Are you interested in becoming a freelance writer? There is a very good chance that you are reading this blog because your answer is yes. Before you decide that this is the career for you, it is important to ask yourself the right questions and to be aware of the steps that you will have to take. The first step in becoming a freelance writer is very important. Everybody has a different opinion on the steps you should take to become a freelance writer. I feel that step number one is determining why you want to follow this career path.
If you don’t know why you want to become a freelance writer you should never move forward. There are many reasons to join the industry. You may want to do so because you love writing. Or maybe you want to become a freelance writer because you are searching for a job that offers more freedom. You don’t have to defend your reason for wanting to become a freelance writer. You just need to have a solid reason for moving in this direction.
I strongly believe that everything else will fall into place once you take the first step. I decided to become a freelance writer because I was tired of working for other people, and I always had a great interest in this field. This was enough to propel me into the industry, and soon enough it was obvious that I made the right choice.
Every aspiring freelance writer has a different reason for wanting to take on this career path. As long as you know what is driving you to become a freelance writer you should have a solid surface to stand on, as well as a great platform for moving forward.
As basic as it sounds, some aspiring freelance writers do not know how to learn about the industry they are interested in joining. They have an interest in getting involved with freelance writing, but are unsure of how to learn more about this career and what it offers. Fortunately, this is not something that should slow you down for too long. If you have any sort of research skills you can learn a lot about every aspect of freelance writing. This is even more so the case if you are willing to part with a little bit of money and/or speak with those who are already successful.
One of the best ways to learn about freelance writing is to search and read online for hours on end. This is what I did when I first became interested in being a freelance writer. I spent a lot of time reading freelance writing blogs, websites, articles, and much more. Anything I could get my hands on was something I read. Remember to bookmark any sites that are of interest to you.
What about freelance writing books? There are many good ones out there. Head to Amazon.com and search for books on this topic; you will find hundreds of them. While you don’t want to buy every book on freelance writing, chances are that you will find a few quality ones to purchase. Read the reviews from others before deciding what to spend your money on.
You can also speak with other freelance writers. This is one of the main reasons that I started my freelance writing course. I wanted to give aspiring writers a way to learn the ropes, while also giving them the chance to ask specific questions. If you are looking for a mentor of sorts, you can join my freelance writing course. Do you personally know any freelance writers? If so, ask them if you can pick their brain for a few minutes. You may be surprised at what you can learn in a short period of time.
If you are interested in becoming a freelance writer you should learn as much as you can before making your final decision. A well prepared beginner is one who has a good chance of future success.
What sets you apart from other freelance writers? You have to do something that shows your clients how much you care. The same holds true when you are speaking with and selling to potential clients. Going above and beyond can help you keep your current clients happy, while increasing your workload at the same time. And that is what you want, right?
There are many ways to go above and beyond. Here are a few things to try out:
1. Accept phone calls and in-person meetings. Many freelance writers do not want to communicate in these ways. Instead, they keep things impersonal and only communicate via email. Believe it or not, calling a client from time to time will really show them how much you care.
2. Send a gift for special occasions. Do you know when your client’s birthday is? If so, send them a gift such as a basket of cookies, etc. You can do the same for Christmas and other holidays. This is a practice I took up a year ago, and it is a great way to keep in touch by doing something nice for somebody else.
3. Share your ideas. One of the best ways to land a new client is to take their idea, add to it, and show them what you came up with. They may or may not listen to your ideas; that is not the point. You are trying to show that you are interested in helping them succeed. By sharing ideas they will be able to clearly see that you are the type of freelance writer who takes the initiative and is always available to help.
There are many ways to go above and beyond for clients and those who you hope to work with in the near future. Above are three options, but not the only ones to consider. Anything you can do to set yourself apart from others should be considered.
Every so often I receive an email asking me how much money freelance writers earn. Of course, this is a difficult question to answer because there is no standard. In other words, every freelance writer earns a different amount of money. Some do quite well, while others are still getting their feet wet and trying to increase their income.
In my opinion, there is no way to say what a “good†freelance writing income looks like. You may feel that good is $1k/month if you are only working part-time. But those who are full-time may feel that anything less than $5k/month is unacceptable. If you are going to be a freelance writer you have to make your own income goals.
If you have income goals it does no matter what anybody else thinks. My freelance writing income makes me happy, and you should do what you can to get the same satisfaction from your career.
One thing is for sure: you are not going to reach all of your freelance writing income goals in a matter of a few weeks. I only earned $52 during my first month as a freelance writer. It wasn’t until three months into my career that I began to realize just how much money could be made. You have to set both short and long term income related goals, and then work as hard as you can to reach them.
When somebody asks what a good freelance writing income is, I always fire back with a question of my own: what are you income related goals? The great thing about being a freelance writer is that you control your income. Set your own goals based on what you want to accomplish.Â
Time after time I have said the same thing: aspiring freelance writers who are afraid of failure may never get started. Those who are already working in this capacity, but afraid to make mistakes, will also find it difficult to make the kind of progress they are interested in. Simply put, you cannot be afraid of freelance writing failure. This can hold you back in many ways.
Why are so many freelance writers afraid to fail? Just like any career, you are going to experience highs and lows. There will be times when you are making a lot of money and landing new gigs like there is no tomorrow. But on the other side of things, you will face tough situations where every query gets rejected and every cold call ends up with you getting hung up on. This is all part of the industry. You have to roll with the punches and take the good with the bad.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can learn from every failure that you experience as a freelance writer. You never want to fail but if you do you should learn as much as you can as to avoid the same situation in the future.
