In the early days of my freelance career, I wrote a ton. I was proud of myself for having so many articles and blog posts under my belt. But that didn’t last long. As I got older, I realized that there is more to freelance writing than just being prolific. It’s a lot harder than it sounds!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Diversify Your Client Base |
| Building a diverse client base helps mitigate the risk of relying too heavily on a single client or industry. |
| 2. Focus on Long-Term Relationships |
| Cultivating long-term relationships with clients fosters stability and a steady flow of work. |
| 3. Develop Specialized Skills |
| Acquiring specialized skills enhances your marketability and allows you to command higher rates. |
| 4. Prioritize Self-Care and Work-Life Balance |
| Balancing work and personal life is crucial for sustainable freelancing and avoiding burnout. |
| 5. Continuously Upgrade Your Business Skills |
| Investing in business skills like marketing, negotiation, and financial management helps sustain and grow your freelancing career. |
You Don’t Have A Money Management System
You need a money management system. It’s not enough to just be a prolific freelancer. You’ll get yourself into serious trouble, especially if you don’t have any idea how much money you’re making and spending.
You need to know where your money is going and how much of it is available so that when an important expense comes up (like replacing the tires on your car), you won’t be blindsided by the cost and unable to cover it without taking out another loan or asking for help from others.
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You Haven’t Defined Your Service & Product Range
A service is a set of tasks that are performed by the provider. Typically, services are provided in exchange for money. Examples of services include:
- Writing articles
- Teaching yoga classes
- Designing logos, websites, and print materials
- A product is something that you offer to your customer to solve their problem (or complete their desired task). Examples of products include:
- A logo design package that includes three logo concepts with revisions and final files (ready for use)
- A website template customized with your branding elements and ready for use on your domain
You Do Not Know Who Your Ideal Client Is
It is important to understand who your ideal client looks like. You need to know what they look like when they walk into your studio, how they talk, how they dress, and how they interact with their team.
Your ideal client should be someone who comes in with an open mind and a willingness to learn from you. They should be willing to invest time in the process of getting better at what you do instead of just paying for a quick fix by buying something off the shelf that may not be right for them in the long run (which happens all too often).
They also need to have a clear understanding of why hiring you makes sense for their organization or company as well as being able to see themselves trusting you with their brand and money.
More often than not this means having an established relationship before signing on as one of your clients which can take years sometimes if done right! But it’s worth it because once established good word-of-mouth marketing will lead more people towards working together eventually which is great news 🙂
You Haven’t Set A Price For Your Services & Products
You need to be able to charge what you’re worth. You need to know that if someone comes in and offers somewhere between $30k and $100k for your services/products, you can say yes or no based on whether or not it’s worth it.
And since no one is going to give you a blank check (not even me), you need to be able to price yourself appropriately so that when someone offers a fair amount of money, they can afford it.
You also have the potential of attracting the wrong clients so many people want cheap stuff because they value themselves too little (or don’t know any better).
When I started my business as an assistant director for film crews, I would’ve done anything for anyone who paid me even if they were unprofessional or mean-spirited (and there were plenty). I would go into debt trying to help them finish their projects so that I could get paid!
This was a bad way of thinking about my career path: If everyone pays me $1 an hour, how do I ever expect anyone else in this world to pay top dollar?
But once I changed my mindset from “I’m desperate for work” to “I am going after only those clients who respect my skill set and time” everything changed! Not only did more work come my way but also better quality work with respectful colleagues who could afford what they were asking me for!
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You Don’t Have A Sales Funnel (Or You Don’t Know What That Is)
You need a sales funnel through a step-by-step process that helps you build relationships with clients and get paid.
Sales funnels are all about generating leads, converting those leads into customers, and then closing the sale by making more money from them (rather than continuously chasing new work). A sales funnel will help you get more clients and make more money in your business.
A good funnel should have three steps: attraction, engagement, and conversion (AEC). Attracting people who are interested in what you do, engaging them so they stay interested for longer than a second before forgetting about it altogether, converting them into paying customers who keep coming back for more.
