Articles About "Earning" Better As a Writer

The least stressed-out writers put strategies into place that earn them high recurring incomes. Here's how to navigate the earning potential of your refined freelance writing business.

4 Freelancing Superpowers Nobody Told You About

November 19, 2015 By FiveFigureSarah

Sometimes the world of freelancing and consulting seems like a Good Old Boy’s Club. That is, you’re either “in it,” or you’re not, you either “get it,” or you don’t. And you either “have what it takes,” or you’re doomed to fail.

Fortunately for my current lifestyle (because if I kept that attitude, I would never be able to do what I’m doing now), I disagree! The process of starting a freelance business is a complex, exciting, and ever-evolving one. You often have to act without having all the answers or knowing what to do. And as you act without knowledge, you learn, you get better, and you grow special skills.

When you freelance, you often have to act without having all the answers or knowing what to do. And as you act without knowledge, you learn, you get better, and you grow special skills.

So, let’s get better at it! As I thought of the most helpful thing I could write about this week, it occurred to me that there were a few things I could do that it seemed like other people couldn’t do (or they were really, really impressed that I could do it). And it wasn’t party tricks like The Worm or making my knuckles bend in weird directions. It was daily things and habits I picked up over the years an that struck me as completely normal.

There’s the kicker: normal to established freelancers is often a superpower to the uninitiated.

Here are four superpowers I have picked up over the years which — if you pick up NOW — will save you tons of time, trouble, and help you build a successful business. I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone write about or talk about these four superpowers, so I knew it was time to share them with you guys:

1. Initiating the deep grind

When you write for a living, you learn pretty quickly that writing comes and goes with your mood (or muse, as some might say). I think this is the same for just about any creative pursuit. No matter how good I get, am still slave to the writing muse from time to time, especially when I have a lot of time on a deadline. However, sometimes I don’t have the luxury of not being in the mood or not cranking it out. Enter: initiating the deep grind.

The deep grind is my phrasing for those moments when you sit down to work, feel to your bone that you are not in the mood to do the work, and in a weird combination of mental and physical masterwork you dig through your desire to not-write and just start writing. You take nothing (no energy, no mood, no jive) and jive in the face of it all, pushing through the physical and mental momentum you have to do absolutely nothing to MAKE it happen.

The deep grind allows you to take nothing (no energy, no mood, no jive) and jive in the face of it all, the very essence of this hilarious video from Shia LaBoeuf:

Click here to see the video if you’re reading via email.

How to grow the grind superpower:

I can pretty much pinpoint the moment I began initiating the grind: I asked for a lot of paper extensions in college, and early in my career I would just frantically do work up til the deadline and perform whether it was done or not (ah, life as a teacher). I was good at pacing through my first corporate job, as well as my second. However, once I started freelancing and my ability to succeed was completely dependent on me “being in the mood,” I started to grind.

I developed the grind superpower by taking on high-pressure assignments (either the topic, the deadline, or the format) and making deadlines non-negotiable. You can replicate this by taking on regular high-volume assignments (such as a client with 3 blog posts due every Friday) and train yourself to grind them out the day before, no matter how you feel. By now, two years into it, I know that if I have not prepped the work, the grind is ON the day an assignment is due. For items without complexity (such as a single blog post) I know about how long it takes me to grind the outline, draft, and final editing session, and I can often fit these in on a single day.

For me, this can only happen once or twice per week. If I try to force it too much, I’ll break it and it won’t work for a while. But I have noticed that when push comes to shove and a deadline threatens to damage my reputation, I can always initiate the deep grind and come out on top.

(Pro tip: Always leave time to edit, or you’ll regret it! I use Grammarly and I’ve used an editor in the past.)

2. Inhuman self-control

Tangentially related to the deep grind (but more spread out over time) is the amount of inhuman self-control it takes to freelance in the long-term. The ability to make yourself do something you aren’t particularly excited about is an adulting skill that many of us use to do laundry. But inhuman self-control steps in when everyone you know is quietly working a 9-5 with a supervisor and still you get up and start working around 8, take a lunch break, and keep working until your spouse comes home (give or take a few kids, walks, or chores).

This kind of inhuman self-control is more than mere mastery of your desire to fidget on YouTube, read fun penmanship blogs, and write long and rambling emails about your health problems. It’s a fundamental ability you have (or learn) to discard work habits that threaten your self-employment and deaden yourself to the constant distraction of fun.

For example, as much as I love my husband, we agree that his place is in an organization with teammates and supervisors. Left alone (say, on a computer at home all day), the likelihood of him finishing assignments and scouting out work would decline by 50% each day that he got used to being unsupervised. At the end of a given week, he’d be deep in the Apple product archives designing a fun new home office.

