Have you thought about getting into freelance blogging? Are you already a freelance blogger, but you’re struggling to find new clients? Blogging is one of my favorite projects to take on as a freelance writer. Finding clients was easy for me early on because the client base I was working with on PR writing projects also happened to have a strong need for blogging services.
One of the biggest benefits of writing for the Web is that it gives freelance writers the ability to work with clients all over the world. These days everything can be done online from invoicing to delivery. But that doesn’t mean you have to work with clients outside of your area. Some writers are more comfortable working with local clients, and that’s perfectly fine as long as
Too bad we’re not born knowing how to deal with money. If you had a financial literacy class in high school, you were pretty lucky. For many of us, much of what we know about personal finance we learned from our parents or our own mistakes. It’s not too late to learn those critical lessons you may have missed. Here are some tips on being
If you read my previous blog post, you’ll know that over the past few years I’ve gone from being a part time freelance writer, regularly pitching for projects, to working in a full time role, hiring freelance writers for content production on an array of different topics. When I was freelance writing myself full time, I thought I had a good idea of just what
Writing for print is tricky in a number of ways, but one of the most important–and the most difficult–is having a strong voice and being able to adapt it to the style of the publication you are querying. Some writers may already have a voice that they use and are comfortable with. That’s a great thing, but there is typically one problem that goes along
For most people transitioning into full-time freelance writing or freelance writing on the side for awhile, there will undoubtedly be a period of time that you’re managing two kinds of income: income from freelance writing and income from a regular job. Or if you’re a writer who’s married to or cohabitating with someone who earns a regular income, the two of you may also face
Who really loves your business? Of course you do, but you don’t count. A better question is: which portion of the public out there really loves your freelance writing business? You’d like to think everyone who has the need for a writer loves your business, but that’s simply not the truth. Not everyone is going to love your business nor will they be able to
Last time I wrote a blog post here on AllFreelanceWriting.com was way back in June 2010. Working with Jenn on a variety of other projects since, things have changed a lot over the past few years. When I used to write for AFW, I was writing part time. I had a full time job in a completely irrelevant field, working a standard 40 hour week
I’m a teacher. I chose to be a teacher, and I continue to teach because I enjoy the challenge and the rewards of the profession. But there are always downsides, and in this season of assessment testing and stress, I was thinking today about my other job. I’m a freelance writer. I chose to start writing and to continue this career in addition to the
Your freelance writing business involves more than research, writing, and editing. There’s the whole “business” side of the equation too. And an important part of running the business behind your freelance writing is managing client relationships. Let’s explore a few things you should keep in mind as a freelance writer when it comes to building and maintaining relationships with clients and prospects. The Client Isn’t
I have a habit of taking on quite a few writing-related projects at once. I’m a blogger and freelance business writer for my clients. I run numerous websites and blogs of my own. And I write books and e-books. There never seems to be enough time in my work days, and lately I’ve found myself putting in extra hours far too often — something I
I thought doing a post on scheduling might be good for all the magazine writers out there… Basically what I mean by scheduling is deciding how much to take on at first–in other words, how to manage the process of trying to land articles in print. It can be really easy to take on too much in the beginning, and that can really cause problems.
