If only you could see the boxes piling up in my house. We are in the last days of packing. On Wednesday my husband and I will travel to our new home a state away to unload furniture and and begin a new adventure in our lives - at least that's how we choose to think of it. We're moving to be closer to my mother - she needs help since my father died. If it weren't for freelancing I can't imagine how we would be able to do this.
I’ve been ghost around here because for the past months because my focus has been on packing, marketing and wrapping up client projects. Moving means I’ll be without Internet for at least 48 hours once we get there, and I can’t lie – I’m feeling a little bit of anxiety over that. Between my Blackberry and Starbucks Wi-Fi , I should be able to maintain communication if anything crucial pops up. My regular clients have all been informed that I’m unavailable to work this week.
I hope to be back to posting on a regular basis by August 1. Until then I leave you with some of my favorite posts written by some of my favorite bloggers. I'll just get back to packing now...
Writing Mistakes I See Too Often
3 Types of Savings Every Freelance Writer Needs
Avoiding Ethical Dilemmas
The One Where I Do a 180
Good Advice for Every Freelancer: Never Say Never
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Importance of Making Time for Your Personal Projects
This year I’ve committed to making time for a couple of important personal writing projects. One has the potential to become a source of residual income, which has also been a long-term freelance writing goal of mine for some time. Finding time to devote to these projects while also keeping up with client projects and the marketing required to keep the lights on and food on the table can be a serious challenge.
These projects are a part of my business plan, so although I don’t rely on them (yet) to cover my living expenses, there will be a payoff in the future if I stick to my plan. Yes, I need to generate a consistent income, but I don’t want to cheat myself out of a promising long-term opportunity for short-term cash. Based on the research I’ve conducted, passive income can help stabilize and increase a freelance writer’s income which reduces those feast or famine cycles.
In the past I’ve been guilty of setting aside my personal writing projects for client projects, and the result was that my projects eventually fell to the wayside. Someday will never arrive unless I take active steps to make it happen. Whether you have dreams of writing a novel, creating information products, classes, webinars or some other project that could financially benefit your business, you’ll have to make time for it. Think of it this way : you are your most valuable client, so you deserve to be treated as such. I’ll share a few things I’m doing to meet my personal project goals:
Setting Aside Time Each Week
As you know I’m the mother of four children, and I freelance full-time. This requires me to create and work on a schedule. I make sure to also schedule time for working on my personal projects.
Setting Deadlines
Deadlines are serious business for me. If I set a deadline I do everything in my power to meet it. Setting deadlines forces me to move beyond the idea stage and start taking the actionable steps required to turn my dreams into reality.
Not Getting Caught Up In the Perfection Trap
I am sooo bad about this. I want everything to be perfect or I don’t want to do it. But it’s not so much about my project being absolutely perfect as much as it is about me on some level doubting my ability. I have to remind myself that I’m human, everything may not be perfect in the beginning, but I can’t allow self-doubt to hold me back from trying.
Have you been working on, or thinking about working on a personal project that could financially benefit your business? How do you keep yourself on task?
These projects are a part of my business plan, so although I don’t rely on them (yet) to cover my living expenses, there will be a payoff in the future if I stick to my plan. Yes, I need to generate a consistent income, but I don’t want to cheat myself out of a promising long-term opportunity for short-term cash. Based on the research I’ve conducted, passive income can help stabilize and increase a freelance writer’s income which reduces those feast or famine cycles.
In the past I’ve been guilty of setting aside my personal writing projects for client projects, and the result was that my projects eventually fell to the wayside. Someday will never arrive unless I take active steps to make it happen. Whether you have dreams of writing a novel, creating information products, classes, webinars or some other project that could financially benefit your business, you’ll have to make time for it. Think of it this way : you are your most valuable client, so you deserve to be treated as such. I’ll share a few things I’m doing to meet my personal project goals:
Setting Aside Time Each Week
As you know I’m the mother of four children, and I freelance full-time. This requires me to create and work on a schedule. I make sure to also schedule time for working on my personal projects.
Setting Deadlines
Deadlines are serious business for me. If I set a deadline I do everything in my power to meet it. Setting deadlines forces me to move beyond the idea stage and start taking the actionable steps required to turn my dreams into reality.