While I have my fair share of home office design jaunts (hello new discounted reading chair!) my average work day is much more somber: walk, eat, write, repeat. If I vary from that schedule (even if I’m allowed to), I start to feel anxious.

How to grow the self-control superpower:

Honestly, I don’t know how to help you gain more self-control. That’s going to be something you work with a counselor or business coach about, if it’s something you can change at all. In my very uneducated (on this topic) opinion, this seems more like a personality trait to understand (that is, I know I get distracted easily, so I will choose to work in a co-working space rather than at home) rather than something you can change. That said, challenging you that you can’t do it might be just the push you need… so, there’s your invitation: you can’t fix this! You can’t change! So go prove me wrong! :-)).

If I were to, say, try to help my husband be more focused, I would recommend he use his calendar to schedule really important assignments so that the pressure is off of him to remember. I’d also recommend all those productivity tools like RescueTime and StayFocusd (more here from 99U) to train you to not be distracted when you’re on the computer.

3. A positive outlook on everything negative

This one is more science-based than not. I started reading Jim Collin’s business book Good to Great, and the first chapter describes the most important characteristics of CEOs that take companies (in our case, small companies) from good business to great business.

One of the most important traits of the leader is the ability to remain unyieldingly positive and optimistic about your ability to succeed… while staying realistic and well-informed about the bad news, dangers, and downsides of the situation.

Feeling your business fade. Feeling doubt creep in. Feeling your inbox drying up…. And picking up your computer to dig it all out and up again.

As a writer, that means deciding to respond positively and politely to a rude editor’s email or a set of incoherent client feedback. It means putting your boundaries first, professionalism second , and “proving them wrong” or “showing them what’s right” as low on the list as possible so that your eyes always stay on the final goal (being successful, not being right).

Feeling your business fade. Feeling doubt creep in. Feeling your inbox drying up…. And picking up your computer to dig it all out and up again. That’s an emotional and psychological superpower you will not get far without.

How to grow the positive-but-negative superpower:

We all experience doubt and fear. We all feel our businesses fade some months and wonder what’s going to happen. But if you stay wishy-washy about your ability to succeed over the long haul or refuse to address the problems that come your way, you will likely fail. Instead, you need to learn how to maintain a positive outlook while understanding all of the risks and downsides of your situation. You must manage yourself like an external employee and following the process no matter how you feel.

If you feel like it’s really hard to acknowledge reality AND stay positive, seek out a supportive community or “success stories” of freelancers and businesses that will inspire you. Many great business books use case studies to show companies that were failing who turned it around, or people who started with a small idea and used thoughtful solutions to be successful in the face of adversity.

I’m also thoroughly enjoying Roadmap: The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What to Do With Your Life for its refreshing “reframe.” The intro chapters are taking a lot of time to clarify that anxiety and the feeling of being lost are good things that lead you to greatness.

Freelancing is like life in so many ways, but especially in that it can be really, really crappy AND awesome at the same time (often within minutes). Acknowledging the crappiness (or the danger or risk of your situation) sets the stage for your eventual triumph if you can keep your head about it.

4. The ability to say goodbye

Speaking of boundaries, the ability to say goodbye (AKA “No”) is one of the most elusive superpowers you’ll ever try to master. Seasoned pros still find themselves saying “Yes,” far more often than they want to (especially women, research shows), and when you’re first trying to start your business, saying “No” seems like pure lunacy. However, your time and energy are limited. Saying “Yes” for anything you don’t want to do, that drains you, or that pushes you away from something more beneficial poisons your potential.

Think of it this way: if you’re over-booked with clients, it’s time to raise your prices so you can pick and choose who you work with. When your schedule is over-booked, it’s time to raise the standards on how you spend your time so you can pick and choose what you work on. Eventually, the more successful you are, the MORE you need to say no to make sure that what you’re doing is the most effective or most enjoyable way to spend your time!

How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to something in your business (a client, a contractor, or an office chair)? Watch for signs of emotional, physical, or mental discomfort. They’re all signs that something is not right in your business.

Watch for signs of discomfort when it’s time to say goodbye to something in your business.

Physical discomfort means something you’re eating, how you’re moving, or what you’re doing with your body isn’t aligning with its needs. Emotional and mental discomfort (business-related, at least) means that something you’re doing isn’t aligning with your purpose.

Discomfort isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a early warning siren for self-knowledge.

How to grow the goodbye/”No” superpower:

The only thing that grows this superpower (and build up the confidence to charge more) is a healthy ego and practice! Humility and understanding are attractive and valuable as a freelancer, but in this situation you’ve got to puff up your ego a bit and analyze why you deserve better.

