What sets you apart from other freelance writers? You have to do something that shows your clients how much you care. The same holds true when you are speaking with and selling to potential clients. Going above and beyond can help you keep your current clients happy, while increasing your workload at the same time. And that is what you want, right?
There are many ways to go above and beyond. Here are a few things to try out:
1. Accept phone calls and in-person meetings. Many freelance writers do not want to communicate in these ways. Instead, they keep things impersonal and only communicate via email. Believe it or not, calling a client from time to time will really show them how much you care.
2. Send a gift for special occasions. Do you know when your client’s birthday is? If so, send them a gift such as a basket of cookies, etc. You can do the same for Christmas and other holidays. This is a practice I took up a year ago, and it is a great way to keep in touch by doing something nice for somebody else.
3. Share your ideas. One of the best ways to land a new client is to take their idea, add to it, and show them what you came up with. They may or may not listen to your ideas; that is not the point. You are trying to show that you are interested in helping them succeed. By sharing ideas they will be able to clearly see that you are the type of freelance writer who takes the initiative and is always available to help.
There are many ways to go above and beyond for clients and those who you hope to work with in the near future. Above are three options, but not the only ones to consider. Anything you can do to set yourself apart from others should be considered.
Every so often I receive an email asking me how much money freelance writers earn. Of course, this is a difficult question to answer because there is no standard. In other words, every freelance writer earns a different amount of money. Some do quite well, while others are still getting their feet wet and trying to increase their income.
In my opinion, there is no way to say what a “good†freelance writing income looks like. You may feel that good is $1k/month if you are only working part-time. But those who are full-time may feel that anything less than $5k/month is unacceptable. If you are going to be a freelance writer you have to make your own income goals.
If you have income goals it does no matter what anybody else thinks. My freelance writing income makes me happy, and you should do what you can to get the same satisfaction from your career.
One thing is for sure: you are not going to reach all of your freelance writing income goals in a matter of a few weeks. I only earned $52 during my first month as a freelance writer. It wasn’t until three months into my career that I began to realize just how much money could be made. You have to set both short and long term income related goals, and then work as hard as you can to reach them.
When somebody asks what a good freelance writing income is, I always fire back with a question of my own: what are you income related goals? The great thing about being a freelance writer is that you control your income. Set your own goals based on what you want to accomplish.Â
Time after time I have said the same thing: aspiring freelance writers who are afraid of failure may never get started. Those who are already working in this capacity, but afraid to make mistakes, will also find it difficult to make the kind of progress they are interested in. Simply put, you cannot be afraid of freelance writing failure. This can hold you back in many ways.
Why are so many freelance writers afraid to fail? Just like any career, you are going to experience highs and lows. There will be times when you are making a lot of money and landing new gigs like there is no tomorrow. But on the other side of things, you will face tough situations where every query gets rejected and every cold call ends up with you getting hung up on. This is all part of the industry. You have to roll with the punches and take the good with the bad.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can learn from every failure that you experience as a freelance writer. You never want to fail but if you do you should learn as much as you can as to avoid the same situation in the future.
It is common to be afraid of failure. This will make you feel bad, and may put you in a position where you worry about the future. But you have to have thick skin. Failure is a part of every career, and once you start as a freelance writer you will realize that it is no different.
Instead of being afraid of failure you should try to learn as much as you can from it. I know this is easier said than done, but you might as well take as much good as you can from a bad situation.Â
