Comments on: Free Advice Friday: 4 Freelance Business Mistakes That Kill Your Career

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 13:58:01 +0000

Oh gawd, Eileen! I've had those very same clients! LOL We should compare notes -- I wonder if they're the same people. One client walked me through his offices, bragging about how much money he was raking in. When he heard my fee, he had the audacity to say "Ooo, you're going to have to lower that."

My response was "You're going to have to raise yours to afford me." Needless to say, I didn't bother with him after that, nor did I volunteer to work for three days beside him to, as he put it "rub shoulders with people who can hire you!" I was too busy working for people who actually DID hire me. :)

I wondered how your targeted marketing was going. Glad to hear that you've found a sweet spot!

Devon, I think of you every time I have to write one of these posts. You get some of the crazies who expect you to do their damn legwork.

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:48:00 +0000

Yeah, I'm sick of the attitude, "Oh, I decided to start freelance writing. Easy money." Uh, no. It's work. It's often worth it, sometimes not, but there's definitely work involved.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 20:46:33 +0000

My Big Early Mistake was in chasing after local, low-paying clients because I didn't have the confidence to go bigger. The problem was, they required too much hand-holding, too many time-sucking meetings, and too much educating about the benefits. They would want me to visit their place of business, take a tour of their entire operation, meet the owner and whoever was doing the marketing, meet Mabel at the front desk with a degree in English who had been doing their writing and who resented the hell out of me, and give them a strategy for free. And then they only wanted to pay $100 for web copy. I foolishly did that too many times before I got smart.

I would advise new writers to pick a specialty or two, and target businesses in that market with the ability to pay. I found the sweet spot to be $20 million+ in annual revenues. If someone is looking at a generalist vs a specialist, they're going to choose the specialist.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:03:32 +0000

Paula, I think the flip side of the form letter is if you're using it, how are you showing your potential client that you can generate compelling, original content? And you're so right about using these markets for clips, not as places to hang out for years.

Alex, LOL Isn't it great? Full disclosure, it's not my original thought. I saw it on a workout t-shirt and I loved it.

Agree completely on chasing payment. Have a payment process in place that includes how often you'll invoice, how many times you'll invoice, what your late fees will be, and what steps you'll take should a client decide to ignore all those invoices. Then follow it.

By: Mistakes Writers Make

Mistakes Writers Make — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:12:33 +0000

I agree with Paula on not being exploited by low (or, worse, non-) payers, but I'd add that even if you do work for some low paying clients you should be sure to chase up those debts if they fail to pay punctually. In the early days, I was almost too grateful for an assignment, even if only for a two-figure sum, that I'd sometimes not be as forceful as I should have been to chase late payments.

Writers need to realise that they're entering into a contract for a piece of work, and payment for that work signifies the 'completion' of that arrangement - you owe it to yourself, and to other writers, to make sure you are paid what you were told or arranged you would be paid. Even small sums are worth pursuing - they remind clients that writers have value and should be recompensed - period.

Best wishes, Alex

PS. I expect to be breaching your copyright on 'suck it up, buttercup' multiple times in future .... :)

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 14:46:13 +0000

You covered most of the biggies, Lori. The thing is people who take short cuts to LAND the clients don't seem to realize that they'll also have to PLEASE any clients they land.

And if potential clients can't tell generic form-letter queries from pitches tailored specifically for their eyes, you have to ask yourself if those are clients worth having. They probably also think 10-cents a word is a decent fee, want to buy all rights, pay within 3 months of publication, and won't be a clip worth saving.

My advice is always to get a first clip from a respectable publication— which might not pay much since you got the assignment without having any clips to prove you can write—and use that clip to break into a larger market. Rinse and repeat. Don't write more than one or two pieces for a low payer. If you do, they're using you. You need to use THEM as a stepping stone to a better market.