The big question a lot of new freelance writers ask is how the heck do you get consistent freelance writing work?
For a lot of you, you’re sick and tired of writing one-off pieces never to get an email from your client asking you for another project.
I have very few ad hoc clients and that’s because I need regular clients to make a living writing.
But you want to know a secret? It’s pretty easy to find consistent work. I haven’t had any problems since I started over two years ago as a new freelance writer. My first two gigs were consistent work. And from there I picked up more recurring projects and also had some ad hoc clients here and there.
Stop Racking Your Brain
It can become easy to start doubting yourself and wondering why you can’t land any consistent work.
It might be the places you are looking for work aren’t the best. It could be your work needs some fine-tuning from the editor, which means more money for the client (they have to pay you as well as the time the editor takes to edit your post).
If you’re a new freelance writer and unsure how to step away from one-off pieces or little side projects, here are three things you need in order to have some consistent work as a freelance writer.
1. Exceed Expectations
This goes without saying. If you exceed expectations, I can assure you that you will get more work from one client.
But how do you exceed expectations when you don’t want to to do too much and waste your valuable time?
For me I like to exceed deadlines, be prompt when a client emails me (even in the evenings or on the weekends since my clients live all over the world), and above all, make the work on their end easy and a breath of fresh air.
When an editor gets your post and doesn’t have to edit it or work on it, it makes their life a thousand times better. I asked this editor if they could elaborate more on what they said.
The submissions that I get here on the blog sometimes make me want to cry because they’re so generic. I actually use your work in the responses that I send to these folks.
So, for this editor, my posts have value that makes the content much better than the submissions they get for their blog.
2. Properly Formatted and Properly Submitted
I have a pet peeve y’all – I dislike blog posts that aren’t properly formatted.
What do I mean by that? Failing to:
- Use subheadings
- Use H2 or H3 tags
- Add white space when they write
- Use bullet lists or numbered lists
- Use visual elements in their post to break up the post
Another thing new freelance writers may not know is that there is a proper way to submit your work. And this all goes back to formatting your post. If you use Google Docs to draft up a post and send it to the client, it’s definitely not formatted.
Oh yea! You betcha I have a video on that in my course 🙂
Why do I harp on this so much? It’s because doing these little things impresses your clients, cuts down their time and helps you become the go-writer for them.
This means consistent work.
3. Follow Up
Guess what? Clients get busy. They may have more than one freelance writer on call and they may miss you and move on to the next writer.
I have one client that doesn’t seek me out for work. I have to email them every month, pitch ideas so that I can get work that month. I’m fine with that. This client is an easy $1k for me when I need it and they value my work.
But, what if you found this client, did one project and now you haven’t heard from them in a month?
I say, create a follow-up email. Tell them how great it was to work for them and that you have some more ideas that would work on their blog.
Usually by giving them some fresh topic ideas, they are more likely to email you back for a project or two that month.
Is That All?
Well, no, not really.
There is more to landing consistent work, but these three things can help you out right now. I’m sure you’ve done some single projects over the months. Go back to them and re-connect with those clients.
The goal is to turn every project into recurring work. You can even challenge yourself 😉
Freelance writing doesn’t have to be a roller coaster. With the right tools in place, your marketing strategies and your content, you can make a living as a writer!
Over to you – how do you find consistent freelance writing work?
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