by James Palmer

Well, another year has gone by. Didn’t make much progress on your freelance writing goals?

Don’t worry. There’s still hope.

Below are eight ways to finally make your freelance writing dreams come true:

1. Get your head on right. To succeed at freelance writing, you have to get in the right mindset. Two things I did to help get into a positive frame of mind are to read inspirational quotes and motivational books — my favorites are Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz — and to simply take responsibility for what happens in your life. If your life is always messed up due to your spouse, that skinflint editor, and the economy, you’ll never see how you can change things. But if you are responsible for your problems, it means you can fix them.
2. Set realistic, actionable goals. Writing ten thousand words a day while holding down a full-time job is probably not going to happen, but 500 words per day is doable. Getting published in Esquire is a laudable goal but not within your control. Querying five publications per week in order to build up your clips is more actionable.
3. Stay away from lowballers. If you start out writing for pennies you could get stuck there for years. Go after publications and clients that know the value of good writing and have the money to pay for it. Low-paying clients won’t respect your work and often turn out to be the most difficult to work with, too.
4. Learn to query. Professional publications want to work with professional writers. Learn how to write professional query letters and letters of introduction.
5. Read. You would think this is obvious, but for some it isn’t. You have to read if you are going to write. Read novels and poetry and blogs and how-to books and, last but not least, the magazines and websites you want to write for.
6. Write. Believe it or not, here’s another one we often forget. You’ll never get good unless you practice.
7. Pitch. You’ll never get paid if you don’t pitch stories to editors — lots and lots of stories. Study the publications to get a sense of what they’re looking for and send those queries out.
8. Stick to a niche. Specialists usually earn more money than generalists. Try to become known for a particular market, type of writing you do, or client you help.

James Palmer is a freelance copywriter and author of 23 Ways to Make More Money as a Freelance Copywriter. For more tips on becoming a successful freelancer, check out his blog The Successful Writer.

How will you earn more in 2012? If you need help figuring out the freelance-writing game, you can ask two pros about it live at noon PST tomorrow –  my Freelance Writers Den Open House Call guest this month is The Well-Fed Writer‘s Peter Bowerman.

If you’re not already on my free-call list, you can register here.

I recently had a chance to watch the original version of Pippi Longstocking with my daughter. I was fascinated to see how many helpful tips it held for freelance writers.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her yet, Pippi is a 9-year-old girl who lives alone in her ramshackle, wildly self-painted house, Villa Villekula. Her mother is dead and her father is a sailor who’s usually away at sea. Pippi manages to cheerfully deflect all efforts by well-meaning adults to send her to school or to an orphanage, in part due to her secret weapon: she has super-strength and can easily lift a horse over her head.

What can you learn from Pippi? Here are seven ideas:

1. Don’t look for external strokes. Pippi is functionally an orphan. She’s all alone, with nobody to encourage her, but she is rarely sad. She doesn’t need others to tell her she’s wonderful — she just knows it. When writers don’t get an answer to a query, they need the same sort of positive self-image to keep going.
2. Be brave. From entering a strongman contest to sailing off in a balloon, Pippi is never afraid. She’s out to experience everything the world has to offer. By the same token, writers willing to take difficult assignments often get clips that put their career on a whole new level.
3. Let your imagination run wild. Pippi is not a conventional thinker. She paints her house a rainbow of colors. Some walls are left off half-painted, but that suits her fine. And obviously, to lift a horse, you first have to imagine that you can. Don’t have limits in your head around what you can accomplish as a writer — as a freelancer, the sky’s the limit.
4. Let the housekeeping go. There’s all sorts of old clutter at Pippi’s house, and she wears mismatched, patched outfits. So what? She’s having fun. Most freelancers — especially ones who juggle writing with family — need to let go of the whole Martha Stewart thing.
5. Make friends. Pippi is able to get out of several scrapes with the help of neighbor children and their parents. Writers who network with other writers tend to get more gigs — and can get the feedback that keeps you from taking bad offers, too.
6. Discover your strengths. Everyone has unusual interests and areas where they excel. Find those within writing and you’ll probably find better pay. Then, push your writing to the limit and beyond. See what you can accomplish.
7. You don’t need a boss. Social workers and neighbor ladies are aghast that Pippi has been left to manage on her own. But the fact is, she’s perfectly able to care for herself. She’s an unusual child that way — just as not everyone is cut out to be a freelancer. It may seem odd to those who’ve only ever held a job, but those of us who freelance successfully don’t need a boss standing over us to get things done.

