Even though it can be hard, if you work for yourself you still need to take time off when you get the chance. Many freelance writers, me included, do not like to be away from their work for too long. There is nothing wrong with loving what you do, but at some point in time you have to realize that a vacation is more than necessary at times. This leads to the question of whether or not you should tell clients when you are going to be away from your office.
Do your clients really need to know? This is the question that you really need to answer. If there is a client you speak with everyday it is probably a good idea to let them know that you will not be around. This way they know what is going on, and will not think you are avoiding them for one reason or the next.
On the other hand, if you do not talk to a given client regularly there is really no point in letting them know about your time off. As long as you stay on top of things and get them the proper work on time, you don’t have much to worry about.
As you can see, you need to handle this on a case by case basis. Of course, a lot of your answers will be based on how much time you are taking off. One day away from the office is much different than 10 days. If at all possible, attempt to stay connected during your time off. I know a lot of people don’t like to work on their vacation, but checking emails and voice messages for a few minutes per day can do wonders.
What is right for me in this department may not be right for you, and vice versa. Be sure to carefully consider how you will handle this situation.
The easiest way to land more work and make more money is to rely on the clients you already have. Of course, this is easier said than done. Some clients will always send more work your way, and others will seem to come and go.
Here are three good times to ask clients for more work:
1. Immediately following a job well done. Why send the completed project to your client without asking for more work? This doesn’t make sense. In the same email that you send your work you should ask for another job. If you did a good job, and the client needs more content, chances are that you will have another gig waiting for you in the days to come.
2. When you know you are needed. If you get the feeling that a client needs your help you should tell them more about what you offer. For example, a client may not call on you for a sales letter because they think you only write keyword articles. Let your clients know about everything you can do for them, and then stay in touch as much as possible. If a client needs content and receives an email from you, a professional writer, there is a good chance that they will ask you to get started.
3. Have you ever been working on a project for a client when you get a great idea that could help them achieve even more success? You need to share your ideas with clients. You may be writing a blog post when an idea for new website content comes to mind. The worst thing that can happen is the client saying “thanks but no thanks.†You never know when a suggestion will turn into more work. And since you were the mastermind behind the suggestion the client will see you as a more valuable part of their team.
If you are not receiving regular work from your current clients try to implement the three suggestions listed above.
As a freelance writer you probably spend the majority of your day writing. This makes perfect sense. But at the same time, being a successful freelance writer means obtaining new clients as often as possible. Anytime that you don’t have much going on during work hours you should think about how you can market yourself. Over the years I have found that downtime is perfect marketing time.
When do you have downtime during the day? This depends on the schedule that you are used to working. I usually have some time in the afternoon to make phone calls, send emails, and look into other methods of generating new clients. That being said, I know many freelance writers who do their marketing in the morning. Fortunately, it doesn’t really matter when you are marketing your services as long as you are doing so in a manner that helps you better your career.
Instead of spending all your downtime checking emails and browsing the internet you should get busy with marketing your services. Believe it or not, you can get quite a bit done in 30 to 60 minutes. It doesn’t take too long to make a group of cold calls or to write a query letter for a publication you are dying to break into. If you complete just one marketing task during your downtime you will feel as if you made major progress; especially if your action results in a new client.
To better your chance of freelance writing success you should spend a lot of your downtime during the workday marketing your services.Â
