Browse the All Freelance Writing collection of freelance business articles below.
This section covers the business side of freelance writing, from finding better clients and choosing a specialty to setting rates, growing income, and making smarter decisions about how you work.
Whether you’re just getting started or trying to strengthen an established business, these posts focus on practical realities, not vague freelance motivation.
A professional freelance writer website serves a specific purpose. It communicates what you do to prospects who visit it. And it should make it easy for those potential clients to hire you. The question isn’t whether or not you need a freelance writer website. These days, you do. Especially if you’re new to freelancing. Instead, the question is what your professional website should include. Below,
Are you happy with your freelance writer website? Does your professional site do enough as a marketing tool to attract prospects and help you convert them into clients? Do you even have a website yet? As strange as it sounds, this post has been a few years in the making. For quite some time I’ve wanted to do a round-up to showcase quality freelance writer websites to
This post contains an affiliate link to Peter Bowerman’s Well-Fed Craft course. For new freelance writers, one of the most common challenges I hear about is the fear that sets in when a client asks them to take on a freelance writing project they’ve never done before. For example, perhaps they usually write web copy, and a client asks them to write a case study.
Especially after this past year, I am left with precisely zero bullshit tolerance. That goes double when you spew nonsense advice in the direction of new freelance writers. They hear so much garbage, half-assed advice it’s a small miracle some of them survive even a year in business. So bring your BS my way, and I’ll leave you shoveling shit while I set you straight. What if
The type of freelance writing most often discussed here is business writing — anything from copywriting to freelance blogging. But there are paying markets for just about any type of writing you can think of — including creative writing like poetry and fiction. That’s what Daniel Cowick wanted to talk about when he submitted this question on freelance writing markets: I write poetry, prose, lyrics,
If you’re still toying with the idea of starting a freelance writing career, but you can’t work normal business hours, this one’s for you. Christian Simmons wanted to start freelancing, but with only weekends free for freelance writing work, they had concerns. Here’s Christian’s situation: How can I have a freelance writing business when the weekends are all I’ve got to write and see clients?
A lot of time has been spent on this blog talking about the basics of setting your freelance writing rates — figuring out how much you need to earn, figuring out how much that means you need to charge per hour, converting those hourly rate goals into project rates, etc. But what happens if you’re still new to freelancing and you have no idea how
You may be familiar with Peter Bowerman from his Well-Fed Writer book or blog. For years his book has been my top recommended reading material for new freelance writers. So I was thrilled to hear he was launching a new course on freelance commercial writing called Well-Fed Craft. When Peter asked me to review Well-Fed Craft, of course I said “yes.” Is Well-Fed Craft your ticket to a profitable
In all the years I’ve worked with fellow writers, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard colleagues just like you say you struggle with the lack of paid sick time and paid vacations you’d get from an employer. We’ve talked about this here before, but I want to remind you once more that, yes, we do get those things too. Our vacation time,
“Everything is a choice.” That’s what I told a fellow writer yesterday when he said he’d been feeling a bit stuck. More specifically, he said he felt like he had an “inability” to write recently. I pointed out it wasn’t an inability so much as an unwillingness to do what had to be done. Those stagnant moments weren’t a result of him being incapable of doing the work. He’s one
Sitting in front of you is a large block of clay. You’re taking a sculpting course at a local studio. You’ve already learned the basics. You have the skills you need to create something all your own. And that’s what your instructor wants you to do. What do you do? Do you wait for someone to tell you what to create? No. Do you look
For new freelance writers, choosing a niche can seem like a daunting task. You want to try a bit of everything and see what sticks. Or perhaps you don’t feel like you have enough experience to specialize at all right away. Yet you’ve heard there’s more money in freelance writing when you hone in on a niche. What’s a new freelancer to do? That’s what
Having a client-focused blog on your freelance writer website is a great idea. That’s especially true if you’re new to freelancing and need a boost in search engine and social media visibility. But what kind of blog should you run on your professional site? Should you share tutorials? Advice? News? Or should you take a more personal approach with storytelling? That’s what Meghan Coughlin wanted to know
Earlier this month, we caught up with two writers who used to be regular contributors to this blog — LaToya Irby and Rebecca Garland. Today an old reader favorite makes her return. Yolander (Yo) Prinzel is a freelance finance and insurance writer who specializes in ghostwriting now. She’s also one of my “go-to gals,” meaning she puts up with more of my rants and ridiculousness
Sharon Hurley Hall joins me for the latest episode of the All Freelance Writing Podcast. We chat about a wide range of issues related to freelance blogging. For example, you’ll learn: The difference between business blogging and niche / publication blogging (and benefits of each); The difference between blogging for small businesses and larger corporate clients; How much you can really earn as a freelance blogger (if