How are you like Pippi Longstocking? Leave a comment and tell us your superpower.

Coming later this week: My Marketing 101 for Freelance Writers series continues. Subscribe to catch the whole series.

Aren’t you sick of the negativity out there in the freelance writing community? I know I am.

You know the spiel. Comments like:

The economy is still so awful, bla bla bla.

All articles are now $5 or less.

I can’t believe this Craigslist ad asks for three free samples.

The fact is, some freelancers are still earning a great living, and you can, too. But first, you’ll have to stop buying into the gloom and realize that what you earn is really up to you.

To help you take charge of your writing career, I put together a list of 100+ proactive things you can do right now to build your income:

1. Tell your clients your rates are going up.
2. Raise your rates for new clients.
3. Raise your rates every year in the fall, to take effect the following year.
4. Let your current clients and all your friends and former co-workers know that you’re looking for new clients and you’d appreciate their referrals.
5. Grow your network.
6. Write for more parts of your existing clients — does that publisher have other magazines? That company have other divisions?
7. Have a writer website.
8. Improve your writer website. Pro sites make a big difference in the rates you can command.
9. Make it easier for people to contact you on your website. Kill that contact form, for instance.
10. SEO your website. Get key phrases into your URL, headline, tagline, and copy.
11. Solicit more testimonials from previous clients and add them to your site.
12. Respond to full-time job ads you see and ask if they need a freelancer in the meanwhile.
13. Read more widely so you can find more story ideas.
14. Get a Book of Lists for your nearest major market, for a ready source of quality corporate leads.
15. Get The Writers Market with online support, so you can research publications.
16. Stop doubting yourself.
17. Stop waiting.
18. Stop worrying about what people think of you.
19. Stop wondering where the shortcut is and start marketing your business.
20. Stop writing for content mills.
21. Stop buying into the revenue-share dream.
22. Stop bidding on jobs where you’re competing with thousands of other writers. Opt out of the race to the bottom.
23. Get a perspective on your writing obstacles. Then just make the time to write.
24. Get out and meet live humans. People give you jobs, not computers.
25. If you’re scared to go networking, bring a friend for support. Then, take it slow. The first time, just go and observe and smile a lot, and then go home. Next time, introduce yourself to one person.
26. If there isn’t a good networking group in your area, start one and serve as the host. Great way to get known by a lot of people fast — because everyone thanks the host, don’t they?
27. Create a “me” speech so you know what to say to people who ask what you do — after the part where you say “I’m a freelance writer” and then they say, “Really? What kind of writing do you do?” (Thanks to IJ Schecter for this one.)
28. After you network, be sure to follow up and start building relationships with the prospects you meet.
29. Send query letters.
30. Send simultaneous queries, even when magazines’ guidelines say not to.
31. Send more than one story idea in a single query letter. Ups your odds of success.
32. Don’t wait to hear back on those query letters. Send more query letters immediately.
33. If you don’t get results, learn more about how to write great queries.
34. Do more research and find new markets. New online markets are emerging every day and new magazines are started.
35. If you write for a print publication, see if they also assign articles separately for their website — and vice versa.
36. If you only write for magazines, consider adding a few corporate clients to the mix. They tend to pay better and faster.
37. Send customized prospecting emails.
38. Make cold calls. Just grab the phone book, pick up the phone, call marketing directors and ask if they use freelance writers.
39. Send direct mail postcards. Few writers do that, so you can really stand out.
40. Drop your lowest-paying client, to make time to market and find better-paying clients.
41. Get up earlier.
42. Stay up later.
43. Give up television.
44. Get more exercise. You’ll be healthier and better able to focus and write.
45. Take at least one full, 24-hour day completely offline each week.
46. Take mini-breaks where you get up from your computer and walk around a bit.
47. Take a class and learn a new writing specialty.
48. Join a writer’s community and get support and feedback from peers.
49. Stop reading Craigslist ads.
50. Find job boards where the companies have to pay to post a listing.
51. Find niche job boards for industries where you specialize.
52. Get on LinkedIn.
53. Stuff your LinkedIn bio with key words your prospects might search to find you.
54. Find former editors on LinkedIn and reconnect. Let them know you’re freelancing.
55. If your former editors are out of work, send them job leads. They’ll remember you when they get their next gig.
56. Send InMails to people who’ve viewed your profile if they seem like prospects.
57. Join LinkedIn writer groups — you can find jobs leads, support, and a sounding board.
58. Get on Twitter and start figuring out how it works.
59. Find editors and prospects on social media and pitch them.
