Who all is working today? Even though it is Memorial Day, I am sure that some of my fellow freelance writers are sitting at their computer getting some work done. Personally, I am going to work a few hours today just so I am not too far behind when tomorrow comes around.
I always find it difficult to take a day off; even if it is a holiday and most of my clients are not in the office. For me, this is a great time to get ahead and hopefully catch up on some secondary tasks that have been lingering on my to-do list for entirely too long. With that being said, it is always a good idea to take off some time during the holidays. After all, Memorial Day is a great holiday because it is warm outside, at least where I live, and friends and family are having cookouts, etc.
If you are working today, good for you. But before you think about putting in a full eight hours, you may want to step away from your computer and have some fun. After all, holidays are few and far between during the summer months. You might as well take advantage of them while you can!
No matter the situation, I have always been an organized person. This has worked out well, because as a freelance writer, organization is essential. When it comes down to it, the more organized you are the more efficient you are going to become. This means that you will be able to complete more work, and of course, cut back on the headaches and stress that go along with clutter.
How do you organize your freelance writing business? I do this both electronically and on paper. For instance, all of my invoices and payment data is kept on my computer. This allows me to find what I am looking for, and also make changes and updates quickly and accurately. At the same time, I keep a lot of these same records in a filing cabinet as well. I print out all of my PayPal invoices and always make sure that I file bank statements and other important documents.
As far as my day to day work is concerned, I stay organized by keeping a sticky note next to my keyboard. On this note, I include a list of projects that need to be completed on that day, as well as some tasks that I would like to get to if possible. During my first few months as a freelance writer, I kept track of my projects via email. Soon enough I had too much work to continue with this method, so I began to write down everything to ensure that nothing gets missed.
If you are not an organized person by nature, you need to make sure that your freelance writing career is an exception. It may not seem like a big deal, but as your business grows, staying organized is a key component to your success.Â
As you probably know, the majority of communicating within your freelance writing career is done via email. This is the case for 99 percent of freelance writers, and will be for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, cold emailing is one of the best ways to find new clients. Personally, this is not a method that I employ on a regular basis. That being said, the few times that I have tried it has worked out quite well.
The three tips below should help you to increase your chance of landing a job through the use of cold emailing:
1. It is essential that you do not become known as a spammer. If this happens, you are going to get a very bad reputation which could lead to a downturn in business as well as people within the industry talking poorly about you. The best way to avoid this is to personalize every email. In other words, do not send out mass emails addressed to “whom it may concern.†Instead, start each email by greeting the recipient. To go along with this, you will also want to add a personalized message. For instance, you could use, “I recently came across your blog, sportsxyz.com, and noticed that you employ freelance writers. With my experience in the sports industry, both on a local and national level, I feel that I may be able to assist you in this area.†With a personalized message like this, you have a much better chance of success while not being pegged a spammer.
2. With a cold email, you need to be short and to the point. Remember, the recipient is not expecting your email so they may not spend a lot of time reading a long “sales pitch.†Instead, you should include the basic information such as who you are and what benefits you can offer them. When it comes down to it, a long email is going to get skimmed and deleted more times than not.
3. Keep track of the emails that you send out. One of the biggest mistakes that freelance writers make in this area is sending repeat emails. When you do this, you are not only annoying the recipient but you are also wasting your time. You can easily keep track of your emails by setting up a spreadsheet with fields detailing the contact, the date of the email, and any response.
Sending cold emails is a great way to find freelance writing work. Remember to keep these three tips in mind; they will increase your chances of success.
