Anyone who’s close to me knows I spent about a month waiting for an overdue check recently. Normally, I wouldn’t notice because other checks would be rolling in, but naturally, it was tax time.
The time when checks go missing right when you need them most.
My mom always asks “Did you get any money in?” Maybe it’s her way of making sure her kid isn’t starving (I’m not, Mom).
But when she asked it yesterday, I said “Yes, finally.”
April has been a finally kind of month for me.
Now that the IRS pressure is off, I’m back to pretty much ignoring the invoices until I notice one day they’ve not arrived.
That’s how it should be every day for freelancers.
And it’s how much of the later half of my career has been. Until April 2019, that is.
Time to get those checks rolling in regularly again.[bctt tweet=” Yes, you can help keep those #freelancewriting checks rolling in.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
So how do you keep the freelance writing checks rolling in exactly?
Market every day.
Ah, you knew I’d say that, didn’t you? Here’s how I make sure that happens in my own orbit:
Set a monthly goal. Mine is an invoicing goal. Paula’s is a paid-invoice goal. What do you want to earn this month? Let’s pick a number — $6,000. Now let’s see how you get to it:
Plan the marketing. My plan is wildly complicated, so pay attention: send out one letter of introduction a day. Follow up on the previous week’s LOIs. Tweet a few times, sharing other people’s stuff. Reach out to a few existing clients. Write it all down somewhere.
Did I lose you yet? No? Good, that’s all there is.
Hold yourself accountable. You guys know this by now, but unless you’ve tried it, you can’t really comprehend the power of having to tell another person how you did this month. I owe Joy Drohan a report at the end of each month, and she owes me one, as well. It’s a fantastic way to keep your eye on your goal without pulling up a spreadsheet and charting your progress (which would be boring and somewhat stupid). Just knowing you owe someone an explanation of some sort is enough, trust me.
Aim for at least four regular clients. I remember thinking three was a great number. Until the week two of them dropped away. That left me racing to find replacement work. And the one client who was left? That was one of those lower-paying ones, so I was stuck.
Right now, I have four regular clients (ones I work with every month or two) and four more who show up when needed (at least twice a year). It helps. It’s not ideal (not for me), but it’s a great way to keep the money flowing in.
Work with great clients. Yes, some of the clients you keep aren’t great. That one who’s really nice, but pays you far too little. Or how about that one who pays you well, but who gets irritated quickly? Always look for clients who are easy to work with and who don’t give you trouble at invoice time. If you can’t seem to find them anywhere, here’s a good way to locate them:
Raise your damn rates already. Higher rates get you a better class of client. Don’t believe me? Ask any established writer what happened when they raised their rates. Maybe a few of them will tell you here in the comments. Higher rates means you’re now working smarter, too. And those checks will be nice enough that you won’t have to sweat so much between each one.
Writers, how do you keep a regular flow of money coming in?
When it comes to rates, when did you decide to raise them? Where were they? Percentage increase? How did it change your clientele?
7 responses to “How to Keep the Freelance Writing Checks Rolling In”
Yessiree, today’s the day I report to Lori on my month. It’s been on my calendar for a week or so. We rejoice or commiserate as appropriate.
I raised my rates over a period of years and I think you really can’t work hard enough to make a decent living, or therefore feel respected as a writer/editor, if you’re working for bottom-of-the-barrel rates. I’ve chosen a specialty I enjoy, and sought out clients who could pay what I feel my experience and knowledge are worth. It took some time and it’s always a work in progress, keeping an eye out for potential clients and marketing (or attempting to) regularly.
Joy, I almost dreaded telling you about March, but April isn’t going to be too bad. Not my ideal, but better.
I remember the day I raised my rates. I think Anne Wayman told me that it would net me better clients. It made for some uncomfortable conversations with now-former clients, but it made it easier for more serious clients to, well, take me more seriously.
For example, I had a friend who worked at a large corporation. She recommended me for a proofing job. I priced it according to my rate at the time ($90 an hour). She called me. “You meant to write $125 an hour, didn’t you?”
Hint taken. I raised the rate and they hired me. Under $100 an hour suggested I wasn’t taking myself seriously. Lesson learned.
Wow, I’ve never charged anywhere near $125 for proofing, but I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a corporation.
Crazy, right? But they wanted to spend their budget, so who am I to argue? 😉
I keep money coming in by doing lots of different things. And not being afraid to try and learn new things. But I’m seriously cooked right now. I have to work with a client tomorrow, but I’m seriously thinking of taking the rest of the week off. I need to reassess a few things, and I don’t want to make decisions out of a place of frustration instead of rationality in hand with the frustration.
Same here, Devon. I’m spent, too. This week’s projects are completed, so I’m slowing down and giving myself permission to relax.
I’m starting to see the joys of your invoiced-income world view, Lori. Why? Right now, the amount I have invoice out (or will be invoiced soon) is a lot higher than what came in last month (which was oaky, but not great). The reason is that each client has his or her own payment system. One pays immediately upon invoice, one pays weekly, most pay monthly, and two pay “45 days after invoice” but because they pay per published word, you can’t invoice until they’re ready to publish.
Until now, most of my clients have been ones that assign at lot at different times of year, but don’t always have steady assignments. My new clients are providing a revenue stream that will at least cover my basic monthly bills. Having that little safety net will really help ease the pain when I have fewer assignments from my other clients.
I’m happy to report that all of the marketing I did earlier this year has already landed me two new clients. One has a steady need for the listicles I write—quick, fun, simple, and they total about $600/month. The other is a website that needs new articles all the time. I wrote my first piece for them a couple weeks ago and they’ve already assignment me a second article. If I can average two articles per month for them, that will add up quickly.
You know what that meant? For the first time ever I had to report an income change to the Healthcare Marketplace….but they do NOT seem to understand how freelance income works. They still want my last year’s tax return…the year I lost a key client and my income plummeted. How does that reflect my 2019 income, which is growing? I’ve sent them documentation for April and assignment letters for May so hopefully they’ll see the growth.