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Tag: freelance writer

#SquadGoals: Why Every Freelancer Needs a Writing Community
Do you have a freelance writing squad? Can you name at least five editors and writers who support your work, give you opportunities and help your career grow?

A lot of early-career freelancers focus on getting clients and clips, or pitching those higher-paying gigs — but while you’re building your portfolio, you should also be building your squad.

Why do you need a freelance squad?

Freelance writing is often a solo act, and it’s no secret that a lot of writers are introverts. Who needs people when you have the blank page, right?

Well…you still need people, and I don’t just mean “that client you email once a week with a project status update.” Building a group of editors, writers and friends who both support and help you is essential to your freelance — and, dare I say, personal — growth.

Your squad is different from your network. If you’ve been freelancing for a while, you’ve probably built up at least a small network: your current clients, your previous clients, that editor who invited you to pitch their publication, the freelancer you met at an event and friended on Facebook, etc.

But that doesn’t mean you have a squad. A network is aware of your existence. A squad wants you to succeed.

If you find yourself falling short of your income goal, for example, you could email someone in your network asking if they know of any gigs and they’d probably send a polite response back. Someone in your squad would already know you were looking for work and be ready with a potential new lead.

How do you find your squad?

You might have already found a few squad members without realizing it.

Do you have an editor who always replies quickly to your emails, gives you constructive feedback, asks you to contribute more work and passes along new opportunities? That person is on your squad.

You might have another editor or client who gives you steady work and pays on time, but never offers any bigger projects or higher-profile opportunities. That person is not on your squad. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t work for them, it’s just to note that they are not actively invested in helping you grow.

Same goes for other writers. You might already have a freelance bestie who is ready to offer an extra pair of eyes on a draft or recommend you for a new gig. You might know a writer who consistently promotes your work on social media or gives you good advice in a forum or Facebook group. These people could be your squad members.

If you don’t yet know those editors or writers, here’s how to find them:
- Keep pitching. You can’t meet an editor who loves your work until you pitch them.
- Join writing groups and online forums. Writing groups like Carol Tice’s Freelance Writers Den are often great places to get to know people. You can also join The Write Life’s Facebook community!
- Meet other freelancers in person. Go to conferences, join Meetup groups or ask local freelancers if they’d like to get a cup of coffee. Introverts: here are some good conversation starters to help build those IRL friendships.
A note about social media: Sites like Twitter used to be one of the best ways to meet other writers, but the way we use social media has shifted. Following or replying to someone on social media is not necessarily going to lead to a professional relationship the way it might have a few years ago. People are now building those kinds of relationships in private forums and online groups — which means you’ll need to figure out where those are and which ones are accepting new members.

#SquadGoals go both ways

Your squad is there to support you, but you need to support them as well.

If you know that a publication is hiring, it’s time to tell your friend that they might be perfect for this gig. If one of your most supportive editors puts out a call for pitches, you should respond — even if it’s to say “I wish I could take this on but I’m fully booked right now.”

Your goal as a writer is to build your career — but you can do a lot towards building your squad’s careers, too. Share their articles online. Recommend them to other people. Offer to be a beta reader and provide constructive feedback. Be present in the forums or Slack channels when they need to vent.

Be aware that good squads are often small. You can provide better support to a few select people than you can to everyone in your writing forum — you don’t have time to read everyone’s first drafts, after all. It might take a while to figure out who in your network should become a member of your core squad. (You might also have the experience of thinking you’re in someone’s squad when they consider you part of their larger network. Don’t take it personally.)

With a squad by your side, you’ll have a group of people whom you know you can trust. You’ll also be building the types of friendships and professional relationships that many people find in a traditional workplace. All of this will help you both personally and professionally — and, even if you are an introvert, having a squad will make your freelance career a lot more fun.

Do you have a freelance squad? How did you find your people? Share your #squadgoals in the comments!

Nicole Dieker is a freelance writer and a Senior Editor at The Billfold. Her debut novel, The Biographies of Ordinary People, was published in May 2017.
August 14, 2017
6 Exciting Career Paths if Freelance Writing Isn’t For You
Have you been trying to freelance for months, or even years, without much success?

Maybe you’re thinking of calling it quits.

Maybe you secretly suspect you don’t have what it takes to be a freelancer.

Maybe you’ve made a lot of mistakes (some of them costly ones) and you’re feeling disheartened.

I’d love to say you’re wrong, and that you just need to carry on until you “make it.”

But that would be dishonest of me….and unhelpful. Freelancing is not right for everyone, and sometimes, taking a different route might be your best option.

Is freelancing really a good fit for you?

Personally, I enjoy freelancing. I’m the sort of person who happily could go all day without speaking to anyone. I love to be my own boss. I write easily and quickly, and I enjoy working on lots of different projects.

Even so, freelance writing only makes up part of my income and part of my time. I have other projects on the go too, and for about half the working week, I’m taking care of my children.

You might be like me: you like freelancing but it’s not the only thing you want to do.

Or you might be struggling more than that. Maybe you thought you’d like freelancing but you’re just not getting anywhere with it.

Some common difficulties for new freelancers are:
- Missing the buzz of a lively office environment — it can be hard to stay motivated and enthusiastic when you’re on your own all day, every day.
- Trying to do a dozen jobs in one — admin, marketing, book-keeping, website maintenance, office management…on top of the actual writing.
- Finding it hard to manage without the stability of a regular paycheck — the “feast or famine” nature of freelancing can be very stressful, especially if you have dependents
- Writing too slowly to make much money — if it takes you all day to write a 700 word blog post, you won’t be able to make a living freelancing.
- Not being able to write fluently enough to find (well) paying work — this can especially be the case for freelancers working in their non-native language.
I know plenty of very intelligent, lovely, hard working people who would never freelance because it doesn’t suit how they like to work. There’s absolutely no shame in deciding you prefer to be an employee rather than a freelancer.

