05 May 10 Freelance Writing – Should You Work for Free
In the beginning of a freelance writing career, every freelance writer stumbles across one or more clients who want him to work for free. I also got many enquiries, when I was starting out. And every time someone approached with an offer to write for him for free, or almost for free, I got a mix feeling — should I do it or should I leave it.
For an experienced writer the choice had not been very difficult, as he or she would have easily said no, but for a new writer who has very little to show to the clients in order to get work, it is not all that easy. And if you are on the same boat that I was on in the beginning of my career then you must be getting frustrated and all the weird feeling about freelance writing career.
Before you succumb under the burgeoning number of clients asking for free article, you must consider the following:
It is hard to convert a free client into a paying one
Once your client tests the blood (free blood), he is not going to pay for your service, even it means he will lose you. If you think, therefore, that you will be able to charge your client after giving him a taste of your blood then I am sorry to say this is not going to happen.
Free for how long?
This is the first question you should ask your client who asks you to do the writing for free. No one can write unlimited articles for free – it doesn’t matter how much free time one has, and even how bad one writes. You need to talk to your client and ask him what the preconditions for getting paid are. Ask him how long you need to write for free before he starts sending out checks.
Well, I cannot say how many articles you should write for free before asking for payment. It all depends on how far you can stretch it. If you ask me, I have never written more than 200 words for free. That is enough to show my client if I can write or not.
It builds portfolio
This is the one thing that always plays in the back of every new freelance writer’s mind, and this is what makes us accept the offer to write for free. But there is a limit to everything, so do not keep on writing to make your portfolio heavier and heavier. After all, who needs to look at your 100-page page portfolio before hiring you?
What will you get in return
The worst possible deal for a freelance writer writing for free could be to write under someone else’s name. Do not accept a free writing offer that does not allow you to put your name in the author’s box. This will not do good to you.
Deciding whether you should write for free or not is on you. I will refrain from giving unsolicited advice, as I do not know your situation. But I will recommend considering each of the points discussed above before saying yes to write for free offer.
Tags: Checks, Free Article, Free Time, Freelance Work, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing Career, One Thing, Preconditions, Time One, Weird Feeling
26 Mar 10 How Much Experience Do You Need to Start As a Freelance Writer?
None. Zilch. Nada. Zippo.
You do not need any experience to start with your freelance writing career. All you need is writing ability and determination to make it big. You need a lot of determination because I know many freelance writing aspirants who left the field just after a handful of failures.
No, it is not tough to break into this career, but it takes time before you start making significant sum of money. Initially, the growth rate may be slow, but eventually it will pick up. This is not the right career choice for those who want overnight success, as success comes slowly. I think it happens in every legit field.
What role does experience plays?
Although it does not matter if you have any experience of writing or not, but experience does play a part in your freelancing career. Experience does two things:
- Get you higher pay rate.
- Help you complete the assignment in significantly less time.
- It also helps you know beforehand how much time one project will require. You can use this knowledge to properly bill your clients.
Lack of experience will only result in lower rate and more assignment completion time. And I think, when starting out you can adjust with this. Do not give up, if your rate doesn’t increase in a month or 2 month or may be even in 6 month because the more time you are spending in this career the stronger is the chance of your success. Do not quit it now.
And who said you do not have experience?
Even if you have not written professionally, you must have written a lot of stuff—term paper, assignments, school and colleges essays, or even for school or college publications. Won’t you call it experience? I certainly will. After all, writing is writing is writing, no matter for what you write.
In terms of writing ability, you may already have what it takes to make it big in the freelance writing. If you are not sure then show your written pieces to someone whom you know is good at writing, and go by his opinion. If he says you need improvement then work on it. Nothing is here that you cannot do. All you need is sheer determination. Keep pushing, you will soon be there.
For your free writing success!
Tags: Big Lot, Break, Career Choice, Career Experience, College Publications, Colleges, Completion Time, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing Career, Handful, Knowledge, Lot, Nada, Overnight Success, Role Plays, School Essays, Stuff, Sum Of Money, Term Paper Assignments, Time One, Zilch, Zippo
The best DSL providers offer both reliability and speed.
Low cost and high quality provided by the top Website Hosting providers.
Meet Michael Fertik with Reputation.com.