Every so often I send out requests to other professionals for services such as web design, marketing, SEO, etc. And it never surprises me when somebody emails me back with a rude response. They may say something such as “I don’t have time to help you†or “Unless you have a big budget you are wasting your time.†And as you can imagine, as soon as I see something like this the service provider is marked off my list. After all, do I really want to work with somebody who cannot even communicate in a professional manner? The answer is no.
Simply put, you should never be rude to your clients or anybody who inquiries about your freelance writing services. If you come across this way, it is going to greatly hinder your chances of securing a long term relationship. It is not difficult to communicate with respect and professionalism in mind. This is why it simply boggles my mind when others are rude when responding to email inquiries.
Take for example an SEO “professional†that I emailed last week. I am working on some new projects, and need to find a new SEO to assist me. Well, the first reply that I received was something like this: “I absolutely CANNOT help you at this time. I have too much work to take on a new client.†They did not say thank you for getting in touch, or tell me to keep them in mind in the future. Instead, they jumped the gun, told me no, and killed any chance they have at future work. Would it have been difficult for this person to be a bit nicer? Of course not. In the amount of time that it took to be rude they could have sent a nice email that would have left open the chance of working together down the road.
As a freelance writer you need to be serious about customer service. If you are hard to work with, your current clients are going to run away and potential buyers are going to cross you off their list before giving you a chance. The bottom line is simple: treat others with respect and the way that you would like to be treated yourself. This will pay off big time in the long run.Â
There are many reasons that you need to believe in your freelance writing skills. If you are on the fence about your talent, you need to get rid of this mental block as soon as possible. When it comes down to it, the best freelance writers believe that they have what it takes to succeed. This is not being cocky or arrogant. Instead, knowing that you are skilled enough to succeed is a great way of ensuring that you are always in the right frame of mind.
The following are three circumstances in which you need to strongly believe in your freelance writing skills:
1. Are you going to make the leap and become a full-time freelance writer? If so, you need to believe in yourself from day one. You need to believe that you have the skills to find clients, and that you can service them properly when the time comes. Doubt can and will kill your career as a freelance writer if you let it.
2. Is your freelance writing career at a stand still? Have you lost a few clients? If so, this is when you really need to show trust in yourself and your skills. There are going to be times in your career when it is hard to move forward for one reason or the next. When things get bad it is not a time to give up. Instead, you need to realize that this is part of the game and forge ahead each day. When you believe in your skills you will always have the confidence needed to get your career back on track.
3. Your clients will know if you are not confident in your freelance writing skills. This will show through in the way that you write, as well as the way that you communicate. You should always feel good about the skills and experience you offer. By doing so you will not only feel better about yourself, but this will also show through when dealing with clients.
No matter what stage you are at in your career, you need to believe that you have the skills necessary to succeed as a freelance writer.
Last July, I posted my first freelance writing income report. That month, I earned $4,894.78. At the time I was quite comfortable with the income, and my goals have not changed much. That being said, I have had a bit more success so far in 2008.
As a freelance writer, it can be difficult to maintain a steady level of income month in and month out. I have found this out over the years, and it is safe to say that this is never going to change.
So how does my income in July 2008 stack up against the same month last year? Here are the income totals, first the stats from 2007:
Number of Completed Projects: 43
Payment by PayPal: 41
Payment by Check: 1
Payment by Bank Wire: 1
Total Income: $4,894.78
July 2008 Income
Number of Completed Projects: 31
Payment by PayPal: 21
Payment by Check: 9
Payment by Bank Wire: 1
Total Income: $10,134.23
A quick comparison shows that I earned more than twice as much in July of this year as I did during July of 2007. If you look even deeper, you will also see that I completed 12 fewer projects. This is the most important stat. It shows that I am working more efficiently, and that each project is paying at a higher rate.
Although my freelance writing income report has become quite popular, this is going to be the last one for the time being. Of course, this is not to say that I will never share income related details and stats in the future. Simply put, I have decided to keep this information private from here on out for a number of different reasons.
To stay up to date with my progress and learn how to earn a living through freelance writing, subscribe to my RSS feed via email. Additionally, if you have a spare second, I would appreciate a Stumble and/or Digg. I am pushing for 400 RSS subscribers by the end of August so any help would be greatly appreciated!