Remember, of course, that this doesn’t have to be a one-time decision.

It might be that you want to switch away from freelancing for a couple of years (perhaps while you have children still dependent on you, or while your partner is finishing studying) and then go back to freelancing at a later stage.

So if you’re not going to do freelance writing, what could you do instead?

Alternatives to freelance writing

Obviously, you could go into any regular day job. You could return to whatever you did before becoming a freelance writer (if you had a previous job). Or you could pick up whatever’s going locally that still preserves some of your time and energy to write.

Other options that might suit your skills are:

1. Virtual assistant

If freelance writing is draining your energy for other writing projects, then becoming a virtual assistant might work well for you.

This could be a particularly good fit if you’ve picked up lots of techy skills as a freelancer — e.g. you’re confident with WordPress and with sending email newsletters. You might choose to specialize in assisting fellow writers or freelancers, since you’ll have a good idea of what they need and what their daily work involves.

2. Paid beta-reading (or editing)

While you’ll still need to look for regular work, paid beta-reading can be a good way to enjoy working with words and writers…without the creativity drain of coming up with ideas and writing lots of your own words.

Depending on your experience and skills, you may want to offer in-depth editing, or you may prefer to offer beta-reading, which is usually more of a general critique of a writer’s work. If you’ve been part of a writers’ workshop group, that’s great practice.

3. SEO agency work

If you love the actual writing part of freelancing but don’t like all the admin and hustling that goes along with it, working for an SEO agency might be a good fit for you. You’ll typically be working in a small, close-knit team.

You don’t necessarily need to know a lot about SEO to work as a writer within an agency, so don’t let that put you off: look at the jobs that local agencies are offering and see what their requirements are.

4. Teaching

You might not want to teach a classful of children…but there are plenty of other types of teaching out there.

You might choose to teach at college level, for instance (English Language, English Literature or Creative Writing are all good possibilities!) or you might decide to be a private tutor.

As a tutor, you’ll have some of the same issues that you might face as a freelancer (e.g. hustling for business) — but you’ve also got the option of joining a local agency that will find you work. Tutoring is likely to take place after school hours, leaving you most of the day free for your own writing.

5. Writing books

You may already be working on a book, of course — either for fun or in the hopes it’ll one day make money (or both)!

Writing your own book is definitely not a fast path to riches…but some writers find freelancing tough because they really want to work on their own project, not on someone else’s. If that sounds like you, writing a book alongside steady, paying work could work out well.

6. Freelancer-entrepreneur

Some writers love freelancing, but want to bring their own projects into the mix too. You might, for instance, create a course for other writers, or design a physical project like freelance writer Michelle Nickolaisen did with The Freelance Planner.

Having your own product (whether physical or digital) can help smooth out the income ups and downs that go with freelancing, and it also gives you an option for bringing in cash quickly if you need to — you can just run a sale.

But what if you want to carry on freelancing?

Maybe you’ve found freelancing harder than you expected, but you want to carry on anyway. And I applaud you for that!

Carol Tice has a great post with lots of links to help with a lot of the hardest bits of freelancing (like recovering from making a mistake, dealing with difficult clients and facing the fears that go with freelancing):

Give that a read and see if it helps with some of the problems you’re facing.

Remember, though, you don’t have to be a freelancer writer. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in being a full-time employee, or taking on a part-time day job or being a stay-at-home parent. None of those are “better” or “worse” than others…they’re just different options that may or may not suit you.

Ultimately, of course, the decision is up to you: do you want to carry on as a freelancer, or try something different?

If you’re not sure, give yourself a goal and a time limit. Freelance for two more months and, if you don’t reach your goal by then, take a break and do something else instead.
July 17, 2017
A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Your Freelance Writer Website
Freelance writing is a highly competitive field. Cultivating your own professional website will give you an edge in two ways:
- Helping new customers find you
- Impressing clients you find elsewhere
A professional website says you’re taking your business seriously, and people appreciate that in a freelancer.

The good news is that you can create a professional website on a shoestring budget, with humble technical skills.

Let’s see how.

Building the base

The easiest, cheapest option for a professional website is using the WordPress platform.

Luckily, The Write Life has provided a detailed, step-by-step guide on putting together a blog using WordPress.

But wait, aren’t we talking about a website here, not a blog?

What’s the difference, anyway?

First, anything displayed on the internet is a website. Blogs are displayed on the internet, hence, blogs are also websites. The difference is that a blog focuses on releasing a routine stream of new content, commonly displayed from newest backwards. A general website’s focus is more on static content.

WordPress allows you to do both, so The Write Life’s guide to installing WordPress will serve as a good base for a professional freelance writer website. Go ahead and follow it.

Your website theme

A WordPress theme is the design layer that you apply to your content. It often dictates not only design, but also the layout of the page.

When it comes to selecting your website look-and-feel, don’t hesitate to invest in a good-looking, professional theme.

Choose a theme that matches the services you offer. For example, if you ghostwrite Science Fiction or Fantasy for a living, choose a theme that resonates with those genres. For most forms of nonfiction writing, choose something classic and elegant. Beware overcrowded or noisy themes — they will only distract your potential clients instead of impressing them.

A final caveat: Always, always make sure the theme you choose is responsive (fits mobile as well as desktop). Google penalizes websites that do not load well on a mobile, and you want your website to gain the highest Google rank possible.

The basic pages

Once you have WordPress installed, you can use it to add pages. Here are the common pages you’ll need.

1. Services

I recommend creating a separate page for every service you offer.

