Guest Post by Dee Barizo: 4 Tips for a Successful Freelance Writing Career

A career as a freelance writer can be a roller coaster of a ride; it is not uncommon for many freelancers to feel insecure in their jobs. After all, you might have one really profitable week or month and then the next month be wondering if you will make enough to pay your electricity bill. If you want your writing career to expand beyond just a part-time hobby and into a full-time business, these tips for building a successful freelance writing career will help you become more profitable and keep the writing gigs coming your way.

Tip #1: Treat Your Career as a Business

If you want your writing career to become a profitable small business, then treat it like a business from this point forward. Taking your “job” as a freelance writer seriously is of the utmost importance if you want to be perceived as a professional writer. All correspondence with clients, both potential and existing, should be professional, grammatically free from errors, and a sample of what type of writing you are capable of. As a professional writer, always deliver the best work that you can, and never, ever make a promise to a client that you do not intend to keep. Putting your best foot forward allows you to be singled out as a competent writer that is in demand.

Tip #2: Network with Other Writers

Networking with other people who share your passion for the written word is not only a good way to find more work as a freelancer, but is also motivational. Having a circle of writers to share your thoughts with is like having a water cooler to come to and de-stress. While working at home as a writer can be very rewarding, it can also make one feel isolated from the rest of the world.

Tip #3: Create Passive Income

It is important for a freelance writer to have some streams of passive income coming in so that they can concentrate on landing good-paying writing gigs. If you are working full time from home as a writer, consider building passive income by running your own monetized blog or by creating a few informational products or e-books that can be sold over and over again indefinitely. These types of smaller, less profitable endeavors can generate some income for you while increasing your exposure as a writer and giving you something to do in your free time when you are in between larger projects. Pennies, nickels, and dimes add up fast.

Tip #4: Learn How to Earn

And last of all, follow the Pareto Principle. Eighty percent of the sales you make as a freelance writer will likely come from twenty percent of your client base. Learn how to earn by determining which clients have the potential to become the most profitable and enjoyable for you to work with, and give special care to nurturing a positive relationship with those clients. Make notes on how and when you make the money that you bring in as a successful freelance writer, and avoid projects that may be causing you to waste too much time for too little compensation.

Keep in mind when building your freelance career that any tree that bears sweet fruit needs to be nurtured patiently for a few seasons before you can reap the true benefits of sowing a seed. But once your freelance writing career takes off, the hard work and perseverance you have shown will be greatly rewarded with the financial and personal freedom that comes from being your own boss.

Bio: Dee Barizo is a staff writer for The Best Degrees, an online education resource featuring the top online degrees.