Lately, we have been discussing cold calling as a marketing method quite a bit. For example, my last post touched on how to discuss freelance pricing during a cold call. This time around, I want to take a closer look at when you should be making cold calls. If you are going to spend time on the phone, you might as well give yourself the best chance of success. Note: While there are some general rules of thumb to follow, don’t be shy about experimenting with a variety of schedules. Here are three tips that will help you iron out …
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If you read my previous blog post, you’ll know that over the past few years I’ve gone from being a part time freelance writer, regularly pitching for projects, to working in a full time role, hiring freelance writers for content production on an array of different topics. When I was freelance writing myself full time, I thought I had a good idea of just what those people hiring writers were looking for. While I’m not saying I had a perfect success record when it came to applying for gigs – far from it – I liked to think I knew …
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One of the topics we’re focusing on this month is freelance blogging. This is one path toward professional blogging (alongside being a Web publisher in your own right by managing and monetizing your own blogs). If you enjoy blogging for your own business, maybe it’s something you’ll want to consider doing for clients too. So let’s get some feedback from people who are already working as freelance bloggers, so you can decide if it’s a good fit for you or not. Here are some articles that might be of interest to freelance bloggers or those interested in beginning a freelance …
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As an English teacher, I have a strategy that usually works for struggling and reluctant writers. If they claim to not be able to write something, I ask them to tell me the story or response to address the prompt. Then, after they tell me a sentence or two, I repeat it back to a student and tell him to write it down. Kid says, “So, when my parents got divorced I was really upset for a long time.” I say, “Okay. Write down ‘when…my…parents…got…divorced…’” It gives them enough of a boost to put something on the paper, and as …
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By: Anthony Chatfield Of all the obstacles faced by a freelance writer, one of the biggest is the endless worry a client has going into a new project. Deadlines. Communication. Attention to detail. Whether they had a bad experience before or just read too many horror stories from their colleagues, these clients expect the worst. How then do you alleviate these fears before a project begins and ensure each of your clients sees your work with fresh eyes? Here are a few strategies I use for just such situations. Fear of Misunderstanding It might feel like a project starts and …
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Writing for print is tricky in a number of ways, but one of the most important–and the most difficult–is having a strong voice and being able to adapt it to the style of the publication you are querying. Some writers may already have a voice that they use and are comfortable with. That’s a great thing, but there is typically one problem that goes along with that…they stop improving it. If you have a “voice” that you have cultivated, don’t assume that it will grow and develop on its own. You have to nurture it, and you have to allow …
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For most people transitioning into full-time freelance writing or freelance writing on the side for awhile, there will undoubtedly be a period of time that you’re managing two kinds of income: income from freelance writing and income from a regular job. Or if you’re a writer who’s married to or cohabitating with someone who earns a regular income, the two of you may also face the challenge of managing two types of income. Freelance writing income alone can be tough to manage because it can be highly irregular. Couple that with income from a regular job and it’s natural to …
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By: Jennifer Dunn Who really loves your business? Of course you do, but you don’t count. A better question is: which portion of the public out there really loves your freelance writing business? You’d like to think everyone who has the need for a writer loves your business, but that’s simply not the truth. Not everyone is going to love your business nor will they be able to use the services you provide. Acting like that’s even remotely possible can be a huge burden to your company. That’s why, in my humble opinion, many smart writers find a niche to …
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For many freelance writers, marketing is the “hot topic” of the day. Not only are these people looking for a marketing strategy that works, but they want to rely on something that doesn’t take up all their time. If this sounds familiar, you have probably given cold calling a second thought at some point in time. This is something we have discussed before. For example, we have talked about everything from cold calling nightmares to questions you may be asked and many topics in between. This time around, let’s consider this: you are on the phone with a prospect, after …
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Last time I wrote a blog post here on AllFreelanceWriting.com was way back in June 2010. Working with Jenn on a variety of other projects since, things have changed a lot over the past few years. When I used to write for AFW, I was writing part time. I had a full time job in a completely irrelevant field, working a standard 40 hour week and then I spent my evenings and weekends freelance writing. With my aim always being to make freelance writing my full time role, I’m happy to say that’s essentially what happened – and in the …
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