Why? Because different services have different target audiences, and you want to appeal to each target audience in its own words. It will also make it easier for people to find you on search engines.

2. Portfolio

If you have some writing examples that you own the digital rights to, include them here. Alternatively, link to your articles on various websites.

If all your work is ghostwritten, and you can’t claim it as yours, consider writing a sample article, story or copy to demonstrate your abilities.

3. Testimonials

Make a page for all the positive feedback you’ve received from clients.

If possible, quote with a full name and even an image to give each testimonial credibility. Always ask your satisfied clients for testimonials; there’s no such thing as too many.

4. About

People need to connect with you on a personal level. This is where it happens. List your credentials and what makes you a great writer, but entwine it with a humorous voice and include some irrelevant personal bit.

5. Pricing

There’s a huge controversy about whether or not to include pricing.

I’m in favor of doing it. Why?

Because it prevents the usual frustration that comes with not finding prices, and it gives potential clients some idea of what you’ll charge. That way, those who can’t afford you will not contact you and waste your time.

6. Contact

Allow people to contact you by form, by email and even by phone. Not hiding behind an internet facade gives you more credibility and makes you more approachable. Different clients prefer different contact options.

7. Front page

In a blog, this page would feature your latest posts. In a website, something different is needed. This is the place to give your potential client a taste of all the other pages, and links to read more. On the front page you’ll also want to include a signup form for your newsletter, which we’ll discuss in a moment.

A note about your website content: Make it shine. This is the first impression potential clients will have of your writing, and if the website is written sloppily or unattractively, it won’t matter how much your portfolio shines. Bring your most engaging language to the table. And don’t be afraid to promote yourself and your services and skills.

Mailing list and lead magnet

Every business needs a mailing list, yours included. A mailing list (aka a newsletter) allows you to get in touch with all your clients at once, to keep them engaged with the business, and to spur them to hire you again and again.

Now comes the lead magnet’s turn. A lead magnet is a little gift you deliver to people who sign up to your mailing list. It encourages people to sign up. As a freelance writer, you can offer something along the lines of “Eleven Most Common Writing Mistakes,” “The Three Core Principles of Copywriting,” and so on.

Choose something that connects well with your flagship service.

Ready to go!

Now all you have to do is promote your website on every platform available to you. May it bring you a lot of business and repeat clients!

Share your proud website in the comments!
July 13, 2017
Naps, Dinner at 4:30 and Other Side Effects of Freelancing Writing

It’s 3:52 on a Sunday afternoon.

While I wouldn’t say I’m on vacation, per se, I’m out of town, having traveled for an event. After a rather-too-raucous Saturday evening, I’m hanging out in an Airbnb just minutes away from one of the best beaches in the country.

And guess what? I’m working.

Despite how it sounds, I’m not complaining — or at least, not loudly. I have a full day of non-work-related activities planned for tomorrow, and I haven’t written a word since Thursday night.

But I must admit, when I first envisioned my life as a full-time freelance writer, weekend power hours on way less sleep than I’d like were not part of the fantasy.

And speaking of sleep, this is hardly the first time my schedule has gotten weird.

Freelance writing: It gets weird

I’ve always been a little bit of an insomniac. Whether falling asleep eluded me entirely or 2 a.m. made a silent, unsolicited wakeup call, slumber’s more complicated than it really seems a basic biological function should be.

(I hear they make medication for these problems? I may be in the market.)

So when I transitioned from an office job that required my physical presence for eight hours most days to a fully flexible, self-directed schedule, I was thrilled to say goodbye to anxious nights lying awake, waiting desperately for the Sandman to come take me.

Who cares if I can’t sleep? As long as I meet my deadlines, I can get stuff done whenever the mood strikes me, be it mid-afternoon or in the wee hours of the morning. I can even use tools like Boomerang to answer emails at oddball hours without coming across to clients like the weirdo I truly am — or, at least, not tipping them off any further than my writing already must.

But as it turns out, a structured schedule does more than make office work feasible.

Time is a social tool.

It allows us to do things like eat together at a set mealtime or gather for a yoga class.

And as a freelance writer living on my own, time quickly became all but irrelevant.

Suddenly enabled to fully indulge my insomnia, I ended up with very strange sleeping patterns — say, four hours starting at midnight, followed by a productive pre-sunrise burst and a long, listless day punctuated by a nap or two. This, of course, of course, wreaked havoc on my meal schedule, which became less “schedule” and more “I don’t know, I get hungry sometimes.”

After finding myself standing in the kitchen eating dinner in my PJs at 4 p.m, or calling four heaping mouthfuls of 3 a.m. peanut butter off the spoon breakfast, I started to think I might benefit from some self-imposed structure.

How to maintain structure when you work from home

Listen. I totally get why working remotely is so attractive.

I mean, yoga pants are 100 percent dress-code friendly and you’re never more than three feet from the refrigerator. What could possibly go wrong?

But remote hopefuls might not realize the impact of some of these unintended side effects I’ve mentioned.

Don’t get me wrong: Schedule weirdnesses don’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. It might be healthier to listen to your body’s hunger signals instead of forcing down a meal simply because the clock says noon, for instance.

And as it turns out, sleeping for four-hour blocks rather than eight isn’t unprecedented — or even necessarily unhealthy.

But if you’re trying to maintain relationships with people who are still beholden to a traditional 9-5 schedule, the whenever-you-feel-like-it lifestyle can become a serious obstacle.

Not to mention the fact that when your home is your office, it can be difficult to ever feel like you’re truly off hours — especially for the driven, type-A, color-coded-calendar types who so frequently make good freelancers. I mean, you can always write one more paragraph, right?

