If you're relatively new to freelancing, you've probably come across the term "niche" a few times while scouring the internet for tips and tricks. So what the heck does it mean exactly, and why should you care? A niche is an area of expertise. Your niche determines your marketing strategy and the sorts of jobs … Continue reading Why Niches Matter
December 2016 marked my first holiday season as a full-time freelancer, but my monthly income report looks more like a part-time freelancer's. Why? It's hard out here for a (pimp) freelancer during the holidays, especially if you mostly work for independent clients like I do, and not big companies. The only reason I made … Continue reading How to Survive the Freelance Holiday Slump
The success of a business is 50% work quality and 50% marketing. You may do stellar writing work but still never land any clients. Unfortunately, good work doesn't always speak for itself. You have to get someone to hire you before you can impress them with your skills. You at least have to intrigue … Continue reading How to Make Yourself a Hot Commodity
If you're thinking about starting a freelance career, especially if you want to drop a 9 to 5 job and start freelancing full-time, one of your biggest initial questions/worries is how long it's going to take you to establish yourself. You have bills to pay, mouths to feed, all that jazz. Switching a stable job … Continue reading How Long Does It Take to Become a Freelance Writer?
I've never been the type to initiate conversation. I'm glad to talk to people if they talk first, but I've never been the outgoing, sociable girl who can make friends with anyone and talk about anything. I like to stay home. I hate loud parties. If I ever get dragged to one, you'll find … Continue reading Take the Fear Out of Networking
Setting rates is one of the hardest things about starting a freelance business. When I first started out, grabbing any job I could, I just took whatever rate the client was offering if I thought I could do the job. When I launched PurpleInkPen, I was wiser about rates, but I had decided to raise … Continue reading Are You Making Enough Money Freelancing?
There are a lot of mixed emotions when you land your first freelancing client. I was absolutely ecstatic because I was going to get paid to help someone write a fiction book. I couldn't believe someone was actually going to pay me money to do the thing I loved most. But there was also … Continue reading Rewarding Client, Freelancer Relationships
If you want to write as a freelancer for a living, you're a "writer for hire." Many clients will want you to sign a work-for-hire agreement/contract. In the simplest sense, this means that you are working for the client as an independent contractor and the work you are providing is the client's after you've … Continue reading What Is a Work-for-Hire Contract?
Running your own business is HARD. Things you never really thought of when deciding you wanted to be your own boss keep popping up like an obnoxious fifth grader grinning in serial killer fashion and shouting, "Hi! Hey! Hi! Look at me, lady, look at me!" inches from your nose so you can smell … Continue reading To Contract or Not to Contract
Last week I posted about my success with the 90-Day Pitch Challenge. So this week, as promised, I’m going to talk about how I used Twitter to successfully reach out to prospective clients with cold pitches. For the challenge, I did a mix of cold pitches and regular applications to jobs posted on job … Continue reading Dos and Don’ts of Twitter Cold Pitching
