In most cases, the more you work as a freelance writer the more money you are going to make. This does not mean that you should take on every job that comes your way, but for the most part it holds true. But of course, more work is not always a good thing. After all, more work means more hours as well. Are you willing to put in more time at your computer to make additional money? As a freelance writer it is very important to find a happy medium. If you don’t you will learn soon enough that you are burning yourself out, and that earning a few extra dollars is not in your best interest.
How much more work can you handle at this time? You need to know the answer to this question to ensure that you do not overextend yourself. For instance, if you know that you have approximately one extra hour per day to work, you should not take on a new job that is going to push you over this threshold. It is your decision on how much you can work each day, but again, make sure you are smart about this.
Learning how to work smart and land higher paying gigs can help immensely. This allows you to work at your current pace while making more money. For instance, if you replace a job that pays $500/month with a similar one that pays $1,500/month you can earn more money by doing the same amount of work. This is just one way to work smart.
I don’t want to tell you that working more hours is a bad thing; because this is not always the case. As the title of this post shows, more work means working longer hours. But it usually means more money in the long run as well. Just don’t forget that learning how to work smart allows you to keep your current schedule while still increasing your income.
Judging by the emails that I receive on a regular basis, many of you guys and gals are dealing with doubters. As a freelance writer this is something that will never go away. I have been working in this capacity for many years, and from day one there have been doubters trying to get in the way. If this is happening to you the best advice I can give is simple: ignore all the negative comments being thrown your way. When it comes down to it, there is no reason to associate with people who are trying to bring you down.
Why do people doubt you and your career? Here are a couple common situations:
1. They don’t think freelance writers can make any money. Many people still believe that self-employed means unemployed. As any good freelancer knows, nothing is further from the truth. Most people who say that you cannot make money as a freelance writer are simply jealous that you are earning a living doing what you love. Ignore them and move on. You know that you are making a good living, and that is all that matters!
2. There is no work available, and too much competition to break in. Again, this is a common sentiment among those who know nothing about the freelance writing industry. This past week a couple members of my freelance writing course expressed that friends were telling them to give up their career because they have no chance of “making it.” Does that sound like a friend to you? I told these aspiring writers to hang in there, ignore the doubters, and continue to build their career. There is no right or wrong way of dealing with people who are doubting your decision to work as a freelance writer. Again, the best thing you can do is ignore them.
No matter where you stand as a freelance writer you are always going to be faced with doubters. Some of them will be fellow writers, some friends and family, and some outside sources that do not know you. Ignore doubters and their negative energy. You don’t want them to bring you down!
Do you hide from the fact that you are a freelance writer? Many people feel embarrassed of their situation for one reason or the next. If you feel this way you are making a big mistake. You should be proud of your status as a freelance writer. This does not mean that you have to brag, but do not be afraid to let people know what you do.
There is one major reason that you should spread the word about your career whenever possible: it can bring you a lot of work. Believe it or not, many people are looking to hire freelance writers. Some people may need help at their day job, and others may want to collaborate with you on a side gig they have been working on. I have had both opportunities come my way by simply telling people I work as a freelance writer. Remember, you never know who is listening.
Word of mouth is a great way to bring in more business. When people know you work as a freelance writer they will keep your information stored for a later date. If a project comes available in the future, you will be the first person on the “call list.”
In addition to talking about your career when given the chance, you should also carry business cards with you. Many freelance writers think that business cards are a waste of money, but nothing could be further from the truth. I have had many people ask for my card in the past, and expect this to continue into the future. Order yourself a few hundred business cards, and carry them with you at all times.
If you want to advance your freelance writing career you should be open to talking about your work. This may not bring in new clients right away, but soon enough you will begin to reap the benefits.
Many freelance writers who are not achieving success blame this on outside sources such as a bad economy, lack of good clients, too much competition, etc. And while some of these “excuses” may hold true, it is important to remember one other thing: you may be holding yourself back. You could be the reason that your freelance writing career is not taking off as you had expected.
