4 Hard Truths on Why Freelance Writers Fail

Thinking about becoming a freelance writer? Heard you can make full-time living from this and you want to give it a go yourself? Freelance writing is a great choice for stay-at-home moms, bloggers, aspiring writers and anyone who just wants a change from their typical 9-5 job. I started freelance writing when I was a stay-at-home mom and needed to find a way to continue staying home and raise my twins. But, not everyone can be a successful freelance writer. Jennifer Mattern, of All Freelance Writing, has said before that most new freelance writers fail within the first few years. Ive just finished my first year of freelance writing and I can say Ive had a blast. Not only have I become a sought-after writer, but I own several blogs, including FreelancerFAQs, and I just recently launched a successful freelance writing course. So, why do many new writers lose sight of growing their freelance writing business and end up failing? Its not because they miss deadlines and its not because they have poor writing skills. Lets look at four hard truths on why youre going to fail at being a freelance writer. Free Course on Getting Paid to Write Online 1. You Have to Start at Square One I know, you just dont understand. Youre a journalist; you went to school to study writing and you expect having this background should make it a cinch to land online writing gigs. You dont realize that when you began, you had to start from the beginning, just like everyone else did when they started freelance writing. Instead, you expect to get paid hundreds of dollars a post, when in fact, you need to build up your reputation to earn that type of pay. When I first started pitching, I quoted $.04/word. I emailed seasoned freelance writers and asked them about what my rate should be. You know what all of them said to me? Find a rate that youre comfortable with. I felt $.04/word a good starting rate, but I actually never landed any gigs at this rate. You know why? Because I knew I had to build a reputation online before anyone would actually pay me to write. I knew all the guest posting I was doing and the social engagement I was doing on Twitter and on blogs was going to pay off. And it did. My first real paid gig was $.12/word. So, even though you have experience writing, writing for an online audience is different. Hustling online is different from hustling in your local town where people know you. Pitching is a whole new game because you are competing with hundreds of other writers just as capable as you so you have to stand out. 2. You Avoid Learning New Skills You think you know what its all about. You passed English in high school so how hard can it be to write a few blog posts or a press release for a start-up? Youre the grammar queen (or king) and you dont need any tool or other person to check your work. Having this arrogant attitude wont get you far in your career. Even though you have a firm grasp of the English language, you may be clueless about the online language. Businesses look for writers that can persuade, engage and capture an audience. Your high school English class probably didnt teach you about how to do this online. Thats why its important to learn these new skills. For example, Im learning about copywriting (specifically conversion copywriting) and its helped me land my first copywriting client, write my sales page for my course and improve my copy on my professional website. Ive also learned about online tools like Trello, Google Hangouts, Skype, GoToMeeting, Grammarly, PayPal and more. I want to learn more about digital marketing in general and email marketing and social media marketing in particular. Learning as youre growing will help you gain success much quicker than if you decided you were above all this. 3. Unwilling to Give it Your All Sure, I understand. You only want to dip your toes into freelance writing – make sure this is really what you want. Well, if youve been dipping and splashing your way around for six months, youre gonna fail. Its okay to dip your toes to see if freelance writing is for you. If youre working full-time hours, you cant dedicate a full day to this. But, if you dont give it your absolute all when you are focused and immersed in your freelance writing business, youre going to drown – feeling its too much and feeling like youre doing this alone. One thing I quickly learned is, I can tell which freelance writer will succeed and which ones wont. Its the can-do attitude. These freelance writers: Have a plan – They know in a years time where they want to be. Set goals – They set SMART goals with a definite timeline and measurement. Stick to it – Even when times are rough, they still hustle, still pitch, and still get out there. Set high standards – Instead of pitching once a day, they pitch 3x a day. Instead of meeting deadlines, they exceed deadlines. Get help – They know that talking to someone more experienced will help them achieve their goals a lot quicker and keep them focused on their plan. The extra work you do in the beginning will pay off in the long run. I started freelance writing doing this part-time (I still do, although on some days I work a bit more). When my children napped, I didnt toot around social media. I wrote. Nap time meant billable hours for me (because this is the only time I can write). 4. You Quit Too Early in the Game When things just arent happening for you and you dont know how to turn it around, you just give up. You felt youve tried pitching a few times, wrote a guest post once and started a Twitter account (but havent tweeted yet), and think thats enough – youve done all you could to land a gig. To succeed you gotta take action. You have to put yourself out there. You have to claim your spot. You wont land any clients if you just sit there and wait for them to come to you. This wont happen right off the bat and actually takes time to build your reputation before that ever happens. When you realize this, you wont be deterred when nothing goes your way. You wont give up when youve pitched 20 times and you hear nothing back. You wont throw in the towel when a client cuts your content and now you have to start looking for more writing gigs. No, because youll know that some months youll have more work then you can handle while other months you need to hit the pavement and pitch. Dont Ever Second Guess Yourself If youve thought about it long and hard and made the decision to freelance write, then dont second guess yourself when times get rough. You might feel like an impostor when youre writing, but if its one thing Ive learned, to succeed you have to fake it till you make it. I was told by a client that he thought Ive been a freelance writer for years based off my blog and online presence. It works! So, dust yourself off and form a plan. Take action and keep on pitching! Over to you – why do you think freelance writers fail?

Immortal Belovid Beethoven essays

Immortal Belovid Beethoven essays Ludwig von Beethoven lived in the age that we now know as the Classical Period, which was around the early 19th century. It was known as this because of the particular type of music that was composed and played. This music was often simpler than earlier compositions and was thus more accessible to the lower and middle class citizens as they began to demand greater access to art and music. It was simple and catchy and meant that not only the minority of highly educated, upper class could listen to it. Music was not the only thing to be changing at this time. Some of the other changes included greater education for the lower classes, the industrial revolution was just starting, challenge to the idea of monarchy and above all the expansion of the Sciences. The classical Period was an exciting time to be living and saw many advances in human culture and the sciences. The classical period started around the late 18th century and continued through until the early 19th century. It was a pivotal time in the year that shaped our modern society and ways of thinking as well as appreciation of the arts. The Sciences also became prominent and this led to Newton defining the laws of Physics. The main cause behind this was the liberal thinking monarchs of the time as well as the disestablishment of these same monarchies in many countries. Often they were stripped of their powers but kept as symbolic families. During this time some of the greatest composers came to the attention of the public. These included Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) Austria, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Austria and Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) Germany. These composers had great influence in the types of music that was listened to because of their compositions and they introduced a new style of music that is known as the Sonata. The Sonata was the name a classical composer would give to a work divided into several movements, played ...