One site that I visit at least once per day is freelancewriting.com. Not only does the site offer useful tips, but there is also a “jobs†section that is updated on a regular basis. Although I enjoy this site, I feel that it could offer more in particular areas. For instance, the navigation is not the best and there is a lack of quality content from established freelance writers.
The reason I bring this up is that I am thinking of starting a new freelance writing site, and I want to base it on some of the basics of freelancewriting.com. There are a lot of freelance writing resources out there, but it seems as if freelancewriting.com is the largest in terms of information. With the right guidance I feel there is enough room for another major player in this niche.
What do you guys and gals think? Do you visit freelancewriting.com on a regular basis? If so, what do you like and what would you like to see more of?
All in all, my goal is to create a site that is a one-stop shop for everything freelance writing/work at home related. Any suggestions, ideas, or input of any kind would be greatly appreciated. You can either leave a comment or send me an email. Either way, I would love to hear what you think.
Do the most successful freelance writers get lucky time after time? I have heard many people say this in the past, and receive a few emails each month suggesting that this is true. There are two ways of looking at this:
1. Some freelance writers are in the right place at the right time. For instance, you may make a cold call to a company the day that they fired their last freelance writer. As you can see, this is easy to write off as being lucky.
2. Luck is something that you make on your own. Sticking with the above example, if the writer wouldn’t have taken the initiative to make a call they never would have landed the client. In this way of looking at things the freelance writer made his own luck.
How do you feel about luck as a freelance writer? I tend to agree more with the second example above. Sure, luck plays a small part in a successful career, but I strongly believe that you can make your own breaks. If you sit back and wait to get lucky you are not going to get very far. But if you have a quality marketing plan that you follow you are well on your way to generating luck.
I have had a few good breaks along the way, and am confident that this will continue well into the future. Not because I am the lucky type, but because I work hard. If you work hard you are going to make your own breaks.
The best advice I can give on this subject is forget about relying on luck. Instead, turn yourself into a success by working hard day in and day out. You have to stop using the excuse that other freelance writers are lucky, and that is why they are landing gigs and making a lot of money. It is time to generate your own luck and big breaks!Â
There is nothing worse than a client rejecting your work and telling you that everything you wrote was a waste. While this is never good, it is something that will probably happen to you soon enough. Even if you try to avoid this, and you should, there will come a time when a client simply hates the work that you send them.
If this is happening to you on a regular basis something is wrong. Sure, there are going to be times when clients don’t like your work, but this is not a situation that you should face day in and day out. If you are, it is time to make some changes to ensure that you get out of this rut as soon as possible.
1. Ask for better instruction up front. When I don’t get clear instructions on what the client wants it often times turns bad. It is much better to be on the same page from the get-go than to guess what the client wants. If you guess wrong there is a good chance that you will be making extensive edits in the near future.
2. Don’t stray from what the client wants. Once you know what the client wants you should stick to this no matter what. Even if you don’t agree with the direction of the project it is your job as a freelance writer to do what you are told. You can make suggestions upfront, but when it comes down to it you are being paid to follow specific instructions. If you stick to them you should be fine.
3. You aren’t putting your best foot forward. Even the best freelance writers have off-days or times when they are a bit sloppy. You want to avoid these circumstances at all costs. No matter what the project make sure you do your best in giving the client what they want. Not only will this help with the project at hand, but it will also do wonders for gaining repeat business.
If more and more clients are rejecting your work something is going terribly wrong. There is a very good chance that one of the three points above pertains to you. If so, make the proper change in order to get back on track.Â