Although it may seem like a non-issue in the face of all the benefits of a flexible, self-directed career path, maintaining work-life balance is imperative if you want to stay happy and productive in the long run.

So. How can you avoid the 4 p.m. dinnertime fate?

Here are five ways to add structure and sanity to your life when you work from home.

1. Set and maintain a regularly-scheduled social activity

It might be a standing weekly dinner date, monthly girls’ outing, local trivia night or weekend volunteering — but whatever you do, prioritize creating a regular opportunity to leave your house.

Not only will you actually interact with other humans (imagine!), but you’ll likely refuel and recharge your creative batteries, too.

2. Actually get dressed in the morning

It’s a lot more difficult to turn what would have been an eight-hour workday into a 12-hour, nap-and-Netflix-and-also-some-work day if you’re not sitting in your jammies all day long.

Yes, I know that yoga pants forever sounds like nirvana, but comfort can be a fickle mistress.

Go ahead and throw on some jeans. If anything, you’ll be motivated to finish your workday so you get to take them off again.

3. Partition off a specific place to function as an office

Working from literally anywhere makes it that much more tempting to drag out the laptop when you should be relaxing.

So as extravagant as it may sound to work in bed or while lounging poolside, consider setting up an actual home office — and promise yourself not to work anywhere else.

(OK, at least not very often.)

4. Decide on days off ahead of time, and stick to them

No, you may not answer that client email on Saturday if you decided Saturday is a day off. No, not even if your hiking trip got cancelled because it’s raining.

Sit down, watch a movie, and pretend work doesn’t exist. You’ll be a better creator in the long run if you take the opportunity to turn your brain off.

Want a tip on making this feasible for us workaholics? Do yourself a favor and disallow push notifications for your work email address on your smartphone — or, better yet, disconnect the account altogether.

You can do it. I believe in you.

5. Make good use of a to-do list

This could just be me and my crazy type-A tendencies, but writing tasks down does wonders stop me from passively obsessing over whether or not they’ll actually get done.

Then again, I carry around my planner like a security blanket and write down things I’ve already finished just for the satisfaction of crossing them off. But whatever: It’s a lot cheaper than Prozac.

Hopefully, these tips will help even the most eccentric freelance schedule feel a bit more livable.

Who knows? Maybe if you’re really diligent about maintaining these self-imposed parameters, you’ll come across to non-freelancers as normal.

Maybe.
nolinks

July 7, 2017
5 Lessons From This Rockstar Freelance Writer’s Last 5 Years

I’m in my fifth year as a full-time freelance writer, which means I’ve been freelancing longer than I’ve had any other job.

I’ve learned a lot since I started freelancing — how to pitch, how to negotiate, when to look for a new client — but my biggest lessons have been the large-scale ones. How to grow your income by tracking it. How to build relationships. The discovery that freelancing isn’t a solo gig; it’s a team sport.

So — because we’re all on the same team — I want to share my lessons learned with you.

Here are my five biggest takeaways, in five years of freelancing.

1. Track what you want to improve

If you’ve been following The Write Life for a while, you’ve probably seen me share my monthly income roundups as well as my future income goals. I’ve been tracking my freelance earnings here for over two years now — and although I know that information is beneficial to TWL readers, I’m actually tracking my income because it’s beneficial to me.

Knowing exactly how much money I’ll earn this month — as well as the money I’m projected to earn over the next few months — lets me know whether I’m earning enough money or whether I need to hustle for more work. (I track my expenses along with my income, and I want to make sure I earn enough to both meet my expenses and save for the future.)

It also lets me know whether my freelance career is growing.

Am I earning more money this month than I was six months ago? Am I getting higher rates for my work, or am I doing larger amounts of work at the same pay rate? Is it time to negotiate a raise or look for a new client?

“What gets measured gets managed” is a cliché, but it works. Tracking my earnings lets me manage both today’s money and tomorrow’s growth. Time-blocking my day helps me manage the hours I work and ensure I hit my deadlines.

Paying attention to the way I do my work helps me work better — which also helps me build my career.

2. You can earn a living on low-wage work — but figure out how to move up

You’ll often see freelancers arguing that “no one can earn a living” on the low pay rates given out by some publications and content sites. This isn’t necessarily true. I began my freelance career working for Crowdsource (now OneSpace) writing 600-word articles for around $11 each.

I wrote every $11 article I could. Five or six a day, Monday through Friday. Crowdsource had a leaderboard, and by the end of my tenure with them I was the fourth highest Crowdsource earner of all time.

You can earn a living on low-wage work, if you are able to write quickly and complete a large number of assignments.

But as you’re getting all of that work done, figure out how to move into higher-paying gigs. I set the goal of sending out one pitch per day. I didn’t meet the goal every day, but I met it enough times to get the higher-paying clients that helped me build my network — which is what helped me build my career to the point that clients started reaching out to me.

3. Everything changes when people start reaching out to you

Here’s how you know you’ve made it as a freelancer: people start asking you to write for them.

When that first started happening, I couldn’t believe it; clients were emailing me, offering to give me work? I didn’t have to pitch them or convince them that I was the best person for the job?

When clients reach out to you, they’re often offering you a job that isn’t advertised. These are the gigs that don’t make it to the freelance job boards because these clients don’t want to review dozens of pitches; they want to reach out to someone they know can get the job done. They’re also generally offering higher pay rates than what you might get from a pitched gig — and because they’re the ones reaching out to you, you’re the one with the power to negotiate. They want you. All you have to do is agree on the terms.

4. Get a CPA who understands freelancers

I’d advise all freelancers to get a CPA, but if you’re at the level where clients are reaching out to you with $10,000+ gigs, you absolutely need one. More importantly, you need a CPA who understands what freelance writers do.

