Over the years I have found that everybody is different when it comes to how they started their freelance writing career. Some start out part-time, others dive in full-time without thinking twice, and some get so lost that they have a difficult time planning even the most basic of steps.
So what is next for you? As you can imagine, everybody will have a different answer to this question. No matter if you are starting a freelance writing career or already working in this capacity, your vision for the future is sure to be different than the next person.
If you don’t know what to do next you should take a step back to see where you have already been. This should give you a clearer view of where you are headed. You may have a business and marketing plan in place and be ready to act on it. But another person may have neither, and it is obvious that they need to take care of the planning process before doing anything else.
To advance your career you should always be asking yourself what is next. Not only what is next, but what move makes the most sense. When you do this you can be rest assured that each step you take is going to move you closer to your overall goals.
Success as a freelance writer is based largely on the decisions that you make. If you take a wrong step you will have to backtrack and start over. This may sound like a big deal, and it can be. But also remember that making mistakes is part of starting a freelance writing career. Just make sure you learn from your mistakes so you don’t repeat them in the future.Â
No matter what type of business you are running, you need a marketing plan that you can rely on from the start. Contrary to popular belief, this is true for freelance writers. Some freelance writers never put much time and effort into their marketing plan. Unfortunately for them, this is a huge mistake.
The basic steps of creating a freelance writing marketing plan are simple to understand:
1. Realize that it does not have to be long. Some freelance writers never create a plan because they think it has to be 10 pages long and full of information. Believe it or not, a good marketing plan can be one page long as long as it has all the right details.
2. Don’t just put something together. It is one thing to create a marketing plan. It is another entirely to create one that you will actually use. Be sure to put a lot of thought into your marketing plan. If you don’t plan on cold calling, why add it to your plan? This is just going to bog you down.
3. Run it by somebody else. If it all possible show your marketing plan to somebody else and have them give you advice on it. This is something that I concentrate a lot of time on with members of my freelance writing course. You can ask a family member, friend, or fellow freelance writer to review your plan. Another set of eyes can go a long way in sharpening the final draft.
These are three basic steps of creating a marketing plan. As a freelance writer they should put you on the right path to developing and utilizing a plan that can better your career.
There are many traits that will make you successful as a freelance writer. One that many people forget about is confidence. It is very important to be confident as a freelance writer. If you are lacking in this area you may find it difficult to achieve success and take your career to new heights. Fortunately, there are ways that you can gain confidence.
1. Do a great job for your clients. This is the best way to gain confidence. When you do a good job you are sure to hear about it from your clients. And when you receive positive feedback it should definitely raise your confidence level.
2. Start to believe in yourself. Many freelance writers don’t believe that they have what it takes to succeed. And guess what? If you feel this way you may find it coming true. You need to believe that you have the skills and determination to become a great freelance writer. This does not have to be as difficult as it sounds. You are a great writer, and if you believe it your confidence is sure to sky rocket.
As a freelance writer you need to be confident in everything that you do. Confident that you are making the right decisions; confident that you are doing the right things for clients; confident that your career will continue to improve with each passing day.
Now that you know how to gain confidence as a freelance writer you should continue to improve in this area. Believe it or not, a little bit of confidence can go a long way in achieving more success.
With more and more people needing to earn extra money, working on the side as a freelance writer is becoming very popular. This is a great part-time job if you play your cards right. And who knows, you may earn so much as a part-time freelance writer that you can eventually move into a full-time capacity.
Working as a freelance writer on the side can be difficult for many reasons. To start, you will be doing this after you already work eight (or more) hour days at your primary position. Are you going to have enough time and energy to sit down and write? If you are truly interested in earning extra money, as well as following this career path, you will find a way to make it happen. It may not be simple at first, but over time things can and will get easier for you.
The good thing about working as a part-time freelance writer is that you probably won’t feel too much stress to earn a lot of money. Yes, you are doing this to earn a side income but since you still have your primary job you will not feel overwhelmed.
In my opinion, time management skills are essential to your success if you plan on working as a freelance writer in this capacity. You will need to find a way to work both jobs, while also taking care of details within your personal life. My best advice is to find a schedule that you are comfortable living with. It may take some time and many changes to settle on the right schedule, but in the end this is a necessity.
Picking up freelance writing work as a side job can be a great idea for those who are interested in this career path. When you add in the money you can earn, it is easy to see why you should strongly consider this option.
Are you an aspiring freelance writer? Do you dream of going full-time in the near future? If so, you have to take the proper steps towards making this dream a reality. Some people talk a lot about becoming a freelance writer, but they are not doing what they should to make this happen. There are a lot of things you can do, and all of them are sure to help in some way, shape, or form. Remember, everybody starts their freelance writing career in a different manner. Trying to follow my path to success is not going to work for you. That being said, you can use some of the same tips to get on track.
Below are three things every aspiring freelance writer should do:
1. Create a list for getting started. Why not give yourself a written plan that you can follow from day one? This makes it easy to know where to go next while also charting your progress. Your list can include everything from setting up a home office to buying books on freelance writing and much more.
2. Have a business plan. Many people never put together a business plan because they feel it is a waste of time. I feel that having a business plan is essential if you are an aspiring freelance writer. Again, this will help to give you some direction. Your plan may change over time, but as long as you have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish you will be much better off than those who are simply “winging it.â€
3. Ask why. Why do you want to be a freelance writer? Why do you feel that this is a good career for you? Why should anybody hire you? Make sure you answer these questions, as well as any others that fit this mold.