60. Do some sleuthing to find out if there are niche social-media platforms where your prospects hang out. Join them, too.
61. Explore emerging social-media hangouts such as Google+ to see if they’re useful for finding clients.
62. Write an ebook and sell it. Then, help clients do it.
63. Send bills out more promptly. Often the payment clock ticks from the day they get your bill.
64. Get cool business cards that say something about your unique writing skills. Bring them with you everywhere.
65. Make a special offer on your business card, such as a free consult.
66. Consider getting a t-shirt or magnetized car sign that advertises your writing.
67. Experiment with Facebook or Google ads for your business.
68. Whenever you’re out shopping or at a doctor’s office, look for customer magazines. Read, pitch them — you already know their products.
69. Read all the company newsletters and magazines you get at home. Pitch them.
70. Learn to write hard stuff — write about actuarial forecasting or software development. Find the niches where they can never get enough good writers.
71. Learn to write sales copy. Helping clients make more money will always pay well, and there’s always a need.
72. Learn about lucrative types of writing such as white papers and special reports.
73. Put on free classes for your prospects, either online or in person.
74. Create a free, informational report to give your prospects with writing or marketing tips. End with your contact info or a special offer.
75. Create a newsletter your prospects can subscribe to, in order to stay in touch.
76. Donate your writing services to a charity auction — you’ll meet a prospect, and get some good PR.
77. If you need more clips, find somewhere legit to volunteer. I once wrote for my regional library system’s newsletter, for instance.
78. Collaborate with designers and other related-industry professionals. Refer each other business.
79. Cut your expenses. Then, you’ll feel less pressure to take low-pay gigs and have more marketing time.
80. Know and take advantage of every home-business tax break. Keeping more of your money has the exact same effect as earning more.
81. Consider using a co-working space for the networking and synergy with other business owners working there.
82. Track prospect nibbles that haven’t panned out yet, and keep following up. Send them articles of interest — anything to keep the connection.
83. Have a marketing plan.
84. Analyze your current client base, and how you got each client. Which marketing methods paid off? Do more of that.
85. Analyze your daily activities, and eliminate things you do that aren’t resulting in income.
86. Query better-paying magazines.
87. Pitch bigger companies.
88. Join professional writer organizations and volunteer. Great way to get known and referred.
89. Get listed in online resource guides of service providers and professional associations in your target industries. Often, it’s free.
90. Ask for the gig.
91. If the job gets bigger, ask for more money.
92. Don’t work without a contract.
93. Be sure your contract defines your payment terms — when you will be paid.
94. Make initial commercial writing contracts for only 60-90 days — then negotiate a better rate when it expires, based on your growing knowledge of the client’s business.
95. If you’ve only sold first rights, resell your articles.
96. Recycle unused parts of interviews you’ve done into new stories.
97. Write more than one article off the same set of research, for noncompeting markets.
98. Ask interview sources what else is going on in their industry. Leave with another story idea.
99. Don’t overreport. You’re not going to be able to fit eight sources into a 500-word article.
100. Learn to write to length. Less rewriting means time saved, and more income potential in the year.
101. Every time you turn in an article, be ready to pitch another story idea.
102. Land government contracts. Get qualified to bid directly or save the paperwork and connect with agencies that are bidding contracts — often, these are big projects at decent rates.
103. Look for ongoing projects. Even regular blogging gigs can add up to big revenue, and let you start each month with some pre-booked revenue.
104. Offer new clients that have the potential for ongoing work a one-time discount on a small, first project. Get that client in the door, make them love you, and line up a steady source of revenue.
105. Enter free or low-cost writing contests — it gets your work in front of editors who might hire you.
106. Write at your most productive and creative time of day.
107. Do the writing-biz task you’re in the mood for now, instead of the one that’s “top priority.” You’ll be more efficient.
108. Write blog posts in batches.
109. Plan out blog posts with a scheduling tool such as WordPress Editorial Calendar.
110. Put a “hire me” tab on your blog, so people know you want gigs.
111. Remember your blog is a writing sample. Have a clean design, show you understand social media, and write every post like it’s a $1-a-word magazine assignment.
112. Keep idea lists, so you always have more ideas to pitch if an editor asks.
113. Outsource time-consuming tasks that rob you of productive writing time.

(Yes, there are a few affiliate links in there, for products I have used and highly recommend.)

What have you done to grow your freelance writing income lately? Leave a comment and tell us your tip.