It’s time to catch up with another former regular contributor (from this blog’s days as All Freelance Writing). This week’s guest is Rebecca Garland. Rebecca covered not only issues related to being a work at home parent, but also grammar and ESL topics thanks to her experience as a high school English teacher in her full-time job. Rebecca has been writing for clients for 11 years now. Even
Freelance writers would be wise to specialize. I’ve given this advice for years, and for good reason. Whether you choose to specialize in a niche or industry (or even type of writing or type of client base), you’ll generally earn more as a specialist. But there are other benefits too, as today’s guest points out. In my interview series talking to freelance writers about their
When I first decided to go freelance I had no idea it would turn into a permanent life choice. At the time, I already had almost 20 years of solid journalism writing experience under my belt, but going online felt like an unfamiliar and slightly scary world. So I did what I do best: experimented till I found what worked. Looking back on it after
Before this site was re-branded in 2013 under the All Freelance Writing brand, it was known as All Freelance Writing. For a while, All Freelance Writing was a group blog with a handful of regular contributors. The site’s 10-year anniversary felt like a great time to reach out and reconnect with some of those writers. So, this month, four former contributors to the blog will
All Freelance Writing has served the freelance writing community for ten years now. And what a journey it’s been! Not only has this site changed significantly, going through two re-brandings — from SixFigureWriters.com to AllFreelanceWriting.com to AllFreelanceWriting.com, but the industry itself has changed quite a bit in that time. Some of those changes are good. Some, not so much. And lately we’ve even seen trends
Freelance specialization is something I’ve been passionate about for years. I’ve said it before to new freelance writers, and I’ll probably say it countless times again, but: “Clients don’t pay top freelance writing rates because you can string sentences together; they pay the best rates when you bring valuable knowledge and insight to the table.” That’s why specialists often earn more. They have inside knowledge
Recently we’ve been looking at the issue of specialization for freelance writers. John Soares and I covered the issue on the podcast, and we kicked off a blog series where freelance writers talk about their own specialties, how they market themselves, and how new freelancers can do the same. Today we’re going to continue with that series with landscape writer, Wendy Komancheck. Interview with Wendy Komancheck, Landscape
Update: As of May 6, 2016, I’ve finished this process and my name is officially and legally “Jennifer Mattern” again. Chances are good you’ve only ever known me as “Jenn Mattern.” But that’s not my legal name, and it hasn’t been since 2012 when I got married. Soon that will change. I’ve decided to go back to my maiden name. On numerous occasions, I’ve talked with
Frequent migraines. Feeling weak and ice cold most of the time. Severe insomnia. Significant, and sudden, weight gain. Constant pain. Multiple miscarriages, and the emotional baggage that comes with each one. Ongoing exhaustion so bad I could barely drag myself out of bed for months. That was just a small sampling of my own personal hell for a few years. These health issues had the
This post was originally published on Yolander Prinzel’s blog in 2014. It was relocated to All Freelance Writing when that blog was shut down. When you decided to become a freelance writer, you probably didn’t think those old math classes would come in handy. It turns out they will. I hope you paid attention. Not understanding basic math can cost you dearly, whether it happens
The freelance writing rate calculator here at All Freelance Writing was designed to help freelancers calculate their base rates. These would be the minimum rates you need to charge to cover the bare basics. Then you would figure out a premium based on your credentials and experience. There’s another way you can use this free tool however. And it can help you reach your ideal
It’s days like these I wish I hadn’t retired Naked PR. If you don’t already know, I used to own a small PR firm, where I was an early specialist in online public relations and social media consulting (before everyone under the sun started thinking they were qualified to call themselves that). Naked PR was my blog where I had a tendency to say things
Did you miss any of last month’s Writers Worth Month posts over on Lori Widmer’s Words on the Page blog? No worries. You can find links to all posts in the series below. Check out Lori’s site in general. She offers great advice to newer writers all year long. I’m a particular fan of her “This Job, Not That Job” series where she highlights lousy
When a client visits your professional website, are they getting the information they want and need? Are benefits of hiring you, as opposed to your competition, clear? Do they leave with enough information to make a hiring decision, or at least feel inclined to contact you? An effective freelance writer website should do those things. Does yours? I previously announced I’m in the process of
Anonymity online is a hotly debated issue. Is it “wrong” to post anything anonymously because it means you aren’t taking responsibility for your words? Or is it an acceptable way of communicating online? And when you work as a writer, is there anything you can do to protect your personal information, whether you choose to write anonymously or not? This is an issue where I