As a freelance writer in today’s day and age, you are more than likely using email the majority of the time. Sure, you may have some phone conversations from time to time, but they are usually few and far between. Although you may think that communicating via email is straight forward, there are some things that you need to keep in mind.
First things first, you should always be professional when exchanging emails. This holds true no matter if you are dealing with a client, or somebody who is thinking about working with you. This means that you should properly address the other party, while keeping a professional tone throughout. On top of this, make sure that you never use any curse words. Time after time I receive emails that are full of off-color words that should not be used in a professional environment.
As a freelance writer, clients expect you to catch any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. This is more important when you are exchanging email with potential clients. You need to prove to these people that you are capable of working for them. If your first email is full of errors, you are not putting your skills in good light.
This may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is important to a successful freelance writing career. If you are going to send emails, you might as well do things right. This means being professional, no curse words, and no grammar/spelling mistakes. Surely this is something you can handle, right? After all, you are a writer!
Is your freelance writing career at a stand still? Has your progress stalled as of late? If so, you need to keep one thing in mind: this is something that every freelance writer has to deal with. Although you want to keep these slow times to a minimum, it is tough to keep them out of your business altogether. Fortunately, when your freelance writing career stalls there are certain measures that you can take.
1. Call or email past clients if you are having a difficult time drumming up new business. They may not have anything for you at the moment, but at the very least you will be fresh in their mind. On several different occasions I have emailed a past client which resulted in a project by the next day. Sometimes all somebody needs is a little push. If you give them the nudge, it will help you to get out of your funk.
2. Market, market, market. When your freelance writing career stalls, begin to market your services extensively. Not only should you do this as you always have, but try to think of new techniques for expanding your reach. For instance, do you have a blog? If not, you may want to start one as a way of kicking your freelance writing career into high gear. Marketing is a big part of your success, but only if your plan results in increased projects and income.
3. Be patient, and wait for something to break your way. But remember, while you are being patient you still need to push forward. Sitting around and hoping for a big break is not going to get you far. While it is important to be patient, you need to make your own luck.
If you run into a roadblock, there is no reason to give up on your career or become satisfied with earning less. Instead, call on past clients, market your services, and stay patient. In no time at all you will begin to move forward once again!
As a freelance writer, you need to be programmed to “go with the flow.†There are times when business will be booming, and times when you will have a hard time drumming up new clients. The way that you deal with the ups and downs of the freelance writing industry will determine how much success you have. As a general rule of thumb, you should never get too high when things are going good, and on the same token, never get too low when things are going bad.
If you are quick to get down on yourself, you may find yourself changing careers the first time that the freelance writing industry throws you a curve. Giving up is never going to get you to where you want to be. Sure, it can be difficult to get through times when there seems to be no work, or clients are holding back payment, but every successful freelance writer has to deal with this from time to time. Simply put, this is not a career path that is going to be easy going and steady day in and day out.
On the other side of things, you never want to get too excited when you are having a good month. There are some months when I earn in excess of $7k and others when I only earn $4,500. While it is always nice to earn as much as possible, I always keep in mind that this will change from month to month. Simply put, you should be proud of yourself when going through good times, but never get caught thinking that things will never change.
Being a freelance writer is like riding a roller coaster. You will be up one day, down the next, and somewhere in between by the end of the week. The way that you deal with these fluctuations has a lot to do with how successful you become. There are many benefits of being a freelance writer. You can make a lot of money, work from home, and control your own business. But always keep in mind that this is not a steady career by any stretch of the imagination.Â
