Everyone loves the part of the hero’s journey where our protagonist accepts the “call to adventure” and “crosses the threshold” from “the ordinary world” into “the extraordinary world.”
It’s engaging. It’s hopeful. It pushes the plot forward.
But we can’t forget about the challenges and struggles that come next.
For new freelance writers:
You may have started off with a couple of great clients, but now you have to turn your passion into a sustainable writing business.
So, what’s the skill that enables a terrific content marketer and copywriter to offer premium services?
Time management
Before you click away, disappointed that I brought up something as practical and boring as time management, hear me out. My intent is not to poop on your party.
In fact, it’s the exact opposite.
When our freelance-writer heroes accept calls to adventure to cross over into the extraordinary world, they still need to be equipped with the real-world abilities that make their service businesses possible.
And part of that transformation involves balancing client work with their own marketing and marketing education.
Time management is the core of your strong business and content strategy, because how you spend your time directly affects the:
- Health of your business
- Types of clients you attract
- Value you have to offer those clients
You don’t get anointed a freelance writer and then get to sit back and eat bonbons while clients who pay competitive rates flock to you.
The challenges and struggles of the hero’s journey exist for a reason: They help you and your business grow.
Use these five tips to navigate those obstacles in the extraordinary freelance writing world on your way to becoming a well-paid content writer.
1. Treat your business like … a business
Successful freelance writers establish the healthy boundaries all businesses (and especially service businesses) need.
Working extremely long hours every day of the week might seem exciting at first, but it always leads to burnout.
And when you’re burned out, you only have scraps of energy to offer new clients who might want to work with you at that time. You may even be so absent-minded that you forget to invoice your existing clients on time, which can be a strain on your cash flow.
To avoid those unfortunate scenarios, schedule your work and leisure hours. Creative people know the uncanny benefits of spending time away from work.
2. Market to the right prospects
A part of your work time needs to be dedicated to marketing your own business.
One of the reasons why freelancers often experience the “feast or famine” cycle is because they overbook themselves with client work and don’t have time to market themselves.
If you only spend time serving current clients, when you finish those projects you won’t always have new prospects on the horizon.
It might seem scary to turn down extra work because you need to set aside time for your own marketing, but it’s an important step in building a long-term healthy business.
3. Carve out time for learning
Another part of your work time should be dedicated to your own marketing education.
To stand out as a well-qualified content marketer in the sea of freelance writers, you have to offer something special.
Staying on top of both the expertise clients need and smart marketing trends helps you present your services as the only reasonable choice.
By now you’ve probably noticed that I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned time management above.
Freelance writers with strict work schedules and fierce discipline are the ones ahead of the curve.
4. Get to know your topic better every day
This is a branch of your marketing education.
While you might aim to work your way through a premium online course over time, there are other ways you can learn every day.
Create your own free marketing curriculum by narrowing down the top publications in your niche and studying them as if they were paid products.
5. Practice like an artist
Your communication skills enable you to be an intelligent marketer.
When you continually sharpen your writing and editing on your own creative endeavors — such as maintaining your own blog, publishing your own ebooks, or offering your own online training materials — you increase your value as a service provider.
Prospective clients like to see the quality of the projects you independently produce.
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Reader Comments (10)
These are all great, practicle tips that enable the creative to continue being the creative on their own! In reality, the tips are just about effectiveness and apply whether self-employed or working for a company. Very useful.
They do also apply if you work for a company and want to continually make yourself a valuable part of a team! Great point!
Great advice for the freelance creative entrepreneur, Stefanie! Thanks for sharing.
Gotta say I especially love point #4: Copyblogger has certainly become an essential source for my education and development.
When I’m in the thick of it, the hardest one for me is making room for that much needed leisure time.
So happy to hear that Copyblogger is part of your routine, Joel!
When you care about your work and doing a good job, making time for leisure definitely takes practice. 🙂
Hello Stefanie,
First os for sure Treating your business like … a business. i believe lot of people struggle just because they dont even start .
Starting can sometimes be the hardest part for sure.
The ‘keep learning’ one is so key. I’ve never learned as much from a paid course as I have from Copyblogger.
I’ll stop kissing your ass now 😉
As long as it’s true, kiss away! 😉
That’s a great testimonial, LJ! Thank you.
Great post! I love point no 5 – Practice like an artist. It’s amazing how much better you become at something when you do it on a daily basis. All the great authors say you should ‘write every single day’ and it really does make a difference. The muscles you use on a daily basis become stronger and more dominant. It’s the best way to hone your writing skills!
There’s no substitute for that consistent work. 🙂
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