At the beginning of every month I write a post detailing my freelance writing income for the previous month. Within the post I include information on how many projects I completed, how I was paid, and of course, the total income. While this gives a lot of information to the reader, some of you have asked for further information on how much each project pays.
Instead of getting into all of the finer details, I am going to touch on a few of the projects that make up my monthly total. This will give you a better idea of what percentage of my freelance writing income comes from large projects, and what percentage is made up of smaller jobs.
First off, let’s take a look at three of my biggest money makers. These three projects consist of just around 50 percent of my total income. While not exact, if I earn $5,000 it is safe to say that half of it will be from these three projects alone.
These jobs differ in how much they pay, but in most months each one consists of anywhere from $800 to $1,000. Again, this shows that these three projects usually make up half of my monthly income.
The months where I earn more than $5,000, such as October, I always receive a lot of smaller jobs. While jobs that pay $200 to $400 may not sound like that big of a deal, by completing five of these in a month, it adds an extra $1k or $2k to my bottom line. If it were possible, I would always complete these jobs as to keep my income above $7k. But as mentioned above, these are not regular jobs but instead come through from time to time.
There are a lot of people who believe that one or two projects should not make up your entire freelance writing income; and I agree with them. After all, if you lose that client your business will suffer until you have the chance to replace them. With that being said, it can often times be difficult to control this situation. If you feel that one or two clients are making up a large percentage of your income, begin to market your services more heavily. This will give you the chance to diversify your income.
Hopefully this will give you a better idea of the size of the projects that I complete. Of course, the income levels listed above change from month to month. It all depends on the amount of work that I am doing, and what the client is asking for.Â
In order to fully understand the freelance writing industry, you must first have a better idea of why clients hire for this type of help. When you know why a client may hire you, it will make it easier for you to position yourself for success.
Here are four common reasons that a client will hire a freelance writer.
1. In many cases a client may want to do the work on their own. But due to time constraints, they are forced to hire a freelance writer. Just as you do not have time to take on every job, the same thing holds true for your clients.
2. You can do the job better. Freelance writers specialize in creating content that works. Believe it or not, some companies do not have anybody on staff that is capable of writing with a high level of success. In turn, if they want to get the job done right the only option is to hire a freelance writer.
3. In many cases, hiring a freelance writer is cheaper than having somebody in-house do the work. This holds true for two reasons: 1. An in-house employee already has enough work to do. If they must also work on writing projects it can affect their quality across the board. 2. Hiring a full-time employee for nothing more than writing related tasks can be quite expensive. But on the other hand, outsourcing jobs to freelance writers is cost effective.
4. A freelance writer can bring a fresh outlook to the client. The fact of the matter is that a company often times gets stuck “inside a box†because they do all of their own work. A freelance writer will be able to offer insight and suggestions for improvement.
Of course, there are many others reasons that freelance writers are hired; these are simply the more common ones. Now that you know why you may get hired for a job, you should be able to better position your offerings. For instance, you can play up the fact that hiring you is more cost effective than having a full-time employee. Get creative with the marketing ploys that you use to increase business.
All in all, companies have been hiring freelance writers for many years, and this will never change. By playing off of the four points above, you should be able to come up with several new marketing ideas.Â
Did you know that there is more to freelance writing than online content and feature articles for magazines? Many aspiring writers think that those are the only two types of projects that they can take on. While web content and feature articles are fun and plentiful, there are other options to consider. Remember, the more projects that you are open to the better chance you have of increasing your income.
So what are some of the other types of freelance writing projects that are available? While it would be difficult to list them all, here are a few: annual reports, brochures, business plans, direct mail letters, film scripts, newsletters, press releases, sales letters, speeches, technical writing, and television commercials. Even though this is a detailed list, it is far from being complete. There are many other freelance writing projects that you may be able to take advantage of.
While it is important to narrow down your list of offerings, you want to be careful as to not back yourself into a corner. Sure, you may love writing sales letters, but if you only take on these projects you may have a hard time finding enough work to build a steady income. It is much better to choose several types of freelance writing projects as opposed to one. In other words, get good at many types of projects.
When I started my freelance writing career I had no idea what type of projects I wanted to concentrate on. Like most aspiring writers, I was simply looking for work. Over time I began to get a better idea as to what jobs were the easiest to secure, and of course, which ones I liked the best. This eventually shaped my opinion on each type of project, and pushed me towards a select few. With that being said, I am still willing to try new projects if the price and time are right.
If you have the chance, you should complete every type of project listed above at least once. This is easier said than done, but by doing this you will definitely get a better feel for what you like and dislike.
Now that you know that there is more to freelance writing than the web and feature articles, you should be able to expand your offerings and workload. As your career moves forward, begin to narrow down your services as to become an expert within your specialties.
