No matter what career path you choose, it is safe to say that you will have to start at the bottom of the ladder. In other words, you cannot be a CEO before you pay your dues somewhere along the line. The same thing holds true if you decide to become a freelance writer. It is important to develop your freelance writing career step by step over time. You don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on yourself early on by setting goals that are unattainable. If you do this, you will become frustrated with your career and its path in no time.
The steps that you take when developing your freelance writing career are up to you. Although I had a mentor of sorts when starting in this business, I more or less did things my own way. Did I make some mistakes? I sure did. But that being said, these mistakes, along with many successes, helped to shape my career. It is up to you to decide which steps you are going to take.
Although I can’t tell you what to do, the first step in becoming a successful freelance writer is having short and long term goals. Know where you want to go, and how you are going to get there. To go along with this, it is important to have a business and marketing plan in place as well. Although my goals and plans have changed time after time, I have always had something to strive for. This type of structure can go a long way in helping you build a successful freelance writing career.
As you move from step to step you will find that your career is advancing nicely. Early on, you may find that each step is only taking you a little bit closer to your goal, whatever it may be. But as you gain more traction within the industry, you will find that each step is now doing more in terms of career growth and income.
If you take a step by step approach to developing your freelance writing career you will be on the right path to future success.Â
You never know what a freelance writing client is going to act like until you start your first project with them. In the past I have talked about clients who change their mind halfway through a project, or decide that they want to take a new direction for one reason or the next. This has happened to me many times, and dealing with this situation is never easy. Additionally, this is sure to stress you out and it may even anger you. There is nothing worse than starting a project just to have your client tell you they want to change direction and you need to start over.
In some cases you will be able to tell if a freelance writing client is unsure of what they are doing before you get started. If you sense this it is important to work with them to define a direction for the project. It is better to take the time upfront than to get started and have the client make adjustments then.
Of course, there are clients who seem to know what they are doing but you find out soon enough that this is not the case. This is when you will run into problems. If a client wants to change direction after you have already begun, there are a few things that you can do.
First off, listen to what your client has to say. Things may not be as bad as they sound. In this case, you may be able to alter your way of thinking and complete the project without making any major changes.
If your client wants to take an entirely different direction, this is when you need to hold your ground. You do not want to argue with your client or come across as being disrespectful. But you do need to tell them that you have completed a lot of work, and that starting over from scratch will adjust how much you charge. It is important that you explain your position so that your client does not think you are simply trying to earn more money from them. In my experience, most clients realize that they are making major changes and are more than willing to pay you more money if need be.
Some freelance writing clients are very easy to work with, but others are unsure of what they want and make things difficult at all times. It is never easy to deal with unsure freelance writing clients, but this goes along with the territory.Â
As a freelancer writer you should take great pride in finding repeat, long term clients. There is nothing wrong with completing a “one and done†project for a client, but in the long run this is not the best way to build a successful freelance writing career. Your goal should be for every client to order from you on a regular basis. Again, this is not always possible, but it is a goal that you can set for yourself nonetheless.
There are two ways that you can increase orders and establish long term relationships with clients:
1. Learn how to successfully market your freelance writing services. If you struggle in this area you will want to check out my post on the many different ways of marketing. This will put you on the path to developing and maintaining an efficient and results producing freelance writing marketing plan.
2. Communicate with clients. I have said time after time that you need to ask for more work in many cases. In other words, once you complete a job for a client make sure you ask for another. If you are writing for a magazine, for instance, have another query ready before you complete the current article. This will give the editor something to think about, and hopefully allow you to form a long lasting relationship. Remember, many clients want to work with a freelance writer on an ongoing basis. If you provide quality work and are able to provide more, many clients are willing to sign you on for the long haul.
If you know how to market your services and are willing to communicate with clients, you will find yourself landing long term gigs time after time. Not every client will want to work with you long term, but many of them will. As more and more clients send regular work, your freelance writing career and income will grow at a steady pace.