It is common to be afraid of failure. This will make you feel bad, and may put you in a position where you worry about the future. But you have to have thick skin. Failure is a part of every career, and once you start as a freelance writer you will realize that it is no different.
Instead of being afraid of failure you should try to learn as much as you can from it. I know this is easier said than done, but you might as well take as much good as you can from a bad situation.Â
Last June I launched my freelance writing course and it was an immediate hit. One year later, it is still going strong. In fact, I expanded the course from a 10 member limit to a 20 member limit several months ago. This was a great decision, and most of my students have stayed on board for several months before moving on.
There are currently two available spots. If you are interested in grabbing one of them send me a quick note and we can move forward. As always, I don’t expect the openings to last much longer than a day or so.
If you are unsure of whether or not the course is right for you, send me your questions and concerns and I will do my best to address them. Â
Thanks to everybody I have mentored in the past, and those who will be joining in the future. The past year has been a huge success, and I hope to continue this for the next 12 months!
Are you thinking about starting a freelance writing career? Anybody who has ever been in this position is well aware of how difficult the decision can be. On one side you probably want to dive in and get started. But on the other side, you may have a voice telling you that you should not rush because of all the potential mistakes that could harm you. Where do you fit in?
Whether or not you suck it up and dive into a freelance writing career is up to you. Some people do this with success, others fail, and many never take the leap because of their fear. It is not up to me or anybody else to make this decision for you.
When I started my freelance writing career I was very confident that success would follow soon enough. That being said, there were people around me who were not so sure. Remember, this is not your typical career. When you tell somebody that you are going to work for yourself you are sure to run into some resistance. Did I let this slow me down? No. I knew this was my decision, and looking back it is easy to see that I made the right one. Even if I would have failed as a freelance writer I would have been happy that I gave it a try.
You have to be smart about when and how you start your freelance writing career. Whether or not you dive in without thinking twice is your decision, but it has to be based on common sense. If you are trying to support a family you need to make sure that your freelance writing income will be able to pay the bills, etc. As you can imagine, aspiring freelance writers with no obligations are in a much better position.
Hopefully this blog post shows you that you are in charge of your freelance writing career. Are you ready to dive in? Or are you going to think about this a bit longer? The decision is yours. Take your time to ensure that you make the right one.Â
As of late, I have been taking more and more calls from clients. This is something I enjoy for many reasons. First off, it allows both parties to communicate more efficiently. Secondly, it is always more exciting to speak with somebody on the phone. As you know, life as a freelance writer can get boring due to a lack of face to face interaction. Phone calls with clients help to keep me better connected to the outside world.
Here are three ways to get prepared for your next client phone call:
1. Have easy access to the internet if at all possible. I have found that during most calls I need to quickly browse the internet for one reason or the next. The client may ask for me to visit their site, or maybe I need to quickly pull up an email. Make sure you have easy access to the internet if you are going to be on the phone with a client.
2. Know what you want to ask. Do you need to ask any questions during your phone conversation? It is very important to write down what you want to ask before you ever pick up the phone. As each question is addressed you can cross it off your list.
3. Have an idea of what the client may ask of you. In most cases, I have a good idea of what the client wants to talk about when they call. The same holds true if I am the one who initiates the contact. When you know what the client may ask, your answers will be much better.
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If you are not usually prepared for phone conversations with clients you should follow the tips above. Soon enough these tips will turn into a part of your regular routine.Â
Dealing with difficult clients is something that every professional has to face at some point in their career. I have found this to definitely be the case as a freelance writer. Even though 99 percent of my clients are fun to work with, there are always some that come along and make things difficult.
Here are three tips that I use when dealing with a difficult client:
1. Do not stoop to their level. Entirely too many people deal with difficult clients by giving them a dose of their own medicine. You should treat every client with respect no matter if they are on your case all the time or extremely easy to work with. There is nothing good that can come from stooping down to the level of your client.
2. Make the expectations clear. Difficult clients often times change their mind from day to day. You should make sure you know exactly what the client expects, and then tell them what you are going to do. It is much easier to stay on track when you verify what the client wants from you. This will do wonders for you, while also making it next to impossible for the client to change things without notice.
3. Do not give the client reason to complain or make things difficult. This goes along with number two. If the expectations are clear, you should be able to deliver high quality content that suits the client’s needs.Â
Will these three tips solve all my problems? Maybe, maybe not. I have found them to be very helpful, and at the very least they should make things a bit easier on you the next time a client gives you trouble.Â
For many, one of the most difficult parts of being a freelance writer is dealing with a fluctuating income. Unlike a more traditional job, working as a freelance writer means that your income will change from month to month. While it may stay in the same range, it will never be identical. Believe it or not, this is one of the main reasons that many people avoid freelancing. Personally, I do not see this as a bad thing but instead a benefit.
As a freelance writer you control your income. Yes, it will change from month to month but you have the ability to more or less control how much you bring in. The harder you work and the better you become the more money you will earn. This is not always the case when working a traditional job. Instead, you will find that your employer only wants to pay you so much no matter how much time you put in.
Even though you will have a steady income when you work for a company, you may reach your peak soon enough and find it hard to advance your career. There is no denying that it can be nerve racking to deal with a fluctuating income. This is particularly true if you have a family, a lot of expenses, etc. But remember the benefits as well. You do not have anybody capping your income. It may fluctuate monthly, but if you work hard you can increase your income over time.Â
If you are not comfortable with a fluctuating income you may want to reconsider joining the freelance writing industry. Even though this can be a drawback, the potential to control your own income should be enough to keep you interested in a career as a freelance writer.
