Upgrading my writing business
I started my freelance writing career five months ago in October 2007. I had kind of a lucky, random start that came when I wasn’t really looking for it. I am proud of the fact that my income has been slowly increasing, though slower than I had hoped.
Despite the fact that my income is not what I’d like it to be, I got a bit complacent in my business. I applied to fewer writing gigs, and eased up on writing for current clients. Most of that was health related, but it didn’t bode well for my business.
In the last couple of months, a financial crisis of sorts caused me to reevaluate my business plan. My husband is a PhD student, so his income for the next couple of years is limited with no potential to increase. It’s really my income that has the possibility to keep us in the black every month.
For several reasons, it took almost two months to get a paycheck from my biggest client. Suddenly, we were out of money and in panic mode. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, and I understood a lot better why you should never put all your eggs into one client’s basket. Because of this experience, I have decided to kick my business (and my butt) into high gear.
What is my plan? Well, the monetary goal is to double my income by the end of March. Lofty goal? Yes. Achievable? I think so, but it requires a lot of work and dedication on my part. Here are some of the avenues I plan to pursue in order to reach my goal. If you have any other ideas, feel free to share them with me!
- Ask existing clients for more work. My health over the past few months hasn’t been so great, so I haven’t worked as much as I could have. I plan to ask my clients for more work if they have it.
- Secure new clients (especially higher paying clients). This involves searching websites and trying out bidding sites. Here are a few of the places I plan to search for jobs:
Freelance Writing Gigs
About Freelance Writing
Sitepoint
Digital Points Forum
LinkedIn
GetaFreelancer
RentaCoder
Scriptlance - Investigate PLR income. I know this method is somewhat controversial, with some writers heavily condemning it. I don’t personally have any objections to it, and mainly view PLR as a stepping stone to get to where I want to be.
- Advertise my writing services. Any suggestions where? I’ve heard that craigslist, sitepoint, and digital points forum are options. Anyone know of better places?
That’s my tentative plan for now. I’m getting a bit frustrated with my current income, but I know that with hard work, I can change things and make it better. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them! I’ll be posting my progress this month to let you know how it goes.
Filed under: Business, Freelance Writing, Goals, Writing | 7 Comments
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holli jo on Passive Income – a new… Courtney on Passive Income – a new… geritaran on Are you a writer? Avid Writer on Freelancing as a parent amyliane on Freelancing as a parent
Best of luck, Holli. Sounds like you are committed to finding more fulfilling and better paying work and when you have that attitude it always works. You’ve got great ideas here
I’ve been following the plr debate in many forums and blogs and know just what you mean and agree with your analogy of it. I also know what it’s like to put too many eggs in one basket and as a freelancer that can be financial suicide. Great that you’ve figured it out so early in your writing career.
Dana
Thanks, Dana. I appreciate your comment. The freelance writing world can be a bit daunting and sometimes discouraging, but I’m working on keeping my positive attitude.
As for putting too many eggs in one basket, I HAVE figured out I shouldn’t do it. I haven’t yet gotten my eggs in enough baskets for me to be comfortable with it.
Soon, though. I hope.
Hey Holli,
I’d look into developing a local client base if I were you. While 80% of my clients are online – since I’m only 8 months into freelancing myself – I’ve found that my local clients easily pay 1.5 times the money while never being difficult to invoice. They have also always turned into long-term relationships.
Something to look into…I haven’t gone “looking” for local clients yet (that’s my goal this summer), but one found me on Elance and has been passing on referrals like wildfire.
I wish you the best of luck,
-Chad
Hey Holli. I finally found your blog. (I’m a little slow…)
I don’t know what kind of writing you do, so I don’t really have any suggestions. But it sounds like you have a good plan. It can be difficult in the beginning, especially if you’re the only income. I’m not married, and I had no other job starting out, so I can relate to what you’re going through. It’s definitely not easy, but I’m sure you’ll make it!!
Chad:
Thanks for visiting and giving me advice! I definitely agree that local clients would be a great way to go. I’m living in an area with a somewhat depressed economy, but I still think the potential is there. I guess I just need to think about the type of client that would benefit from my services and go from there. Thanks for the suggestion.
Amy:
Thanks for finding my blog.
Thanks for the encouragement – it’s good to know that other successful freelance writers started out in the same way. Thanks again for your comment.
I’m not sure I’m all that successful, but you’re welcome.
The local client thing can be a good idea depending on where you live. I’ve actually had very few local clients in my lonely little suburb, but if I go into the city I wouldn’t have trouble finding any. If you do still have some existing clients, asking them if they know anyone who’s looking couldn’t hurt. I’ve gotten a few gig that way.