]]> http://www.makealivingwriting.com/2011/12/12/100-grow-freelance-writing-earnings/feed/ 50 http://www.makealivingwriting.com/2011/11/11/full-time-job-freelance-writing-math/ http://www.makealivingwriting.com/2011/11/11/full-time-job-freelance-writing-math/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000 Carol Tice http://www.makealivingwriting.com/?p=1431

How much do you need to earn as a freelance writer?

Often, I hear from writers who think if they can just replace the hourly rate they got at their day job with an equivalent hourly rate as a freelancer, they’ll do OK. Check out this comment from one of my recent blog posts:

“I landed another gig on Elance today doing data entry for the next 4 weeks at $11 an hour. No, it’s not $50 an hour, but it pays the bills. And it beats bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s for $9 an hour…”

Unfortunately, that’s not true.

Getting a measly $2 an hour more as a freelancer than you would have earned at a day job doesn’t put you ahead. It puts you way, way behind.

Let’s get out our calculators and do a little math to figure out the size of the problem. To net the same hourly rate as a freelancer, you’ll need to add in the following costs you don’t pay as an employee:

1. Utility bills. The heat, water, light and phone bills may all be higher when you’re home all day. As a worker, your boss essentially paid for some of this by hosting you at their place of business .
2. Employment tax. Your employer footed the bill on half of this. As a freelancer, you pay both halves yourself. You can look up your tax deduction on a pay stub to see how much more you’ll owe the IRS. You’ll also likely pay state business taxes as a freelancer.
3. Equipment. Your boss provided a computer, Internet access, printer, paper, and everything else you needed to work. Now, you’re on the hook for all those costs. When the computer dies, guess who gets to call a tech — or buy a new one?
4. Marketing costs. You didn’t need to get out and market your business when you had a full-time gig. Now, you might need to purchase publications, join associations, take trainings, pay a web host, send direct-mail postcards — all those marketing costs are yours to bear.
5. Non-billable hours. A full-time job gave you a guaranteed 40 hours of work each and every week. Freelancing isn’t like that. You’ll have hours you need to spend marketing, doing bookkeeping, chasing after slow payers. So to end up with equivalent pay, you’ll have to figure how many billable hours you’ve really got in a month and divide the monthly total you need by that figure, not the 180+ hours of a typical employee.
6. Unpaid vacation and sick time. Your boss might have floated you a couple weeks free a year or more, and may have covered a week or more of sick days, too. As your own boss, when you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

Earning $11 an hour as a freelancer isn’t looking so rosy now, hmm? Which is why I advise freelance writers to set a goal of earning $100 an hour.

Sure, the low-priced freelancing allows you to retain control of your day, and hopefully scare up some better-paying freelance gigs. But in the long run, if the pay rate isn’t a whole lot better than you did as an employee, financially you’re going to end up worse off.

Have I left out any costs of freelancing? Leave a comment and add to my list.

It’s one of the most commonly asked questions I get from writers: What should I charge?

It’s hard to know, isn’t it? There isn’t one universal rate card freelance writers work from. Fair pay is determined by a million factors — how bad you need the gig, how easy it sounds and how pleasant the people are, how much you like the topic, how tight the deadlines are…and so on.

But lately, I’ve been hearing about one issue in particular that is stopping a lot of writers from earning what they truly deserve.

I’ve dubbed this problem Writer Client Crush Syndrome.

In other words, you fall in love with your client — before you find out what they might be willing to pay you.

The matchup between a writer and a client is a whole lot like dating. Ever get a mad crush on a guy (or girl) on the first email or phone call you had, before you really knew much about them?

Apply that to freelance writing, and you get Writer Client Crush Syndrome.

As in relationships, client love can strike when you least expect it.

It begins when you hear from a prospect

You love that they responded to your query or the resume you sent to their ad. You’re excited that you got an interview with them.

When you learn about the company, you fall hard for their story.

The owner is battling cancer. Their cause is amazing and wonderful and changes lives for the better. Their products are innovative and unique. The company is in an industry where you have great expertise. You’ve been wanting to break into social-media marketing and they’re going to let you run a campaign.

You know nothing about what your working relationship would be like yet. Maybe you’ll be gang-edited by a team of four, or have to pull night shifts to meet their deadline.

But you’ve got stars in your eyes, and you’re already fantasizing about how great it would be to add this client to your list. You’re imagining their clips in your portfolio already.