Not Getting Caught Up In the Perfection Trap
I am sooo bad about this. I want everything to be perfect or I don’t want to do it. But it’s not so much about my project being absolutely perfect as much as it is about me on some level doubting my ability. I have to remind myself that I’m human, everything may not be perfect in the beginning, but I can’t allow self-doubt to hold me back from trying.
Have you been working on, or thinking about working on a personal project that could financially benefit your business? How do you keep yourself on task?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Freelance Writers: Uncover Your Profit Potential
It’s my second week of summer break and I’m knee in a couple of client projects and a mass marketing frenzy while also trying to squeeze in a couple of personal writing projects and acting as referee to four hot, irritable kids. Good times…
Before I lose it completely, I wanted to give you a heads up on a new webinar: Writers Uncover Your Hidden Profit Potential. Today is the last day to receive an 11% discount so if you’re freelance writing business is stalled or you want to know how to kick off your freelancing career on the right foot, these are the ladies to learn from. Have a productive and profitable day!
Before I lose it completely, I wanted to give you a heads up on a new webinar: Writers Uncover Your Hidden Profit Potential. Today is the last day to receive an 11% discount so if you’re freelance writing business is stalled or you want to know how to kick off your freelancing career on the right foot, these are the ladies to learn from. Have a productive and profitable day!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Anticipate Lulls in Your Business and Plan Accordingly
he summer months tend to be slow for my business. I’ve been marketing on a fairly steady basis, but that’ not good enough when I anticipate business slowing down, and I know it. I should have planned to increase my marketing efforts earlier. It’s not like the lulls my business experiences aren’t fairly predictable.
No use beating my head against a brick wall over it now – what’s done is done. Now I need to move ahead and ramp it up. I’m putting a few ideas into action.
Email queries
I’ve had some pretty good luck with email queries in the past. A couple of months ago I signed up for a paid webinar about email marketing. I felt the investment was worth it. I used the instructor’s tips to revise my standard email query letter (I use a standard format but tweak it as necessary). After doing this I got an immediate response from a California company asking if I’d consider working with them as an employee instead of freelancing, so I think the webinar instructor’s tips were pretty spot on. I’m going to commit to researching companies and sending out a certain number of queries every day.
Direct mail campaign
Earlier this year I came up with an idea to reach out to a certain local market here in Atlanta. My idea has profit potential, but I need to buckle down, get started and set a deadline. This is actually an ideal time for me to launch a direct mail campaign. I’m redesigning my brochures, drafting a sales letter, and choosing samples to mail as a package.
Utilize the local phone book
My family and I will soon be relocating to another state. I grew up in the city we’re moving to and know that the people there like dealing with other locals when it comes to business. I’ve been following Anne Wayman’s super duper marketing series for freelance writers and her post about using the phone book to find clients stood out. I’ve been spending some of my down time thumbing through it to find ripe markets to target.
Utilize Social Media
I’ve been using Twitter to get exposure for a new blog project I’m working on, but I’ve done very little my writing services. I need to participate and engage other in conversation more.
When you need to drum up business, what techniques do you employ?
No use beating my head against a brick wall over it now – what’s done is done. Now I need to move ahead and ramp it up. I’m putting a few ideas into action.
Email queries
I’ve had some pretty good luck with email queries in the past. A couple of months ago I signed up for a paid webinar about email marketing. I felt the investment was worth it. I used the instructor’s tips to revise my standard email query letter (I use a standard format but tweak it as necessary). After doing this I got an immediate response from a California company asking if I’d consider working with them as an employee instead of freelancing, so I think the webinar instructor’s tips were pretty spot on. I’m going to commit to researching companies and sending out a certain number of queries every day.
Direct mail campaign
Earlier this year I came up with an idea to reach out to a certain local market here in Atlanta. My idea has profit potential, but I need to buckle down, get started and set a deadline. This is actually an ideal time for me to launch a direct mail campaign. I’m redesigning my brochures, drafting a sales letter, and choosing samples to mail as a package.
Utilize the local phone book
My family and I will soon be relocating to another state. I grew up in the city we’re moving to and know that the people there like dealing with other locals when it comes to business. I’ve been following Anne Wayman’s super duper marketing series for freelance writers and her post about using the phone book to find clients stood out. I’ve been spending some of my down time thumbing through it to find ripe markets to target.