In private, really talk up how talented you are and how much value you bring to the table, and decide that you’re too good to waste time being so nice to someone who sees you as a tool or an asset. Also consider how much other people are charging to do what you do (download Ed Gandia’s pricing guide to start with) so you have a different view of the value of your work.

I am still learning this lesson. I kept a client for a long time because I enjoyed our personal relationship (that is, I liked the client), even though the format of our relationship stressed me out and the organization of our relationship was pretty haphazard. After much internal struggle (how can I turn down work? It’s not that bad is it?) I finally “fired” the client… and I can now personally attest to the weight that lifts from you when you do it.

It’s like turning in notice at a bad job! It’s like breathing fresh air! Even if they’re good people. Even if they pay well. If the job makes you grind your teeth whenever you hear from them, say farewell!

(Pro tip: The words you use need to come from your heart and from your situation, but I found a few great problem client scripts from Nick Reese’s website here.)

What Superpowers Do You Have?

I love a good blog post, but sometimes the comments are where the real magic happens. So, please share! What superpowers have you grown over the years and which would you add to this list?

3 Ways Your Storytelling Could Freak Out Your Clients

October 23, 2015 By FiveFigureSarah

Thanks to my last post on overwhelm, I’m slowly picking through the book How to Get People to Do Stuff by Susan Weinschenk.

One of the most empowering lessons in the book is about the power of stories.

We’ve been hearing about stories since it became a super popular content marketing trend about a year ago. In fact, a lot of the ghostwriting I was doing for top publications was about storytelling and the power of figuring out your brand’s story.

Well, guess what? That’s the truth.

Stories are important. As Weinschenk says, everything we do is related to a story we have about who we are and how we relate to others.

Everything we do is related to a story we have about who we are and how we relate to others.

And when there’s one story forming the basis for all of your reactions and decisions, that’s a very powerful story indeed.

But Weinschenk goes on. Did you know that most of the stories we have are unconscious? Both about ourselves and about others. That means we’re all carrying around a whole lot of baggage that either makes us good or not good at what we do.

Here’s a story for you, about a time I bombed a client call.

My Story About My Story of Work

It started out pretty normal. I used my warm emailing technique to make a connection because the company’s site had come up in my research. I got invited for an introduction by phone and kicked it off answering the typical “Tell me about yourself” interview question.

Now, for some reason I have a long history of being awful about this question (including a time I literally gave a five second “Ummmmmm”). It’s just so vague, even though know now that it’s just an invitation to talk about my relevant experience.

I started answering the question by explaining my background in education and my leap to writing and editing. And then, much to my horror, I heard the following words slip out of my already-grimacing mouth:

“I was writing for the internet in my personal time, but then I was laid off and thought I’d make a go of it!”

Oh my gosh. CRINGE. If I were that client, I would have rolled my eyes and gotten off the phone as quickly as possible. What an amateur. What a victim. What a hesitant, not-highly-paid rookie.

(Okay, I’m a little hard on myself sometimes, and I’m sure she wasn’t thinking mean things, but come on that’s a bad answer to give someone when you’re supposed to be the expert).

Call it a hunch, but after lurking on tons of freelancer mastermind groups I know I’m not alone on this. New writers (and sometimes even established writers) have stories about themselves in their heads and they let it come out at really inopportune moments (like first-time client calls).

Here’s what went wrong with this conversation and what we can all do to prevent it from happening to anyone again again:

You are not a victim, so don’t talk like you are.

As a part of my faith, upbringing, and general awareness of positive psychology, I believe in the power of positive thinking and in my own inherent power to change my situation. I am not a victim… and yet I told a story about myself to this client that was very much a story of victimhood.

I was laid off, and that was a downer at the time. But I rallied and turned it into a thriving career for myself with the time and wealth independence I need to be successful. Where is the victim in that? And why didn’t that come out on my call?

If you’re letting hints of victimhood into your story, invest time in proactively scripting those calls. Reflect on the significant events in your business life and career and carefully consider how you frame them.

Craft an authentic story that is a mix of vulnerability, honesty, and confidence in your ability to face any challenge that comes along.

Are you a well-paid, experienced expert? Or are you an “ooopsey-daisy!” victim who distances herself from her accomplishments? Your goal is to craft an authentic story that is a mix of vulnerability, honesty, and confidence in your ability to face any challenge that comes along.

I recently did an interview for another writing site and decided to reframe my story from the start. Instead of the nonsense from above, I wrote:

In 2013, I was laid off and these ideas were still kicking around in my head. I decided I had the skills and the passion and so I could make it work. I found my first independent clients and refined the way I ran my business over the years.

Boom! This post from Nick Reese also has some great tips for crafting a compelling story about your business.

If you don’t make willy-nilly decisions, don’t talk about your business like you do.

