There are many reasons to become a freelance writer and the fun and excitement that this career offers is one of the most important. I never liked any of my past jobs. Sure, they paid the bills and were fun to a certain extent, but they were nothing to get overly excited about. But when I became a freelance writer, this all changed. I realized that there was money to be made, and that I would be able to have fun day in and day out.
What makes a career as a freelance writer fun and exciting? The great thing about this question is that it has many answers. The reasons that I find freelancing to be fun may not match what you think, and vice versa.
For me, the real fun of freelance writing is getting to “do it all.†I get to write for a living, but at the same time I take part in sales, marketing, customer service, accounting, and much more. For many, this may sound boring and tedious. But for me, it is a lot of fun.
Over my time as a freelance writer I have had the chance to meet and become friends with many people. Some of them just like me, others famous for one reason or the next. Adding to my network is always fun. And not only is it fun, but it is also profitable in the long run.
If you are not having fun as a freelance writer you should reconsider your career choice. There are other reasons to become a freelancer, but if you are not having fun you are not going to last long. Soon enough you will burn out and realize that moving on would be in your best interest.
You should not have to force things, either. If you truly love your career as a freelance writer the fun will come to you. Does this mean that you are going to have tons of fun every minute of everyday? Of course not. There are some days when I love my job and others when the work piles up and I have too much going on. But even then I realize that this is the best career for me, and that the fun will always be there.
When you start out as a freelance writer you should set goals, both big and small. That being said, make sure they are attainable. There is nothing worse than setting goals that you have no chance of reaching anytime in the near future. This does not mean that you should not reach for the stars. But you should be reasonable so that you can reach your goals from time to time, and in turn increase your confidence and self-esteem.
In my opinion, your first small income goal should be one that you can reach within three months. My first income goal as a freelance writer was to earn $2k by my third month. After the first month in which I earned $52, I was a bit discouraged. Fortunately, I continued to move forward and met this goal on time. Three months is plenty long enough to get your footing, draw up a plan, and reach your first goal. But again, you need to make sure that this goal is a small one that you can reach. If I would have set my goal at $10k instead of $2k, I would have failed.
If you continually reach your small income goals you will realize the big picture soon enough. In my case, once I hit $2k/month I began to strive for $3k. Soon enough, my income goals were increasing along with my workload.
I don’t want to make things seem too easy, though. Just because you set an attainable freelance writing goal does not mean that you will definitely reach it. Even now, I set goals that come and go without me reaching them; it is part of being a freelance writer. You need to realize that goals are important, but that reaching them can be difficult. And unfortunately, sometimes you come up short. When this happens, reassess your goals and work harder to achieve success in the future.
The bottom line: start out with one small income goal. Once you reach this goal, continue to set the bar higher.Â
As you are probably well aware, I frequently talk about how to market your freelance writing services as well as why it is important. That being said, I have never discussed the power of business cards. But what better time than now?
The good people at UPrinting.com have generously offered to sponsor a contest for free business cards. And since I know all of you guys and gals want to better your freelance writing career, I accepted the offer.
Here are the details of the contest:
1. I am giving away 250 business cards each to three readers.
3. Once subscribed, leave a comment telling us how you would use these business cards to advance your career. Not only will this enter you into the contest but it will also help us all to better understand how to successfully use business cards as a marketing tool.
4. Next Tuesday I will randomly select three winners.
* UPrinting.com can only ship to the United States and Canada.
Once the winners are selected, I will post them here. Make sure that you leave an email address (matching your RSS address) along with your comment. This will allow me to get in touch with the winners.
Here are some details of the prize at stake, straight from UPrinting.com:
They can choose any of our stocks, including the eco-friendly cover stock (13 pt. Cover Uncoated – Recycled) or the 14 pt. family in Matte, AQ, or UV at any custom size we offer such as square cards, odd sizes like 3×3, 2×2, etc.
As you can see, winners are going to get much more than basic business cards. The company is well known for their high quality business card printing. Even if you do not wind up a winner, I would still suggest UPrinting.com for all of your business card and related printing needs.
It is time to get started. I look forward to reading all of your comments, and providing three of you with 250 free business cards!