How can I possibly be holding myself back? For one, you are making too many excuses. If you are constantly looking for a reason to fail you are going to find it time after time. This is the easy way out, and is entirely too common amongst freelance writers. If you want to achieve a high level of success you need to write down your goals, and then work towards them everyday. If something gets in your way you have two options: you can go through it, or you can stop and use it as an excuse. Choosing the latter is only going to slow down your progress, and may even put your career on thin ice sooner rather than later.
Other freelance writers hold themselves back because they are afraid to succeed. This may sound silly, but it is true. They have never had success in this area before, and are worried that it could be too much for them to handle. It is fun and profitable to advance your freelance writing career. Yes, it can be scary because you will have a lot on your plate and many people will be relying on you. But at the same time this is exactly what you want. Don’t hold yourself back when success is knocking on the door.
If you feel that outside sources are holding you back you may want to think again. Look within first to make sure you are not the culprit. You may find that a few simple changes to your career, including your mindset, can help you achieve more success.
Do you feel that your freelance writing career is in trouble? There are many situations that may make you feel this way. Fortunately, even if you feel that your career is doomed you can get out of this by making the right moves.
Below are three reasons why you may get the feeling that your career is in bad shape:
1. You are not seeing any growth. This is part of every freelance writer’s career. There will be times when you land new clients day after day and others periods when you hit a slump. You need to work hard to get through these tough times. Just because you are not landing new clients does not mean that your freelance writing career is doomed. If you are worried about this, continue to work harder than ever before at marketing your services.
2. You lost a client. No matter what you offer you are sure to lose clients. This happens to the best of us, and you are not going to be any different. It is very easy to get upset and angry if you lose a client. But guess what? Another one is waiting for you just around the bend. If you lose one client you have the ability to pick up another so that you never miss a beat.
3. A client is not happy with your work. I have had clients ask for revisions in the past. And I am sure that this is going to happen again in the future. If a client is unhappy with your work you should do what you can to address the problem, and then make sure that this does not happen again in the future.
Are you currently facing one of the above situations? If so, you may feel that your freelance writing is doomed. And while there is reason to feel bad, you need to continue forward and realize that a change for the better is on the horizon.
Do you apply for freelance writing jobs on a regular basis? You can apply for jobs through online ads, or by sending query letters, cold emails, etc. It is very important that you are always marketing yourself. By replying to open positions you are doing just that. One thing to keep in mind during this process is that you will not always receive a reply. It would be nice to receive a reply all the time, good or bad, but this is not the case now and probably never will be.
Companies that advertise freelance writing jobs online receive a flood of interest within a matter of minutes. I myself have put ads on numerous freelance writing websites. The end result was close to 100 emails within a day. As you can imagine, it was difficult and time consuming to get through them all. For this reason, I only had enough time to reply to those who I was interested in working with. If you do not receive a reply after applying for a job you should not take this personally. Sometimes you will land a job, sometimes you will get a rejection, and sometimes you will not hear back at all. This is all part of the freelance writing game.
I have found that most magazine editors take the time to respond no matter if they want to hire you or not. This is not always the case, but I would guess that 75 percent of the time I receive a response. Even if I am not assigned a story it is still nice to hear back from an editor. This way I know they received my query. And of course, a rejection is not always a bad thing. If you receive a rejection it does not mean you will never write for the magazine. It just means that the time is not right.
Apply for as many freelance writing jobs as you are qualified for, and leave it up to the recipient to make a hiring decision. If you do not receive a reply, move onto the next opening. Soon enough something will break your way and you will land a high quality gig!
Is your freelance writing career broke? Do you feel that there are some things that need to be changed at once? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions you should consider what you can do to fix your career. After all, you are in a good place for the most part. You are a freelance writer, and you have the potential to make a good living. But if some aspects of your career are broke, you will not be able to move on full steam ahead until you find a solution.
Here are a few common career mistakes, and some ideas on how to fix them:
1. Not being organized. Over the years I have found that many freelance writers begin to face issues when they get disorganized. They don’t know what jobs need to be completed first, when the next project is due, or what is working in terms of marketing. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Do yourself a favor and make it part of your daily job to stay organized. This is something that will help you better your career.
2. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Many freelance writers want to go from no income to $5k per month in a snap of a finger. Guess what? The industry does not work like this. You need to pay your dues, build your client base, and learn a lot about yourself and what is going on around you. This will take some time.
3. Giving up before you give yourself a real chance to succeed. The potential to become a successful freelance writer is right in front of you. But if you give up before you have a chance to succeed you are going to regret it later on in life. It is never easy to start a new career. This is particularly true if you are going to work for yourself. Giving up is easy, but it is also the quickest way to kill your career and find yourself in yet another rut.
These are three common mistakes of freelance writers, and some thoughts on how to avoid and/or fix them.
Are you considered a freelance writer if you only deal in online content? This is a question that showed up in my inbox three times last month. As of late, more and more people are getting involved with writing online content and nothing else. They feel that these jobs are easy to find, and that the pay is okay for the most part. In my opinion, you can consider yourself a freelance writer if you only write online content. You are working for yourself on a freelance basis, and even though online content is only one facet of the industry, you are writing.
With all of that in mind, you should remember this: if you only deal with online content you are missing out on a world of opportunities. Have you had success as an online content writer? If so, what makes you think that you cannot branch out into other areas? I know many freelance writers who started out writing only for the internet, but eventually got involved with feature articles, sales letters, marketing brochures, and much more. It may be more difficult and time consuming to find these jobs, but in the long run they pay well and are fun to get involved with.
I strongly believe that writing online content is a good thing. I have many clients that deal strictly with the online world. At the same time, I write for many off-line clients as well. Having a nice mix of work, both online and off, will give you the ability to earn more money and complete a larger variety of projects.
In short, if you only want to write online content you can consider yourself a freelance writer. But do keep in mind that you are leaving other opportunities on the table if you don’t expand into off-line markets.
Today, I want to talk a bit about the design of your blog. If you do not have a blog this post may not pertain to you. But even then, there is a good chance that you will be starting one in the near future. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting a blog is spending too much time worrying about your design. I am guilty of doing this at times, but have found that it is a waste of my time for the most part.
As you may remember, I used a basic template for this blog for many months. Even though it was not a unique design, I achieved solid results. The point of this is that you do not want to let your lack of design skills, or a unique design, hold you back from starting and/or growing your blog. I have several other blogs in addition to this one, and I have learned over the years that spending a lot of time on design work upon getting started is a big mistake. Sure, you may want to get this out of the way so you can move on but don’t forget about the real power behind your blog: your content. Your blog could have the best design in the world, but if you don’t offer quality content you are going to struggle to gain traction.
I am no different than most of you guys and gals. There are some design elements of my blog that I would like to change, but since they are not major components I keep them on the back burner for the most part. In my opinion, getting caught up with small details will keep you from the big picture. In turn, you will begin to lose focus and your blog will stray off the path that you want to follow.
As long as your blog’s design is clean and offers a good format for your content you should continue to forge ahead. In the future, when you have a defined path and an established base, you should then begin to think about a unique design that is better suited to your wants and needs.
Many people are under the impression that they should only discuss business with their freelance writing clients. This is true to a certain extent, but you should also remember that your clients can be friendly on a personal level as well. Even though I am not good friends with any of my freelance writing clients, I do speak with some of them on the phone from time to time and thoroughly enjoy doing so. Sure, we speak a lot about work but at the same time other things come up such as sports, travel, etc.
You cannot become friends with a client overnight. This is something that comes after many months or years of working together. After all, you have to learn a lot about somebody, and speak to them often, before you can really get to know them. I have found that it is much easier to spark up a “personal” relationship with a client by speaking to them on the phone. Email communication is fine, but this is far from personal.
Of course, you need to be careful that you do not cross any lines. You can be friends with clients, but you don’t want this to put a damper on your business relationship. If this is a problem that you have had in the past, you may want to distance yourself in the future to ensure that it does not happen again.
Over time you may begin to develop a personal relationship with business clients. There is nothing wrong with this in most cases. In fact, it is a great way to make new friends while also giving yourself the chance to break up the loneliness of being a freelance writer.
