Keeping with my theme of cold calling tips, I wanted to discuss some of the many things you should never say when contacting a prospect out of the blue. 1. Is this a good time to talk? Simply put, people are looking for a reason to hang up the phone. If you say this, you are giving the person an immediate out. They will almost
It’s that time again! The kids are going back to school! This means my house will in an uproar for a few weeks while we try to get everyone and everything settled again for the school year. While you might expect me to celebrate my kids going back to school as a sign that I’ll have more time in the day to write, I am
The first time I lost a big client, I was devastated. The second time, I was angry. By the third time, I realized it’s just part of the business and there’s no use getting emotional over it unless it happens right before going on vacation. Clients come and clients go. That’s the ebb and flow of freelance projects. Businesses change and sometimes your services may no
I met with a local State Farm agent recently about getting errors & omissions coverage for my freelance writing, blogging, and publishing services. I received notice this morning that they won’t cover my business. The reason? They said their policies don’t cover: Freelance Writers Bloggers Publishers Web content developers Website managers / owners Um… okay? We’re talking about a kind of insurance that’s not exactly
Have you always wanted to be a travel writer? Do you long to see your byline next to some great pictures and a narrative about a cool place to visit? Do you want to know how to get there? I’ve mentioned the first part of this before–but it bears repeating. In my humble opinion, writing about where you live is the best way to break
I’ve decided to make some changes to my plans for the Web Writer’s Guide e-book. Rather than updating it and moving on with a series, it will remain as-is. Sometime in the next few months I’ll pull it off the market, and much of the information in that e-book will be worked into print books or e-books in the Query-Free Freelancer series. The problem with sticking with the Web
By now, you all know that I like to talk about cold calling. For whatever reason, I find this to be one of the most intriguing methods of marketing my services. Not to mention the fact that there is no greater thrill than making a call, finding an interested party, and closing a deal. Of course, things don’t always work out as planned. A couple
After many years, I went on a vacation last week. The trip was great, of course, except for one small detail. About two days before we left for Colorado and the cool mountain breezes, my largest client “changed direction” overnight. My primary contact was laid off and my regular blogging commitments stopped effective immediately. Not exactly the sort of send off I was hoping for,
When it comes to freelance writing work where you have to market yourself to clients, I generally suggest not only specializing, but choosing no more than a few specialties. Beyond that, I suggest choosing specialties with similar markets so your promotional work goes farther. But I have an exception to that rule — when I develop my own sites. I’m not only a freelance writer.
People are always shocked when I tell them I’m a full-time freelance writer. Invariably, they want to know how much I make and how I can afford to pay my bills on the money I make from writing. I don’t blame them. Before I started writing full-time, I was one of those people completely oblivious to the fact that writing was a legitimate source of
When you work as a freelance writer, you probably don’t have someone who can fill in for you when you become ill. You might have deadlines set well in advance that can’t be re-worked. And when it comes to chronic problems, you probably just have to find a way to work through things. Even the best laid plans could take a serious hit from an
When you work as a freelance writer you will soon find one thing to be true: there are times when you are super busy and it seems like every deadline lands on the same day. Along with this, there are times when you are not nearly as busy and are searching for new work. With this in mind, you may often struggle with the question
I have a bit of a confession to make. I haven’t gone on a real vacation in about ten years. I know. Shoot me now. I do have some good reasons for the lack of travel. My husband is a homebody so he’s not struck with wanderlust. When I do travel, I’m usually going to see family for a few days with plenty of obligations
In the U.S. political space, “outsourcing” has become a dirty word with the focus being companies that outsource American jobs to lower wage countries. But outsourcing in and of itself isn’t bad. It’s frequently done domestically too. You wouldn’t even have a job as a freelance writer if it weren’t for outsourcing — that’s what every one of your clients does every time they hire you.
Taking out a loan, especially a mortgage, when you’re self-employed is hard. Because lenders see self-employment income as risky and unpredictable, the lending standards are a lot harsher for us than for other workers. Before the mortgage crisis, freelancers had an easier time getting major loans. Many banks offered “no doc” or “low doc” loans that required little to no income documentation. Now, you can
One of the biggest perks of freelancing is the fact that we can set our own schedules. But how should you set that schedule? How do you determine what your working hours will be? My “normal” working hours are 5:00 am – 12:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. But that doesn’t mean I always stick to that, especially now that I have my husband’s schedule to think about.
