Has a potential buyer asked you for samples? If so, there are a few things that you can do. First off, and the best option, is to give them exactly what they want. If this does not work, there is a good chance that you do not have a sample that is related to what they are looking for. In this case, any sample may do; but this is something that you will have to ask the buyer.
Obviously, you want to give the buyer what he wants. If this means samples, so be it. Even if you cannot meet his exact needs, open up a conversation to see what else you can offer. Believe it or not, many clients will take any samples that you have. Simply put, they want to make sure that you can write quality content no matter the subject matter.
What samples are you going to offer? On my desktop, I have a folder full of a variety of samples. When a buyer asks for one, I know exactly where to look. From there, I find the sample that most closely resembles what I am being asked for. If nothing works, I head to other folders to try to find something better.
When a buyer asks for a sample you should have something to send. In other words, saying that you have nothing to show is not a good idea. Fortunately, most freelance writers, even though who are just starting out, have a few samples on hand. And remember, as you grow your career your collection of samples will grow as well.Â
Guess what? You should try being nice to your freelance writing clients from time to time. Okay, most of you probably are nice to clients. But guess what? There are many in the industry who do not know what it means to provide good customer service. Instead, they treat clients poorly. Soon enough, they are losing these clients and their freelance writing business is suffering.
What does it mean to be nice? Well, this depends on who you are and the situation you are in. For me, being nice is respecting clients at all times. I have found out time after time that it does not cost anything to be nice. Take for instance a situation that I ran into a few weeks ago. I emailed an SEO company about the possibility of working with them. After a day or so I received an email that was far from “nice.†They more or less told me that I was wasting their time if my budget was not X dollars. Of course, I simply moved on and left well enough alone. Believe it or not, this has happened to me more times than I care to remember.
When you are nice to clients you are making things better for every party involved. Not only will it make them feel good, but it will do the same for you. Why would you want to be rude to your clients? In the end, this is not going to benefit you in any way, shape, or form. In fact, it is just going to make things worse. Even if somebody is rude to you, killing them with kindness is the best thing to do.
If you have the tendency to treat your freelance writing clients poorly, try to change this right away. You will find that this simple change will keep clients coming back for more as opposed to seeking out a new freelancer.
Freelance writers come from all different types of backgrounds. I majored in journalism in college, but I know many writers who received sales, medical, and finance related degrees. That brings me to the question: do you need a college degree to become a freelance writer? The short answer to this question is no. That being said, you may be better prepared for this type of career if you spend four years in college.
Anybody can become a freelance writer. In fact, I have two friends in the business who did not graduate from college. And not only are they in the business, but both of them earn a decent amount of money. To go along with this, three members of my freelance writing course have no college experience at all. Although they are just starting out, it appears that they are well on their way to future success.
As noted above, college can prepare you to become a better freelance writer. Believe it or not, I had a couple of courses that were based around freelance writing. One was “feature writing†and the other “scriptwriting.†Both of these are areas in which you may want to focus on. The feature writing class in particular was one that definitely helped when I decided to become a freelance writer. In fact, I used a couple samples from this class to send to prospective clients in the early days.
In college, I also learned a bit about marketing, accounting, and other areas that have bettered my career. Although these were not my core classes, I dabbled in them from time to time. Looking back, if I would have known that I was going to become a freelance writer I probably would have taken more classes like this.
Will clients ask if I have a college degree? Some will, but most won’t. I have had a couple of clients ask where I went to school, what I majored in, etc. But most clients don’t care. Instead, they are more concerned with your writing experience and the samples that you can show them. If you did graduate from college, you will definitely want to include this on your freelance writing resume; especially if you majored in a related field such as journalism or public relations.
Regardless of your background, you can become a successful freelance writer. If you did not graduate from college, do not let this hold you back.
