Many freelance writers need to learn how to open their mouth. This does not mean that you should be rude to clients or overpower them, but you should know when is the right time to ask for you what you need. Remember, just because you are working for somebody else does not mean that you should be expected to know everything.
Here are five times when you must speak up as a freelance writer.
1. Before you start a project, speak up and ask for a down payment. You may want to ask for 50 percent of the total payment or any other percentage that suits your business. But no matter what, make sure that you do this. If you are too shy, it could end up costing you in the end.
2. Always ask for instructions that you can understand. Some freelance writing clients throw projects together, and hope that you can pick up the pieces and do everything correct. Instead of guessing, you need to know exactly what the client is asking for. And in many cases, the only way to do this is to open your mouth.
3. Ask for help if you need it. How many times have you been working on a freelance writing project just to get stuck? If you are like me, the answer is plenty. There are times when you are going to need clarification on a particular detail. If you don’t ask, you could end up taking the wrong direction and being forced to backtrack later on.
4. If a client is slow paying you, don’t feel like you have to wait any longer. This is not to say that you should bug your clients, but if the deal was payment within 15 days of publication, you have every right to ask if this is not adhered to. When reminding a client that they owe you money, make sure you are careful not to come across as pushy.
5. Ask for more work. Through my experiences, too many freelance writers are afraid to do this. When you finish one project, there is nothing wrong with asking for another. You may be told that there is nothing to do, and that is fine. As long as the client knows that you are willing and able, you have done all that you can for the time being.
When the above five circumstances come into play, make sure that you speak up!
Expand your areas of expertise, and you can expand the amount of money that you earn. As a freelance writer, you may not think that this makes sense. But before you stop reading, let me go on.
Most freelance writers concentrate in one area such as corporate marketing material, web copy, etc. And as you have heard me say before, specializing in one area is a great idea. The downside of this is that you may be missing out on a lot of work that you are capable of completing.
If you are going to expand your areas of expertise, make sure that you are ready to do so. For instance, if you have yet to master the art of writing compelling sales letters, do not move onto another type of writing unless you are willing to take on the learning process with a full head of steam. Expanding is good, but if you spread yourself thin, you will find soon enough that you have no focus and no one thing that you do great.
There are many types of writing that you can get involved with. Start out with what you like to do best, and then move on from there. Soon enough you will realize that you mastered your first love, and that you can expand your offerings. Over time, this will allow you to become good at many different things. And when this happens, you will notice that your workload and income are steadily climbing. Â
This is one of those posts where I am going to ask you guys and gals for help. In the past, I have used freelance writing bidding sites such as GetAFreelancer. My main reason for choosing GetAFreelancer is that it is free to sign up. While I am aware that Elance is the leader in this industry, my question is quite simple: is it worth the money?
I have been contemplating giving Elance a try for several months. While I really don’t need to use it to find more work, I have heard conflicting opinions on what it has to offer. Some have told me that Elance brings them a few thousand bucks per month and others say that it is just like GetAFreelancer and you must bid low in order to find clients who are willing to do business.
So what is it? With all of the great comments that I have received on past posts, I figured that my audience is the best people to ask for advice on this topic. If you guys and gals think that Elance is worth the time and money, I may give it a try. And if I do, I will definitely keep everybody up to date on how much work it is bringing me.
Should I sign up for Elance, or will I be wasting my hard earned cash?
