Freelancing through third party websites

There are a number of websites you can use to find freelance writing jobs.  Typically you browse the jobs posted under the writing category of the website, then 'bid' for the job which usually involves submitting a job proposal as well as your rate for the job you are applying for.

These websites can be a great way to get started in the freelance writing industry.

One thing I have learnt during my time freelancing, is that the main thing individuals or companies look for when hiring you is the amount of experience you have as well as your reputation.  These sites can be a great way to build both.

Let's take a look at the pros and cons of using these sites:

Pros:

• There is an abundance of work on these sites
• You can often find repeat business through these sites
• You can set your hourly rate most of the time
• It's a great way to build up your reputation
• It's a great way to build up your experience and add to your writing portfolio

Cons:

• It's incredibly competitive.  You'll be competing against writers who have already built a reputation on that website
• Some sites have set rates, so you need to be careful that you aren't working for less than you're worth
• It can get overwhelming if you have multiple jobs at the same time, with more coming in
• The majority of the work you will be doing is ghostwriting for others, so if your dream is to see your name in print somewhere, this likely won't help you achieve that
• Buyers can sometimes be unreasonable, or unclear in their wants which makes it difficult

Another issue which should be considered, is the actual processing of funds through the website.  Most of them require the buyer to send funds through them, which then get paid into your paypal account and transferred from that into your bank account.  

With this comes commissions, transaction fees, and if you are working through a website that is based outside of your own country, you'll also have to deal with exchange rates and occasionally international transaction fees from your bank.

I strongly recommend taking this into account when deciding upon an hourly rate, or whether a set hourly rate is worth it.

If the website you use takes $1 USD for every $5 USD you earn, then you could easily end up with as little as $2.50 or $3 per $5 the job is being advertised for.  Considering how long it can take to research, write and edit an article to meet the high standards of the client, you may find yourself working for around $2 an hour on a payment scale like this.  

For most people, that's not an option.

If it is an option you wish to explore, the top websites to check out are:

oDesk
Freelancer
Peopleperhour
Fiverr

Don't put all your eggs in one basket: Diversify, diversify, diversify!

When I first started out as a freelancer, I basically had no idea what I wanted to do.  I knew that I wanted to write, I knew that there were different platforms I could use to write but I had no direction.

It was pure luck that I managed to stumble upon several things which not only helped me secure success, but also rocketed me almost 18 months ahead of where I anticipated I would be in terms of my business plan, writing career and income.  
The lesson here is don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Diversify the crap out of your writing (yes, that's a very technical bit of advice there!).  See what works for you, expand on that, prune whatever doesn't work for you after you've given it a fair chance, and use as many different platforms as you can to see what will assist you in building your brand the best.

Take the time to find a niche and platform that truly works for you, which will allow you to maximise your profits for as little time as possible.  Yes, I've seen people who earn thousands of dollars per month on one particular freelancing website - and if that works for you, then great.  But for others (like me), it was more of a way to initially build up some experience then dive into other areas because I was dedicating far too much time to ghostwriting for other people, for minimum income.

When it comes to blogging, what worked best for me was setting up a number of blogs (both free and paid), posting some content on each and seeing where traffic was getting directed before I worked out a plan to monetise them. Weirdly, the one blog that I started as more of a joke to explore my not-so-inner geekiness than anything else gets the highest number of views compared to the others where I'm writing on topics that I know inside out and back to font.

I can't tell you where and what to focus on.  In other blog posts I'll cover different places you can investigate as platforms for yourself, but what works for one may not work for the rest.  All I can do is share what worked for me, and share the lessons that I learnt with you and wish you luck in finding your own little piece of the writing world.

Working Offline

These days most freelance writers work either heavily, or exclusively online.  The internet has given us the chance to reach so many more people, allows us to be location independent and is fantastic for promoting our work. 

But there will always be days when you are forced to contend with a slow, or non-existent internet connection.  

It can be incredibly frustrating, especially the first few times it happens.  Which is why it is essential that you learn to work offline (to an extent).  Whether you spend your time offline researching with textbooks or in libraries, or use the time to organise yourself, re-evaluate your business plan and brainstorm how to further expand your brand, there is plenty of tasks you can manage without the internet.

Some other ideas include:

• Creating a database of all your articles and blog posts
• Catching up on keeping track of your income and expenses for taxation purposes
• Creating 'signatures' for your articles or blog posts which link to other articles or blogs
• Creating a To Do list
• Creating a list of topics you wish to write about
• Archiving your emails if you use a program like Outlook which allows you to archive in offline mode

Working without the internet doesn't mean you have to be completely unproductive.  As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can make use of the time.

