Freelance Writing

If you are going to become a freelance writer remember this: you should get paid to write. In other words, you do not want to work for free. Sure, there are some cases when you may want to write a free article or offer free advice, but you should limit these situations. Remember, you are a professional and the only way that you can make a living is to ask for payment from clients. How many professionals do you know that offer free work?

Many people want to get paid to write, but do not know where to start. In other words, they do not know how to set their initial rates. This is a common problem. Some freelance writers are worried about setting their rates too low, and others are worried about going off the high end of the scale. This is common, but it should not hold you back. Every freelance writer runs into this from time to time, and you are not going to be any different.

The best way to set your initial rate is to determine how much money you want/need to earn. For example, if you want to earn $40k/year you should break this down into an hourly rate based on how much you can work each day. For instance, if you know what you will work 40 hours per week, you need to earn approximately $20/hour to hit your income goal. When you break down your career into an hourly rate it is easy to see just how much you should be charging.

It is not as hard as many people think to get paid to write. Does this mean that anybody can do it? Of course not. There is a big difference between getting paid to write a few words and becoming a high quality, successful freelance writer. If you know how to set your rates right, you should be able to earn a solid income while also reaching corresponding goals. 

Many members of my freelance writing course have expressed how difficult it is for them to successfully negotiate a fair rate. To take this a step further, negotiating freelance writing rates on the phone can be much more difficult than doing so via email. After all, you never know what the other person is going to say and you must be able to think on your feet.

When it comes to negotiating rates on the phone, these three tips should help:

1. Prepare yourself to negotiate. If you have a call setup with a potential client, you should assume that a rate negotiation session is going to take place. It is very important that you are prepared for any questions that come up, and that you have all of the proper information in front of you. Being prepared is the best way to calm your nerves, and to hopefully give you the confidence that you need to negotiate with success.

2. Know why you are worth it. You may have to back up your rate quote with benefits of your service. In other words, how are you going to justify your rates? You may not want to do this, but in many cases the buyer will more or less ask why they should hire you if your rates are higher than the competition. If you are prepared you will not have any problem answering this concern, as well as any follow-up questions that may come into play.

3. Set a minimum in your mind and then stick to your guns. For example, you may head into a conversation knowing that you want to receive $.25/word for the project that you will be discussing. While there is nothing wrong with this, you need to know how low you will go if the client does not accept your initial proposal. Will you work at $.15/word? How about $.10? Some freelance writers never negotiate. They know what they are worth, and they feel that negotiating shows that their initial offer was never solid. This is not the way I operate. While I hope that every client accepts my first offer, I am open to negotiating to a certain degree.

4. Don’t be afraid to say, “I will get back to you.” It can be difficult to quote a price on a project if you are put on the spot. Imagine being unprepared for a conversation and a client asking for a quote on a 2,000 word feature with three interviews due by next week. This is a lot of information to take in. Instead of rushing and quoting the first number that comes to your head, tell the buyer that you will get back to them within the hour with a solid price. This will give you time to break down the project so you can supply an accurate, fair quote. 

As a freelance writer, negotiating rates on the phone can be a difficult task. But over time, with the help of the four tips above, you will become comfortable doing so.

Like most freelance writers, you are probably interested in landing big time clients that have a lot of work and pay good money. If you don’t feel this way you are the odd man out. And while there is nothing wrong with this way of thinking, you should know that small jobs can turn big in a hurry.

Late last year I completed a small job for a client. They wanted me to write 10 “guides” for $500. This was far from a huge job, but it was simple enough and the pay was halfway decent. Although this was the only project they had for me at the time, I continued to stay in touch. Well, my persistence paid off. Last week, this same client got in touch and offered a job of 100 guides for a total of $5k. If I wouldn’t have taken on that first small project I would have never landed this contract.

Not every small job will turn big. Some of them will, some of them won’t, and with some clients you will never know what they are going to send your way in the future. But if you have the time and the pay is right, you should consider completing small projects from time to time. In more than one case this has paid off for me. Don’t be afraid to complete small jobs because you feel that they are not worth it. You never know when something small will turn into the next big thing in your freelance writing career.  

