It is very important for freelance writers and internet entrepreneurs alike to set up multiple streams of income. While the way you do this is different depending on your career, it is an important detail to look into nonetheless.
As a freelance writer, there are two ways of looking at multiple streams of income. First off, you should do so within your writing career. As a general rule of thumb, you do not want to have one or two clients making up the majority of your income. This may never turn into a problem for you, but what would happen if that one client no longer needed your service? It is ideal to have several clients accounting for your income. This way, if you lose one client you only lose a portion of your income; not the entire business.
Another way to look at the subject of multiple streams of income has to do with diversifying into other fields; most commonly, blogging. Managing a blog that makes some money is a great way to supplement your freelance writing income. This way, you can have two separate money making streams working for you at the same time.
Other streams of income for freelance writers include editing, proofreading, and design among many others. Do any of those fit in with your current knowledge base?
Remember, if you are a freelance writer you do not want to entirely neglect your core competency. But with that being said, if you have the chance and time to set up multiple streams of income, you should definitely consider doing so.
Doesn’t the title say it all? Asking freelance writing clients for a raise can be a touchy subject. Doing this is every bit as difficult as marching into your boss’s office and telling him or her that you need more money. Not only does it take guts, but you must also deal with the fact that you will be told no. To go along with this, you may aggravate your freelance writing clients by doing this, and in turn push them away. As you can see, this is a delicate situation to say the least.
With that being said, you deserve a hike in pay from time to time. After all, you cannot expect to work for the same rates year after year. If you do, you will find your income staying the same, but the economy passing you by.
So how do you go about asking your freelance writing clients for a raise? I have not had to do this often, but do have some advice from the times that I did. Before I get to that advice, let me first say that you may get lucky in the way that your client may offer to pay you more. Yes, this is rare, but it has happened to me with clients that I have a long history with.
Follow these three tips if you are going to ask a freelance writing client for a raise.
1. Like most freelance writers, you will probably ask for a rate hike via email. Make sure that you are careful about the way you word your message. You want to ask for more money, but at the same time you need to make sure your message does not come across as bossy or snippy.
2. Back up your request with some details. Furthermore, touch on how much of an increase you are looking for, as well as why you deserve it. For instance, you may have a client that pays you $.10/word for one feature article per month. You could ask for $.15/word, and explain that you deserve the increase because you have been working with them for several months, etc.
3. Do NOT make threats. Many freelance writers make the mistake of saying something such as: “I enjoy writing for your company, but will have to move on if my pay rate does not increase.†It is safe to say that your client may take this as a threat of sorts. Again, you need to be careful with the way that you word your correspondence.
As you can see, asking a freelance writing client for a raise is doable. You may not get the answer you want, but if done tastefully, it usually doesn’t hurt to ask.
Would a freelance writing career make you happy? While you may think that you know the answer on the surface, you really need to dig deep in order to determine if this is the right career choice for you. Even though there are many benefits of freelance writing, the drawbacks can be just as plentiful. If you are not willing to deal with both sides of the industry, you may be better off sticking with your current line of employment.
In order to determine if a career in freelance writing is right for you, check out the three pros and three cons listed below. These are things that I looked at when getting started, and to my amazement, they still hold true for me today.
Pros
1. If you are looking for a job that offers flexibility, freelance writing could be the right choice. Take my work schedule yesterday for example. In the morning, I worked from 7am until noon; and that was that. The rest of the day I spent time working on this blog, as well as several others that are just getting underway. Obviously, I could have spent this free time however I wanted. But of course, I had to do something work related!
2. There is money to be made. There are many freelance writers who are earning in excess of $100k a year. While I have yet to reach that plateau, I currently earn in the range of $5,000 a month. For me, this is a good income for all of the perks that go along with it.
3. Are you a good writer? Do not overlook the obvious when considering a freelance writing career. While it may sound like fun, if you are not a good writer you will soon get frustrated. Anybody can become a solid writer in time, but those who have a bit of natural talent usually find the road to be less bumpy.
Cons
1. If you are used to a steady income, and can’t live any other way, freelance writing is not right for you. Some months I earn more than $8,000, and others this number will dip to right around my average of $5,000. Is this something that you can deal with?
2. Most freelance writers work at home, independent from others. Will you be able to concentrate when working from home? Will the lack of outside contact begin to wear on you over time? These are questions that you need to answer. Even though I love working from home, other people hate it because they never get to talk with co-workers, socialize face to face with clients, etc.
3. Until you are established, a career in freelance writing can be stressful. It was not until my third month of freelance writing that I broke the $2,000 mark. Do you have enough money to keep you afloat while you work on building your freelance writing career? If so, you will be able to greatly lessen your stress load.
So what do you think? Is a career in freelance writing right for you? These pros and cons may not be enough to help you make a decision, but they should definitely open your eyes. As mentioned above, these pros and cons still apply to me, even after a few years working as a writer. Â
