Being a freelance writer does not mean that all I do is write all day. While I wish this was the case, it is far from the truth. I spend a lot of time on administrative tasks, and of course, trying to locate new jobs from time to time.
There are two ways that I get new work. A client either comes to me via my website or a referral, or I find them in one way or the next. But no matter what, I will have to work with them in order to come up with a mutually agreed upon price. The best clients are those who ask for my standard rates, and then do not attempt to negotiate them. Unfortunately, this does not always work out.
Weighing a freelance writing job offer can be difficult for a number of reasons. While payment is always something to consider, there are other factors that should go into your decision.
1. When it comes to payment you need to be careful. There is nothing wrong with taking a lower paying job if you have the time for it, but you do not want to find yourself in this habit. Remember, if you complete one low paying job for a client, they will expect the same treatment for each subsequent project.
2. Does the client come across as difficult to work with? If you get a bad feeling about a client from the start, you may want to walk away instead of accepting the work. Of course, make sure that your concern is valid. In the past few months I can think of two occurrences when I went against my gut, and then ended up burnt by an unruly client.
3. Anytime that you take on a new freelance writing job, you need to have time to complete it as specified. Even though an overloaded work schedule may sound like a dream to some freelance writers, take it from me when I say that this is not the case. I have done this to myself in the past, and the result has been 10 to 12 hour work days.
When you receive an inquiry to complete a writing job, use the tips above when deciding whether or not to accept.
When it comes to freelance writing jobs, I will pretty much take on anything that I can handle. This is not to say that I know everything about every last topic, but I am always willing to try. With that being said, there are some niches that I seem to write for time and time again. They were not my favorite topics upon starting my freelance writing career, but over the years they have definitely carved out a special spot in my mind. After all, you cannot help but to learn about certain topics after writing about them for months on end.
Here are my top three freelance writing topics at this time.
1. The insurance industry is hopping, and I have been cashing in on it for a couple years now. It seems that both agents and insurance companies are interested in increasing search engine rankings through quality content. One of my biggest clients that accounts for $800/month is in this industry.
2. Gambling has always been of great interest to me, but even then, I have only been to the casino a hand full of times. Additionally, I never gamble online. But all in all, this has not stopped me from writing hundreds of gambling related articles this year alone. There are a lot of people who are attempting to cash in on online casino affiliate programs. In turn, they hire me to write content which will increase their odds of success.
3. Investing in real estate may not be as popular as it was a few years back, but I have not noticed a difference in this niche of the freelance writing arena. I have several clients within this industry including: webmasters who run real estate sites, agents, and companies.
One of the biggest benefits of freelance writing is that you will learn a lot about industries that you never paid attention to in the past. Before I became a freelance writer I did not know much about any of the niches listed above. But as of today, I can confidently say that I have an above average amount of knowledge in these areas.
Do you know what it means to be a productive blogger? If so, you are halfway home. But guess what? Just because you know what it takes to be a productive blogger does not make it easy to fit this mold at all times.Â
There are many bloggers who try hard, but when it comes down to it, a lack of productivity never allows them to succeed at a high level. Does this sound familiar? Do yourself a favor and try out the three tips below. They should help you to increase productivity in one way or the next. And if you are serious about blogging, it is imperative that you are as productive as possible at all times. In fact, that statement holds true no matter what type of career you have.
1. If possible, turn blogging into a routine. In other words, write your posts and market your blog at the same time every day. Once you do this for a week or so, you will find that you always leave time for blogging. And when this happens, your productivity is sure to increase.
2. Do you ever find yourself in a writing groove? This is when all the right words come out smoothly, and ideas are flying out of your ears. The next time that you hit a groove like this, go with it. Instead of writing one post and quitting, keep going until you have compiled several quality articles. I am not a big proponent of this, but when I am in the writing groove I always push my limits. After all, this is a much better situation than running into writer’s block.
3. The biggest way to become unproductive is to become distracted. This goes along with number one which states that you need to set time apart for blogging. When you are working on your blog you should turn the television off, put away the potato chips, and get to work. The bottom line is this: if you have an excuse to not concentrate on your blog there is a chance that you will get off track.
You may be surprised to find out that increased productivity will do a lot for you. Not only will it make you feel better about yourself, but it will also go a long way in increasing traffic.
