After the start of a new year many people set the goal of bettering their career. For this reason, more people than ever before have been asking questions and inquiring about openings in my freelance writing course. If you are interested in taking your freelance writing career to the next level my course is a good start. And fortunately, I have two spots to offer at this time.
Many of you have asked whether or not my course is just for beginners. I will say this: roughly 75 percent of my students are new or semi-new to the freelance writing industry. That being said, the other 25 percent are established and simply looking for help in bettering their career. In other words, you can benefit no matter if 2009 is your first year in the freelance writing game or your 10th year.
If you are interested in one of these two openings you should contact me as soon as possible. As always, I don’t expect the openings to last for more than a day or so.
Are you ready to increase your freelance writing income, land new clients, and have a better overall career? If so, my course should be able to lend you some direction. I am looking forward to filling these spots, and working with two more of you in the coming months!
What steps do you take before accepting a freelance writing job? If you don’t know, the tips below should help you formulate a plan for the next time:
1. Negotiate the best deal. Okay, this may sound a bit like buying a car but it is true. Before you accept a job you need to negotiate the best possible deal in terms of details and pay. If you don’t do this you are making a big mistake. No, this does not mean you should gouge clients but you definitely need to have a firm grasp on what you are asking for as well as what you want to receive.
2. Agree on payment terms. This includes how much you will receive, when the client is going to pay, and how they are going to send the money. For instance, you may agree to write a sales letter for $500 upfront via PayPal. Once you agree on the payment terms most of the other details will begin to fall into place.
3. Agree on the details of the project. While payment is important, you also want to agree on the project details. Staying with the above example, a sales letter can be written in many different ways. How long does the client want it to be? What format are you going to use? What angle does the client want you to take? Make sure you and the client are on the same page as far as the project details are concerned.
4. Know who you are going to communicate with, and how to best get in touch with them. Many freelance writers forget this step, but it is very important. Sometimes you will be contacted by one person, but find out soon enough that you are dealing with somebody else when it comes to completing the project. You want to have the names and contact information for everybody you will be communicating with.
Before you accept your next freelance writing job make sure you consider the above points.Â
There are times as a freelance writer when you will be so anxious to land a new client that you would say yes to almost anything they ask. And while this can be tempting, you need to bite your tongue until you know exactly what you are getting into. If you say yes without thinking things through you may end up accepting a project that is not suited to your style or availability.
New freelance writers are those who usually make this mistake. They are building their career so they want to land new clients no matter what it takes. For this reason, no matter what the buyer suggests they will say yes. This may not always come back to bite you, but it most definitely can.
What type of trouble can you get into by saying yes without thinking?
1. You may accept a project for a price that is lower than your standard rate. If you get into this habit it can be a difficult one to break. Make sure you closely examine the project details, and then give a quote based on what you charge; not what the client wants to pay.
2. Offering to do work in addition to writing. As of late this is something that more and more clients are asking of me. This additional work can include anything from finding images to uploading work to marketing. There is nothing wrong with offering additional services, if you are up to it, but you want to make sure you get paid. As you know it can be time consuming to not only produce content but to then focus on additional tasks. You need to make sure you are being properly compensated.
Make sure when you say yes you know what you are agreeing to. It is important that you don’t jump the gun just because you are excited about the prospects of doing business with a new clienet.