Take advantage of productive periods, and relax during not so productive periods

It's a common problem with most people who work for themselves, or work from home; you have periods of being super productive, and periods where you just don't want to do anything.  During the latter, the more you try to do something, the harder it becomes.

I've learnt that sometimes it's just easier to go with the flow.

During my productive periods I do as much work as possible, which gives me some slack to work with when I'm feeling...well...slack.  Because my work involves regularly posting articles, as well as blog posts, it's fairly easy to manage.

If you work in a similar fashion, familiarise yourself with the 'Scheduled posts' tool on your blog.  With this, you can space out posts so content is being posted regularly to where you want it, instead of posting 10 blogs in one day, then being silent for two weeks. I do something similar with my other work, and post one article per category I write for per day and keep any extra files I've written on my computer until I hit a not-so-productive period.

The fact is, it's easy to lose motivation when you are completely reliant on yourself for that motivation.  If you do experience this just remember "this too shall pass", and try to be kind to yourself during this period.  Beating yourself up mentally over your inability to work at the level of efficiency you expect of yourself is not going to help the situation, and in some cases it can even make it worse.

The best way to start writing is to get organised

It's easy to get overly enthusiastic when you first start freelance writing, especially if you love what you are doing.  But before you get too carried away with posting 600 articles or blog posts, the most important thing to do is to get organised.

Start with a realistic business plan.  Work out your goals.  Are you happy to ghostwrite for others, or is your dream to see your own name in print?

If it's the former, then once you've signed up to your freelancer websites, keep a calendar and ensure you put every single job in it.  It is essential that you allow yourself enough time to complete work.  This sounds completely logical, but so many freelancers take on more work than they can handle.  They advertise that they can complete articles within 24 hours, and when 30 people order articles off them in one go, it's just not possible to keep up with that workload.

If you want to focus on your own writing, the best thing you can do is regularly post well researched content. Even this can get overwhelming at times, particularly if you are focusing on more than one area or topic, or have multiple projects going on at the same time.  A calendar is also beneficial in this instance.

I have used Google Calendar from the beginning of my writing career, and it has worked remarkably well for me.  I can easily import dates from emails into my calendar and set up reoccurring events (such as "write blog on vegetarian food") to repeat every day at 11am.  I always keep the calendar open in one of the tabs on my laptop, and have it synced to my phone and tablet.  At any given time I can tell at a glance how much work I have to do, and when I have to do it.  It's also easy enough to move tasks around if I have other things I want to focus on.

Have a look at productivity or organisational apps and software.  You'd be surprised how many there are, and how helpful they can be.

As well as using Google Calendar, I use Trello on a daily basis and have just started using XMind.  Trello is a wonderful way to keep track of your progress, and upcoming work or goals.  It allows you to create different boards and checklists, which can also be extremely helpful.

Whatever method of organisation you decide on, I can promise that the more organised you are, the better you'll be able to work, and the more work you'll get through too.

The Reality of Freelance Writing

So many people dream of being freelance writers, and these days the internet makes it an accessible career for pretty much anybody who wants to give it a shot.  Often these people imagine that they will spend their days sitting on a beach somewhere, sipping cocktails and writing for high paying travel magazines about the free 5 star hotels or food they’re given. 

Who wouldn’t want a free VIP holiday where you spend all of half an hour writing about how awesome it is?

The reality of freelance writing as a career is massively different from that dream.

To begin with, you’ll get paid basically nothing for hours upon hours of work.  Secondly you’ll have to work.  A lot.  Yesterday I put in a 16 hour day and I still went to bed with unfinished work. 

Whatever your ultimate goals are, the reality is that you will have to work extraordinarily hard to achieve them. 

Rest assured, if you are passionate and committed enough to achieving these goals, they will happen. 

I have been writing for years, but it was all under the title of ‘mental health specialist’ or ‘mental health consultant’.  In my seven years in that career, I wrote hundreds if not thousands of articles on topics relating to mental health (bipolar disorder specifically), medications and psychological treatments. 

In August of this year I decided I had enough of the industry and made the decision to venture out into the freelance writing world, and branding myself just that.  By happy accident, I managed to stumble into a writing niche that has left me absolutely inundated with work and within a month I was able to match the previous wage I was earning as a full time mental health consultant. 

Two and a half months later and I’ve adapted my plans and plan on making the most out of the unique combination of skills I have, which will allow me to completely dominate that writing niche.  I’m also earning just over what my wage was when I was working in mental health. 

So how did I do it? 

I simply marketed my skills and passions in the right way, gave a little and gained a lot, I was realistic in my expectations, diversified and adapted to what worked.

I will go into more detail in other blog posts, but that’s pretty much it.  I truly believe that if I can do it, you can do it too!