As a freelance writer, every minute that you work should put you closer to reaching your goals. There are many time wasters that can hold you back from achieving success. I try to keep these out of my career as much as possible, but they always try sneaking back in.
Yesterday morning I spend entirely too long checking and responding to emails. For whatever reason, I had five or so miscellaneous emails that bogged me down for roughly 30 minutes at the start of my day. While this may not seem like a big deal it pushed back my entire morning.
Every freelance writer who I speak to says the same thing about checking and responding to email: it can be a huge waste of time! Notice the word can. Even though you can waste a lot of time checking and responding to email, it is something that you have to do. But remember, you don’t want to go overboard. I am a big believer in getting back to people as quickly as possible. Checking my email is top priority, but only during certain times of the day. You should have designated times for checking and responding to email, and then stick to this schedule no matter what it takes.
While there are other time wasters that come into play, I have found email to be the number one killer. It may not seem like a waste of time, but if you check your email 12 times per day at five minutes per session it equals one hour that you will never get back. Imagine how much work you could have completed in that same time frame.
Everything you do during the day should help you advance your freelance writing career. Don’t waste time. I know this is easier said than done, but it is something you should always be thinking about.
Has a client recently decided to part ways with you? This is never an easy situation to deal with. Every client is valuable, and you want to stay in good standing with as many of them as possible. That being said, if a client does leave you need to find out why no matter what it takes.
Here are three common reasons why a client may decide to go in another direction:
1. You did something that upset them. This could be anything from missing a deadline to not providing quality work. Even though it may be hard to hear, you still want to know if this is what caused the relationship to end. At the very least you can learn from this situation to ensure that you do not make the same mistake in the future.
2. They simply don’t need you any longer. Believe it or not, there are times when clients no longer need freelancers. You didn’t do anything wrong. Your client’s situation changed, and they decided to cut you out of the equation.
3. They found somebody better. Remember, you are not the only freelance writer around. At anytime a client can begin to look for somebody else. Maybe they want somebody with a different style. Maybe they are searching for a lower price. You should strive to provide quality work at all times so your client never thinks twice about comparison shopping.
If the information is not offered you should always ask a client why they are moving on. Chances are that the reason will fit into one of the three categories above. Even though it is never good to lose a client, you should do your best to learn from the experience.Â
Are you finding it difficult to land new clients? Is this something that you are struggling with? If so, your career as a freelance writer has probably come to a halt. The only way to grow and to earn more money is to find new clients. Those who are having trouble with this should look at one thing: their marketing plan. If you want to land new clients you should start with a new marketing plan. This can go a long way in breaking out of your current funk and eventually moving forward with a more successful career.
To start, take a strong look at your current marketing plan to see what is working and what isn’t. For instance, if you are having some success with cold calling you should keep this in your plan for the time being. At the same time, if something isn’t working for you, such as sending query letters, you can leave this out and replace it with another option. You should always be tweaking your marketing plan so you can learn what works, what doesn’t, and what you have yet to try.
It is very important to track the success of your marketing plan. Everything you do should be recorded. If you know that 25 cold calls usually results in two new clients you can ramp up your production to see if this ratio holds true over the long haul. If you are not tracking your marketing successes and failures how will you know what is working and what is not?
There is no good reason to rely on a marketing plan that is not turning up results. Instead, review your current plan and then see what changes you can make to better your chance of success. You should always know what is working, and then rely on this until a change is needed.Â