As of late, more and more clients and potential buyers are asking to speak with me on the phone. For me, this is like a dream come true. I know a lot of freelance writers would hate this, but I enjoy speaking with others in “real time.” Not only does this give me the chance to communicate, which is hard to come by at times as a freelancer, but it also allows me to form a better relationship with the person on the other end of the line. That being said, a phone conversation does not leave a trail of information like email. How are you going to remember what was said?

During every phone conversation, no matter who I am speaking with, I always take notes. Sometimes I do this with a pen and sticky note, and other times, when there is a lot to talk about, I use a text document so that I can save it directly to my computer.

While taking notes is important, make sure that you do not get so caught up in this that you lose track of what is going on. In other words, you need to become proficient at taking quick notes while also keeping up with the conversation. After all, you do not want to miss something important.

Remember, your notes do not have to be perfect. I only write down the important parts of the conversation, and even then I never form full sentences or record information verbatim. Instead, I write as much as I can and then clean things up after the conversation comes to an end.

No matter if you are speaking with a long term client or being interviewed, make sure you take notes. This may sound like a waste of time, but these notes will come in handy in the future.

As a freelance writer you cannot expect to be perfect. Sure, it would be nice to avoid mistakes all the time, but this is simply not possible. You should always strive for perfection, but also realize that you may make a mistake from time to time. And if this happens, you need to be open and honest with your client.

Just last week I made a mistake interpreting what a client wanted. When we first spoke the project was taking one direction, but soon enough he changed his mind and things were moving another way. Unfortunately, I did not grasp the change and more or less stayed on track with the original plan. When it came time to send the completed work to the client I realized what I had done. At that point I had one of two options. I could either blame the client, or be honest and let him know that I made a mistake. Of course, I chose the latter. Fortunately, the client understood the mix up and had no problem giving me a few extra days to get back on track.

Are all clients going to be this nice? Of course not. Some of them will expect you to be perfect at all times. And while you may be able to avoid mistakes most of the time, you never know when this will change. The only thing that you can do is admit your error and tell the client that you will do whatever it takes to fix the problem. In most cases, through my experiences, this is enough to smooth things over.

If you make a mistake there is no reason to feel stupid. Remember, your clients make mistakes as well. If you are open and honest most of them will understand your situation and be willing to give you a chance to fix things.

Mistakes happen, and the way that you deal with them will determine the relationship you have with your client in the future.

Starting a career as a freelance writer is scary for many reasons. One of the most common is fear that your career will not take off soon enough. This is especially true among writers who leave a comfortable day job to chase their dream. While fear is natural, quitting shouldn’t be. In other words, don’t give up on your freelance writing career until you give it your all. And even then you may need to continue to push in order to reach your goals.

It is easier to give up than to work hard day in and day out. I promise you, the most difficult part of becoming a freelance writer is the first two months. Once you settle in and land even one client, you will feel much better about the direction of your career. As I have said many times before, I earned $52 my first month as a freelance writer. Did I think about quitting? I was afraid that I may have made a bad decision, but I never gave up even though it would have been easy to do so.

You have to give your freelance writing career a chance to develop. It takes time to learn the industry, to make contacts, and to land clients. For me, it took three months to really get a grasp on my career and the direction that I wanted to take. Even now I am still learning a lot and working on new ways to increase my income and better myself. If I would have given up after the first month I would not be writing this blog, or earning a decent living as a freelance writer.

Time after time I hear from freelance writers who thank me for assisting them but have decided to move onto another career. The shame of this is that many of them are giving up after a couple of months.

If you are going to chase a career as a freelance writer you need to be patient. Over time your career will develop if you stick in there and work hard.  

Your marketing plan is the lifeblood of your freelance writing business. If you are marketing your skills with success you will find yourself landing more assignments and making more money. But if nobody knows who you are or what you offer, you are never going to reach new heights.

Fortunately, you can rely on my “Big Seven” plan for marketing your freelance writing services:

1. Cold calling. Do not be scared to cold call. The main reason that many do not do this is because they are afraid of being hung up on or yelled at. Look at it this way: you will never have to talk to the person on the other end of the line again. If they want to be rude, so be it. Thank them for their time, and move onto the next call.

To get started with cold calling you only need two things. One, you need a list of companies that you are going to call. You can compile this information via the phone book, through your local chamber of commerce, or by using the internet. Two, you need a script. This does not have to be anything special, and should be short and sweet:

“Hi. I hope I am not bothering you today. My name is Chris Bibey, and I am a freelance writer specializing in ____. I wanted to touch base to see if you have the need for a writer, or have ever hired freelancers in the past.”

