Before accepting a new freelance writing project you need to ask the client many questions. Two of the most important are: when does the project begin? When is the due date? If you do not ask these two questions you are going to find it difficult to work effectively. While most clients will bring this up because they want you to meet their needs, there are times when it can be overlooked.
In my experience, most projects begin the moment that all the details are finalized. In other words, I don’t have too many clients award me a job and then tell me to get started the next week. Instead, they want me to go ahead at once to ensure a timely completion.
The more important of the two questions is when the project is due. This is the date that you want to be most concerned with. You never want to agree to a completion date that you are not comfortable with. Trying to meet an impossible deadline will put a lot of pressure on you. The due date is always negotiable. But remember, you want to make the client happy. I always do what I can to agree to a completion date that works for the client. When this is not possible I ask for a couple extra days, and this is usually not a problem.
Every freelance writing project is different. Some jobs will only take a day to complete so I agree to a quick turnaround. Others are much more in-depth so the client will agree to give me as much time as I need.
As you are finalizing the details of a project make sure you talk about both the start and completion date. This will show the client that you are on top of things, and ensure their happiness in the long run. Not to mention the fact that knowing these dates will allow you to better schedule your days.
Members of my freelance writing course are probably tired of answering this question: which projects do you enjoy the most? This is something I ask at least once per week. Sure, it may be overkill, but it is a very important question to answer time and time again. When you know which projects you enjoy you can focus on finding those that fit the mold.
What you enjoy working on is up to you. Just because I enjoy writing feature articles does not mean you will feel the same way. Every freelance writer is unique in the types of projects that they like to take on.
Try this exercise. Write down all the different types of freelance writing projects you have completed over the past few months. From there, rate them on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being most enjoyable. This will give you a good idea of which projects you enjoyed, which ones you don’t want to take on again, and which ones are somewhere in the middle.
This does not mean you should only accept projects that you enjoy; at least not for beginners. When you are trying to build your career you want to get experience in a number of different areas. How will you know if you like or dislike writing sales letters until you give them a shot? You won’t. Until you have a solid base and know for sure that you can generate clients that offer the projects you enjoy the most, be open to anything and everything that comes your way.
If you do not know which projects you enjoy the most try to figure this out over the next few days. It is an important question to answer because it will go a long way in helping you shape the direction of your career.
So many people want to become a freelance writer but never get started. They keep telling themselves that “now is not the time.” Making excuses is easy. There is no denying that it can be difficult to take a leap of faith and decide that now is the time to become a freelance writer. But if you have the courage, you will be taking the first step in finding a career that you truly enjoy.
Here are three reasons why now is a good time to become a freelance writer:
1. Your job may not be as secure as you think. This may or may not be the case with you – only you know where you stand with your employer. But remember, when you work as a freelance writer you don’t have anybody who can cut off your entire income within a matter of seconds. You are in charge of your career. For most, this is very refreshing.
2. There are many markets to get involved with. With so many clients out there you should be able to find a freelance writing niche that you enjoy. This can be anything from web content to feature articles to sales material and much more. Don’t let anybody tell you that the freelance writing industry is small; this is definitely not the case.
3. The potential for big money is available. You don’t have to stay put and get paid whatever your employer decides to offer. There is nothing wrong with the “security” of knowing that your paycheck is coming from the same place every month, for the same amount. But if you really want to take control of your income, becoming a freelance writer allows you to do just that.
Do any of these reasons hit home with you? If so, quit thinking about becoming a freelance writer and do something about it.
A lot of you guys and gals have expressed an interested in learning more about the freelance writer – client relationship. If this is something that is on your mind you are not alone. It is important for your clients to feel comfortable with you at all times. Not only does this make things better for them, but it does the same for you along the way.
Feeling comfortable means something different to every client. This is why you need to be open to every type of relationship. Some clients may want to feel 100 percent comfortable calling you on the phone at any time of the day to ask a question. Others may not care about this, but want to know that you are always on the same page as them. Simply put, it is part of your job to know what your clients want and then to make them feel at home with you at all times. This is often times easier said than done.
It is important to remember that it takes time to forge a solid relationship. In other words, don’t expect a new client to feel comfortable with you from day one. It should be your goal to make this happen over the course of many weeks or months. Soon enough you will begin to realize that you are comfortable working with the client. From there, you can only hope that they feel the same way.
How will I ever know for sure? Don’t be afraid to ask your clients for feedback. There is nothing wrong with sending a quick email asking a client if they are comfortable with your relationship and the work you have been doing for them. This is the number one way to learn exactly where you stand.
Hopefully this information will help you realize just how important it is for your clients to feel comfortable with you.
I enjoy freelance writing too much to ever give it up. That being said, there are other ways to make money online that correspond nicely with a career as a freelance writer. Learning more about these other opportunities may open quite a few doors for you. Are you willing to expand into other areas if it means earning more money?
Here are three other ways many freelance writers are earning additional online income:
1. Blogging. Believe it or not, you can earn a lot of money by having a popular blog. The nice thing about this is that you are in charge of what you blog about, the topics you choose, and how you decide to monetize your project. While this blog makes me some extra money each month, it is far from my most profitable website.
2. Develop web properties. This is very similar to blogging. If you enjoy writing, as well as other aspects of web development, such as design, you should consider creating websites/blogs as income earners. At this time I have approximately 15 websites/blogs that generate monthly income on auto-pilot. Not only is this profitable, but it is a great chance of pace to my regular freelance writing workload.
