By Ed Gandia
How do you launch a successful freelance writing career? Where do you start? Should you approach it differently today, considering the economy?
There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business plan and you can’t cover every aspect of launching a freelance career in a short article. But the questions below will at least help you organize your thoughts and ideas as you plan your transition.
#1: Where are you now?
Are you currently employed? Have you recently been laid off? Are you a stay-at-home mom or dad looking to generate some extra part-time income?
Each of these situations calls for a different strategy. For instance, if you’re a full-time employee and want to eventually quit your day job to become a full-time freelancer, the ideal approach is a gradual one where you moonlight for one, two, even three years until you’re comfortable enough to make the leap.
If you have recently lost your job and you need to start generating income quickly, the situation gets a bit more complex. Yes, you can still become a very successful freelancer, but you need to put your plan into hyperdrive.
#2: How quickly do you need to get there?
Do you need to start generating income over the next 30 days or is your plan to go solo within the next three years?
Again, if you’re in a pinch, there are ways to find opportunities fast (more on that in a minute). But if you have some time, I would take a phased approach—one in which you freelance part-time while you keep your day job and steady paycheck.
This approach allows you to better determine if freelance writing is something you actually enjoy and that can support your financial needs and goals.
#3: Where can you find time to work your business?
You can’t possibly promote your services AND do billable work if you don’t carve out a certain amount of time for your business every week.
Can you wake up an hour earlier every day? Can you put in an hour or two after the kids are in bed? What about Saturday mornings—can you work from 5:00 am to noon?
If you hold a full-time job and commute to work every day, I recognize that this will be very difficult to do. But the time has to come from somewhere, folks.
#4: What makes you different?
What unique value do you bring to the table—your background, experience, specialized knowledge, skills, aptitudes or relationships?
Don’t just promote yourself as another writer. Tell the world why you’re different and why that matters. Clients aren’t looking for just another freelancer. They’re looking for someone who understands their world and their challenges and how to solve them creatively.
#5: Where can you find some quick wins?
Regardless of your time frame to go solo, your chances of success as a freelancer go up dramatically when you get quick wins. That’s why when you’re starting out, one of your top goals should be to land paid work as quickly as possible, even if it’s a small project or two.
Quick wins make the freelance opportunity real. They also create momentum. And momentum breeds more success.
How do you create quick wins? Besides tapping into your network, you might also consider scanning job boards (such as Elance or Guru.com) frequently for projects for which you feel you’re a very good fit.
You can also contact marketing or PR agencies to see if they have any white papers they need to farm out. Or you can leverage direct mail (a great way to generate potential clients while you work your day job).
I’m not suggesting you do all of these things at once. Start with the avenues that have the highest probability (your own network). Then add other elements if you don’t get results quickly.
If you’re thinking about launching a freelance career, make sure to think through these questions early in your planning process. You’ll not only save yourself time and headaches, you’ll also dramatically increase your chances of success.
About the Author: Ed Gandia is the publisher of the biweekly e-newsletter The Profitable Freelancer. To get a no-cost copy of his MP3 audio class, ‘10 Smart Ways to Grow Your Freelance Income in a Recession,’ visit http://theprofitablefreelancer.com/site/newsletter.