While you will need to customize the above to suit your exact specifications, it is a good start. You don’t have to use an earth shattering pitch to secure clients via cold calls. Something simple will work just fine.

2. Cold emails. If you don’t like cold calling or have yet to build up the courage, despite its effectiveness, you will want to look into cold emails. They are similar, except you will be sending an unsolicited email instead of making a phone call.

There is one key to remember when sending a cold email: customize, customize, customize. You do not want to spam anybody. This is a huge problem, and you do not want to add to it. If you customize each email, including the recipient’s contact and company information, you will be fine. And of course, a customized email has a better chance of soliciting a response. Just like cold calling, with an email you want to be short, sweet, and to the point. You have a much better chance of the recipient reading a one paragraph email than one that drags on and on.

3. If you are trying to break into magazines, you need to become familiar with how to write effective query letters. These letters are meant to be your first communication with an editor. It should include information on your experience, as well as a story idea. In other words, this is more than an introduction letter. You are writing a query to pitch a story that you hope the editor will let you write for his publication. Instead of going on and on, take a look at one of the many query letter outlines that I have used:

Date

Name
Title
 
Mr. / Mrs. Name:

I am writing to inquire whether Human Resource Executive would be interested in considering for publication my essay entitled “Choosing a Background Screening Company.”  The main topic of interest is the steps a company should take in choosing a firm, including questions to ask and information on making a final decision.  As a former Sales Manager of a nationwide pre-employment screening company, I feel that I have the necessary experience to guide interested parties in the right direction.  I currently work as a full-time freelance writer, specializing in business related articles. 
 
Thank you for considering this idea. I am looking forward to hearing from you in the near future.
 
Sincerely,
 
Your Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number

With this letter as an outline, you should be able to customize the perfect query for the magazine that you are interested in breaking into.

4. Dare you pop in? Believe it or not, popping into local businesses can be a great way to secure freelance writing work. But of course, this takes a lot of guts. In fact, this is much more gutsy than making a cold call. That being said, I have tried this and it has worked marvelously. If you are ready for this move, dress nice, have your business card and samples on hand, and go for it. Remember, you will have to get past the receptionist before you ever have the chance to pitch your services.

5. Online forums and bidding sites. Many new freelance writers rely on online forums and bidding sites to find jobs. This can work, but you should refrain from letting this be your only marketing strategy. One of the best forums for finding writing gigs is Digital Point. If interested in bidding sites, try GetAFreelancer and Elance. If you can gain a good reputation on these sites there is a good chance that you could build a decent client base.

The main issue with online forums and bidding sites is that most high paying clients do not hang out there. For instance, many people have gotten in touch with me via Digital Point regarding my services. But only a few have been able to pay my rates. For those breaking into the industry, online forums and bidding sites allow you to get your feet wet while building a reputation, albeit among lower paying clients for the most part.

6. A blog. When I started my freelance writing blog, ChrisBlogging.com, I never had big hopes for it. In fact, I was just looking for a way to get my thoughts down and hopefully help a few people from time to time. Soon enough my traffic was building and people were asking for my advice. Although my blog is far from being the most popular, it has been a great way of marketing my services. In fact, I have landed several contracts in excess of $5k from people who found me through my blog.

The nice thing about blogging is that you do not have to answer to anybody. You are in charge of what you write; not a client who is paying you to create content based on specific details. And remember, you do not have to blog about freelance writing just because you are a freelance writer. I have several other blogs that are not devoted to writing or any sort of online business. Instead, they focus on things I enjoy such as dogs and real estate.

7. A service based website. In addition to a blog, you will also want to create a served based website. In other words, you want a site where you can send interested clients and others can get in touch if interested in your services. Early in my career my freelance writing service site was nothing spectacular. But soon enough I found out that clients did not care about the design of my site. All they cared about was my work.

For a better idea of how simple your service site can be, check out my latest design at ContentDoneRight.com. It is nothing special, but contains basic pages such as about us, contact us, and services.

If you are stuck and think that marketing your freelance writing services is impossible, follow my “Big Seven” plan. No matter what, give each of the above options a try. 

