Just like most freelance writers I have clients that pay on time as well as those that wait for weeks on end before they finally get around to it. While it would be nice for every client to pay when they receive an invoice, this is not the way the industry works and probably never will be. As a freelance writer it can be difficult to deal with slow paying clients. This is particularly true if you are relying on the money to pay bills, buy new equipment, etc.
It is very important that you have a system for following up with slow paying clients. If you don’t you may find yourself waiting many months for a payment. Even worse, if you don’t follow-up some clients will forget to pay you altogether. Do you really want to miss out on getting paid for the work that you put so much time into?
I don’t like to follow-up with clients right away. In other words, I want to give them a chance to show that they will pay on time without being asked. That being said, after a week or two I usually send a quick email inquiring about the invoice. Does this always work? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Most clients that don’t pay on time usually fall behind because they got busy and simply forgot. But this is not always the case. There are also those that are totally aware of what they owe but don’t care to pay on time.
While you don’t want to become the annoying freelance writer who bugs clients day after day, you do deserve to receive payment in a timely manner. There are times when following up with a slowing paying client is very important. Don’t give up until you get paid. You provided a service and deserve to receive the agreed upon payment.
I get asked a lot of questions by freelance writers and those who want to join the industry. Some of the most common are based around income. More specifically, how much money one can earn and what a reasonable income goal looks like. It is hard for me to tell others what is reasonable when it comes to how much money they should earn as a freelance writer. The reason for this is that every writer is their own person and dealing with unique circumstances. For example, a part-time freelance writer may not be able to set their sights quite as high as a full-timer.
My best answer is this: your freelance writing income goal should be based on a number you are comfortable achieving and one that will give you enough money to meet your personal needs. In other words, you first need to be realistic when setting this goal. As a new freelance writer you may dream of making $10k+ per month. But realistically you probably are not going to reach this plateau until you are more established. At the same time you need to think about how much money you need to get by. What do your expenses total each month? After you know this number it becomes clear as to what your income goal should be.
Also keep in mind that your freelance writing income goal will change over time. Early in my career I just wanted to make a few bucks to prove to myself that it was possible. From there my goal switched to earning as much as I did at my last 9 – 5 job. Presently, my income related goals are higher than I ever thought they would be.
I hope this information gives you a better idea of how to set a reasonable freelance writing income goal. Don’t let others influence your goals. This should be based on your comfort level and what you need to get by.
Every freelance writer, no matter their experience, is always on the prowl for new jobs. There are thousands upon thousands of freelance writing jobs out there. The only problem is that many writers are confused about how to find them. Do you fit this mold?
Confusion and finding freelance writing jobs is very common. The good thing is that you can kick confusion to the curb soon enough. It just takes a little bit of knowledge and some time to settle in.
What is confusing you? This is the question you need to answer above all else. You may be confused about where to find freelance writing jobs; this is fair enough. In this case you should take the time to study your marketing plan in further depth. Your plan should not only tell you what types of freelance writing jobs to chase, but where to look for them.
Others find it simple to apply for freelance writing jobs that they find online. But what they don’t understand is how to drum up business when there is no advertised opening. This comes down to cold calling, cold emailing, and working your network. Let me be honest. This is something that you will probably struggle with early in your freelance writing career. I did, and most people I coach do as well. Fortunately, this does not mean that you will always be behind. Practice makes perfect, and soon enough you will see what goes into finding freelance writing jobs in this manner.
You never want to be overly confused as a freelance writer. Don’t make finding new jobs rocket science. Instead, follow your marketing plan and take the time to learn about the many ways to win jobs that are not advertised. The more involved you get with the freelance writing industry the less confused you will become.
Are you an aspiring freelance writer? Are you excited about getting your career up and running? The start-up phase is one of the most exciting for a freelance writer. Even if you are new to the industry, you are sure to have a fun time learning the ins and outs of landing clients, making money, etc. But while you are having a good time, you are also going to face a few problems that may make you second guess yourself. The most important thing to remember is that every freelance writer runs into issues. You will not be the first or last.
Here are a few problems that you should expect to face if you are new to the world of freelance writing:
1. Clients that give you the runaround. There are tons of good clients out there, but there will always be some that are not hiring freelance writers for the right reason. Even if you do your homework on every client you are bound to run into a few that will not be easy to work with.
2. Low paying gigs. Not every freelance writing project pays a lot of money. You have to do decide where your “basement” is, and then stick to your guns when accepting projects. There are clients who will want you to work for peanuts. It is your job to decide where to draw the line.
3. Not having enough time. This is a good problem to have. As you grow your career you will find yourself landing more and more jobs. Soon enough you will probably be faced with more work than you can handle. This is when you need to use time management to your advantage, while also being more selective about who you work with. This is a difficult but good problem to face.
Every freelance writer faces the above problems at some point in their career. Chances are that you will do the same.
Becoming a freelance writer can be scary for many reasons. One of the most common fears is not earning enough money. This is something that bothered me early on, and you may be facing the same thing right now. Whether or not you are happy with your freelance writing income depends on many factors including your living situation, your goals, and how much you have earned in the past.
Those who are happy with their freelance writing income should continue to do what they have been doing. You don’t want to stop building your business, though. There is always room to earn even more money.
But what if my freelance writing income is not what it needs to be? This is when you will begin to feel a lot of stress from your career. The only advice I can give is to work hard at finding new and/or higher paying clients. It only makes sense that more clients mean more money. And if you can land a few that pay above the industry average, you are definitely going to take your income to the next level in no time at all.
You should have freelance writing income goals. Even though I have been established for a few years, I still have income goals that keep me pushing forward. Goals give you something to strive for; something to chase even when your income is up to par.
