There’s plenty of freelance writing advice out there to help you get clients. But not a lot of it is telling you what not to do. I cruise around social media a lot. That’s where many of the worst offenses occur because, for some reason, people do not realize that everyone and his Uncle Fester…
Author: lwidmer
Wednesday Wisdom: This Job, Not That Job
Just when you think it couldn’t get weirder, it does. I’m talking about job postings. Let’s not call them “freelance opportunities” because honey, they’re not. They’re employer/employee listings. Someone is looking for a writer, but is dictating the salary. That’s not a freelance writer at all. But I digress. This listing, which is probably the…
4 Ways to Get Your Freelance Writing Client to Yes
A while ago, I had a client who liked to talk about how well we might work together. Trouble was that’s all he did — talk about it. It never amounted to anything. Call it analysis paralysis or just lack of knowing how to go forward, but sometimes clients just can’t pull the trigger on…
Cutting Ties with Freelance Writing Prospects
A number of years ago, I had connected briefly with a client prospect at a trade show who showed interest in working with me. Let me rephrase that: I connected repeatedly with that client prospect, first at the trade show, then close to two dozen times over the years via email and in person. After four years…
This Job, Not That Job: Learning Via Collage
Sometimes I see one job posting that’s so bad, it sets my hair on fire. Sometimes I see several. There are so few hours in a day (or a life), so instead of examining them one by one, I thought I’d pull out elements from some of the worst. We can learn from these. Mostly,…
Writers Worth: This Job, Not That Job
Some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the fly. If you’re still cruising job boards as your primary source of work, you’re the fly meeting the windshield. With rare exception, job postings work out in favor of the poster, not the writer. And if I’ve not preached enough on the subject, job postings give…
The Marketing-Is-Not-Hard Marketing Guide
There I was, staring at the computer screen, growling. Once again, someone on social media was talking about how incredibly hard marketing is. Know what’s hard? Cement. Rocks. Building a rocket launcher using straws and kindergarten paste. Heads hitting desks when people say uninformed things like “marketing is hard.” Marketing is not hard. Please, can…
Professional Jealousy and the Freelance Writer
A number of decades ago, I had an interaction with a new person in our writers’ group. We had posted a notice in the library announcing our group and welcoming interested writers to join. One person answered the call — a writer who had a monthly column in the local paper. We greeted him warmly, and…
The Secret to Selling Your Freelance Writing Rate
Quick! Your client prospect just asked what your rate is. What do you do? You know your rate (or you should by now). That’s not the problem. There are actually two problems here — First, you probably shouldn’t be telling them your rate in that initial conversation (Jennifer Gregory has a great post by Elizabeth…
8 Ways to Make Money Freelance Writing Right Now
Whoa. Summer is slow. I know that officially, it’s still spring. But companies and clients often use Memorial Day as their official “here come all the vacations” mentality. You would think summer would be a great time for freelancers to pick up extra projects. You sure would. Alas, while I’ve had a few summers that were so…