As a freelance writer you may dream of the day when you have too much work on your plate. But guess what? This is not always as fun as it sounds. As you can imagine, a lot of work means a lot of money in most cases. But at the same time it means a lot of hours, which may not be your idea of a great career.
It is important to realize that you are a single person, and you can only do so much work each day. It would be nice if you could work 16 hour days, but doing this will lead to burnout, as well as many other problems sooner or later. For this reason you need to take on as much work as you can comfortably handle working regular eight (maybe 9 or 10) hour days.
If you find yourself overextended you need to search for ways to fix your problem. Personally, I do this by really getting down to business and working each day from start to finish without many breaks. While breaks are important, sometimes you need to cut them out of your day in order to keep clients happy and complete your workload on time.
Should I outsource if I have too much work? This is not something I believe in, but you may feel differently. When I take on a freelance writing job I promise the client that I am the one doing the work. After all, they are hiring me; not somebody else. If you want to outsource there is nothing wrong with this. Just make sure you know who you are getting involved with.
Having too much work is a good problem to be dealing with. If you find yourself in this situation make sure you do two things: 1. Take care of all your obligations. 2. Draw up a plan to avoid this situation in the future.
Believe it or not there will probably come a time when you want to get rid of one of your clients. In other words, you don’t want to work for them any longer. This may sound silly because more clients are usually seen as better, but this can happen from time to time. The question is: why are you getting rid of a client? To go along with this, you should also answer: how are you going to get rid of a freelance writing client?
First things first, you need to ask yourself why you don’t want to work with a specific client any longer. When it comes down to it there are many answers to this question. For instance, I have stopped working for clients because they wanted to lower my pay rate and others because they never paid on time. To go along with this, some clients can be abusive and not worth dealing with. If you are going to get rid of a client you should have a good reason for doing so. After all, you don’t want to kick a reliable buyer to the curb.
Once you have a reason for getting rid of a client you then need to know how to do so. Here are a few steps to follow:
1. Contact the client and tell them where you stand. If you are ending the relationship because they never pay you on time you need to tell them this. Of course, you don’t want to be mean or come across as bitter. Instead, explain your situation and let them know that it is nothing personal but that you need to be paid on time in order to make things work on your end. Who knows, this may open your clients eyes and bring forth a change of heart.
2. If the client wants you to stay around you need to think about their offer. There is nothing wrong with this but you need to make sure the issue at hand is going to be addressed right away. For instance, if a client is not paying enough but wants you to stick around you need to tell them how much you want to get paid and let them know that this is not negotiable.
3. Don’t leave on bad terms. There is a good chance that the client will understand your position and tell you to go on your way. You should let them know that you enjoyed working with them (if true) and tell them that you are always available in the future if anything changes.
If you need to get rid of a freelance writing client for any reason, no matter what it may be, follow the steps/tips above.
I have touched on the topic of freelance writing phone interviews in the past, but many of you have asked me to do so again. Most clients hiring a freelance writer are not interested in speaking on the phone. Instead, they will do all of their “interviewing” via email. That being said, as your career grows you are sure to be asked to complete a phone interview at some point in time. Believe it or not, I have already had three phone interviews this year alone. While this scares many freelance writers there is nothing to be worried about.
What does a phone interview entail? I have found that most of these conversations have three distinct parts:
1. To start, you and the client will exchange information. This is when you will learn more about the client and what they want. And once they are done you will talk about yourself including information on your experience, rates, etc.
2. The client will begin to ask specific questions. Chances are that you will not touch on everything during the first part of the conversation. For instance, you may talk about your experience but the client may want more specific information. Make sure you are ready to answer any and all questions that are asked of you. And remember, there is nothing wrong with being honest; you should never lie to make yourself look better.
3. At the end of the conversation the client will usually tell you one of three things: they will get in touch with you, they want you to get started, or they are moving on because you don’t fit their needs. I have heard all three, and you are sure to do the same. Obviously you want to land the gig, but if you don’t there is nothing to be ashamed of. You are not the perfect fit for every client, and vice versa.
Now that you know the basics of a freelance writing phone interview you should be able to shake your jitters before taking your next call. There is nothing to be nervous about if you are confident, prepared, and ready to be open and honest.
Do you think it is a bit early for this post? Maybe, maybe not. Believe it or not, many freelance writers have already abandoned their goals for 2009 for one reason or the next. How about you? Are you staying on track or are you already straying away from the goals you set and the strategy you outlined for the new year?
If you are off to a bad start in 2009 it is very important that you listen up: you still have time to get back on track. Now is the time to pull your career together and really get down to business. If you continue to stray from the path you have set for yourself there is a good chance that you will look back in a few months and wonder what could have been. You don’t want that to happen, do you?
