There are many things you can do to help your situation as a freelance writer. You can make contacts, improve your writing skills, and have all the right equipment. But nothing is as important as working hard day in and day out. If you are not dedicated to your craft and willing to work hard through good and bad times, you will never find much success as a freelance writer.
Working hard means something different to every freelance writer. One person may need to work 10 hour days in order to feel that he is really getting after it. But on the other side of things, another writer may go hard for six hours and then feel satisfied. As long as you feel that you are working hard, and truly believe this, you are in a good place. It is when you begin to slack off and attempt to trick yourself into thinking you are working hard that the real trouble starts.Â
There is no replacement for working hard. This holds true for every freelance writer regardless of career stage or expertise. As a new freelance writer I was always working hard so I could make a name for myself. But even though I now have more experience and contacts, I still work as hard as ever to ensure continued success.
You will be amazed at how much more success you have when you really dig in and decide to work hard everyday of the week. It may be a major change to your current work schedule, but soon enough you will settle in and realize that working hard is the only way to go.
If you feel that you are slacking off, even a bit, you need to make a change. If you are determined to work hard everyday of the week, for as many hours as possible, you will reap the rewards in the end.Â
When you impress a client you have a much better chance of developing a long term relationship, while also receiving repeat work. Some clients are easier to impress than others, but you should do your best to make this happen no matter who you are working with.
Here are three simple ways to impress all (or most) of your freelance writing clients:
1. Never miss a deadline. Simply put, you need to submit the finished project on or before the date it is due. If you neglect to do this you will find out soon enough that clients are giving up on you. Nobody wants to work with a freelance writer who does not turn work in on time.
2. Every piece you write should be of high quality. No matter if you are writing a short web article or a long feature, make sure you give your all. There will be times when a client does not like the end result, and in turn asks for some edits. But as long as you put in 100 percent effort the first time around there is nothing to worry about. Your clients will be able to tell when you went all out for them, and also when you cut corners.
3. Go above and beyond what is asked of you. For instance, if you want to impress a new “web based†client ask them if they need help finding images that correspond to your content. Chances are they will say “thanks but no thanks†but in the end this shows that you are willing to help in anyway you can.
As the title says, these are simple ways to impress freelance writing clients. There are many others ways to show your appreciation for a client, and you should follow through with anything that will better your relationship.
There are many reasons why I decided to get involved with freelance writing a few years back. It is easy to say now that I made the right decision. But as you probably know from your own experience, starting a career as a freelance writer is full of uncertainty.
Here are three reasons why I got involved with freelance writing:
1. I wanted to be my own boss. After working for other people for a few years it became obvious that I would do better on my own. I wanted to call the shots on everything from when to wake up to how to market my services. When you work as a freelance writer you are in charge of your business. While this is a big responsibility, it also feels real good!
2. I received my college degree in journalism. When researching opportunities I decided to focus on industries in which I had experience. Writing was something that I studied for many years so it only made sense to move in this direction. While I could have worked for a newspaper, this did not align with my other goal of being my own boss.
3. Freedom. Perhaps the biggest benefit of being a freelance writer is the freedom. I can wake up when I went, take breaks when I want, and basically make any decision that I feel is good for me and my business. In my opinion, freedom is more important than money.
As you can see, I did not get involved with freelance writing for the money. While I eventually began to earn a decent income, this was not my primary goal. I figured as long as I was earning enough to make ends meet that I would be fine for the time being.Â
If you are trying to decide whether or not to get involved with freelance writing consider my reasons as well as any of your own. Soon enough you should be able to make a well informed, educated decision.