As you can see, I strongly believe that aspiring freelance writers should have a plan for the future. To go along with this, self-assessment is also very important. If you want to become a freelance writer and need help getting started, trying completing the three tasks listed above.
Every month or so I like to write a post updating everybody on my freelance writing course. Many of you have taken the course already, and others have expressed a strong interest. For over a year I have been teaching others how to take their freelance writing career to the next level. Some members have had immediate success, whereas others are still working on reaching all their goals. Of course, I take great pride in helping every member advance their career in one way or the next.
At this time, there are two open spots. I have a few people on the waiting list, but you never know when somebody will actually want to move forward. This is why I am giving the rest of you first crack at these two openings. As always, I don’t expect them to last more than 24 hours. There are a lot of people wanting to become full-time freelance writers, so I have found that openings usually don’t last long.
If you have any questions about joining my freelance writing course, be sure to send me an email. I would be happy to address all questions and concerns so you can make a final decision on moving forward.
Hope to have a couple new members on board soon enough!
As my freelance writing business continues to expand I am always looking for ways to work in a more efficient manner. This leads to more time in the day for additional projects and marketing. Many freelance writers have a difficult time working in an efficient manner. I think this is something that everybody deals with at some point in their career, freelancer or not.
Here are three things that I have done to become a more efficient freelance writer:
1. Rise early. This has worked well for me, even though some freelance writers are against it. By waking up early in the morning, usually around 6 am, I have the chance to get a big jump on the workday. If you are sleeping away the better part of your day you should try getting up early a few mornings. You may be surprised at how much more efficient this makes you.
2. Use a to-do list. As I have said many times in the past, if you want to become a more efficient freelance writer you need to rely on lists. My to-do list keeps me on track from the moment I wake up until I stop working for the day. It is very important to know what is on the agenda, as well as the order in which you should work.
3. Try out different processes. You may think that you are working efficiently until you try something else and realize that you have been missing the boat. Change is not always a bad thing. Experiment with different ways of approaching your day. Remember, you can always go back to your original plan if your changes don’t work out.
As you become a more efficient freelance writer you will find yourself earning more money and having more fun.Â
As I search open freelance writing positions on a regular basis, the following statement (or something similar) is popping up more and more: you will get paid X dollars for accepted work only. When I see this I never apply for the job. It simply isn’t worth the hassle for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, when I begin working with a new client I like to know for sure that I will be paid. Asking for upfront payment is one way of making sure that this happens. With the type of job detailed above, not only are you not getting paid upfront but you may never receive a dime from the “client.†Instead, you are only receiving payment for accepted work.
The question is: how is the client going to decide what to accept and what to reject? This is subjective, and can end up burning you big time in the end. I have spoke with many freelancers who have put many hours into similar projects just to find that the client hates the work and will give them no chance to edit it. The end result is a lot of lost time and no money.
It is my practice to avoid jobs that have this type of clause. Since I always ask for upfront payment of some sort, these positions would not work out for me anyway. Not to mention the fact that I find them to be too big a risk.
Do any of you have experience with these types of jobs? If so, I would love to hear how things worked out for you. Feel free to share in the comments section so we can all learn from your experience.
There are many ways to get paid as a freelance writer. The ones that I am most familiar with are PayPal, bank wire, and check. Many freelancers do not like to be paid by check, but I have found this to be quite popular among many clients. Even though there are both pros and cons of payment by check, I usually don’t have any problem with this.
Pros
1. You don’t have to pay any sort of fees. When I receive payment via PayPal or bank wire I have to pay a fee. Even though it is only a few dollars here and there, it does add up over the course of the month. In fact, there are some months when I pay more than $200 in fees. This is the cost of doing business, so I don’t fret over it. That being said, with payment by check this never comes into play.
2. It is a simple process. Receiving a check is easy to do. Tell your client who to make the check out to and your address, and you will receive payment in a few days. This is easier when compared to other options, such as a bank wire, which requires bank account information.
Cons
1. It is not instant. Unlike PayPal and bank wires, payment by check takes a little bit more time. Of course, the mail is pretty quick in the United States. Even clients on the other side of the country can usually get me a check within three days. But all in all, you still have to wait.
2. You have to go to the bank to deposit the money. This is not a huge disadvantage, but something that you will have to do when you receive payment by check. With PayPal and bank wires the money arrives in your account without ever having to leave home; many freelance writers love this.
There are pros and cons of payment by check. Even though you may not like this payment option as much as the others, you should never turn it down. It is better to get paid by check than not at all.
Sometimes I think that people make starting a freelance writing career more difficult than it has to be. In the past, I have probably been one of these people in more than one case. Fortunately, there are some basics that can bring you back to earth and show you just how simple it can be.
Here are three basics of starting a freelance writing career:
1. Make sure you love writing. You can have everything else going for you, but if you don’t love to write you should avoid becoming a freelancer in this industry. There is no reason good enough to write day in and day out if you do not thoroughly enjoy doing so.
2. Go all in when you are ready. I have met entirely too many aspiring freelance writers who never met their goals because they were afraid of fully moving into this career. If you feel that you have what it takes to succeed as a freelance writer, and you are truly interested in this career path, you have to take the leap soon enough. You don’t want to let time pass you by as you continually think about becoming a freelance writer but never act on this feeling.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. As a new freelance writer I had a couple of mentors who guided me and showed me what to do next. This is something you should do as well. When you ask for help, no matter who the person be, you are going to get something of quality in return. Learning is a big part of becoming a successful freelance writer. And asking for help is a great way to increase your knowledge base.
I hope this post shows that starting a freelance writing career does not have to be overly complicated.