This is an excerpt from my “Full-Time Freelance Writer Report.” If you have yet to download the report, subscribe to my blog via email and the login and password will be sent to you at once.

There are two types of freelance writing clients: those who give specific directions on what they want and those who leave things up to the writer. Which type of client would you rather work with? Through my experiences I have found that there are pros and cons of each type of client. And since each client is unique, no two situations are ever the same.

I always find it helpful when a client gives me exact directions on what they want. In this case I know how to get started, what to do, and when the project ends. If you are the type of freelance writer who likes structure, it is safe to say that these clients will fit your career nicely.

The downside of this is that you will not have a lot of creative freedom. For instance, you may think that you have a good idea, but since your client has specific requirements in place, you will never be able to act. For some writers it can be difficult to take directions and stick to them without straying. How do you feel about this?

What about clients who offer no direction? The main benefit of this is that you are free to do whatever you want, within reason. For instance, a client recently asked me to provide them with 25 keyword articles on a specific topic. While they did supply the main topic, they are leaving everything else to me. It is my job to choose the length of the articles and all the finer details.

Of course, clients who do not give any direction may not get what they were hoping for. And unfortunately, this often times comes back on the writer. You may be told that you can do whatever you want, but upon completion the client is asking for changes because you strayed off the “proper” path. If this happens you will definitely be asking yourself why the client did not give you more direction at the beginning of the project. I have found this to be quite common.

Even when a client tells me to “do what I want” I always ask for some sort of direction. I have found that this helps to clear up most disagreements and extensive edits before they come into play.

If you want to be a successful freelance writer you need to learn to deal with both types of clients.

At least a few times a week I receive an email from a new freelance writer asking how they can jumpstart their career. Before I can answer this question I usually ask for some more information. How long have you been a freelance writer? What do you specialize in? What have you tried? The answers to these questions give me the chance to best address the problem.

In general terms, I have found that my answer usually contains the same three details time after time. 

Market your Freelance Writing Services

You cannot expect your freelance writing career to take off if you are not marketing your services. In fact, this holds true with every business. How would a home improvement company find work if they did not market through newspaper ads, the internet, etc? The answer: they wouldn’t. And the same thing holds true for freelance writers. If you want to jumpstart your career, start with a solid marketing plan. For many, this is the first big step towards future success.

Spend Time Writing

Believe it or not, I always hear from aspiring freelance writers who have decided to go at it full-time but only work three or four hours per day. Does this make any sense? Although I do not work as much I used to, at the end of the week I can look back and see that I put in at least 40 hours. If you are going to succeed as a freelance writer you need to write. This may sound like a mindless and almost juvenile tip, but it is the absolute truth. The more you write the better off you will be.

Whatever it takes to get started

Excuses, excuses. Many aspiring freelance writers make excuses as to why they cannot move forward with their career. I don’t have enough time, I can’t find any good clients, my computer blew up, etc. Although you may have legitimate reasons for being held back, this is not something that you should dwell on. You need to do whatever it takes to get started. If this means making major changes, so be it. Sometimes you have to change if you are truly devoted to making it as a full-time freelance writer.

For those who need it, I hope this post provides a boost. With the tips above you should be able to jumpstart your freelance writing career. 

One of the biggest benefits of being a freelance writer is that you run the show. There is no boss, no co-workers, and no office to report to. And while you have to work if you want to get paid, you must also take days off from time to time. Early in my career I found it difficult to take days off. Not only was I trying to get my career up and running, but I always felt like I was missing something when not at the computer. Soon enough I came to the conclusion that this was not the case, and in turn began to steal a vacation day here and there.

If you are a freelance writer and struggling with taking a vacation day, here are a couple of tips to keep in mind:

1. When you know you are taking off you should plan in advance. What does this mean? If I am taking a day off I will always work extra hard the day before to ensure that I am caught up across the board. This does a lot for my peace of mind, and it also ensures that my clients will not be left in the dark during my absence.

2. Always remember that a day off will make you a better freelance writer. Believe it or not, everybody needs to take time away from their job. Even a one day break will help refresh your mind and body. Simply put, there are benefits of taking a day off.

You would think that taking a day off would be an easy thing to do as a freelance writer. And while it is in theory, many find it difficult to drag themselves away from their desk.