By Does the thought of a career as a freelance writer tickle your fancy? Freelancing allows you complete control over your writing career. You have your choice of projects. As you build your portfolio and reputation, you can choose what you want to work on.
It’s a long road to the top, but “success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” If you commit to yourself, your work, and your clients, you’ll eventually reach the top tier of freelancers where you no longer look for There’s work; it comes looking for you.
Freelance writing offers you opportunities to write in any category you want. You can specialize in a specific genre, such as sales copy, or take a broad-based shotgun approach and take on any subject.
To succeed in freelance writing, you must learn how to manage your career. There’s a lot to learn, from developing your skill set to handling client feedback and understanding how much to charge your clients.
Tip #1 – Develop Your Research Skills
Good writing comes from comprehensive research. Even if you have a masters in economics, you’ll need to research industry events and market behavior if you’re writing on a specific subject.
For instance, if you’re writing an article on the future of Bitcoin, you’ll need to look into its past price action and see what experts forecast about the fate of the digital asset.
Your past education will help, but research melds your experience and knowledge with current market events and other concepts not covered in your field of study. You’ll need to know how to research topics quickly, covering ground to curate relevant information to the subject matter.
Locate Legitimate Sources
The quality of your research sources matters tremendously in the results of your writing. Understanding how to filter search results helps you find the information you need without wading through a mass of irrelevant information that adds no value to your work.
Don’t Trust – Verify
Never take anything a source says for granted, especially when writing on controversial subjects. Cross-reference your research with other sources to ensure it’s credible.
Assess the Quality of the Source
Check the source for accuracy, authority, and bias.
Tip #2 – Organize Your Business and Prioritize Your Time
Freelance writing isn’t a hobby; it’s a business. As a freelancer, your most valuable asset is your time. You’re selling your time for money, so you must organize, schedule, and prioritize your time to make your work day effective and profitable.
You’ll need to know how to prioritize your projects. Most successful freelancers work on two to four projects at any given time. Knowing where to place projects in your queue is vital for successful client and project management and meeting deadlines.
Freelance writing is outcome-focused. You need to know how to track your output if you’re charging by word count or by the hour. You have full control over your workflow and the projects you accept, but your clients have expectations, and you’ll need to learn how to structure your time to keep them happy.
Tip #3 – Learn How to Handle Feedback
You’ll run into situations where your clients request rewrites or edits of your work. Freelancers tend to think every piece they produce is the bee’s knees and perfect, but your client might not see it that way. They might request changes, and you need to know how to handle them.
If you get mad at feedback, you’re fighting a losing battle. However, there are times when clients might request unreasonable changes, and you need to understand the difference between reasonable and outlandish edit requests.
Approach feedback as a learning experience. In most cases, it’s a chance to point out where you can improve your writing. Don’t expect clients to say you did a good job and stroke your ego. Most of the feedback you receive will point out flaws in your writing, so get used to it.
Tip #4 – Learn How to Build Client Relationships
The client relationship is the backbone of your freelancing business. Every job offer you receive is an opportunity to build a client relationship and establish lifetime value (LTV) from your engagement with them.
Most of your income will result from returning clients, so nurture the relationship. Remember this tip – “Do what others won’t.” If you go out of your way for a client, it sets a tone that they can rely on you to deliver. The reality is the bulk of freelancers are not dependable.
If you demonstrate value and separate yourself from the competition, you earn a client for life. Communication and consistency are key to building a successful client relationship where you receive a steady workflow.
Tip #5 – Build a Portfolio
Your writing portfolio acts as a resume of your work. Build a website using Squarespace and use it to showcase examples of your best writing. The portfolio gives clients an idea of what they can expect from hiring you.
The portfolio displays your writing style and voice. Choose examples where you demonstrate various writing techniques to suit different writing projects. For instance, you could have articles written in formal, informal, and humorous tones showcasing your variety and versatility.
Your website portfolio must include the following features.
An About Me Page
Add a picture of yourself to the page. When people see your face, their psychology connects with you, and they see you as a person, not some words on a page. Include your achievements in writing, your education, and other relevant facts to your writing career.
A Service Offering
Tell your clients what writing projects they can order with you. Do you focus on technical writing, sales copy, blogs, or all of the above? This strategy ensures you don’t waste your time fielding unrelated work requests.
Display Client Testimonials
Your website must include client testimonials from past job offers. If you’re starting your freelancing career, offer to write short, 300 to 500-word articles in exchange for a review. Get ten to 20 reviews, and display them on your site.