My first CPA wasn’t a good fit for me — he didn’t understand what I did or how quickly I was increasing my earnings, which meant that he kept advising me to pay lower estimated taxes than I actually owed. I found a second CPA who was ready to talk to me not only about my taxes, but also about business licenses and other financial concerns.

Freelancing is not a solo career. You need good people on your team, and a CPA that understands freelancers is one of them. As for the rest of your team, well… that brings me to my final lesson.

5. Relationships are so important

“It’s all about who you know” is as much of a cliché as “what gets measured gets managed,” but it’s true.

Building relationships helps you build your career.

A good relationship with an editor means getting that email that ends with “please pitch us again soon — I’d love to see more of your work!” A good relationship with a client means landing recurring gigs, or being the first in line to claim a new project. It also means your editor or your client may recommend you to someone else, who will send you an email offering you a high-paying job.

Building relationships with other freelancers is also important. They know who’s paying well and who’s hard to work with. When their editor asks if they know anybody who might like an extra gig, they can recommend you — and if your work dries up, they’re the best people to ask for help.

So make your professional interactions good ones. Act like you’re on a team working towards a mutual goal, whether you’re recommending a friend to an editor or asking a client to consider a higher pay rate. Keep that team mentality going in your personal online presence as well; you don’t want to be known as the freelancer who complains about clients on Twitter.

Because the stronger your relationships are, the stronger your career becomes.

I’ve grown a lot as a freelancer over the past five years, and I look forward to seeing where my career goes in the next five years. I’d like to think these lessons will serve me well no matter what happens next — and I hope they serve you well too.

What have you learned since you started freelancing? Share your biggest lessons — or your thoughts on Nicole’s lessons — in the comments.

June 12, 2017
Guess What, Freelance Writer? You’re Also a Salesperson

It’s not difficult to see the correlation between freelance writers and salespeople.

In both professions, success depends on a person’s ability find prospects and develop relationships with new clients.

Yet somehow, most freelance writers don’t recognize the need to familiarize themselves with best practices for selling. Taking the time to learn and put sales skills into practice can result in more clients, higher pay and other satisfying career goal realizations.

Here’s a look at how freelance writers are more like salespeople than they may initially think.

1. We both seek out and document leads

Whether a handwritten ledger, Evernote entry, Google calendar reminder or spreadsheet, successful freelance writers are constantly seeking out new leads, and keeping track of their conversations (and next steps).

The average salesperson takes this to the next level with a number of systems designed to make sure they never lose an opportunity.

They use customer relationship management (CRM) software like Salesforce to keep track of prospects and where they’re at in the sales process.

2. We both aggressively pitch prospects, hoping to get a foot in the door

Salespeople call them sales calls. Freelance writers call them pitches.

But each of these tactics exists to help their user get a foot in the door with a decision maker that can ultimately determine whether or not they get the business.

And as good salespeople know, oftentimes it takes (many) more than one touch like a call or email to close a prospect.

3. We both know how to waste time

For freelance writers, it’s easy to waste time when writer’s block hits, or getting distracted by just about anything when working at home.

For salespeople, it’s easy to get caught up in research and preparation for sales calls, often because they just aren’t feeling up to making the actual call.

In either case, freelance writers and salespeople can easily waste a day that could be spent chipping away at tasks.

It’s important to be able to recognize time-wasting activities so that you can learn to fight them!

4. But we also both know how to work with strict deadlines

For salespeople, it’s hitting quota by the end of the month.

For freelance writers, it’s delivering a high-quality assignment in what’s usually a very short amount of time.

For both parties, operating under the pressure and stress of a deadline doesn’t kill, but makes them stronger.

5. We operate with specific metrics in mind

For salespeople, this might look like time spent on the phone. For freelance writers, it may be making sure we’re hitting word count without sacrificing quality.

For both salespeople and freelance writers, we’re driven by the number of contacts we make, and resulting leads for realistic prospects.

6. We both make money directly proportionate to what we sell

Salespeople call it commission.

Freelance writers call it income.

In either case, the amount of money you make completely depends on your sales activities — targeting prospects, preparing pitches and following up on opportunities.

Both parties might call these tactics by different names, but the idea is the same. If you’re not hustling, you’re not making money.

The point?

Everybody sells something.

Whether they’re salespeople, freelance writers, HR managers or janitors. We all employ sales tactics to get what we want, as simple as gaining agreement for a certain opinion to negotiating a new position or raise, to more life-changing situations like closing the deal on a major client.

Though everybody sells in different ways, it’s especially easy to draw parallels between salespeople and freelance writers.

What kind of questions or struggles do you have around growing your business? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

May 12, 2017
4 Easy-to-Avoid Freelance-Writing Mistakes Every Rookie Makes

Congratulations! You landed your first client.

Getting a positive response to a pitch or application can give you a writing high that lasts all week…that is, until you start working with the client and things start going wrong.

As a new freelancer, getting any job may be so exciting we’re willing to accept jobs that aren’t always the best fit. I certainly made some mistakes (and continue to make new ones) that ate up a lot of my time and energy at the beginning of my freelancing career.

The good news is I kept track of my rookie freelancing mistakes when landing a new gig, so you don’t make the same mistakes!

1. Not clarifying if you get a byline

The job ad said “writer”, not “ghostwriter”, so I assumed I would have a byline…wrong.

When landing a new client or gig, this is one of the most important things you can ask, especially if you’re working to build your portfolio. Having a byline helps build your brand and can even draw inbound leads — a dream for all new freelancers!

Clarify up front if you’ll be able to have a byline. If the answer is no, ask if you’ll be able to link to the writing in pitches, or if you can get a testimonial. If the answer is still no, think carefully about if the time is worth it. You may want to raise your rates if you’re not getting any exposure.