You haven’t taken the time to reality-check what you’re hearing with other writers you know. You don’t have a sense of what fair pay would even be for this gig.

You’ve jumped straight to the end of the love story and you’re imagining yourself already married to this client and their work.

The problem?

You’re a pushover when it comes to pay

You’ve let the initial-meet phase drag on too long, fallen in love, and now you’re a sucker for whatever offer they make.

They’ve got you right where they want you.

When they start telling you they’d like you to work for $9 an hour, the rationalizing begins. This is the equivalent of “Maybe he’ll call” after the first date.

Maybe they’ll offer me more work later, and I can raise my rates. It’s a foot in the door. It’s an opportunity.

The next thing you know, a big block of your time is being taken up by someone paying you peanuts. You’ve lost critical time you need for marketing to good-paying prospects, and you have a client that doesn’t respect you (in the morning or any other time) and doesn’t pay you professional rates.

Often, these dysfunctional, underpaid writer-client relationships can persist for years. It’s hard to break it off. You’re still not over that first crush you had on them.

How to prevent Writer Client Crush Syndrome

How can you avoid falling victim to WCCS?

Keep your heart in your chest when you first get a nibble from a prospect.

You want initial chats or meetings to be short, gather needed details about the project, and lead quickly to a question such as, “What’s your budget for this project?”

Before you have a chance to fall head-over-heels for a bum client.

What’s holding you back from achieving your freelance writing goals?

I’ve heard from a lot of writers lately about why they’re stuck. Why they can’t get out there and find some gigs.

I call them reasons, but really, they’re excuses — barriers writers throw up in front of themselves to have an excuse for not moving forward.

Often, it’s not the economy, or your lack of clips. The real problem is inside your head.

I finally started a collection of the excuses I hear most. Here are the top ten, along with my excuse-busting replies:

1. I don’t have any clips. Every single successful writer working today once had no clips or experience whatsoever. Hit the Internet and find a website that will print something of yours. Presto! A clip. Build from there.
2. My clips are too old. I routinely send out 10-year-old clips, if they show an expertise I need to demonstrate. Nobody cares — if you wrote it then, you can write it now. So show ‘em what you got.
3. My website isn’t ready. Mine went up in 2008 and it’s still not ‘ready,’ either. I just redid it, but there’s plenty I’d still like to change. Our sites are never ‘done.’ But you pitch with what you have now, and keep improving it.
4. I don’t have enough experience. So get some — volunteer to write for a local business. Intern at an alternative paper. There is no ‘enough,’ anyway. We all just keep learning as we go. 
   
5. I don’t have a degree. Me neither. I’ve edited the work of people who have master’s degrees though, and I can tell you it’s no guarantee of writing success. Unless you’re trying to be the editor of the New York Times, you’re good. If you really have a complex about this, take a community college course in magazine writing or copywriting.
6. It’s too late to get started in social media. I recently read that to this point, only 9 percent of America is on Twitter. It’s still early days. Jump in and start learning. And of course, Google+ just started about yesterday, so we’re all newbies there.
7. I don’t know where to start. Here is the answer: Somewhere. Start somewhere. Try some type of writing that interests you. Promote yourself with some form of marketing you’re willing to try. If it doesn’t work, try another way. Keep trying to get published, somewhere, anywhere, until you do.
8. I don’t have any connections. Completely unnecessary. Concentrate on your writing. One good query letter can open the door to a lucrative, ongoing editor relationship. Wherever you’re trying to get, you can just write your way there.
   
9. You can’t find good pay in this economy, so why try. Good thing I didn’t buy into this fable, or I wouldn’t have grown my writing income every year since 2006.
10. I hate marketing. More than you hate starving? It’s not my favorite thing, but it’s sort of like going to the bathroom — probably not your favorite thing either, and yet you do it each day. Marketing should be like that. Just suck it up and do it.

What lame excuses have you heard lately? Feel free to add to my list in the comments.

Do you have trouble finding time to write?

So many of us have little distractions that make it difficult to get any quality writing time. Things like my three kids, that neighbor’s dog who never shuts up, and oh yeah — maybe your day job, too.

One way to think about your goal of starting a freelance writing business on the side is that right now, with your day job supporting you, it’s like you’re driving down a nice, smooth, paved highway. It’s almost effortless to just drive home at night and watch TV, kick back on the weekends, and start all over again on Monday.

It’s easy to keep going down this highway

But it’s also a little nerve-wracking, as in today’s economy you never know if this smooth day-job road is headed straight off a cliff of layoffs and unemployment.