Although past years have not been the same, this time around I am doing a great job of sticking to my strategy and chasing all my goals. The year is only two weeks old but a good start is important to a successful year. Again, if you are far from where you thought you would be at this point you need to make the proper changes today. Each day that goes by in which you are not on the right path is another day that is wasted.
If you are not following a strategy or have yet to set goals it is safe to say that you slacked off at the end of 2008 and the beginning of the new year. But since it is only the middle of January you can make up for this lost time if you act now. It only takes a couple of hours to draw up a rough strategy and set both short and long term goals. Will you finally take the time to do so?
This post may seem a bit “pushy” or similar to a sales letter. But sometimes it takes a bit of a push for some freelance writers to realize that they are not on the right track. If you are off to a no-so-great start in 2009 now is the time to forget about what has happened in the past two weeks, and to realize that hard work and the right strategy can go a long way in making this your most successful year ever.
I have heard time after time from aspiring freelance writers that they are afraid to leave their day job because it is more secure. While this may be the case for some, you should think twice before falling into this trap. In my opinion, becoming a freelancer of any type is more secure than traditional employment. You may not totally agree with this, but there are many reasons why I feel this way:
1. You call the shots. When you work as a freelance writer you are in charge of every decision from the number of hours you work to your rates and much more. This is not the case when you work for an employer. From where I sit it is much more secure to be the one in charge of making all the decisions. Why would you want to put your career and your future in the hands of somebody else? If you do this you are more or less saying that you trust them more than you yourself.
2. With traditional employment you can only work a set number of hours. Sure, you may be able to get overtime here and there, but this is not always the case. When you work as a freelance writer you are in charge of your hours. If you want to work more so you can earn more, so be it. I find comfort in knowing that I can ramp up my production and work hours if I need to earn more money or bring in more clients. This is not an easy feeling to obtain if you work a traditional job.
3. No set income. In my past career I was receiving a set salary. While some people feel secure knowing that they have the same amount of money coming in each month I look at this situation a bit differently. Why would I want to put a cap on my earnings? As a freelance writer I can earn as much as I want; it depends on what I do as a professional, not what somebody else decides to pay me. It is nice to know that a good work ethic and quality work can help me earn more money. Can the same be said for most traditional careers?
4. An employer can “go under” at anytime. And even if they don’t go under they can layoff employees without notice. How would you feel if you put in many good years with a company just to have them lay you off because they need to cut back? As a freelance writer you have the security of knowing that you always have a job. Sure, clients come and go within the freelance writing world, but you can spread yourself around to ensure that you always have an income.
In my opinion, working as a freelancer is more secure than a traditional job within a traditional company.
It would be nice if every experience was a good experience. But of course you cannot expect this to be the case if you are a freelance writer. There will be times when you have good experiences, as well as times when it seems as if everything is going against you. Believe it or not, you can learn more from bad experiences than any others. If you are not learning, no matter the situation, you are making a huge mistake.
Take for instance a bad experience such as a client stiffing you for a large sum of money. This is something that happened to me twice during my first year as a full-time freelance writer. While both experiences were annoying I only had two choices: 1. sit back and pout because I got scammed out of several hundred dollars. 2. Learn from this experience to ensure that it never happened again. I chose the second option and in turn implemented a plan in which I ask for payment upfront with new clients. In turn, I have not run into this situation very often, if at all, over the past couple of years.
It is a shame, but bad things will happen to you during your career as a freelance writer. This can range from not receiving payment, as noted above, to losing clients and much more. It is how you deal with these experiences that will define how you move forward. In my opinion you can always find a silver lining even if the entire situation seems horrible.
Do yourself a favor and learn from both the good and the bad. By doing this you will ensure that you don’t repeat the same mistakes, and that your career is moving in the right direction by learning from every situation.
A couple months ago Stephane Grenier sent me a quick email asking if I’d like to receive a free copy of his new book, Blog Blazers. Since I love reading, especially about topics I enjoy, I took him up on his offer and promised to add a review to my blog.
So what is Blog Blazers all about? The front cover says it all: 40 top bloggers share their secrets to creating a high profile, high-traffic, and high-profit blog! If you have any interest in blogging, no matter your aspirations, this is the book for you.
In my opinion, learning from others is one of the best ways to increase your knowledge base while also working towards success. After you read Blog Blazers you are sure to know more about what it takes to build a successful blog. And to go along with this, you will be more motivated than ever to take your blog to the next level.
Simply put, Blog Blazers is a great book for anybody who wants to succeed as a blogger. Not only does it offer top notch information from some of the biggest names in the blogging industry, but it is also well written with a killer layout.
