As a freelance writer, you need to be programmed to “go with the flow.†There are times when business will be booming, and times when you will have a hard time drumming up new clients. The way that you deal with the ups and downs of the freelance writing industry will determine how much success you have. As a general rule of thumb, you should never get too high when things are going good, and on the same token, never get too low when things are going bad.
If you are quick to get down on yourself, you may find yourself changing careers the first time that the freelance writing industry throws you a curve. Giving up is never going to get you to where you want to be. Sure, it can be difficult to get through times when there seems to be no work, or clients are holding back payment, but every successful freelance writer has to deal with this from time to time. Simply put, this is not a career path that is going to be easy going and steady day in and day out.
On the other side of things, you never want to get too excited when you are having a good month. There are some months when I earn in excess of $7k and others when I only earn $4,500. While it is always nice to earn as much as possible, I always keep in mind that this will change from month to month. Simply put, you should be proud of yourself when going through good times, but never get caught thinking that things will never change.
Being a freelance writer is like riding a roller coaster. You will be up one day, down the next, and somewhere in between by the end of the week. The way that you deal with these fluctuations has a lot to do with how successful you become. There are many benefits of being a freelance writer. You can make a lot of money, work from home, and control your own business. But always keep in mind that this is not a steady career by any stretch of the imagination.Â
I have been working as a full-time freelance writer for quite some time, but yesterday I experienced a first. A client that I have been working with for a couple of months sent me an email asking me to copy work from another site. At first, I thought that I may have misunderstood the email. In order to clear things up I responded to the client asking for some clarification. And much to my surprise, they wrote back asking me to plagiarize from several sources on the net.
As you can imagine, it took me a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts. This client had been good to me for over a month, and seemed to enjoy my work. So when he asked me to plagiarize, it took me by surprise.
Obviously, I wrote back to the client explaining the situation. I told him that I am strongly opposed to plagiarism, and that it could get both of us in trouble with the original content producer.
At this point, I have yet to hear back from the client. Even if he decides that he wants to continue without copying the work of others, I am going to turn down the offer. Sure, he is offering good rates, but it is not in my best interest to work with somebody who is dishonest.
What would you do if presented with this situation? Hopefully I am not the only one who would ditch this client. Even though the pay was good, it is important to draw the line somewhere. Not being able to trust this client will make a long term relationship next to impossible.
Are you looking for a way to increase your freelance writing income? Instead of spending all of your time searching for new clients, you should put effort into making more money from the ones that you already have. Believe it or not, this is one of the best ways to increase your earnings each and every month.
How can you leverage current clients so that you earn more each month? One of the best ways to do this is by making suggestions. Not only will this work to your advantage, but it will do the same for the client.
For example, I recently completed a project that entailed writing 15 keyword articles. While this was a relatively small job, I really enjoyed working with the client. He paid on time, communicated his needs, and was simple to get in touch with. When the project was done, I suggested that his website would perform much better with a revamped FAQ and About page. The client quickly agreed, and immediately sent me $100 via PayPal to complete the work. If I would have never made this suggestion, this $100 would have never come my way.
When making suggestions to freelance writing clients, be sure that you do not come across as pushy. While there is nothing wrong with offering help, you don’t want the client to think that you are telling them what to do. Not only can this annoy them, but it may also keep you off of their short list should they have future projects. As long as you are courteous and respectful when making suggestions you will be just fine.
The next time that you complete a project make sure you give this a try. This technique will not be successful with every client, and in some cases it may not be appropriate to suggest another project. But remember, if you never try this you are going to be stuck attempting to increase your freelance writing income by seeking additional clients. Never forget that your current client list is one of your biggest assets.
