Time management is an important part of becoming a successful freelance writer. If you don’t know how to manage your time you may find yourself checking email and watching online videos when you should be writing. And as you can imagine, this will lead to many issues within your career. Simply put, you need to make the most of your workday. This holds true no matter how many hours you have available for work.
If you are finding it difficult to manage your time follow these tips:
1. Have a to-do list. Early in my freelance writing career I found it hard to stay on track because I did not have a list showing me the way. But guess what? Once I implemented a to-do list I became more productive. Everyday since then has been guided by some sort of list.
2. Cut out tasks that are wasting a lot of time. Do you spend too much time checking email? Are you always walking away from your desk to grab a bite to eat? If so, you need to cut these time wasters out of your day. Again, a schedule will allow you to do so with success. For instance, take breaks just like you would at an office job. But remember, when they are over they are over. You don’t want a 15 minute break to turn into a half hour and so on.
3. Complete the most important tasks of the day first. You need to prioritize to ensure that the most important projects and related tasks are completed first. From there you can move onto others that are not as high on your list.
As a freelance writer you only have so much time to work. Even if you are a full-time writer you probably only have eight or so hours each day to get your work done. It is important that you make the most of every workday.Â
Are you the type of freelance writer who does not like to call others on the phone? If so, you are not alone. While I believe this is something you should attempt to get over, you can mask this problem most of the time if you know what you are doing. One example of this is relying on cold emails as opposed to cold calls. Over the past few months I have heard from more and more freelance writers who are finding success through cold emailing. If you have yet to give this a try you may want to do so; even if you do feel comfortable calling potential clients on the phone.
To get started you need to know the basics:
1. Devise a good cold email script. You need to get the point quickly because the recipient is not going to waste a lot of time reading a note from somebody they don’t know. If you jump to the point you will better your chance of receiving a response.
2. Use an appropriate subject. While you want to catch the recipient’s eye, you should also remember that it is against anti-spam laws to be misleading. It may take you a while to come up with a catchy, useful subject line but it is well worth it.
3. Do not spam anybody and everybody. There is nothing wrong with sending cold emails, but use good judgment when doing so. Some freelance writers get a bad reputation because they send out hundreds of emails per week. You don’t want to fall into this trap.
4. Customize every email you send out. This corresponds with number three. If you are going to get involved with cold emailing you need to customize your notes. Not only will this help you avoid being seen as a spammer, but it will also increase your chance of receiving a response.
If you are going to try cold emailing follow the four tips above.
If you are thinking of becoming a freelance writer because you can earn “quick money†you may want to reconsider. Yes, there is money to be made and plenty of it once you become established. But at the same time, it is important to note that nothing is going to come easy. Even if you catch a few breaks along the way you will still have to do some work in order to cash in. More and more people are deciding to jump into the freelance writing industry because they feel that it is simple to get started, and easy to make a lot of money. While I agree that anybody can get involved if they have the right skills, you should never believe that making money is going to be simple.
There are many reasons to become a freelance writer and money is just one of them. But in my opinion this should not be the only factor that pushes you into this career. In other words, there is nothing wrong with wanting to make money but be sure that becoming a freelance writer will do more for you. For instance, I truly enjoy writing. Even if I was not earning a lot of money I would still stick to this career path because I have a lot of fun day in and day out. To go along with this, as a freelance writer I get to meet a lot of new people and this is something that I also enjoy. Yes, money is important but there are other reasons why I have stuck with my career as a freelance writer for so long.
Remember, there is no such thing as quick money. This holds true no matter what career you choose. If you want quick money you will have to take your chance with a lottery ticket.
Money can motivate you and hopefully turn you into a determined freelance writer. But don’t let this be the only reason for joining the industry. Instead, make sure you have more than one reason for becoming a writer. This will help to ensure a long lasting, enjoyable career.