There are offramps from this smooth road that lead to a rutted, gravel washboard road that heads off into the woods. It’ll be more difficult to travel on and it’s not entirely clear where it leads…but you have the strong sense that it connects farther on to an even better highway. On this one, you’re your own boss and are able to pay all your bills from writing.

Are you scared to take the turnoff?

If so, you have to sit yourself down and ask yourself where you want to be in five years. Will the road you’re on now take you there? If you want to be a freelancer, driving down the full-time job highway will never take you to that destination. So it may be time for a detour down that rough road.

Yes, things will be harder for while, but possibly more interesting and challenging.

It’ll be tempting to turn back when you hit the bumps

I know.

I’ve been down that road, and I can’t believe what a journey it took me on. And how wonderful it feels now to be in control of my own career and earnings.

How to find the writing time

If you’d like more inspiration, motivation, and time-management tips on how to fit it all in, take a listen to the chat I had last Wednesday with Bryan Cohen, author of Writer on the Side, about how to fit in some writing time around your full-time job. I read it and loved it, so that’s my affiliate link. (Congrats to Lin, who won a free copy of Bryan’s ebook on the call, as well as Kelly, who won a copy of my Webinar and report How to Break In and Earn Big as a Freelance Writer.)

Bryan was a fascinating guest and has a practical approach to carving out that precious writing time.

Among the questions we answered on the call:

• What’s the missing element many writers skip that makes it harder to freelance on the side?
• How can you avoid burnout if you write at work but want to get started on your own writing projects?
• What’s really behind your writer’s block, and how can you get the creativity flowing?
• How can you write when you can’t seem to find even a couple of uninterrupted hours?
• How can you discipline yourself to get writing done when you don’t have any deadlines?
• How did Bryan get started as a freelance writer, before he published his ebooks?
• What’s the best way to publish your book – ebook? Print book? Both? What platforms and tools are best?

Enjoy the call:

Player not working? Download it here.

How do you fit freelancing into your busy life? Leave us your tips in the comments.

I’ve written a lot on this blog about how I market my writing business.

But I’ll let you in on something: Since last summer, I haven’t had to actively market my freelance writing business.

Today, most of my new clients come to me through referrals, Google searches for a freelance writer, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

I’m usually fully booked several weeks ahead, and able to pick and choose the gigs that pay the best and that I like most. My family would tell you I’m overbooked, and I should drop a few clients!

But it wasn’t always that way.

Here’s the story of how I got new clients:

Flashback to early 2009. I had just lost a large Web copywriting client, the economy was in the tank, and all of a sudden I need to find a lot of work.

The short version of how I fixed this problem:

I marketed my ass off.

I kept marketing like mad, until I was fully booked.

Then, I kept marketing to find better clients. I started dropping lower-paying clients and substituting higher paying ones. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Result: Instead of seeing my earnings drop after I lost that big client, I kept earning more money each year, straight through the downturn. Last year was my biggest earning year as a freelancer, and this year I am on track to beat it.

How exactly did I do that?

OK, here’s the full story.

It took about 18 months to rebuild my business to where I wanted it, where all my gigs paid great rates and I had all the work I wanted. I created a multi-pronged, aggressive marketing plan and kept at it relentlessly. I probably spent at least 8 hours of each week marketing.

Here is how I spent my marketing time:

• Scanned online job ads. I didn’t send dozens of resumes daily to any and all ads. Instead, I tried to find at least two to four real tasty-looking leads to respond to each week. I developed a system for doing this rapidly and zeroing in on the ads that were really worth my time. From that time on, I got a response to nearly every resume I sent. Over time, I learned to look at better job boards — the paid ads on LinkedIn, and niche job boards for copywriters and business reporters, since that’s my specialty. I also figured out a few creative ways to approach the ads, such as responding to full-time ads and asking if they needed a freelancer. I got two good gigs that way.
• In-person networking. I tried quite a few groups — went to a BNI meeting, BizBuilders, my local Chamber events, Seattle’s MediaBistro and Linked:Seattle, too. For me, MediaBistro rocked — I got a couple of great clients there that provided ongoing work.
• Improved my website SEO. Besides adding “Seattle freelance writer” to the header of my writer site, I made a commitment to update my site each week, usually by adding a new published article link. In short order, I ranked at the top of my local market’s search for a freelance writer. If you’re wondering if this can really make a difference, it can: Two Fortune 500 companies hired me off Google searches in the past year.
• Sent query letters. I targeted both existing publications I wanted more assignments from, and new publications I wanted to add to my credits. I sent queries on a regular basis. Many assignments at $400-$800 an article and up followed.
• Stuffed my LinkedIn profile with search terms. I think it used to say whatever the most recent gig was as my bio! But now it says “freelance writer, copywriter, ghostwriting, blogger…” It’s a laundry list of every possible search term people might use to look for a writer. It helped: One of the publications that found me searching LinkedIn for a writer was Alaska Airlines Magazine.
• Used “who’s viewed my profile?” on LinkedIn. If you haven’t used this tool, you can get some information from it on who has been on your profile. When any of those visitors smelled like a prospect, I’d send them a message through LinkedIn — “Hi, were you looking for a freelance writer? Let me know if I can help!” Almost every one of these notes got a response, as people are fascinated that you can tell they were looking at your profile.
• Reached out to editors on Twitter. This turns out to be a great, casual way to approach editors. Some responded, some didn’t. One gives me $2,000 article assignments now.