Only you know if you are happy with your freelance writing income. If you are, keep it up and try to earn even more in the future. If you are not, now is the best time to get energized and take the proper steps towards making a change.
A lot of my blog posts go into depth about how to start a freelance writing career, how to market your services, how much money you can earn, and other similar topics. Sometimes I forget that there are more basic things to think about; especially for those who are starting a freelance writing career. For instance, learning about the many details of freelance writing is very important. You are never too old or too experienced to learn. I have been a freelance writer for many years, and I still take the time to learn as much as possible.
Learning about freelance writing is relatively easy. I found this out as I was starting my own career. Here are three things that I did:
1. I used the internet as much as possible. Anytime I had a question about freelance writing, no matter what it was, I turned to the internet to find an answer. This led me to many quality websites and blogs, as well as others who I am still friends with today. The internet is the place to turn when you have questions about freelance writing.
2. Books. Even though there is tons of information available online, you don’t want to overlook the hundreds of good freelance writing books that are out there. Even though this means spending some money, it is for the advancement of your career.
3. Talk to other freelance writers. I have said this many times over. You have to speak with others who know more about the industry. When I was starting out as a freelance writer I had a few “mentors” who would answer my questions, point me in the right direction, etc. Do whatever it takes to find somebody who can help you in this capacity.
There are many ways to learn about freelance writing. The three ways above will allow you to take in information from day one.
In the past I have talked about how cheap it is to be a freelance writer. Once you get setup and have what you need there are not many expenses that come about. That being said, don’t be tricked into thinking that you will never spend money. Just like any business, there are expenses that will come about from time to time. Some of them you will see coming. Others will pop up on you out of nowhere.
It is very important to save money in your business bank account for freelance writing expenses. This way you have the money available to pay for anything that comes up. You may also want to start saving more if you are aware of a large expense in the near future. For instance, you may be in need of a new computer and printer within the next few months. In this case, you should set aside extra money every month to ensure that you have what you need when the time comes.
I don’t want to preach on this subject too much. After all, I am not a financial planner and everybody has their own way of budgeting. But I do want every freelance writer to remember that expenses can and will present themselves over the course of the year.
Freelance writing is a very cheap career, and if you are lucky you won’t have to part with much money. But if an expense does come about, you need to be in position to take care of it without much hassle and stress.
There is a good chance that you are not having a lot of success because your freelance writing marketing plan is out of order. This is something that many struggling writers never think about. Instead, they believe that there are not enough clients to go around. As a freelance writer you will face competition from others. It is how you deal with this that will determine the success you have in the near future.
If your marketing approach is not producing results you have to make the necessary changes. Those who do will find themselves in better position. Those who don’t may get left behind for the time being.
What are you doing right now in terms of marketing? This is the first question to answer. If you know what you are doing you can easily chart what is working and what is not. It should not be difficult to pinpoint where you are excelling and where you are struggling.
Now that you know where you stand, you can map out a better future. Do you need to put more time into cold calling? How about query letters? You should have a clear path once you begin to change your approach. If you don’t, you are still doing something wrong. The bottom line is simple: your marketing plan has to be one that you can rely on to move you from stage to stage. If something is missing or you are not confident in your plan, it is important to make changes and go through a trial and error process until you find the right ideas.
Is everything working for you right now? If so, don’t mess with your freelance writing marketing plan. Once you settle in and find results coming your way there is no reason to make a change. This post is more for freelance writers who are having a difficult time generating new business due to a problem with their marketing plan.
Are you working as a full-time freelance writer? If so, I urge you to compare it to your last office job so you can see just how far you have come. This is something I do from time to time, even though I have not worked a “traditional job” for several years. It has been a while, but every time I look back it is easy to see just how lucky I am to be able to work as a full-time freelance writer.
When you compare freelance writing to your last office job you will immediately see many differences:
1. You are in control. This is the first thing that I always think about. As a freelance writer you are making every last decision. This sort of power makes me feel as if I am in charge of my future. The same cannot be said for my last office job. Chances are that you feel the same way.
2. The money is better. Does this hold true for your career? The answer usually depends on the stage of your freelance writing career. It took me three to four months to earn as much from freelance writing as I did in my past office job. I know freelance writers who have equaled their past pay quicker, as well as those who took longer. You should set income goals, but don’t let them totally define your success.
3. Freedom. Every freelance writer loves how much freedom this career offers them. You can work when you want, vacation when you want, sleep when you want, eat when you want, and see family when you want. As you can see, you can do what you want!
After you become a freelance writing success you should look back from time to time to see where you came from. This will give you a good idea of just how lucky you are to be working as a freelance writer.
As you can probably imagine, I love reading blogs on a variety of topics including freelance writing, internet marketing, making money online, sports, and many others. The great thing about blogging is that the author is in charge of everything from topic selection to length and much more. Over the years I have found that shorter blog posts are best for me. There are many reasons for this:
1. My readers have told me so. On many occasions I have spoke with readers who have told me that shorter posts are better for many reasons. Not only are they easier and quicker to read, but they get to the point without all the fluff. I know that freelance writers are busy professionals, so I try to stay away from posts that will take too much time to read.
2. They are easier for me to write. Sure, I could go on and on and make each post 1,000 words or more. I know many bloggers who do this, but it is not a style I enjoy. It is easier to write shorter posts, and by doing so I am forced to get my point across in a concise and efficient manner.
An average blog post for this site is between 300 and 400 words. Of course, there are times when I need to say more so they stretch to 500 words or more. To be honest, I don’t think about how long a post will be before getting started. I brainstorm an idea, follow several points that I want to get across, and see where I am at in the end.
Remember, your blog is your blog. As long as you are comfortable with the length of your posts and are giving readers what they ask for, you are doing something right.