3. Affiliate marketing. Some freelance writers will enjoy this, others won’t. Affiliate marketing is the act of selling a product or service for somebody else. When successful, the end result is payment (commission) based on a predetermined percentage of the sale price. I dabble a bit in affiliate marketing, and have found it to be quite exciting. This is especially true when it comes time to write the sales copy for my campaigns.
If you are a freelance writer you may want to consider the other ways you can make money online. The three ideas above are a good place to start.
As a freelance writer my number one task is to produce compelling content for my clients. But this is not the only thing I do. Sure, I spend 95 percent of my time writing but there are other things that I do for my freelance writing clients as well. Have you ever taken the time to think about other ways that you can assist your clients?
Many of my clients come to me for help with developing an overall content and marketing strategy. In other words, they know what they need but are not sure what to do with it. Take for example a client that is interested in starting a corporate blog. Not only do I put time into writing the content, but I also assist in marketing and other developmental related details. And of course, they pay me for all of this. Over time, helping clients with more than writing has allowed me to learn a lot about other industries. A lot of the experiences I have picked up have helped me to successfully launch my own projects.
Some clients simply want to use me as a sounding board. They will call me with questions and ideas, and hope that I can give them some solid, professional feedback. Even though I usually don’t get paid for this, it is something I enjoy doing. Not to mention the fact that it helps me forge a better relationship with the client. In many cases this leads to more work down the line.
Don’t think of yourself as just a freelance writer. Chances are that you can bring many other skills to the table. Make sure your clients are 100 percent aware of what you can do for them. This way they know where to turn when something new comes up.
From time to time I begin to feel like I am talking about the same things over and over again. This is when I like to get some feedback from my readers. This time around, I want to know what questions you have about the freelance writing world. Do you want do know more about how to increase your income? How about where to find clients? It really does not matter what is on your mind – I want to hear it all.
By learning what questions you have I can better formulate future blog posts. As you know, this blog would not be anything without the readers. So I figured it would be a great idea to see what you guys and gals want me to cover in the weeks and months to come.
Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or topics that you want me to cover. If you would rather, you can send me a quick email. Either way, make sure you tell me what is on your mind. It will benefit you, me, and every other reader!
I read something interesting yesterday (although I don’t remember where): when you work as a freelance writer you have many bosses, not just one. This struck me as strange because I always preach about how you are the only boss when you work as a freelance writer. In my opinion, this statement holds true to a certain extent. But even then, I am not going to backtrack on what I have been teaching.
There are a couple of points that immediately come to mind:
1. You get to choose who you work with. In a 9 – 5 job your boss is your boss. You have no say-so. As a freelance writer you select your clients. If you are not getting along with somebody you can simply walk away without having to give up your entire income. For this reason, I find it simple to locate clients that don’t treat me like an employee but instead a partnership in their success.
2. The majority of my clients are interested in a good working partnership instead of a boss-employee relationship. Again, this goes along with being able to choose who you work with. If you find clients that will treat you right you don’t have to worry about being bossed around and having a miserable time as you complete the work at hand.
It is easy to see where people are coming from when they say that freelance writers have more than one boss. Of course, this is all depends on how you perceive each client relationship. I prefer to partner with clients than to work solely for them as an “employee-like” figure. What do you think about this? Any comments would be helpful.
I wanted to take a different angle on today’s post. While I usually give advice on how to better your writing, this time around I thought I would talk about why you should be thankful for your career. It is very easy to take your freelance writing career for granted. After you work this job for so long you begin to forget just how much better it is than sitting in an office everyday from 9 – 5.
Why are you thankful for your freelance writing career? Everybody is sure to have a different answer to this question. Here are three of my top answers:
1. Freedom. Above all else, I love the fact that I control my own career. I choose my hours, and I am the one in charge of my earnings. Simply put, when you work as a freelance writer you have the freedom to do what you want. You now have your own business, and the only boss is you!
2. Good income potential. I always say that money is not the best reason to become a freelance writer. But when it comes down to it the income potential is great. Once again, you cannot compare this detail to working a 9 – 5. As a freelance writer there is no cap on how much you can earn; there is nobody standing in your way.
3. It is fun! I would not work as a freelance writer if it was boring. I always wanted to be a writer, and doing so on a freelance basis makes it very interesting.
Why are you thankful for your freelance writing career? You may share some or all of the ideas above. I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
No matter if you are working as a full-time or part-time freelance writer you have to make time for your career aspirations. In other words, it is important to give yourself enough time to reach all your goals. This can be difficult if you are working part-time, but far from impossible. I know quite a few freelance writers earning a full-time income by working a few hours per day. There is no reason that you cannot be next in line.
How are you going to make the time to chase your freelance writing dreams? There are many ways to do this. The question is: are you willing to make the proper changes to your life?
The first thing you must do is decide if you are working full or part-time. Are you going to keep your day job? If so, part-time work is right for you. I have found that working early in the morning and late at night is a great way to add more hours to your schedule. If you have the free time to write before or after your regular job you will find it easier to make progress on your goals.
On the other hand, if you are working as a full-time freelance writer you already have a lot of time available. It is how you use this time that is important. Are you wasting hour after hour on projects that don’t matter or browsing the internet? Being efficient with your time is very important. If you cannot complete all necessary tasks in eight hours you have two options: 1. become more efficient. 2. Work more than eight hours. I have done both in the past, and this has helped me reach more of my goals.
If you want to achieve freelance writing success you have to make time for your career. Don’t let anything stop you from reaching your goals.