What a long list of stuff, huh? The more ways you market, the more lines you have in the water, and the more fish you’re likely to catch. Pretty simple.

You may use a different array of marketing strategies. Everybody has their own marketing groove. I know one writer who gets all his assignments pitching editors on the phone. That’s cool.

But don’t buy into the attitude of hopelessness you hear on many writer chat boards. All gigs don’t pay $5 or $20. Just not true. Good pay is out there, if you commit to getting out and finding it.

Want to go from hungry to overbooked? Come find out how at my next Webinar, How to Make Good Money Writing Online. Registration ends Monday — but sign up now, and I’ll send you a free link to my previous 1-hour Webinar and report, How to Break in and Earn Big as a Freelance Writer (usually goes for $20).

Earlier this week, I had a new freelance writer ask me how much writers earn and how long it takes them to start earning. Unfortunately, industry averages don’t tell you anything about how you will do as a freelancer.

But I mentioned that in my experience mentoring freelance writers, I’ve discovered there are some basic factors that are strong predictors of freelance-writing success.

What are your odds of earning big? Take this quiz and find out:

My 10-point Freelance Writer’s Success Forecasting Quiz

Rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 for each of these points.

1. Motivation. Successful freelance writers are internally motivated to work on their business. How driven are you to make a success of your freelance writing career? For instance, do you find yourself blowing off TV because you want to work on your freelance goals, and that it’s easy to psych up for marketing your writing?
   1=I’m not driven
   2=I kinda maybe want it a little
   3=Yeah, I want it
   4=I really want to make this to happen. Not kidding.
   5=I’m all fired up
2. Available time. How much time do you have to devote to launching your freelance writing career?
   1=Only an hour or two a week
   2=I could stop watching TV and gain 8 hours right there
   3=I’ve got 10-15 hours I could free up
   4=I could do it at least half-time
   5=I can go at it full time
3. Self-confidence. How confident are you in your abilities as a writer? How do you feel about putting yourself out there and marketing your writing?
   1=I’m very insecure
   2=Not exactly bursting with self-confidence here
   3=I’m not totally down on myself
   4=I think I’m OK
   5=Damn, I’m good
4. Flexibility. Are you willing to explore any and all types of writing that might pay the bills, or are you only willing to pursue a specific type such as writing for national consumer magazines?
   1=I just want to do one kind of writing — and it’s on my own blog
   2=I could maybe blog for other people, too
   3=I could probably write blogs and articles
   4=I could see mixing in some copywriting or tech writing if it paid better
   5=I’m totally open to exploring whatever writing opportunities might pay the bills
5. Other options. Do you have other means of putting food on the table — a career you could resume, or a spouse earning a decent income?
   1=independently wealthy
   2=spouse makes enough to cover our bills
   3=I have a day job now so I could just keep it
   4=I could maybe work part-time on the side
   5=no other way to feed the family — I totally have to make this happen!
6. Fianancial resources. Do you have the money to invest a little in the tools and learning you might need to succeed in freelance writing?
   1=I am basically out of cash
   2=If Demand Studios paid a day late I’d be out on the street
   3=I’m just scraping by
   4=I’ve got a little extra cash to put into this
   5=Money is no object
7. Positive feedback. Are you someone who always got A’s in creative writing or English? Have you won writing contests, or had others praise your work?
   1=No strokes yet
   2=I got good grades in writing
   3=There was that one writing contest I won
   4=I’ve had more than one person tell me I should write professionally
   5=I’ve won me some awards
8. Education. Have you ever studied English, journalism, creative writing, copywriting, or marketing?
   1=no education in this area
   2=I took a writing class once in college
   3=I got a university extension certificate
   4=I earned an A.A. degree
   5=I have a B.A. degree or higher
9. Pro writing experience. Have you ever written for pay before, either as a freelancer or staffer?
   1=I have no previous clips
   2=I’ve written for mills only
   3=I’ve got a couple of clips
   4=I have a small portfolio of clips from a few different markets
   5=I’m an experienced, paid writer
10. Business experience. Have you ever had your own home-based business before, or helped manage a business for someone else?
    1=No previous business experience
    2=I’ve sold Girl Scout Cookies
    3=I’ve helped manage a company before
    4=I had another successful home-based business in the past
    5=Serial entrepreneur

