Launching a freelance writing career is like riding a bicycle that suddenly has the training wheels unexpectedly removed. When you’re set loose and pushed out into the world (usually by yourself), you feel an enormous sense of freedom, but that also comes with a lot of vulnerability. There’s an innate fear that you may not have what it takes, or there’s a failure waiting for you around the corner.
A significant aspect of owning your own freelance content writing business is that it’s totally in your control, and on top of that, you have the flexibility to work when and wherever you want. Furthermore, scaling freelance content creation is a thing if you know how and you can leverage that growth to skyrocket your business.
Becoming a successful freelancer doesn’t happen overnight — there will be tears. Also, there are most likely going to be all-nighters, stress, and lots of rejection.
Here are a few essentials to add to your freelance work life to help you on your way.
Paying Your Dues
Anyone that’s ever become a roaring success has spent energy and time paying their dues. They’ve worked for free, done low-paying work at the start of their freelancing career, and have also accepted rejection, dry spells, and not vibing with a client.
When you’re just not aligning with your prospects and clients, there are a few ways to tackle that:
- Focus on the big picture: it can be tough to stay motivated when you feel like you’re not progressing the way you want to. There’s no such thing as an overnight success, but you can leverage consistency to produce results. Stay focused on your goals and what it’s going to take for you to get to precisely what you want.
- Make Connections: they don’t have to be business connections. You can make new online friends via social media platforms, forums, and groups. It’s essential to network with others that are also “paying their dues” because they understand what it’s like to start from scratch.
- Practice gratitude: it may sound like a buzzword, but the most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that gratitude is a big part of their lives. Being grateful helps you to enjoy the ride more, even in times of hardship. It also works to keep you positive and motivated when the workdays can become grueling.
Choose More Meaningful Partnerships
When it comes to choosing the right people to have around you and your business, Helen Keller said it best “Alone we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” Freelance content writing can be solitary work with enormous bouts of loneliness. Still, if you form supportive partnerships, it can help to give you the motivation and encouragement that you need.
Whether it’s choosing the right partner in your romantic life or a business partner, it’s crucial to have someone by your side that’s going to stick with you when times get tough.
Securing work for your freelancer business is only a percentage of the work. There are other skills that you’ll need to succeed, like interpersonal skills and negotiating skills. Furthermore, you’re a business; you’ll need to learn the skills of running a business or find a partner with strengths in that area.
Take Advantage of Tech
We’re living in the “age of the instant,” with same-day delivery on packages and streaming entertainment. As freelance writers, we now have a whole myriad of tools available to us to automate processes and give us the best shot at providing deliverables that make a difference.
One of your biggest allies as a freelance content writer is a tool that proofreads your writing and offers suggestions to improve the tone of voice, readability, and grammar. Grammarly can help every struggling wordsmith; it’s an app that can make your writing life a lot easier and improve your productivity. Grammarly can check for errors in punctuation and enhance sentence structure. I often write for clients in different countries, and Grammarly helps me to set up a local version of English. For example, I can set Canadian English or Australian English so that it keeps me aligned and free of errors for that specific language.
Keep Your Portfolio up to Date
Your portfolio is a profile of your most exceptional work; clients will look at this to determine if you have the experience to work with them. Whether you’re hosting your portfolio on your website or it’s on a writing platform, it’s essential to keep it up to date with solid pieces from your content writing niche.
The nDash platform offers writers a profile to display their previous clients and completed work. Just think of it as a portfolio for top brands to find writers in the relevant niche. Keeping the content on your portfolio/profile up to date can help brands find you for specific projects, but it also shows legitimate brands that you’re still in business.
About the Author
Anup Sohanta is a freelance copywriter and content writer with 5 years of experience in the writing field. He’s also the author of a little book called From the Universe’s Lips to My Ears. To learn more about Anup — or to have him write for your brand — check out his nDash profile.