Some freelance writers only want to work with large clients. This includes national publications, large websites, and companies with 500 or more employees (on average). Does this sound like you? If so, you may want to rethink this decision. While there is nothing wrong with working with large clients, those that are smaller have a lot to offer as well. Not taking the time to work with small clients may be holding back your progress as well as your income.
Why do some freelance writers shy away from small clients? For one, they think that small clients pay less. I have found this to be true and false. I have small clients, one man shows for that matter, that pay good money. But of course, I have also worked with small clients that are trying to save money because they are on a tight budget. The lesson to be learned is that you should not “stereotype†potential clients based on size. Just because a company or publication is small does not mean they will want you to work for peanuts. Some of them realize that paying competitive rates is the best way to receive quality content.
Do you feel that all big clients are great to work with and pay above the industry average? This is a myth. Just like small clients, those that are large can skimp on money and be difficult to work with. In fact, I have found that so-called large clients can be more difficult to communicate with because there are many people involved and a lot of other things going on around them.
If you want to grow your career and income you need to realize that every client, regardless of size, has the potential to help you in many ways. Don’t shy away from small clients because you think they are “minor league†and cannot pay you what you are worth. This is definitely not the case across the board.
What type of income goals have you set for yourself as a freelance writer? No matter who you are or how much experience you have you need goals to chase. Many new freelance writers start with the goal of earning $100 per week. This is a great starting point, and is so for a common reason: it is possible to reach but not so easy that everybody can do it. What happens when you want more from your career? This is when you may decide that you want to move from $100/week to $100/day in income.
Before I go any further keep in mind that this is not a move that is easy to make. To go along with this, it is not a goal that every freelance writer shares. Some of you will not aspire to earn $100/day and others will be reaching for much more.
The following tips are meant to help you take your income from $100/week to $100/day:
1. Know what you are doing right. This is an important step to take if you are ready to move your income to the next level. Once you know what you are doing right you can begin to duplicate it time after time. For instance, if your clients love your SEO articles you may want to think about making this your specialty. Stick to what you are doing right and what you do best.
2. Scale, scale, scale. In other words, do more work for more clients. If you are only making $100/week it is safe to say that you are not working with a large number of clients. As you gain more clients it is only natural that your income will begin to spike.
3. Find higher paying jobs. Contrary to what is noted in point number two, there are some freelance writers who do a lot of work for a little bit of money. This may be acceptable when starting your career and while you are attempting to gain traction. But if you want to see your income at the next level you need to find clients that are willing to pay you more.
4. What would a “tip list†be without talking about marketing? The easiest way to increase your freelance writing income is to become a marketing machine. No matter what you should find time to market your services on a daily basis. Check out this past post – How to Market your Freelance Writing Services.
By implementing the above tips you will find that moving from $100/week to $100/day is more than possible.Â
As a freelance writer you will be taking on a variety of jobs on a regular basis. This can become confusing if you are not organized. It is very important to know the job requirements of each project before starting. To go along with this, you must also keep these requirements in mind as you move through the project. If you don’t you may end up with a completed job that is far from what the client is looking for.
What type of job requirements will you face as a freelance writer? This depends on two factors: the type of project and the client. For instance, the requirements for an SEO article are going to be much different than a feature article. For an SEO article your client may tell you to use a specific keyword a specific number of times. But with a feature article you will not be dealing with these details but instead others such as overall length, number of sources, interviews, sidebar content, etc.
As noted above, the client you are working with will determine the requirements for the project. You will find out soon enough that every client has their own way of doing things. I have clients who believe that SEO articles should be 500 words with a density of three percent. But on the other side I also deal with clients who feel that 300 words and once percent density is best for search engines. As you can see, it is important to get used to dealing with a variety of clients.
Before starting any job you should be 100 percent aware of the requirements. Since each client is unique you should never base one project on another. Instead, know exactly what the client wants and use these requirements to guide you through the project from start to finish.Â