Key:

1-20 points – There are some serious obstacles to your getting a good-paying freelance writing career going, especially in the short term.

21-34 points – You have some assets as a freelancer, but there are some potential roadblocks here, too. You will probably need some time to gradually build your income.

35-50 points — You’ve got a lot going for you as a freelance writer. You ought to be able to ramp up your earnings fairly quickly.

Are there other traits that are essential to freelance-writing success? Tell us your theory on what it takes to make it.

FREE teleclass!

Want to learn to write amazing query letters, so you can meet great new editors and get good-paying assignments? Join me next Thursday, May 19, at 5 pm PST/8 pm EST for a free call:

20 Tips to Rock Your Query Letter

My copresenter is Linda Formichelli, author of The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock. This one’s on a phone line, so you’ll be charged if you don’t have free U.S. calling. Register here.

8-ball photo: Stock.xchng – ZoofyTheJi

How long does it take to start earning income as a freelance writer, and how much do they make? A new freelance writer, Kathy, wrote me recently with this question.

Her computer needs a memory upgrade, and she was wondering how long it would be before she could pay off the expense with her freelance earnings:

I just need some reliable data from somewhere that someone who is beginning at freelancing (as I am) is not going to have to wait two-three years to make $800-$1,000 a month on a quasi-regular basis.

I’d love to get started at grantwriting and other more lucrative assignments, but I imagine it takes quite a bit of time to actually get an assignment.

As it happens, there are studies about how much freelance writers make. The Writer’s Market notes typical rate ranges for various writing gigs. Copywriter Chris Marlow sells a survey on what copywriters make.

But here’s the problem: These surveys don’t tell you anything about what you will earn.

Why? You are not a statistical average. You are an individual. Your situation is unique.

Like the auto-industry people like to say, your mileage may vary.

What will Kathy earn? In my view, that depends on the answers to a few questions:

• Are you willing to take a class in grantwriting, if that’s your interest?
• Do you have previous experience in grantwriting?
• Why are your earning goals so low? A typical full-time freelancer makes quite a bit more than your stated range.
• Are you able to wait up to three years to start making money? I don’t know many would-be freelancers who could hold out that long — most need to make it happen sooner. I’m curious why you bring up such a long timeframe. In my view, if you’re two years in and not getting any paying work at all — or even six months in — it may be time to reconsider your plans.
• How crazy-hot are you to become a freelance writer? If you’re burning up to do this, maybe you’ve got the drive to make it happen.
• Why do you assume it will take a long time to get assignments? It might not take long at all, depending on your writing background and whether you’re willing to aggressively market your writing. You might cold-call and find a great business client your first week.

Assumptions are powerful in the freelance-writing game. Your mindset will often shape what comes to pass.

For instance: When I got back into freelancing in 2005, I thought I could build my freelance-writing business fairly rapidly. Whaddaya know — within six months, I was earning as much as my previous salary as a staff writer.

How to tell what you’ll make, and how soon

Yes, every writer is unique, and it’s difficult to predict how quickly any one freelance writer will start earning, and how much they’ll make.

This is the type of question my friend Anne Wayman likes to call a “How long is a piece of string” question.

How long will it take? How much will you make? In large part, that’s up to you.

But I do have a theory about how you can tell.

In my years of mentoring other writers, I’ve discovered there are some basic factors that tend to predict freelance-writing success. I’ve turned them into a quick, 10-point quiz. I’ll post the quiz later this week and you can check it out.

What do you think predicts writer success? Leave your factors in the comments below.

Learn how to earn online: Just a reminder that the 20% early-registration discount for my next Webinar, How to Make Good Money Writing Online, expires tonight.

Graphic: Stock.xchng – svilen001