You Have No Claimable USP Or Brand Identity
What Is A Usp?
A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a way of highlighting what makes you stand out from your competitors. It’s the one thing that you have to offer that nobody else can. Ideally, this would be something like “I have 20 years of experience in the industry,” or “My writing has been featured in Forbes magazine.”
A good USP should be clear and easy to understand, but also something that sets you apart from others who are offering similar services or products.
Why Does Having A Usp Matter?
If you don’t have a strong USP, it’s difficult for potential customers to know what separates your business from others and why they should hire YOU specifically instead of someone else!
If someone wants to hire someone with graphic design skills for their start-up company, how do they choose between two freelancers who both say they’re skilled at designing logos and websites?
It might seem like nothing is separating them…but there could be if one says “I’m great at branding!” while another says “I’ve got five years’ experience.” This could make all the difference when deciding which person gets signed up as client number one!
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You Haven’t Done Enough Research & Competitive Analysis
As a freelancer, you are competing with other freelancers. You may not think of yourself as competing since you are all working to provide the same services.
However, it is important to know how your competitors are marketing themselves and what they offer to understand how you can be different.
You need to know what your competitors’ strengths are, as well as their weaknesses (and then do something about them!). If one competitor seems to be doing better than others in certain areas, then maybe there’s a way that you can also improve upon these areas so that they can’t compete with you.
Your Marketing Strategy Is Unclear, Unfocused, Unstructured, And Incomplete
You don’t know what you want. You can’t expect your clients to know what you want if you don’t have an answer for them. And if you don’t have a clear idea of where your business is going, how are they supposed to feel confident in hiring you?
When I say “clear idea,” I’m talking about being able to articulate what it is that makes your services valuable, both in terms of price and quality. The more specific and detailed the better this will help with targeting potential clients who need a solution that fits their needs exactly.
It’s also important to set goals for yourself: it helps keep things organized and gives direction when things get dark or challenging along the way.
Being ambitious with these goals should be inspiring enough so as not to seem like just another chore and create tangible measures for success such as the number of sales made per week/month/quarter and other metrics based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
You Haven’t Given Any Thought To Your Brand’s Color Palette And Fonts
Colors are important because they can help you communicate with your audience in a way that’s consistent and familiar to them. You want to use colors that are relevant to your brand color can be used as an identifier for the type of content or message you’re trying to convey.
Colors also have an emotional impact on people, so it’s good practice not only to choose colors based on their meaning but also to make sure those meanings align with what you’re trying to say through them.
Fonts are another thing that can make all the difference when it comes time for people to see your work the right font will be easy on the eyes, memorable, and visually pleasing without being distracting or hard to read (which might distract from your message).
It’s worth taking some time now before launching into freelancing so that when clients start contacting you later down the line they’ll feel confident enough knowing who they’re dealing with based solely on what kinds of visual cues exist around their initial interactions with said person/brand/company entity thingy.”
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Your Website Is Horrible. It’s Not Responsive, It Doesn’t Perform Well On Mobile Devices And It Looks Like It Was Built In 1999
If you want to be a successful freelancer, your website needs to be an extension of your brand. It’s the first impression that potential clients will have of you and it should reflect the kind of professional service they’ll get if they hire you.
A few things to remember:
Your website should be responsive and mobile-friendly. This means that when someone visits your site on their phone or tablet, it will adjust automatically so that everything is easy for them to read and interact with.
Your site also needs to look good across all devices (desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones), so don’t ignore this important step!
A great way to ensure that visitors can easily navigate around your site is by using breadcrumb navigation links in each page header or footer (they’re those little arrows at the top or bottom).
These are helpful because they allow visitors who may have gotten lost within your pages quickly find their way back home again without having any problems finding what they’re looking for again later down the road.”
When People Reach Out To You, They Never Receive A Response From You Even Worse, They Get An Email Saying “Please Wait 24 Hours For A Response.”
- Respond to emails within 24 hours.
- Respond to emails within an hour.
- Respond to emails within 30 minutes.
- Respond to emails within 15 minutes.
