and in turn earning more money. Does it get any better than that?
No matter what day of the week it is I always have a to-do list next to my computer. This more or less guides me through the day, and keeps me on track to ensure that I don’t miss anything that needs to be completed. That being said, many freelance writers feel that planning their day is a lost cause. In other words, they have found that this never works to their advantage because something is always coming around that knocks them off schedule.
There is no denying that your schedule can and will change on a moment’s notice. For instance, even though I have a to-do list it doesn’t mean that I will stick to it if something more important comes up. In the past I have had clients get in touch with an urgent project that needs completed the same business day. While situations like this don’t come up often, when they do it is important for me to scrap my to-do list and move forward with the new project first. Of course, I eventually head back to my list to complete the rest of the day’s work.
I have found that planning my day usually works out just fine. There are times when I may have to stray from my to-do list, but they are few and far between. Even though it is nice to stay on track, you never know what is going to come up. Make sure you have enough flexibility to adjust if need be.
All in all, you can and should plan your day as a freelance writer. I strongly believe in having a to-do list, and this is something that I will never change. Just remember there may be days when you have to tweak your list to satisfy yourself and/or your clients.
As a freelance writer you will face periods of frustration. You may become frustrated with yourself or with your clients. Simply put, there is no way of avoiding this. Fortunately, you don’t have to let frustration kill your career. Remember, no matter what job you have you are going to face bad times. You cannot let them keep you down and out for too long.
When frustration begins to set in you should take a step back and settle down. Even if you are extremely upset or angry you need to concentrate on calming down before you move forward. Remember, you are not going to do yourself any good if you carry this frustration in your back pocket day in and day out. For instance, if you are frustrated with a client you have two options: you can take your bad mood out on them or you can calm down and work together to fix things. As you can imagine, the second option is the way to go. Nothing good ever comes from taking your frustration out on others. In fact, if you do this you can expect to lose clients.
Is this easier said than done? It sure is. There have been times when I was so frustrated that I wanted to stay away from the computer for a few days. But soon enough, after I settled down, I was ready to fix the issue at hand and get back to work. As you move along as a freelance writer you will learn how to better deal with frustrating situations.
One of the most common questions that I receive via email is “how do I get started as a freelance writer?” This is a basic question, but for one reason or the next many people want to know the answer. While there is no set way to take the leap, my best advice is that you simply have to do it. In other words, just get started. The more you think about becoming a freelance writer the less chance there is that you will actually go for it. This does not mean that you should change careers without thinking long and hard, but it does mean that you can think entirely too much.
When you think too much there is a chance that you will let too many negative thoughts creep into your head. Although I researched the freelance writing industry for a few weeks before taking the leap I knew that getting started was going to be the most difficult part. There is no denying that a new career, especially one without a guaranteed paycheck, can be scary. But remember, if you let this fear take over your professional life you are going to be stuck in the rat race until the day you retire.
If you are still a bit scared, set a timeline for “getting started.” For instance, give yourself two weeks to research and setup your career. When this time is up force yourself to take the leap no matter what it means. If you are truly convinced that a freelance writing career is what you want the only thing holding you back is you.
Experience is a good thing when it comes to your freelance writing career. As the years go by you will find that more experience almost always translates into more success. There are many ways that this happens:
1. Experience makes you a better writer. The other day I was looking over a few feature articles I wrote many years ago. And while they were okay, it is easy to see just how far my writing skills have come. The more you write the better off you will be.
2. Better client communication. Experience definitely helps when it comes to communicating with clients. Many of the students in my course are always asking about what to say to clients, how to react if a client become upset, etc. This is something that you simply have to learn as you move forward. When I started as a freelance writer I was not the best communicator. But soon enough I was learning what to say to clients, as well as how and when to contact them.
3. Experience translates into marketing success. Early on in your career you will probably try many different marketing methods. But soon enough you will learn which methods bring success, and which ones are nothing more than a waste of your time.
4. Over time you will begin to make friends. I have met a lot of other writers, while also becoming close with many clients. As a freelance writer it is a great joy to make new friends. After all, it can be lonely to work at home.
I strongly believe that the longer you stay in the freelance writing industry the more success you will have. The experiences you go through on a daily basis will turn you into a better writer as well as a more efficient businessman. The four points above are proof of that.
Many freelance writers dream of landing contracts with big name companies. But guess what? When they finally have the chance they shy away. Although it can be intimidating to work with companies and publications that are well known, you need to keep in mind that this is your job. If you can get your foot in the door there is nothing to be afraid of. Remember, you are good at what you do and the company you are working for is good at what they do.
There is no reason to be afraid. This is the way I look at this situation: if a company wants to hire me they are doing so for a reason. And the reason is that I am a good writer who has a lot to offer. Many freelance writers get caught thinking that they don’t deserve to work with the “big boys.” This is not the case. If you did not have something to bring to the table you would never get attention from big name clients.
If you want to take your freelance writing career to the next level you need to be willing to work with any company that wants to hire you. You cannot freeze up and turn down big contracts because you don’t think you are ready.
Take for example a member of my freelance writing course. Last month he was offered a large contract by a real estate company with a well known name. While I am not 100 percent sure of the contract specifics, the gig paid quite a bit of money. Unfortunately, he was afraid to move forward with such a project for two reasons: the company was “too big” and he was not confident in his skills. Although I offered my advice to the student, it was his decision to ultimately pass on the job. In my opinion there comes a time in every writer’s career when he either needs to fish or cut bait. If you are scared to take on big contracts, for whatever reason, you will never find yourself making the progress you deserve.
Don’t be afraid of working for the big boys. Big companies are the same as small ones. They are run by people who are looking to move up, jut like you. You have the skills and confidence to do a good job for any client, no matter how big or small.
