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16 Sep 10 Freelance Writing – Confused about samples?

The worst part of a freelance writing career is uncertainty. A freelance writer, unlike a staff writer, has to search for gigs every now and then, and each time he needs to show some samples in order to get the work. And this is where problem starts, and contrary to common perception, the more experienced you are, the more jitter the idea of showing samples give.

What samples to show and what not to show, and how many to show? These questions often haunt a freelance writer, more so because there is no one right answer to this. Every client is different so is there demand, and so is the solution to that.

The question is then how to decide what to show and what not to show? As said, there is not any definite answer to this question, but I can tell you about what I do when it comes to hunting writing gigs. That will help you devise your plan of action.

How to decide which sample to show

What clients want?

The first step in the process is to see what client is asking for, as sending relevant samples is what you should do. Sending a sample of how-to article to a client who wants a sales page will do no good. Similarly sending a sample of an article to one who is asking for a press release will also not get you the job.

Have you written on the topic?

If you have written on the topic related to project advertise then send that sample, but while doing so do keep the following tip in mind.

When did you write that one?

This is very important. We all grow one article at a time, so sending a sample that you wrote 2 or 3 years back will do more harm than good, as it will not demonstrate you current style. Do not mistake in thinking that writing style is static; rather nothing is more organic than writing style. The more you write the better you become. You should, therefore, send the samples that you wrote in last month, or last to last month. Do not send any sample that you wrote more than 6 months back.

How many

As many as required to get the work. This is a judgment call you have to take. If the work advertised is going to last long than I provide more samples and if it is a small project then I do not send too many samples, or too many types of samples. It also depends on what a client is asking for.

This is how I decide on what samples to send and how many to send. I hope this will help you decide as well.

Tags: 3 Years, , , , , , , , , , Relevant Samples, Staff Writer, Uncertainty, Writing Samples,

10 Feb 10 Freelance writing – Have You Read Your Job Description?

If you thought by choosing freelance writing as a career you will just write, write, and do nothing else then let me prick the balloon. Your client wants many more things from you. Do not get scared, you will not be asked to do any fancy stuff like coding, scripting, PPC campaigns, and all.

Then what other works a client will demand?

Basically, you will be asked to do stuffs related to writing only. And in my career, primarily I have been asked to do following types of work (other than writing):

  • Many clients have asked me to do like keyword research, for writing purpose only. This actually is not all that bad. It helped me conceptualize the article or press release while researching.
  • At times, clients also asked me to submit articles to various social bookmarking sites. I helped my clients with 2-3 submissions, at max. I do not think I would have agreed to submit an article to 100 or so social bookmarking sites. It would have been waste of time for me, but for 3-4, I never said no.
  • Clients may also ask for content suggestions, and about other things he can do to meet his goal. This in fact is an opportunity in disguise to cross sell other services that you offer. If you are writing only articles for your client then you may suggest him to use press release to get some link juice, or may be forum posting and all.
  • I have also given some marketing and SEO suggestions to my clients. Depending upon your background (I have my background in marketing), you can either say yes or politely say no.

Word of caution

Do not say no to your clients’ request, at least not directly, if you can help him. And also do not ask for money for every suggestion that you offer—I know people who do so—because it looks cheap. For that work you may get paid, but it will reflect badly on your professionalism. You may lose the client.

If the work is going to take hours of your work then say this to client, and if it is going to take hardly 10-15 minutes then do not bother. It also depends upon your relationship with your client.

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19 Oct 09 When to Bid Freelancing Adieu?

When to bid freelancing adieu? This is a question that everyone asks us. A similar question is should I bid it adieu for other things?

The answer to both the questions is the age old “it depends.”

I know this answer sounds boring and it does not actually say anything. That is why I decided to write a brief post to describe when one should leave freelancing or one should leave it alone.

Should I Switch?

The decision to leave freelancing or not depends upon the answers to the following questions:

  1. What will you do if not freelancing?
  2. Can you support your family and yourself during the “switch period”?
  3. Are you sure that you want to make a switch?
  4. Is the switch worth the effort?
  5. Are you confident that your clients will accept you in the new role?
  6. Do you have what it takes to make a switch?

Switching career is not an easy task and you already know it. You first tested the sour water of switching when you switched from a full-time job to freelance work; therefore, you must be aware of the kinds of issues one faces when one decided to switch. After a switch, you will again be a fresher in the field. Hence, you should be prepared to fight the same battle that you fought when you first switched from full-time job to freelancing.

What should I do?

You can go for any career you want after free lancing, but there are some career choices which are more related to the works you have done as freelancer. Hence, before you bid adieu to freelancing let’s consider what career choices you have.

  1. You can become a consultant. If you are a freelance writer, you can become writing consultant.
  2. You can become a coach. A press release writer can become a better press release writing coach.
  3. You can start a freelance agency. After working on many assignments for many years, you must know the nuances of freelancing business. Then why not become a freelancing hub that takes work from companies and redistribute among other freelancer.
  4. You can become a freelancer manager for some company.
  5. You can start writing on freelance career choices.

When to switch?

After knowing what you can do, it is time to know when you should switch. In order to find that out, you need to answer the following question to know when to switch from freelancing to another career.

  1. How many years have you been into this? To become a coach, writer or consultant you need to have many years of experience.
  2. Do you think you have acquired enough skill to manage a freelancing business?
  3. Can you be a good negotiator? You must know to negotiate both from clients and freelancers, as it is important for you to make money as a freelance business owner.
  4. Do you know everything that is there to learn to switch from freelancing to consultation?

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