Freelance writers deal with ups and downs throughout the year. In my past experiences, the month of December is one of the worst for business. Although I am not 100 percent sure of why this happens, my guess is that a lot of it has to do with the holidays. Not only did Thanksgiving just end, but Christmas and the New Year pretty much shut the month down a week early. In turn, this means that you only have three weeks or so of good work time; and even that is a stretch in most cases.
Last December I earned just around $4,000. Although it was a disappointing month, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Luckily, I am doing much better this December, and hope to break the $5k mark with ease.
What are freelance writers to do if work is slow during December? Try the following ideas to stay busy until 2008.
1. If you are not writing, strongly market your services so that you can hit the ground running in 2008. Remember, December may be slow, but you want to make sure that the new year does not start off at the same pace. Personally, I love to have a solid month in January as to set a positive tone for the rest of the year.
2. Update all of your files. This includes everything from payment receipts to contact lists. By doing this now, you can avoid being bogged down next month. The bottom line is that you want to free up all of your time for actual writing related tasks starting January 1.
3. Make a list of both short and long term goals. When doing this you want to set big goals, but not ones that are impossible to reach. If you are constantly failing, it will begin to take a toll on you.
There is a good chance that you are having a slow month; this is common among freelance writers in December. But remember, just because you do not have a lot of work, does not mean that you cannot be productive.Â
I just wanted to send a quick thanks to all of my RSS readers. Today is the first time that I broke the 100 subscriber mark! Although this is a long way from where I want to be, it is one of the many goals that I set for myself upon starting this blog.
To tell you the truth, I don’t have any secrets on how to increase this number, etc. Unlike some of the big “make money online†bloggers, this number is not a measure of success for me. Generally speaking, my main goal is to provide high quality, useful information, and then let readers decide if they want to add me to their reader; some do, some don’t.
Many have told me that reaching 100 subscribers is the most difficult. Hopefully 200 will be right around the corner.
Thanks again, and if you have yet to subscribe, you can do so here!
Are you thinking about increasing your freelance writing rates in 2008? Is this something that you want to do, but are a bit afraid of? If so, you are not in an uncommon position. After all, every freelance writer has to deal with this as each new year starts. The fact of the matter is that increasing freelance writing rates is not as easy as it sounds. In other words, you cannot simply ask for more money without giving it any thought.
Here are several details to keep in mind if you are considering increasing your rates.
1. How much of an increase are you thinking about? This is the most important detail because it can make or break your business in the new year. It is very important that you increase your rates enough to make a difference, but not so much that your clients will object. For instance, you may charge $200 for a sales letter right now. In my mind, a fair increase in 2008 would be $50 or so. If you attempt to double your past rate to $400, you may run into some resistance. This is especially true with clients that you have worked with in the past.
2. What are you basing your rate increase on? You need to have some sort of reasoning and method to your changes. Your best bet is to consider your current rate sheet, experience, and what others are charging. From there, you will have a better idea of the percentage increase that you should put into effect. The bottom line is that you should not make a change for the sake of doing so. If you do, you may find yourself backpedaling during the first few months of the year.
3. If you increase your rates and later find that it was a mistake, you can always switch back to 2007 pricing. Remember, as a freelance writer you are your own boss. This means that you can do whatever you feel is best for your business. If you are not generating enough clients due to higher pricing, you can tweak this until you find a happy medium. Of course, you want to avoid changing your pricing too often; this will become confusing for both you and your clients.
Personally, I am not going to make too much of a change to my freelance writing rates in 2008. I feel comfortable with my rates as they are right now, and my clients have not expressed any concerns. Even though I may be able to get away with charging a few more bucks on each project, at this time I see no point in doing so. Instead, I am going to attempt to increase my income by increasing my output and adding new income streams.
With all of that being said, how do you plan on handling pricing in 2008?
