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If you have a way with words, then becoming a home-based freelance writer is one of the most satisfying and lucrative ways to turn your talent into cash. Though the potential benefits are massive, making it as a freelance writer certainly isn’t without its challenges. In this post, we’ll look at some of the biggest challenges of being a freelance writer, and some handy advice for overcoming them…

 

Sourcing Clients

We’ll get the biggest challenge out of the way first. As a freelance writer, the clients you’ll be targeting will probably already have a large professional network of people with similar skills that they can call on. These days, kick-starting a freelance career is easier than ever thanks to modern accessibility to the internet and increasing standards of education. There’s going to be a lot of competition out there, and you’ll need to adopt the right approach if you don’t want to get swallowed up by this popular market. The one thing you should avoid when freelancing is relying on Fiverr, Elance or similar platforms. Instead, reach out to prospective clients directly, whether it’s an SEO agency, a printed PR firm, or independent bloggers. Business will be slow to begin with, but you’ll generate more work in a shorter space of time from cold pitches than most freelancing websites.

Time Management

 

Managing your own time is another major challenge for any freelance writer, and one stumbling block which stops a lot of promising writers in their tracks. This isn’t a job where you can drag yourself through the hours in your contract, knowing that regardless of the effort you put in, you’ll be able to pick up a certain amount of money at the end of the month. When you’re a freelancer, if you don’t put the work in, you don’t earn! Aside from going out of your way to improve your self-discipline, which you should certainly be doing, it’s also a good idea to choose the jobs you come across carefully. To start with, you’ll probably just be taking whatever work you can get to build a portfolio and pay the bills. However, when business starts to pick up, you should allocate your time carefully. Instead of taking any work that comes your way, hone in on the best offers, with work that will look better on your portfolio, and clients who are more likely to come back again and again.

 

The Boring Bits

Ideally, you’ll end up in a position where you’ve established yourself as an expert in a certain niche that you’re passionate about, and all the work you’re offered will be tasks that you’re genuinely excited to complete. This is certainly possible, but before you reach the dizzy heights of your freelancing career, you’ll need to grind through a lot of jobs that you’re simply not interested in. This can lead to procrastination, and a massive drop in productivity. If procrastination is an issue you face often, and you find it hard to sit down and get stuck into a job, just remind yourself why you took it, and keep struggling towards your overarching career goals.

Chiino
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