Utilize Social Media
I’ve been using Twitter to get exposure for a new blog project I’m working on, but I’ve done very little my writing services. I need to participate and engage other in conversation more.
When you need to drum up business, what techniques do you employ?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Educating Difficult Clients
A writer friend of mine has been having trouble with a new client. She was hired to write web copy and supporting marketing material (brochures, etc). The client is ready to send over the down payment and signed agreement, but my friend is having trouble getting the client to focus on a target market.
The client doesn’t understand why it’s so important and is annoyed with the writer’s insistence that they focus on this detail first. The client wants her web copy and other materials yesterday. My writer friend is beyond frustrated. “She just doesn’t get it, Kim. I feel like we keep having the same discussion over and over. I can’t get her to understand how important it is to focus her marketing message.”
I think most of us have worked with this type of client before. In my experience this client doesn’t really understand marketing. They just want you to write something amazing that will result in more business. It just doesn’t occur to them that there is a process involved. They over simplify the services and value we provide.
In my experience, getting a client to understand the importance of something like focusing their marketing message on a target audience involves quite a bit of education. In the past the time I spent educating and convincing a client to provide me with necessary information was much more than the time I’d allotted for research and writing.
My friend, however, is much smarter than I am. She asks lots and lots of questions in the very beginning – before she sends out her agreement or accepts down payment. She sends interested prospective clients a questionnaire to complete first, and they discuss it in detail by phone – because one question often leads to another. This gives her a much better idea of what she’s dealing with and she adjusts her contract and payment accordingly.
Thankfully she saw the signs early on that this client would require more time to help her understand the basics of marketing. She very wisely included a certain amount of consultation time and included it in her rate. And just like that I’ve learned something new from this writer that I will apply to my own freelance writing business.
Even though we are writers, we may from time to time be called upon to provide professional consultation. The knowledge we possess is valuable. Do you give it away freely, or offer fee-based consultation in addition to the writing services you provide?
The client doesn’t understand why it’s so important and is annoyed with the writer’s insistence that they focus on this detail first. The client wants her web copy and other materials yesterday. My writer friend is beyond frustrated. “She just doesn’t get it, Kim. I feel like we keep having the same discussion over and over. I can’t get her to understand how important it is to focus her marketing message.”
I think most of us have worked with this type of client before. In my experience this client doesn’t really understand marketing. They just want you to write something amazing that will result in more business. It just doesn’t occur to them that there is a process involved. They over simplify the services and value we provide.
In my experience, getting a client to understand the importance of something like focusing their marketing message on a target audience involves quite a bit of education. In the past the time I spent educating and convincing a client to provide me with necessary information was much more than the time I’d allotted for research and writing.
My friend, however, is much smarter than I am. She asks lots and lots of questions in the very beginning – before she sends out her agreement or accepts down payment. She sends interested prospective clients a questionnaire to complete first, and they discuss it in detail by phone – because one question often leads to another. This gives her a much better idea of what she’s dealing with and she adjusts her contract and payment accordingly.
Thankfully she saw the signs early on that this client would require more time to help her understand the basics of marketing. She very wisely included a certain amount of consultation time and included it in her rate. And just like that I’ve learned something new from this writer that I will apply to my own freelance writing business.
Even though we are writers, we may from time to time be called upon to provide professional consultation. The knowledge we possess is valuable. Do you give it away freely, or offer fee-based consultation in addition to the writing services you provide?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Link Love
I’m finally back in town (again...) and since most of my clients alerted me that they would but not be working today, that means a much needed day of rest for me. I plan to spend the day outside with the kids while hubby fires up the grill. Despite what many of our friends think, vegetarians can put together quite an impressive barbeque spread!
One thing I noticed while I was away – I stayed very busy and even had a couple of old clients suddenly contact me to start work on new projects. I really expected things to be slower than usual with the upcoming holiday. Instead I ended up with three new projects. I need to put forth a more consistent effort to keep in contact with past clients.
As usual, I enjoyed several great posts while I was out of town last week. Hope you enjoy them too.
