3 Secrets New Freelance Writers Must Know to Earn More Money
In 2007 I stumbled upon a website that promised to pay money for articles I wrote from the comfort of my home.
All I needed to do was come up with a good idea that hadn't already been covered and creates a new, exciting and fresh piece that readers would love to read for many years to come.
This was my first introduction to freelance writing.
I sold my first piece for a little less than $8 and I was hooked.
Over the next few years I learned that freelance writing is about more than taking a chance that a company will buy your fresh outlook on a topic.
I also learned the true secrets to earning a real income freelance writing.
Open a Dedicated Email Address Just for Writing Projects No client wants to interact with MommyOfTwins.
Chances are your personal email address was not created with a professional portfolio in mind.
Use your name or a derivation of your name so clients remember who they are working with.
A fresh email address is also important when it comes to tracking incoming emails.
If you've played games online, used your personal email address for Facebook or MySpace or given out that email address to friends and family, you probably receive lots of spam, advertisements and personal messages.
You need to have a clean slate to work with so you never lose client emails.
Don't Be Bullied by Potential New Clients I have been bullied many times in my freelance writing career.
Seasoned Internet marketers are not afraid to ask for a free sample article or a complete set of rewrites because the articles were not exactly what they were looking for.
These are tricks to get more content from desperate freelance writers.
If the client wants a free article - tell the client you'll write a fresh article, but you'll also publish that article on your personal portfolio or blog.
If the client asks for article revisions, agree to revise the articles, but focus only on small changes.
If the client asks you to add additional content or changes the instructions after you have delivered the order, stand your ground to make simple revisions based on the original instructions.
You Have to Learn How to Type Too many freelance writers start out in the business without one dedicated class in typing.
They sit down at the keyboard and hunt and peck their way through 400 words in two or three hours, with research.
In order to make a living as a freelance writer, you have to type faster than that.
You might complete four articles in a day and that's not enough to pay the bills.
Slow typing leads to tiny income and frustration.
Soon, you're determined freelance writing is something only a few people in the world can learn and you're off looking for a "real" job.
When I started freelance writing I could type about 30 words a minute.
Now, on a good day, I can pump out more than 100 words a minute.
I am typing three times as fast and that means three times as many articles and three times as much income.
There is a limitless supply of projects, jobs and clients out there just waiting to pay you top dollar for solid articles, but you have to take care of the small stuff before you can earn a living as a freelance writer.
It took me four years to earn a living I could call comparable to a "real" job and it all started with these 3 secrets.
All I needed to do was come up with a good idea that hadn't already been covered and creates a new, exciting and fresh piece that readers would love to read for many years to come.
This was my first introduction to freelance writing.
I sold my first piece for a little less than $8 and I was hooked.
Over the next few years I learned that freelance writing is about more than taking a chance that a company will buy your fresh outlook on a topic.
I also learned the true secrets to earning a real income freelance writing.
Open a Dedicated Email Address Just for Writing Projects No client wants to interact with MommyOfTwins.
Chances are your personal email address was not created with a professional portfolio in mind.
Use your name or a derivation of your name so clients remember who they are working with.
A fresh email address is also important when it comes to tracking incoming emails.
If you've played games online, used your personal email address for Facebook or MySpace or given out that email address to friends and family, you probably receive lots of spam, advertisements and personal messages.
You need to have a clean slate to work with so you never lose client emails.
Don't Be Bullied by Potential New Clients I have been bullied many times in my freelance writing career.
Seasoned Internet marketers are not afraid to ask for a free sample article or a complete set of rewrites because the articles were not exactly what they were looking for.
These are tricks to get more content from desperate freelance writers.
If the client wants a free article - tell the client you'll write a fresh article, but you'll also publish that article on your personal portfolio or blog.
If the client asks for article revisions, agree to revise the articles, but focus only on small changes.
If the client asks you to add additional content or changes the instructions after you have delivered the order, stand your ground to make simple revisions based on the original instructions.
You Have to Learn How to Type Too many freelance writers start out in the business without one dedicated class in typing.
They sit down at the keyboard and hunt and peck their way through 400 words in two or three hours, with research.
In order to make a living as a freelance writer, you have to type faster than that.
You might complete four articles in a day and that's not enough to pay the bills.
Slow typing leads to tiny income and frustration.
Soon, you're determined freelance writing is something only a few people in the world can learn and you're off looking for a "real" job.
When I started freelance writing I could type about 30 words a minute.
Now, on a good day, I can pump out more than 100 words a minute.
I am typing three times as fast and that means three times as many articles and three times as much income.
There is a limitless supply of projects, jobs and clients out there just waiting to pay you top dollar for solid articles, but you have to take care of the small stuff before you can earn a living as a freelance writer.
It took me four years to earn a living I could call comparable to a "real" job and it all started with these 3 secrets.