For more information or to buy your own copy of Blog Blazers visit Blogblazers.com. This is one purchase you will not regret.
No matter how hard you try to stay on pace there will probably come a time when you find yourself playing catch-up. What does this mean? This is when you get so bogged down with work that you have to work extra hard to catch up so you don’t miss any deadlines. While this may not sound like a big deal right now, if you have ever been in this position you know that nothing could be further from the truth.
Simply put, playing catch-up can and probably will wear you out sooner rather than later. The best thing you can do is avoid this situation at all costs. You can do this by tracking deadlines, working hard everyday, and never accepting a project that is going to put you behind the eight ball.
What if I find myself in this position anyway? In this case you are in a tough spot, but not one that is impossible to get out of. If you are in the position of playing catch-up you need to realize one thing: you are going to have to work some extra hours in order to get back to normal. For instance, if you are used to working eight hour days you may have to tack on a couple more hours so you can dig yourself out of the hole you have created. This is not always fun but once you are caught up you will be glad that you took the extra time to do so.
Through my experiences most freelance writers find themselves playing catch-up due to two mistakes: 1. taking on two much work. 2. Not working enough and putting things off for another day. If you take on too much work you will eventually find your back against the wall and working vigorously to catch up. It is nice to have a lot of work but only if you can comfortably handle the load. To go along with this it can be easy to get lazy from time to time. If this happens you will once again be putting yourself in a bad position as you will probably fall behind sooner rather than later. There is nothing wrong with taking time off, but you need to make sure that this does not put you too far behind in your work.
The bad thing about playing catch-up all the time is that it can wear you out. After all, your body is not used to working extra hours or going as strong day in and day out. Not only can you wear out mentally, but you can do the same physically. As you can imagine, this will only lead to more problems and falling even further behind.
There will probably come a time when you are behind in your work and forced to catch-up. While this is bound to happen be sure to keep these situations to a minimum.
Some freelance writers only want to work with large clients. This includes national publications, large websites, and companies with 500 or more employees (on average). Does this sound like you? If so, you may want to rethink this decision. While there is nothing wrong with working with large clients, those that are smaller have a lot to offer as well. Not taking the time to work with small clients may be holding back your progress as well as your income.
Why do some freelance writers shy away from small clients? For one, they think that small clients pay less. I have found this to be true and false. I have small clients, one man shows for that matter, that pay good money. But of course, I have also worked with small clients that are trying to save money because they are on a tight budget. The lesson to be learned is that you should not “stereotype” potential clients based on size. Just because a company or publication is small does not mean they will want you to work for peanuts. Some of them realize that paying competitive rates is the best way to receive quality content.
Do you feel that all big clients are great to work with and pay above the industry average? This is a myth. Just like small clients, those that are large can skimp on money and be difficult to work with. In fact, I have found that so-called large clients can be more difficult to communicate with because there are many people involved and a lot of other things going on around them.
If you want to grow your career and income you need to realize that every client, regardless of size, has the potential to help you in many ways. Don’t shy away from small clients because you think they are “minor league” and cannot pay you what you are worth. This is definitely not the case across the board.
What type of income goals have you set for yourself as a freelance writer? No matter who you are or how much experience you have you need goals to chase. Many new freelance writers start with the goal of earning $100 per week. This is a great starting point, and is so for a common reason: it is possible to reach but not so easy that everybody can do it. What happens when you want more from your career? This is when you may decide that you want to move from $100/week to $100/day in income.
Before I go any further keep in mind that this is not a move that is easy to make. To go along with this, it is not a goal that every freelance writer shares. Some of you will not aspire to earn $100/day and others will be reaching for much more.
The following tips are meant to help you take your income from $100/week to $100/day:
1. Know what you are doing right. This is an important step to take if you are ready to move your income to the next level. Once you know what you are doing right you can begin to duplicate it time after time. For instance, if your clients love your SEO articles you may want to think about making this your specialty. Stick to what you are doing right and what you do best.
2. Scale, scale, scale. In other words, do more work for more clients. If you are only making $100/week it is safe to say that you are not working with a large number of clients. As you gain more clients it is only natural that your income will begin to spike.
3. Find higher paying jobs. Contrary to what is noted in point number two, there are some freelance writers who do a lot of work for a little bit of money. This may be acceptable when starting your career and while you are attempting to gain traction. But if you want to see your income at the next level you need to find clients that are willing to pay you more.
4. What would a “tip list” be without talking about marketing? The easiest way to increase your freelance writing income is to become a marketing machine. No matter what you should find time to market your services on a daily basis. Check out this past post – How to Market your Freelance Writing Services.
By implementing the above tips you will find that moving from $100/week to $100/day is more than possible.
