Do you hide from the fact that you are a freelance writer? Many people feel embarrassed of their situation for one reason or the next. If you feel this way you are making a big mistake. You should be proud of your status as a freelance writer. This does not mean that you have to brag, but do not be afraid to let people know what you do.
There is one major reason that you should spread the word about your career whenever possible: it can bring you a lot of work. Believe it or not, many people are looking to hire freelance writers. Some people may need help at their day job, and others may want to collaborate with you on a side gig they have been working on. I have had both opportunities come my way by simply telling people I work as a freelance writer. Remember, you never know who is listening.
Word of mouth is a great way to bring in more business. When people know you work as a freelance writer they will keep your information stored for a later date. If a project comes available in the future, you will be the first person on the “call list.â€Â
In addition to talking about your career when given the chance, you should also carry business cards with you. Many freelance writers think that business cards are a waste of money, but nothing could be further from the truth. I have had many people ask for my card in the past, and expect this to continue into the future. Order yourself a few hundred business cards, and carry them with you at all times.
If you want to advance your freelance writing career you should be open to talking about your work. This may not bring in new clients right away, but soon enough you will begin to reap the benefits.Â
Many freelance writers who are not achieving success blame this on outside sources such as a bad economy, lack of good clients, too much competition, etc. And while some of these “excuses†may hold true, it is important to remember one other thing: you may be holding yourself back. You could be the reason that your freelance writing career is not taking off as you had expected.
How can I possibly be holding myself back? For one, you are making too many excuses. If you are constantly looking for a reason to fail you are going to find it time after time. This is the easy way out, and is entirely too common amongst freelance writers. If you want to achieve a high level of success you need to write down your goals, and then work towards them everyday. If something gets in your way you have two options: you can go through it, or you can stop and use it as an excuse. Choosing the latter is only going to slow down your progress, and may even put your career on thin ice sooner rather than later.
Other freelance writers hold themselves back because they are afraid to succeed. This may sound silly, but it is true. They have never had success in this area before, and are worried that it could be too much for them to handle. It is fun and profitable to advance your freelance writing career. Yes, it can be scary because you will have a lot on your plate and many people will be relying on you. But at the same time this is exactly what you want. Don’t hold yourself back when success is knocking on the door.
If you feel that outside sources are holding you back you may want to think again. Look within first to make sure you are not the culprit. You may find that a few simple changes to your career, including your mindset, can help you achieve more success.
Do you apply for freelance writing jobs on a regular basis? You can apply for jobs through online ads, or by sending query letters, cold emails, etc. It is very important that you are always marketing yourself. By replying to open positions you are doing just that. One thing to keep in mind during this process is that you will not always receive a reply. It would be nice to receive a reply all the time, good or bad, but this is not the case now and probably never will be.
Companies that advertise freelance writing jobs online receive a flood of interest within a matter of minutes. I myself have put ads on numerous freelance writing websites. The end result was close to 100 emails within a day. As you can imagine, it was difficult and time consuming to get through them all. For this reason, I only had enough time to reply to those who I was interested in working with. If you do not receive a reply after applying for a job you should not take this personally. Sometimes you will land a job, sometimes you will get a rejection, and sometimes you will not hear back at all. This is all part of the freelance writing game.
I have found that most magazine editors take the time to respond no matter if they want to hire you or not. This is not always the case, but I would guess that 75 percent of the time I receive a response. Even if I am not assigned a story it is still nice to hear back from an editor. This way I know they received my query. And of course, a rejection is not always a bad thing. If you receive a rejection it does not mean you will never write for the magazine. It just means that the time is not right.
Apply for as many freelance writing jobs as you are qualified for, and leave it up to the recipient to make a hiring decision. If you do not receive a reply, move onto the next opening. Soon enough something will break your way and you will land a high quality gig!
