Become a Freelance Writing Specialist
First I would like to thank Chris for letting me make a guest post. He has been writing off and on for me for close to two years and he is an excellent example of doing what it takes to develop an ongoing professional relationship with a customer, leading to more freelance work. I know I can count on him for quality work delivered on time, and he is easy to work with. Any aspiring freelance writer would do well to pay attention to his advice and follow his example.
I was a full time freelance writer for more than a year before switching to full time Internet marketing, and follow this blog regularly. One area where I excelled that I feel may be of help to aspiring freelance writers is what I am going to tell you about today.
The tactic I used as a freelancer was to find a market where there was a great deal of money and start writing in it for anything I could get. In other words, I accepted low paying assignments to break into the market but I wanted a market that could financially support a high-end freelancer as I moved up. It helps if you find a market that interests you, but it is not required. I concentrated on this single market and built a name for myself. As I became better known, I was able to charge more for my freelance writing. When I left the market, I only had a handful of clients who I was willing to work with who kept me busy, always paid on time and were easy to work with.
I realize as an aspiring freelancer it is sometimes tough to find any work, much less work that pays well, but by focusing your efforts on one or two industries at the beginning you will have a much better chance to build a name for yourself. This is a type of personal branding, and is very important when you hope to make more than a few cents a word for your writing. Do not get in the trap of being the “cheap freelancerâ€. Always work to improve not only your writing, but also your rates.
Of course for this plan to work well, you must have the basics covered first. You have to write well, make your deadlines and be relatively easy to work with. Beyond that, the more specialized the knowledge is that you write about, the better. As you start to top out in one industry, consider adding a second industry to make a name for yourself in. Once you are well known for quality work in two or three industries, you can start to only work with the people you want to work with and receive higher payments for the work you do.
Wes Young is a full time Internet marketer, SEO expert, coach and consultant. He recently launched a series of free Internet marketing lessons, available at www.internetmarketingcodex.com/free-lessons/
