Many freelance writers in my course tell me that they do not like getting up early because they can never get off on the right foot. This is a common problem, and I used to deal with the same thing. Fortunately, I found out soon enough that getting an early start was not all that hard and it can be quite beneficial.
If you want to start your day off right, follow these three tips:
1. Eat breakfast before heading to your computer. For some people, all it takes is a little bit of food to get a huge boost of energy. This is something that you should definitely do no matter what time you are waking up. As soon as I began to eat breakfast in the morning my productivity increased.
2. Do not rush. Even if you are getting up early so you can work, it is important that you are not in too big of a rush. Give yourself time to wake up, get ready, and hopefully grab a bite to eat. Tip: set your alarm a few minutes early so you do not have to feel as if you are in a big rush.
3. In contrast to number two, you do not want to take too long to get to your computer. Getting up early is a great idea. But if you are spending too long in the bathroom, at the kitchen table, and on other related tasks you are not going to get an early start on your work.
This post is not meant to tell you that you have to wake up early. Instead, it is for those who want to start their day early but are finding it difficult to do so for one reason or the next.Â
Even though I have good and bad days, there are not many when I have a hard time getting motivated. From the moment I wake up in the morning I am excited to get to work. This is one of the main reasons that I got involved with freelance writing. I knew from the start that it would excite me, day in and day out, and this is still the case many years later.
If you are not motivated to work it is time to make a career change. Not only does a lack of motivation make you feel bad on a personal level, but it also puts you in a tough spot when it comes to actually getting your work done. When I worked as a sales manager there would be days when I was gung-ho about making money and landing as many new accounts as possible. But there were also an equal amount of days when I felt like staying in bed, or worse yet, going to sleep when I finally arrived at the office. This is how unmotivated and bored I was with my job!
As a freelance writer there are many things that motivate me. Not only do I want to do good work for all my clients, but knowing that I can earn a good living is also something that keeps me going. This does not mean that everyday is a good day. Just like everybody else there are times when I get frustrated and feel that time off would be nice. But unlike past jobs, these bad times are few and far between.
If you are working as a freelance writer and are always motivated to do your best you are in position to succeed. But on the other hand, if you are unmotivated, no matter your job description, now may be the best time to make a change.Â
There is one easy way to determine if your freelance writing marketing plan is working: are you gaining new clients on a regular basis? If the answer is yes you must be doing something right. If the answer is no, there is a good chance that you need to change the way you are marketing your services.
As you know, there is more than one way to find new clients. Some freelance writers spend all their time cold calling companies all over the world. Others spend hour after hour sending cold emails in hopes of landing a few clients. No matter how you market your services you need to do what you are most comfortable with, and of course, what is yielding the best results.
One thing I have found over the years is that tweaking your marketing plan is necessary from time to time. You may be satisfied with your current results, but there is always room for improvement. If you can change a few minor details here and there you may find that your marketing efforts are even more successful. How would that make you feel?
In my opinion it is very important to track the success of your freelance writing marketing plan. Have you had success with cold emails? If so, you should continue with this method and maybe even increase your output. But at the same time, if you are not succeeding with a particular method you should think about replacing it with another for the time being.
Whether or not your marketing plan pays off is a big part of how much success you have as a freelance writer. Once you find something that works, milk it for as long as you can while also thinking about new ways to stay ahead of the curve.