There’s nothing as disappointing as spending a lot of time writing a perfect article, only to not get the recognition for it you thought you would.

2. Writing about a topic you don’t believe in

You’ve responded to an ad or cold pitched, and they’ve responded. You’ve talked about average word count, if you’ll have a byline and how to submit. You’ve even agreed on cost per word and how you’ll get paid.

It’s finally time to write.

Then they send you the topic and your heart drops. Not only is it something you’re completely uninterested in, it’s also something you don’t believe in or agree with.

There are certain niches where this happens more than others, but it can happen to anyone. In my case (health niche), I was being asked to write about a specific supplement. I don’t really believe in supplements and diet pills, and I hadn’t used this one myself, so I felt really uncomfortable with the post.

I wrote it anyway, but I wish I hadn’t. Not only did it take forever (since I wasn’t familiar with it), but I hated every second of it. Freelance writing isn’t all fun and games, but the writing part is still supposed to be enjoyable!

Plus, my name was now attached to a piece I didn’t believe in.

When the client asked me to do another piece reviewing and recommending a very specific diet pill, I declined. I wish I had declined the first offer, too. Not only did I spend a lot of time on the writing, it actually made me dread writing. And even though it was bylined, I don’t like to use it in my portfolio. I did make some money, but I wish I’d spent my time on more positive work.

3. Not adjusting rates for word count/research

You may have a standard rate per word or per project you charge, and if the client is willing to pay, you’ll accept.

Especially starting out, the rates you’ll accept are probably pretty low. You’re just trying to build your portfolio, connections and skill set.

But just because the rate is the same as other work you do, doesn’t mean you should accept it without knowing other parameters. Writing a 3,000 word article might take more than three times longer than a 1,000 word article, depending on the research or interviews involved. My cost per word was the same, but my effective hourly rate sank dramatically at this word count.

The same thing can happen if the article is research-intensive. I had another client that wanted an average of 25 sources for a 1,000 word article. While I’m happy to accomodate, I can’t accept the low end of my rates for that work.

If your time is your most valuable asset, you need to take on work that has a good effective hourly rate.

4. Not reading any legal documents or disclaimers

While this happens infrequently, sometimes clients will have you sign a non-disclosure or some other legal document. Make sure you read these documents before signing.

I once had a client put a 10-year non-compete in my non-disclosure agreement. Luckily, with a lawyer for a father, I always read any contracts before signing. As a freelancer, a non-compete is simply unacceptable. I recommend asking if they’ll remove that language.

If they won’t, don’t sign it.

Above all, always value yourself, your work, and your time.

Don’t take work just because you’re excited about finally getting a gig and making some money. Ask the right questions, read requirements carefully, and price accordingly.

And don’t be afraid to walk away if the opportunity just isn’t right.

May 4, 2017
10 Foolproof Tips to Make Your Freelance-Writing Proposal Shine

It’s no secret: Finding clients who offer long-term work and rewarding income is hard.

That’s why, when you do use proven strategies to find freelance writing work, you want every advantage when the time comes to seal the deal.

Enter: the freelance writer’s secret weapon, proposals.

To help you ward off “The Vanishing Client Phenomenon” that occurs after sending a proposal, here are 10 easy ways to make your freelance proposals more persuasive.

1. Ask the right questions

When you talk with a prospect, ask questions that allow you to connect their goals directly to the services you offer.

Here’s my favorite question:

“What do you want to accomplish with [the project]?”

Then, in your proposal, describe how you will help the prospect achieve what they “want to accomplish.”

For example, if a prospect with a blogging project wants to establish credibility in their niche, write:

“Every blog post I write contains 5 cited sources so readers know they can trust the content. This instantly establishes credibility with your audience. Here’s an example of a post I wrote with 5 sources cited: [link to article].”

2. Offer proof they need an expert (AKA, you)

Compile a few statistics related to the prospect’s project to demonstrate that you are the “go-to expert” — and that their project is safe in your hands.

For example, if you are drafting a proposal for a website content project, write:

“According to Copyblogger, 8 out of 10 people read a web page’s headline, but only 2 out of 10 read the rest. So, to give you the best chances of converting traffic into leads, I will provide 5 potential home page headlines. We will test all 5 to determine the highest converting headline.”

3. Use “Future Pacing”

This is a technique to create positive mental imagery in someone’s mind.

To use Future Pacing, offer a step-by-step plan that starts with what happens the moment they hire you, and continues to the close of the project:

“As soon as we start this project, I’ll get to work on the first draft of [1st deliverable]. You will see it in your inbox within 24 hours. While you are reviewing, I’ll be developing [2nd deliverable] and then…”

4. Make it all about the benefits

In the hyper-competitive world of freelance writing, it’s not enough to pitch your services.

Focus on the benefits to make your proposal stand out. Use phrases like “so that”, “because”, and “in order to.”

For example, with a blog writing retainer project, write:

“You receive 5 new articles per week for the company blog so that your business remains top of mind. Because the fresh articles consistently appear in your potential clients’ inboxes, they will come to know, like, and trust your perspective.”

5. Build trust with testimonials

Testimonials are “Social Proof” that you are the opposite of a risky hire — you are a seasoned professional with happy clients who trust you to deliver.

To help yourself win a brochure copywriting project, for example, write:

“Your project is similar to a brochure I created that rewarded my client with a noticeable uptick in sales. Here is what she said about the brochure’s effectiveness: [1-2 sentence testimonial].”

6. Highlight unique qualifications

Why are you more than a choice for the client’s project? Why are you the ideal choice?

What experiences, hobbies, or insights make you a solid match for the project?

