Over the past few days I have received five to ten emails asking the same question: what type of freelance writing work do you do? I assume that the majority of those asking this question believe that by taking on the same projects they will be able to earn more money. While this is true to a certain extent, the clients that you work with are just as important, if not more so, than the projects that you accept. In other words, some freelance writing clients pay much better than others.
Although my workload changes from month to month, here are three of my most common gigs:
Feature Articles
I have said time after time that Writer’s Market is a great way to find publications that accept freelance writers. Although I have not queried many magazines over the past few months, I plan on picking up the pace in the weeks to come. For an idea of what kind of features I write, check out my article Are you too Trusting? in Insight Magazine.
Corporate Blogging
Over the past few months I have began to pick up more and more clients in this area. Companies are looking to form a web presence, and for this reason many are hiring bloggers. At this time I work with several large companies in this capacity. My duties include everything from writing content to uploading images and increasing traffic.
Keyword Articles
As long as there is an internet there will always be a need for quality content. Keyword articles make up a large chunk of my business. Clients buy these articles in bulk hoping that they will help their sites to rank better in the search engines. Keyword articles can be a lot of fun if you enjoy the topic that you are researching and writing about.
Of course, I work on many other types of freelance writing projects as well. Generally speaking, I have experience in many areas and tend to accept jobs within all of them as long as they meet my specifications. What type of projects do you guys and gals prefer?
Starting a freelance writing career can often times be difficult because those around you may not agree with this choice. When it comes down to it, many people do not understand what a freelance writing career entails or how much money you can earn through this type of work. That being said, if you explain your ambitions and how you plan on achieving success you may have an easier time getting those around you to understand what you are doing.
When I first started my career as a freelance writer I heard the same questions time after time: can you really make money as a writer? Aren’t there a lot of creative types who have a hard time making ends meet? After hearing so many people put down my idea of becoming a freelance writer, it would have been easy to agree with them and stay stuck in an office job the rest of my life. You need to realize that there are always going to be people telling you that what you are doing is wrong. If you listen, it is safe to say that you may miss out on your dreams.
Instead of simply cutting the doubters out of your life, you would be better suited to explain what a career in freelance writing is all about. Not only do you want to tell them what you would be doing on a daily basis, but you should also let them know that this is a legitimate career that offers many opportunities. You will be surprised at how many of these doubters change their outlook on the freelance writing industry after you show them the details.
Remember, a career in freelance writing is not exactly common. For this reason, there are always going to be a lot of people who are not sure of this path; including your friends and family. If you want to move on with them on your side, take the time to explain your freelance writing ambitions as well as the basics of the industry. Â
In April, my freelance writing income totaled $5,842.42. This was far from being my best month ever, but when compared to my goals, I was satisfied for the most part. Going into May, I was relatively confident that I would be able to exceed $7k thanks in large part to several new clients coming on board.
Despite concerns about a slow down early in 2008, May proved to be quite profitable. So how did I do last month?
Number of Completed Projects: 22
Payment by PayPal: 18
Payment by Check: 3
Payment by Bank Wire: 1
Total Income: $9,260.91
As you can see, I earned approximately $3,400 more in May than I did in April. What was the reason(s) for this jump in income? As mentioned above, I managed to land a couple new clients that offered a lot of high paying work. To go along with this, I completed 22 jobs in May compared to only 11 in April. In most cases, when I complete more jobs I earn more money. This is not the case for all freelance writers, but for me, it usually holds true.
Will I be able to earn more than this in June? Like always, this is a question that is hard to answer. While increasing my income from month to month is always a goal, as long as I stay steady above $4,500 I’ll be happy. Although it is hard to say what the future holds, I am confident that reaching $7k to $9k in June is more than possible.
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