5 Lessons for Budding Freelance Content Writers
Hacks to get better, faster, and earn more money in freelancing
--
Budding freelancers are often perplexed about projects, focus, earning, and improvement. I have been there and still feel dispirited at times, but the techniques I follow, the communities I participate in, the opportunities that I attract, and the money I earn gets me back on track. You can do the same. I am sharing five lessons that, if you adopt at an early stage of freelancing, would help you throughout your career.
Cut Down on Distractions
When you sit working on a project ensure that distractions are more than a hand away.
The biggest distraction is your mobile; unless you are expecting something important to receive, put mobile on do-not-disturb mode and place at some distance. This advice seem so generic, but urge to check mobile, unnecessary scrolling, checking twitter or LinkedIn, etc., are time consuming and usually derails the thought process and delays the assignment.
When you work on an assignment make sure you are in your working space and away from any kind of distraction be it mobile, friends, family, traffic noise or any other thing.
Initially it will be a hard task to stay focused on the work rather than diverting mind and indulging in time consuming activities on the name of break, but trust me, once your master yourself to stay focused on the work you’ll write better, faster, and ultimately would make more dollars.
Your are more worthy than you think
Being modest is fine, but doubting, degrading, and deterring yourself is not at all acceptable. You can trust me when I say —
You are more worthy than you think.
When starting out my freelancer content writing journey, I also doubt myself same like you. I could not decide my self-worth and the right price for my work. I underestimated myself and quote on the lowest side for my services even when client was ready to pay me twice of the amount I asked.
I do not want you to repeat the mistake I did in my early days. Always quote more than what you think that you should charge especially when you are starting out your freelancing journey. Be your own cheerleader and quote your charges with conviction in your work and abilities. In this way, you will be paid mostly more than your modest price thought.
Exploit your Productive window
We all have a productive window during the 24 hour cycle of the day, when we feel most alive, motivated, and focused. You need to identify your productive window and ensure that you utilizes that time frame completely. By taking advantage of Productive Window you can bring high productivity and efficiency.
Dragging yourself to work will yield inefficiency and unproductivity. In contrary, when you are excited for a project, have a larger picture in mind, and work in your productive window you achieve phenomenal results.
Beside utilizing Productive Windows, set a writing time when you just sit and write for a certain period. The writeup can be from project to medium post to LinkedIn post to your thoughts or opinion on a news or anything else. This will built up a writing habit and will bring flow in the writing over the time.
Expand your freelance network
Depending upon one platform or just a few clients for projects will be a hindrance to your growth prospects. Once you enter into freelancing space, you need regular projects to feel secure and confident. Regular inflow of work also ensure steady income to meet your expenses.
In the initial days of my career as freelancer, I signed up with one platform only for content writing projects. It used to be a frustrating day when I did not get a project. I used to stare screen and refresh the website in the hope of a notification for the work. This was naïve of me besides being waste of time, productivity loss, and self doubt.
Do not limit yourself to one freelancing project platform, one client, one service, and one skill.
Invest in your skills
Most of us focuses solely on the earning and ignore the investment part completely. This is not just the case with freelance writers, but a general phenomenon irrespective of the career field.
Your skill is your most valuable asset as a freelancer. If you are determined to make big in the game of writing, invest a substantial part of your earnings and time in learning skills. Developing refined skills is your cruise to securing esteemed clients and better earnings, as well as opportunity and satisfaction.
I am sure if you follow these five lessons that I learned on the way, you will be much ahead of the race. These basic yet revolutionary lessons will help you improve focus, writing, and earning.
Tell me how you liked it?
Happy writing!
Here’s a FREE Content Writer Checklist for you to improve the writing skills and earn your first dollar. Get models for acquiring right skills and ways to earn money writing online.