Even if the client’s industry is one you haven’t worked in before, you still have the opportunity to offer reasons why the prospect should choose you.

For example, I secured a nearly $10,000 project from one of the largest colleges in North America not because I had previous experience working with colleges (I didn’t), but because I had developed the skills required for the project in my first 9-to-5 job.

7. Conquer doubts about ROI

Ever encountered clients who fret about price? Most of us have.

From a testimonial that mentions revenue increases or waste decreases, to a case study that shows how your work improved a past client’s life, you can slip a quick doubt-remover into your proposal to show that no, your services don’t “cost too much.”

Then, quote based on value, and you’re set!

8. Let your personality shine

Show you’re a real person to keep prospects engaged. Work your sense of humor or amusing stories into your proposals.

For example, when writing a proposal for a $4,500 editing project, I included with my quote a section focused on potential ROI titled:

“3 reasons why this is a deal worth writing a letter to Mom and Dad about.”

I won the project.

9. Record your proposal

Leverage the power of human connection by shooting a video.

Use a free screen recording tool like Screencast-O-Matic to record your voice and your proposal on-screen.

Go into detail on the services you offer or review portfolio projects on-screen to discuss how past clients benefited from your work.

10. Validate, validate, validate!

Validation is the innate need to feel accepted. It’s also one of the easiest emotions to cultivate in your prospect.

With the first sentences of your proposal, offer authentic feedback on what you love about the prospect’s business or goals. This opens the door to the prospect knowing and liking you.

With these 10 easy ways to make your freelance proposals more persuasive, you can write proposals with confidence.

Have other ideas for making a proposal more persuasive? Let us know in the comments!

April 27, 2017
6 Free Tools That Will Help Any Freelance Writer Get Better at Pitching

What’s the greatest mystery of freelance writing?

Generating ideas? Conducting interviews? Sending invoices?

Nope. It’s pitching.

Where should you send your queries? Which editor should you email? When should you follow up? If you’re anything like me, these questions are a constant buzzing in the back of your brain.

I’ve discovered a few tools that help me pitch smarter — and even created one I thought was missing.

Want to streamline your pitching process? Give one or six of these free tools a shot.

1. Google Sheets

The greatest pitching tool might be lying right under your nose. Seriously, if you’re not using Google Sheets to organize your life pitches yet, it’s time to get started.

My initial inspiration came from Lola Akinmade Åkerström, who creates pie charts that reflect the number of pitches she sent and had rejected or accepted each year.

I wondered how on earth she knew those kinds of numbers, and after some Googling, discovered that some writers use spreadsheets to track every single pitch they send.

Writers like Alicia de los Reyes. Or Julie Schwietert Collazo.

Impressive, right? Well, once it’s set up, it’s pretty easy to maintain. You can see examples in the posts above — but at its most basic, your spreadsheet needs to include columns for an outlet, title, pitch date and follow-up date. Plus a place for editor feedback, and a way to indicate where your idea is in the pitching process (accepted, rejected, or my favorite, crickets).

In her excellent Pitch Like a Honey Badger course, Schwietert Collazo also recommends creating a spreadsheet that lists publications and editors — which you can update with information like email addresses, preferred topics and pay as you come across it.

2. Trello

Although I’m a Google Sheets fanatic, it’s not for everyone.

For a while, freelance writer Danielle Corcione tried to track her pitches within the platform, but found herself “getting frustrated” with all the columns.

So she turned to Trello, a web-based project-management tool. In this post, she explains her process for tracking pitches with Trello — and it’s definitely worth a read.

You can also use the tool as a repository for pitch ideas. When I’m struck with inspiration at the grocery store, I open Trello and pop the idea onto my “Headlines” list.

(I also have a “Get Sh*t Done” board where I track all of my assignments, biz to-dos and life maintenance tasks — but that’s a tale for another time.)

3. Where To Pitch

Naturally curious — and ok, nosy — I have no problem coming up with ideas for stories. What I find challenging? Figuring out where to pitch them.

I’m not the only one: In writers’ groups on Facebook, people are constantly saying things like…

Travel+Leisure turned down my story on skiing in Azerbaijan. Do you know who else might want it?

I have a killer idea for an article about detox teas, but that’s not my normal niche. Which health markets accept freelancers?

So, in hopes of helping people like me, I created Where To Pitch. On the site, you can type in a market or a topic, and related publications will pop up.

Whether you’ve got a brilliant new idea, or a pitch that’s already made the rounds of rejections, my hope is that Where To Pitch will help you find a home for it.

4. Who Pays Writers

Let’s say you have a fabulous story about breakfast. You might consider pitching it to Eater. Or Extra Crispy. But before deciding, you’d probably like to know which one pays better.

To get that information, simply hop over to Who Pays Writers, a crowdsourced site where freelancers share their pay rates at different publications. (Please keep it valuable by adding your own experiences, too!)

Not only will knowing rates help you figure out which outlets are worth your time, it’ll also put you in a better position when it comes to negotiating.

If you know what a market’s average per-word-rate is, then you can feel a little braver when it comes to asking for higher pay.

Remember: The worst they can say is no.

5. Your Library Card

You thought these were all going to be digital tools, didn’t you? Well I’m a sucker for the library and all the resources it offers.

When it comes to pitching, I love plopping down and browsing through magazines to take note of the editors on the masthead and the sections where my pieces might work.

Sometimes, you can find recent magazine issues on issuu, and I certainly do that in a pinch — but I don’t find it as gratifying as the glossies. Or, you could buy a membership to MediaBistro’s AvantGuild, but the selection of titles is limited and occasionally outdated.

6. Rapportive

How do you figure out which editor to pitch? You can, like I mentioned above, look through mastheads. You can also search Twitter or LinkedIn.

