Even though I have good and bad days, there are not many when I have a hard time getting motivated. From the moment I wake up in the morning I am excited to get to work. This is one of the main reasons that I got involved with freelance writing. I knew from the start that it would excite me, day in and day out, and this is still the case many years later.
If you are not motivated to work it is time to make a career change. Not only does a lack of motivation make you feel bad on a personal level, but it also puts you in a tough spot when it comes to actually getting your work done. When I worked as a sales manager there would be days when I was gung-ho about making money and landing as many new accounts as possible. But there were also an equal amount of days when I felt like staying in bed, or worse yet, going to sleep when I finally arrived at the office. This is how unmotivated and bored I was with my job!
As a freelance writer there are many things that motivate me. Not only do I want to do good work for all my clients, but knowing that I can earn a good living is also something that keeps me going. This does not mean that everyday is a good day. Just like everybody else there are times when I get frustrated and feel that time off would be nice. But unlike past jobs, these bad times are few and far between.
If you are working as a freelance writer and are always motivated to do your best you are in position to succeed. But on the other hand, if you are unmotivated, no matter your job description, now may be the best time to make a change.Â
There is one easy way to determine if your freelance writing marketing plan is working: are you gaining new clients on a regular basis? If the answer is yes you must be doing something right. If the answer is no, there is a good chance that you need to change the way you are marketing your services.
As you know, there is more than one way to find new clients. Some freelance writers spend all their time cold calling companies all over the world. Others spend hour after hour sending cold emails in hopes of landing a few clients. No matter how you market your services you need to do what you are most comfortable with, and of course, what is yielding the best results.
One thing I have found over the years is that tweaking your marketing plan is necessary from time to time. You may be satisfied with your current results, but there is always room for improvement. If you can change a few minor details here and there you may find that your marketing efforts are even more successful. How would that make you feel?
In my opinion it is very important to track the success of your freelance writing marketing plan. Have you had success with cold emails? If so, you should continue with this method and maybe even increase your output. But at the same time, if you are not succeeding with a particular method you should think about replacing it with another for the time being.
Whether or not your marketing plan pays off is a big part of how much success you have as a freelance writer. Once you find something that works, milk it for as long as you can while also thinking about new ways to stay ahead of the curve.
In the past I have talked quite a bit about being organized. To me, organization is essential if you are going to succeed as a freelance writer. You may not think that this is important, but you would be wrong. No matter what you are doing, writing, marketing, or accounting work, being organized will make it easier for you to achieve maximum success.
I have found that staying organized is not nearly as hard as many people think. I do this by using to-do lists, as well as a system for all of my paperwork. You do not have to spend a lot of money on software and filing cabinets to stay organized. After all, you are a freelance writer not a CEO of a large company. Since you are probably your only employee you can get by with a simple system of spreadsheets and folders.
If you feel that your career is getting disorganized you need to fix this as soon as possible. Ask yourself this question: what is causing my problems? Once you know this answer you can then begin to search for a better way of doing things. For instance, early in my career I was constantly disorganized when it came to sending and receiving invoices. But after making a few tweaks this came to an end, and I began to feel much better about my career as a whole.
Believe it or not, staying organized will give you a better chance of success while also cutting out a lot of day to day stress. If you are not 100 percent satisfied with your organizational system, there is no better time than now for making a change.
