The Easy & Difficult Way to Build a Freelance Content Writing Career
Know the inner secrets of a writer’s mind
My writing career was at a standstill.
A minuscule audience, and hardly any writing assignments.
I was writing regularly on my blog, and public blogs like Medium and Substack but I was not getting noticed.
Then a writer friend (who cracked the secret of success) spilled the beans.
“Plant and grow a Chinese bamboo tree,’’ he said to an incredulous me, “It is the secret of success.’’
Develop the Chinese Bamboo Farmer’s Mindset
For a Chinese bamboo plant to start growing, it needs watering and fertilizing for 5 years.
Yes, 5 long years.
Imagine pouring water every day on the empty lifeless ground for that long.
Only after an excruciating wait of 5 years, does it break through the ground surface.
And then, it grows to 90 feet in 5 weeks.
Patience is the key for a Chinese bamboo farmer.
To succeed in a freelance writing career, you must be ready for the long wait.
Unlearn and Relearn
If you write a report or an essay, adopting a formal style is perfect.
The way we learn to write in school is appropriate for them.
But writing in real life means you must establish a connection between yourself and the reader. There is no way you can write in an impersonal way.
Whether you are writing marketing copy, website content, a story, or a novel, it is essential to generate curiosity, empathy, and emotional connection.
Then there are different platforms. The way you should write on Twitter is different from the way you write a cart abandonment email for an e-commerce business.
Writing a LinkedIn post is vastly different from writing a sales page copy.
But the good news is that you can learn all of the fundamentals online. Free of cost, mostly. Your willingness to unlearn and relearn is the only requirement.
Develop a Thick Skin
If you’re serious about your writing career, you have to develop a thick skin.
There is no way you can be touchy, and you must take the rough with the smooth.
My best writings are often edited out of shape and even rejected.
Can’t be sentimental about them. Can’t be a crybaby.
Rejections, Rejections, Rejections
Rejections often hurt, as they are most of time unjustified. That is, from your point of view.
However, they are part of any writing career, unless you self-publish your book of poetry once in a while.
Almost all writers who are famous today faced multiple rejections of their works, and that didn’t stop them.
Clients will tell you to rework your greatest sales page copy and ask for another piece of social media post.
And often, your audience will also reject your writing.
But you must push on, regardless.
If you’re upset about these things, writing is not for you.
No Shoulder to Cry on
A freelance writer’s life is lonely.
Nobody else will understand your innermost thoughts, ideas, struggles, joys, and sorrows.
You will have no shoulder to cry on, nobody to share your defeats because no one will empathically understand.
Of course, these days you can join a cohort of freelance writers on Twitter or LinkedIn, and share some of your wins and losses.
Hit the Hammer, Again & Again
Succeeding as a freelance writer is a matter of consistent action without getting bored.
Even if your yesterday’s content did not turn out very well, write another one today.
Shake off the unkind words of your client and impress with your next piece.
Grow an audience — on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, or LinkedIn. It will take time to take off but you must persist.
The price of being a freelance writer is being an optimist while facing doomsday.
Getting Horny in a Crowded Shopping Mall
There is no point in being aroused when nobody knows about it in a crowded shopping mall.
You must start your outreach program.
Send direct messages. Cold email them. Try to contact through referrals.
In short, try everything to bag a client.
And don’t ever stop, otherwise, you will get into that ‘fast or feast’ sequence.
Even if you have your hands full, continue your marketing.
Crossing the Hump
If you do these long enough, you will surely cross the hump one day.
The Chinese bamboo plant will break out of the ground.
Getting Better by Doing
You will know if writing is your calling when you practice it regularly, preferably every day. You cannot be a master if you don’t love it.
I found it very difficult once I took some time off writing.
The blank screen stared at a clueless me.
But if you persist, this can be a rewarding career, not only earning you a decent amount but conferring on you the ability to influence people.
In today’s world, getting attention is a superpower. You can do that with your writing.
The ability to convert that attention to money is pure bliss.