But contacting them is a whole other ballgame. In this story, I mention some strategies for finding an editor’s email address, including one of my secret weapons: Rapportive.

After you type an address into Gmail, this magical tool scours LinkedIn profiles — and if it finds a match, that person’s profile appears in your sidebar.

Of course, not every editor’s work email is associated with their LinkedIn, but if a profile does pop up, you’ll know you’ve scored.

Speaking of email tools, you might wonder why I didn’t include the popular email-tracking extension Streak. Well, the reason is simple: I hate it. When I tried it, the only purpose it served was to make me INCREDIBLY anxious.

That editor opened my email 17 times and never responded? Why? They must hate me. Maybe I should go back to scooping ice cream at ColdStone…

You know how that spiral goes. So I say just avoid it.

Using the tools above, you’ll be able to pitch a little more confidently; a little more systematically. You’ll get inspiration for where to pitch your stories, and knowledge of who will pay for them. But you certainly won’t get all your ideas accepted.

Because, despite all our best efforts to turn pitching into a science, there’s still another person on the other side of every query — which means it’ll always retain an element of mystery.

Maybe that’s what makes it such a thrill.

What are your favorite tools for pitching? What’s your least favorite part of the pitching process?
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March 27, 2017
Reporters, Know These 3 Source Types? Tips for Interviewing With Ease
Most writers need to know how to conduct efficient interviews.

If interviewing is a major part of your freelance writing life, you’ve probably come across sources who have trouble putting their thoughts into words.

Once you’ve found a source for an article, and they’ve agreed to be interviewed, you have to get them to talk.

There are a number of reasons it can be hard to get someone to talk even though most people enjoy telling you about themselves. Some people are naturally shy. Some are more visually inclined than verbal; they can show you something wonderful, but have trouble talking about it. And most people, unless they’ve had public relations or marketing experience, are definitely not used to talking to the press.

In my experience, I’ve come across three types of interviewees that have the most difficulty lending their expertise to my stories. In fact, many of my sources fall into these categories. And I’ve come up with some techniques that help me draw them out.

1. The “Yep-Noper”

Yes. No. Yep. Uh-huh.

None of these responses qualify as quotes. And, aside from general expertise on a topic, an interviewer is primarily looking for quotes.

My two best tools for handling monosyllabic responders are these:

Ask for advice.

Play dumb. It’s the best way to get people to tell you things. Even if you know all about the current trends in outdoor water features, pretend you don’t.

Try asking these questions:

“What are your most popular outdoor fountains?”
“What materials are they made from?”
“Are all fountains freestanding or can you hang some on walls?”
“What do they look like?”

Ask about their customers

In my work writing for regional magazines, I talk to a lot of people at local businesses who aren’t used to speaking to the press.

They seem to be trying to tell me what I want to hear instead of what they actually think. That is, when they can think of anything to say. When questions about their work are leading nowhere, trying asking about their customers. In my experience, local business owners like talking about how well they serve their customers. That’s their bread and butter and usually the part of their jobs they find most satisfying.

Try asking these questions:

“Which styles of dining room tables are your customers buying?”
“How do your customers go about paying off credit card debt?”
“How do you help your customers pick out houseplants?”
“Have customers been buying more of this or more of that? Why do you think that is?”

2. The “Big Talker”

This interviewee poses the opposite problem of the “yep-noper.”

Big talkers don’t have a problem talking. Instead, they get off topic easily. You can’t get them to shut up so you can ask all your questions, and you might not be able to keep them on track.

While you appreciate their passion for what they do, you have a story to write. And if your story is about how to choose a college major, you don’t want a source going on about their very specific, highly academic research.

Here’s how to handle a big talker:

Try email first.

Email is best for these subjects. You ask certain questions. They give certain answers. Include “Anything you’d like to add” at the end to throw them a bone.

Guide them back gently.

“Big talkers” are usually excited and happy to have someone to talk to about about what excites them.

Say a professor is detailing a paper on a facet of cell research that is a response to another paper on that facet of cell research they recently presented at a conference for other cell researchers. But your story is a 300-word website story on the faculty-student connection at your university. You need to guide them back to the path and sometimes you’ll have to interrupt to do it.

Politely interrupt and ask something related both to what they’ve been saying and to your original topic.

Try asking these questions:

“That sounds like a great conference. Did any students attend with you?”
“How do you feel experiences like these prepare students for their first jobs or grad school placements?”

Again, focusing on the population your expert serves will often get them back to talking about what’s important to the both of you.

3. The “Micromanager”

I recently interviewed a very bossy breast cancer survivor. She had an important message about breast cancer screenings for younger women. And she asked for a copy of the story before it went to print.

Yeah, no. We don’t do that.

To manage a micromanager:

Present the facts.

Instead of giving my interviewee a copy of her story before printing, I sent her a list of her quotes which were to be used in the story. I included a list of facts from the story as well. She changed several items. And that was that.

Let them talk.

Another way to manage a micromanager is to give them plenty of opportunities to have their say.

Without compromising your integrity, you can offer your source:
- The opportunity to send you an email with anything they might’ve forgotten to say on the phone or in person but remembered later.
- A summary of the major points you discussed in the interview.
- A friendly ear. Most micromanaging interviewees are not really jerks. They’re just perfectionists that are concerned with what other people might think about what they say. Hear them out even if it annoys you. You never know what gems may be uncovered if you let your source spout off a bit.
Try asking a different variety of questions in your next interview and you’ll end the conversation with some usable quotes. You’ll also have a relationship with a source who will probably be happy to be interviewed again.

How do you handle an interview that has derailed or hasn’t even gotten off the ground?
March 23, 2017