It is not uncommon to become bogged down by minor details. This is something that many freelance writers struggle with, and you are probably the same in many ways. But listen up. You are not perfect so you need to keep moving on no matter what it takes. Of course, you need to use this advice wisely. Here are two situations: one when you need to be perfect and one when you should do your best and then move on.
 1. When working on a project for a client you need to be perfect. No matter how long it takes you want to make sure the end result is accurate in terms of spelling, grammar, structure, etc. After all, if you don’t do your best you should not expect the client to come back to you time after time. Even though it can be difficult to proof your work several times it will work out in your favor in the end.
2. If you are a freelance writer you may not have many technical and design skills. Even if you don’t excel in these areas you may need to tackle related tasks from time to time. For instance, I prefer to do a lot of the work on my blogs and other sites. I may not do all the design and tech work, but in the long run the maintenance and other minor details rest on my shoulders. While I try to make everything as perfect as possible, I have found that this is not always easy. In turn, I have learned to move past minor imperfections and onto details that are more important. So what if I can’t line up an image exactly as I want it? So what if a particular plugin isn’t working? These are minor details that don’t mean too much in the long run. No, you don’t want to get sloppy with your work, but you do need to know when to move on.
Nobody is perfect. As a freelance writer you want to strive for perfection when it comes to work for your clients. But with some details, such as minor imperfections (noted above) with your own projects, make sure you spend your time on what matters most. As long as you keep moving forward you are always taking another step towards success.
Many new freelance writers feel that the best way to land new clients is through forums such as Digital Point. The question is: is this a good idea, or are you more or less wasting your time? The answer to this question depends on who you are, the stage of your career, and what type of gigs you are chasing.
Through my experience, the majority of jobs in forums are not worth chasing. Most of the buyers are only offering a few bucks per article, if that. To go along with this, you should not expect to find many clients outside of webmasters scouting for talent in forums. In other words, magazine editors usually don’t post online to find freelance writers.
Are there any good jobs available through these boards? Yes, there are. But as noted above, they are usually few and far between. If you have some time, any it only takes a few minutes, you may want to scour the most popular boards once per day to see if there are any jobs worth applying for. You never know what you are going to find.
Also, don’t forget that a lot of “scam artists†hang out in these forums. They are in the business of doing whatever they can to scam others, and in turn make more money on their own. In many cases this means taking unsuspecting freelance writers for a ride. They will request a batch of articles, tell you that you will be paid upon completion, and then disappear once you give them the finished product. If you are going to accept work you find in forums be sure to ask for at least 50 percent payment upfront. And if you really want to cover yourself you should request payment in full.
While you can find freelance writing jobs in forums you should not get so caught up in this method that you don’t look elsewhere. Remember, you need to have a solid marketing plan that gives you the chance to find new work in a variety of areas. You may want to add forums to your marketing plan; just make sure they don’t dominate your time.
A couple weeks ago I got started a new project, Workathomescoop.com. I decided to start another blog; this time based on the work at home industry. As you probably know, millions of people either work from home or are interested in moving in this direction. Although there are many blogs based around this topic, after doing my research it is obvious that there is plenty of room for more high quality information. Â
Why a blog on working at home?
1. The economy is bad. For this reason, more people are interested in taking their career into their own hands. To go along with this, quite a few Americans are being pushed into a new career because they were recently laid off. What better way to take control of your career than to work for yourself? Since I have more than five years experience working from home I figured I could lend some insight on everything from getting started to setting goals and much more.
2. A lot of people say they want to work from home, but never get started because it is either “too much work†or there “isn’t enough help out there.†It is my goal to help interested work at home professionals get past whatever is holding them back. Starting a work at home career is not impossible with the right information. I hope to offer this.
3. I know a lot about working from home! As a freelance writer I work from home day in and day out. Over the years I have learned a lot about what it takes to get started, succeed, and maintain a successful work at home career. Hopefully this experience will rub off on my readers, and help them reach all of their goals.
Top Posts, so far
Although the blog has only been active and live for a few weeks I have already added some great “pillar posts.†To get a better idea of the content behind Workathomescoop.com take a look at the following posts:
For two years I have been interacting with my audience here at ChrisBlogging.com. It has been a pleasure, and I hope that many of you will take the time to join me at Workathomescoop.com as well. If you get the time, check out my new blog and let me know what you think. And of course, I would greatly appreciate it if you would also subscribe to my RSS feed and/or opt to receive updates via email.
Workathomescoop.com is already bringing in a bit of traffic here and there, and I hope it will become a success, just like this blog, soon enough. Hope to see many of you guys and gals both here and there!