- Respond to emails within 5 minutes.
- Respond to emails within 2 minutes.
- Respond to emails within 1 minute
You Aren’t Building Authority And Influence Through Social Media
There are a lot of ways to build authority and influence on social media, but I’ve found the most effective way is by creating content that people want to share with their connections.
For this strategy to work well, you need to have great content. The better your content is, the more likely someone will share it with their friends or followers on social media.
If they like what they read, then they’ll be more likely to connect with you in some way (whether it’s subscribing via email or following on Twitter).
As long as your content continues to be relevant and helpful for people who follow your blog or podcast on iTunes/Spotify/SoundCloud/etc., then there will always be someone out there willing to share it with others around them who would also benefit from listening through their ears instead of reading through their eyes (which might not necessarily happen overnight).
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Nobody Knows What To Expect From Your Blog
Your blog is a standalone entity, which means that it’s not connected to your website or social media channels in any way – even if there are some links in the sidebar or footer:
- The blog is not connected to product pages and service pages
- The blog is not connected to contact pages and other blogs on your site (if you have them)
- The blog is not connected to newsletter subscriptions (if you have one)
Conclusion
Going back to the story, it is important that we take care of ourselves and not expect the world to do so.
We must know when we have reached a point where we need to be more careful in handling things before it’s too late. We may think that our health will be okay for now but believe me, it doesn’t work that way.
As soon as you start feeling tired during a workday, stop. Take some rest until you feel better again and avoid burning yourself out because you won’t be able to function well if your body shuts down on you.
It is only us who can take care of ourselves and no one else would do it for us. If you are working in the freelancing industry, you should always keep this in mind otherwise your career would end up prematurely due to exhaustion or even worse what happened with my friend Johny (mentioned earlier).
Further Reading
Here are some additional articles to explore related to the topic:
Reasons Why a Freelancer Career May Not Be for You: Discover the potential challenges and considerations that may indicate freelancing is not the right career path for you.
Why Freelancing May Not Be Right for You: Learn about the factors to consider when deciding if freelancing aligns with your professional goals and lifestyle.
What Scares You the Most as a Freelancer?: Delve into the common fears and concerns faced by freelancers and find strategies to overcome them.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about freelancing:
1. Is freelancing a stable career choice?
Freelancing offers flexibility but can have fluctuations in income and project availability. It requires self-motivation and adaptability to maintain a stable career.
2. How do I set my freelance rates?
Setting freelance rates involves considering factors like your experience, market rates, and desired income. Researching industry standards and evaluating your unique value can help you determine appropriate rates.
3. What are the challenges of freelancing?
Freelancing comes with challenges such as inconsistent income, managing clients and projects, self-promotion, and maintaining work-life balance. It requires discipline and effective time management skills.
4. How do I find freelance clients?
Finding freelance clients involves leveraging various strategies such as networking, creating an online portfolio, using freelance job platforms, attending industry events, and seeking referrals from existing clients.
5. How can I manage my finances as a freelancer?
Managing finances as a freelancer includes setting a budget, tracking expenses, saving for taxes, and considering insurance and retirement planning. Seeking professional advice from an accountant or financial planner can be beneficial.
What Is The Difference Between A Prolific Freelancer And A Successful Freelancer?
The difference is that to be successful, you have to know how to get clients who pay you well. And this is not just about being prolific. It’s about being able to sell yourself and your skills so that you can get paid what you deserve. Being prolific doesn’t do that for you automatically it’s just a good start!
What Is A Prolific Freelancer?
A prolific freelancer is someone who can produce a lot of work in a short amount of time. They are also able to manage multiple projects simultaneously, which allows them to take on more clients (and ultimately make more money).
This is all good news if you want to be a prolific freelancer!
But being prolific does not mean that you will be successful. It can hurt your business if you don’t have the right mindset about it. If you’re looking for long-term success as a freelancer, then these tips will help you avoid some common mistakes:
- Don’t do too many things at once
- Don’t try too hard when writing your pitch or applying for jobs
- Don’t write pitches that are too long
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.