Do you ever feel like your freelance writing career is going nowhere fast? Do you try to take things up a notch, but they never seem to improve, or at least not by much? You might be making one of these common mistakes that freelance writers mistake. Here are five reasons why your writing career might be going absolutely nowhere: 1. You’re not improving your
It’s time for my first quarterly evaluation for my business. While I evaluate my progress on specific goals more frequently, I use my quarterly evaluations to review my longer-term plans and resolutions. So far things are going pretty well. But, as usual, I need to make some changes. Progress So Far Here are some of the things I can check off my yearly to-do list:
I received an interesting message the other day about some ideas on writing in other countries. Normally you think of “Western” copywriting – predominately American, Canadian and UK copywriting. English speaking readers are the typical target or niche, but what about readers in other nations in the world? China is poised to become the largest commercial market in the world if it’s not there already
Have you considered getting into business writing as your specialty, but you aren’t sure that it’s for you? Business writing is such a broad area for freelancers that you’re bound to find some projects you’d be interested in. You don’t have to offer every business writing service out there to be a successful business writer. For example, I don’t write long pushy sales copy that
Writing is actually one of the easier parts of freelancing writing. Maybe it’s like that with all craft-turned-businesses. The tougher parts of being a professional freelance writer can be things like finding clients, having a steady stream of ideas, and managing the finances. Because I’m no fan of mulling over finances for hours, there are some things I do to make this area of freelancing
I’m not going to split hairs about what makes a professional writer different from a full-time writer or different from a freelance writer or blogger or any other industry distinction. When I talk about being a professional writer, I could care less what you write – I’m referring to how you treat your clients and your business. There are two elements to being a successful
It’s one thing to enjoy the freedom freelance writing offers. But sometimes we still get overwhelmed. Deadlines loom, payments might seem to take forever, and our to-do lists could occupy a mile-long scroll. Fortunately there are some things you can do to make yourself more productive than ever, and even happier in your freelance writing work. Here are five tips to help you become a
When you’re looking for ways to make money from writing, you’re bound to run across a few scams. Some may actually sound promising – after all, the marketing materials are written by people who are good at writing. But, a well-written sales page, filled with promises, guarantees, and testimonials doesn’t necessarily indicate a legitimate product or service. You haven’t worked hard to earn a living
I’ve mentioned this type of piece before–the “evergreen” article… Evergreen articles are those that are always in need. Think “timeless”. For example: Great holiday gifts Back to school tips for parents 5 Fast, Healthy Meals Money-saving vacation ideas Magazines are always in need of this type of content, and it can be a great way to break in to a particular publication. Even so, you
Yahoo recently announced that all of its remote workers must either find their way back into an office or they should quit. Legalities and unemployment eligibility aside, this may very well mark a turning point for those of us who choose to work at home – that is, those of us who are at the whim of an employer. Stable work-from-home jobs aren’t always as
If you’re anything like me, you love to write. If you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t have chosen a career in freelance writing. But it’s not enough to love the writing. You also have to love the work. No freelance writing business will succeed on writing alone. You have to network, market your services, maintain a website or portfolio, and handle basic administrative and financial tasks on a
Your freelance writing website is an important tool that can attract new clients. It’s how they find you when searching for writers. And it’s where they go to learn more if they come across you via social media channels or after receiving a pitch from you. If that professional website isn’t up to date or portrays a negative image, it could cost you great freelance
When we talk about freelance writing jobs, we usually focus on nonfiction writing like magazine features or business documents. We talk about that side of freelance writing more for two reasons. First, it’s where most of the jobs are. It’s also where most of the money will come from for the bulk of us. But there’s another side of freelance writing — writing fiction on
There is not much easy about our job unless you compare it to something like digging ditches or building a skyscraper. But that at least wears out your body rather than your mind. At the end of a day wrestling obligations to kids and careers, my brain is tired. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels mentally split almost constantly throughout the day.
It can be easy to get comfortable in a routine as a freelance writer. And sometimes that means we don’t continue to market our services as much as we should — something we should do even when our schedules are full. So today let’s look at some signs that you should seek out new freelance writing opportunities. Some are signs that you’ve waited too long
I’m a big fan of what I like to call “query-free freelancing.” That means I don’t generally pursue freelance writing jobs. I do things that attract clients to me instead. For example, I run blogs that keep me fresh in prospects’ minds and I make sure my business site is well-optimized for search engines so I’m one of the first writers prospects find when they search for
When starting out in print writing, clips are an important part of the picture. You need clips to get work and to prove that you can in fact write. The earlier you begin thinking about the clips you need, the better your chances of having one handy when an editor asks for it. Tweak Your Specialty How about an example? When I started writing I
There are many types of freelance writing success, and only you can determine what exactly that means for you. But no matter what your definition of success is, there are plenty of ways to get there. And it’s important to know that you don’t have sell out to make that happen. What Does it Mean for a Freelance Writer to Sell Out? Selling out is