When we work from home as freelancers, sometimes we don’t have much control over our work environment. For example, some writers work from their kitchen tables. A benefit of working in a pre-established area of the home is that you don’t have to worry about furnishing a separate office space. But what if you do have a freelance office, but not a huge budget to furnish it?
The first time you pick up the phone to make a cold call your stomach will likely feel uneasy. Don’t worry, you are not alone – this is quite natural. After all, you are getting involved with something that you are not familiar with. On top of this, the act of cold calling has received a bad reputation over the years. Although you may have
Want to write for a nice glossy magazine? If the answer to that question is a “yes” – I have a question for you… How often do you read them? If you want to make a career out of writing for magazines reading matters. This is especially true if you are hoping to get an essay published in your favorite print publication. Think of it
It’s not an unusual question. We all wonder from time to time if this world of freelancing from home is worth the extra time and effort it takes to be successful. Naturally we usually find plenty of reasons that it is, in fact, worth the hassles and stress. To name a few: freelance writers who work at home enjoy schedule flexibility, more time with family,
Recently I was looking over one of my favorite resources on book outlining — Karen Wiesner’s First Draft in 30 Days. Toward the end of the book she has a section on outlining your career as an author, including a one-year plan and multi-year planning. It was a bit of a kick in the pants (given that I forgot this section existed). You see, I have plenty
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is legal. While there’s still much debate on whether it’s the right move for the people and the economy, the provisions of the law provide significant benefits for self-employed workers like us freelance writers. If you have private health insurance or you’re covered under a spouse’s health insurance, nothing much will change for
Some work days as freelancers are easy. We wake up ready to face the day. We enjoy the projects we’re working on. And everything seems to go as planned. Then there are days when nothing seems to go right. I’ve had several of these lately — from backlogged work I’m still trying to catch up on to a neighbor who disrupts almost every work day
Like most people, regardless of industry, if you don’t achieve success with cold calling early on you are going to forget about this marketing strategy forever. But before you give up for good, take a closer look at the three bits of advice below. By making these changes to your approach, you may soon find yourself generating more business than you ever imagined possible. 1.
I was browsing through a popular working mom forum recently and found a popular thread that was both interesting and disturbing. In the thread, moms were discussing their work schedule – a popular topic I like to discuss as well. On the forum, the moms were describing how much of their day they spend dedicated to writing part-time and it disturbed me. A lot. The
“The thing some folks don’t understand about sacrifice… Sometimes it’s more of a trade (The Skeleton Key).” One of the things I hated the most about a regular 9-5 was missing out on beautiful weather. Those first few nice days of Spring when it’s sunny and warm, but you’re stuck behind a desk and the sun is setting by the time you get off work
As a freelance writer, one of the biggest challenges you will face is creating a marketing plan that works. If you are not marketing your services appropriately you may have a difficult time keeping enough work in your pipeline. While it is safe to say that you are sending cold emails and queries through the mail (and maybe even cold calling), you may be overlooking
Freelance writing can be very stressful. Some months new clients are beating down your door (well, email account). The next month, you’re scrambling to write grocery lists for a little bit of cash. It all comes and goes so fast and it’s tough to maintain a monthly rhythm. Which is why when quarterly estimated taxes come along many freelancer writers just wave their hands in
There are those among us who can only work when the conditions are just right. They must have the right music or show on in the background. They must have their ergonomic chair positioned just so and their office door opened exactly three inches to allow for cross ventilation while blocking 93 percent of all regular household noises. I’m not that person. Nor is any
Most magazine writers don’t start out getting published in Cosmopolitan or Travel + Leisure. Breaking into the bigger magazine market typically comes after you’ve built a stable of clips from smaller publications that show you have the “chops” to handle a big assignment. Although it is certainly possible to get a gig in a mainstream mag, local magazines offer a great opportunity as well. You