How to Kill Writer’s Block and Become a Master Copywriter in Only 3 Hours a Day
30 Days of Writing Tips – Day 21 – Use the Phone Book to Find Clients
Cold Calling Tips
Where’s Your Sizzle?
Tools Every Freelance Medical Writer Needs
Parenting and Writing: Five Tips to Help Get More Writing In
One thing I noticed while I was away – I stayed very busy and even had a couple of old clients suddenly contact me to start work on new projects. I really expected things to be slower than usual with the upcoming holiday. Instead I ended up with three new projects. I need to put forth a more consistent effort to keep in contact with past clients.
As usual, I enjoyed several great posts while I was out of town last week. Hope you enjoy them too.
How to Kill Writer’s Block and Become a Master Copywriter in Only 3 Hours a Day
30 Days of Writing Tips – Day 21 – Use the Phone Book to Find Clients
Cold Calling Tips
Where’s Your Sizzle?
Tools Every Freelance Medical Writer Needs
Parenting and Writing: Five Tips to Help Get More Writing In
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Servicing Online Clients vs. Working with Clients in Person
My accountability partner and I are in the midst of a (friendly) debate. She has been running a very successful freelance writing operation in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, CA for more than 11 years. Her business has flourished over the years. She belongs to a number of small business groups around town which also happens to be where she acquires most of her clients.
Now I’ve been freelancing full-time since 2007. When I first started I was servicing clients almost almost entirely online(my first two clients were from a craigs list ad). These days I may occasionally deal with clients locally who seem to be more comfortable meeting face-to-face once or twice. It’s not something I encourage as a mother with four kids under 11 because quite frankly time is not always on my side.
My writer friend has recently expressed an interest in working with clients on an exclusively virtual basis reducing the number of times she has to schedule in person meetings. Because she’s such a likable person and really knows her stuff, face-to-face meetings tend to work in her favor. She’s built an impressive business by taking time out for meetings in person, but they can be so time consuming – especially when she has to drive for over an hour into Los Angeles fighting insane traffic to meet with a client only to fight bumper-to-bumper traffic back home to Santa Barbara as well.
The problem as she sees it is the town she lives in is a very close knit community of people who value knowing one another. Entrepreneurs and other businesses prefer doing business with one another face, but they are also good about passing along referrals. She’s not sure of how to transition her business to operating as (mostly) a virtual operation. She recently partnered with a couple of website development firms who send clients to her that are in need of copywriting services from time to time which is a start. I’ve been trying to brainstorm with her to come up with a strategy to make it happen.
I haven’t had a problem with this because it’s how I’ve always operated. I think part of what could be holding her back is apprehension. Sometimes the first steps to doing something different are hardest.
Do you work mainly with local clients in person, exclusively online or have a mix of virtual and local clients?
Now I’ve been freelancing full-time since 2007. When I first started I was servicing clients almost almost entirely online(my first two clients were from a craigs list ad). These days I may occasionally deal with clients locally who seem to be more comfortable meeting face-to-face once or twice. It’s not something I encourage as a mother with four kids under 11 because quite frankly time is not always on my side.
My writer friend has recently expressed an interest in working with clients on an exclusively virtual basis reducing the number of times she has to schedule in person meetings. Because she’s such a likable person and really knows her stuff, face-to-face meetings tend to work in her favor. She’s built an impressive business by taking time out for meetings in person, but they can be so time consuming – especially when she has to drive for over an hour into Los Angeles fighting insane traffic to meet with a client only to fight bumper-to-bumper traffic back home to Santa Barbara as well.
The problem as she sees it is the town she lives in is a very close knit community of people who value knowing one another. Entrepreneurs and other businesses prefer doing business with one another face, but they are also good about passing along referrals. She’s not sure of how to transition her business to operating as (mostly) a virtual operation. She recently partnered with a couple of website development firms who send clients to her that are in need of copywriting services from time to time which is a start. I’ve been trying to brainstorm with her to come up with a strategy to make it happen.
I haven’t had a problem with this because it’s how I’ve always operated. I think part of what could be holding her back is apprehension. Sometimes the first steps to doing something different are hardest.
Do you work mainly with local clients in person, exclusively online or have a mix of virtual and local clients?
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