NEWSLETTER 2
Sometimes when you’ve been in business for a while, things can become a bit too routine. You can stick to things that are comfortable, or habits you’ve fallen into, and in the process your income might stop growing.
Now, for some freelancers, that’s perfectly fine.
If you’re earning enough to support yourself (and maybe a family), have retirement savings, are able to afford vacations, have health insurance you’re happy with, or whatever else you’d like, that comfortable position is great.
But what if you’ve become comfortable with something short of where you really want to be?
You might be tempted to tackle an entirely new niche. Or maybe you think the only way to grow is to significantly raise your rates and you’re worried you’ll lose too many clients.
Before you do anything drastic, consider this first.
Try Tweaking Your Targets
Big results don’t always require big changes. Sometimes thinking about things a bit differently will help you move to a new level in your freelance writing business.
Tweak what targets though?
Tweak Your Income Target
One place you can start is by adjusting how you think of your income goals.
For example, let’s say you’re used to writing for print publications. You think you could land more work in digital markets within your specialty area, but you’re hung up on the pay differences.
Maybe you’re used to being paid $1.00 per word, and the idea of writing online articles for $.50 per word puts you off.
That’s understandable. But it’s not always an equal comparison.
You can find gigs for online markets that may pay you less per word, but that pay you significantly more per hour.
It doesn’t always work that way.
Some online gigs have similar editorial processes and requirements of their print counterparts. But many don’t.
Understanding the difference and learning to seek out different kinds of markets can let you drastically increase your income while writing content that’s complimentary to your existing work.
As an example, while my “get out of bed” rate is $150 per hour, I’ve earned as much as $400 per hour writing online content (even more a few times over the years). My gigs frequently pay well over $200 per hour once I get comfortable with an ongoing client’s style, audience, and goals.
That works out better than many print writing gigs. I’m not saying to leave one for the other, but consider all your options if you aren’t earning what you’d like on a per-word basis.
When you focus on hourly earnings over per-article and per-word rates, you’ll find there are more high-paying gigs out there than it seems on the surface.
Tweak Your Target Market
Another place where minor adjustments can lead to major income boosts is your target market.
Let’s say your specialty is covering family and parenting topics for blogs. You’re featured on several of the bigger ones. You’re reasonably happy with your earnings. Your name is getting out there. But you aren’t sure what’s left to take you to another level.
In this case, you might tweak your target market by targeting businesses in that niche.
For example, you might reach out to manufacturers of baby products that new parents are interested in to see if they have a company blog or email newsletter.
Where can you find potential leads in a situation like this?
Start by looking at who advertises on the kinds of niche blogs you currently write for. You already know the target customers they’re looking to reach that way. Just make sure if your blogging clients hire you to write about one of those companies, you tell them about any working relationships up front and disclose them to readers if they choose to move forward.
Tweak Your Marketing Targets
Your marketing targets are a bit different than your target market. These are the places where you go, or the tools you use, to get yourself in front of potential clients.
For instance, if you use guest blogging as a way to build visibility and attract clients, chances are good you’re not doing it as effectively as you could.
A common mistake I see from freelance writers and other service professionals (including my own clients) is that they target the wrong hosts. For example, a freelance writer might guest post on a freelance writing blog.
That’s one thing if you’re promoting a resource for fellow freelancers. But it’s not a great way to reach freelance writing clients. You want to target host sites your potential clients read, not your colleagues.
It’s also not enough to target blogs in your general niche. Go back to the family and parenting example from earlier. Guest posting on consumer-oriented blogs isn’t going to be as effective for targeting clients as industry blogs (and other trade publications) read by key players at the companies you hope will hire you.
You don’t need to overhaul your business to get your earnings out of a rut. Think of these three areas as a place to start. Evaluate who you’re targeting and in what ways, and you’ll likely find new opportunities for growth have been right in front of you all along.
Jenn