I am the nerd in my relationship. I overanalyze how many plantain fries I can fit on a cookie sheet, I decide whether or not to do my hair based on how many people will see me (to get the most out of the hair products!), and I carefully plan out epic errand-running trips to make sure they’re efficient. So why the heck would I tell someone I started my business because “I wanted to make a go of it?”

Now, to be fair, that was true: I did start my business wondering if it was sustainable. But I did not, do not, and have not ever approached my work with that kind of whimsy or devil-may-care attitude. So why is it in my story?

Let this be a lesson to us all. Sometimes we try to hide our shyness by being too polite or making light of serious accomplishments. Don’t do that.

Are you an amateur fooling around to “see if this thing sticks?” If so, why would anyone ever hire you? If not, why would you answer questions with that attitude?

Are you an amateur fooling around to “see if this thing sticks?” If so, why would anyone ever hire you? If not, why would you answer questions with that attitude?

Instead, focus your story on your skills, your competence, and your deeper motivations about the work you do. I may have been laid off and started my business from a risky position, but I jumped in with a fire in my heart and a talent for putting words together. That’s the story I need to be sharing.

Don’t assume what people think of your career.

This is where one of those unconscious stories came into play. Coming from a family with established, stable careers (mostly engineering and military service), I faced a lot of “Are you still looking for a job? My friend is hiring…” early on in my self-employment.

To be fair, I wasn’t sure if self-employment was a good fit for me. It didn’t bother me that my network asked these questions, but it did sink into my story that it was a little crazy to be taking this big risk. And my, what an unusual, unfortunate, and possibly dangerous choice to make.

Can you see where this is going? If I think my career is a little crazy, obviously someone in a traditional career must also think that. And so I kick off the conversation with a hesitant description that distances myself from the fact that I work for myself.

There’s no ownership there. There’s no authenticity there. And so, there’s no connection there.

No ownership? No authenticity? No connection.

I told a story to myself based on an assumption I made about the person I was talking to… and I was wrong. As it turns out, the person I was speaking with runs her own business on the side and was a full-time solopreneur for many years. If I had come in with a little more confidence about my purpose and why I do what I do, maybe we could have chatted about that and really gotten to know each other instead of simply ending the call and considering a trial assignment.

The lesson here is not to change your story entirely based on who you’re talking to. The lesson here is to sit with your story and take ownership of it. Figure out what you’re holding onto about what other people think about your business (family, friends, more successful people, less successful people), and confront it with the truth. Then bring that truth to the call.

Tell Me Your Story

I would loooooooooove to hear your “before and after” story in the comments below. Who knows, you might meet and connect with someone who has a similar story and you will find your new Internet BFF!

P.S. Does that Unsplash photo freak anybody else out? That’s about as spooky as I get for Halloween!

Where to Find These Mythical “High Paying Clients” You Keep Hearing About

October 12, 2015 By FiveFigureSarah

Where to Find These Mythical "High Paying Clients" You Keep Hearing About - Five Figure Writer

Everyone’s crooning about finding clients with bigger budgets and dropping the low-paying, “I’m not sure what I want, maybe you should work on it hourly until I figure it out” kind of clients on newbie writers.

But how do you actually find these mythical check-writing unicorns?

Based on my experience working for myself since 2013, I want to help shed some light on where these people with big budgets hang out and how to find them. This post is 50 percent “How to brainstorm real people who pay for writing,” and 50 percent “How to identify if a project is worth a high rate.”

Spoiler alert: Stop scrambling for money and start looking for real people with real problems.

Step One: Scrap Inbound for Outbound

When inbound marketing became a hot pepper a few years ago, everyone and their mother started a blog and began pushing content.

For tons of businesses, this is a fantastic idea. Their customers are using search to find their products, and excellent content is an important way to meet those needs and start a relationship. Or they need to establish themselves as a thought leader and their content does that one step at a time (possibly even laying the foundation for a book deal). Or they need to sell their clients on what it is that they do and why it’s valuable (such as the case of a content strategist or marketer).

But for 100% writers? Not at all a good idea!

(Don’t throw rocks at me, please, I’m sure there are exceptions to this statement… but I want to rescue the hours you’re spending writing content for your blog instead of writing content for high-paying clients!).

In our minds, it goes something like this:

[Lucrative client reads your (free) thought leadership post about how great freelance writers are], and says, “Wow, I wonder if this smart writer will write this for me?”

In reality, it goes something like this:

[Lucrative client reads headline only], and says, “This is a great topic — I need to get my writer to write about it…” or doesn’t read your blog at all.

When I closely evaluate where my most profitable clients and most enjoyable relationships came from, the trail goes straight to two specific marketing strategies:

I reached out to brands and companies I loved or respected
Clients I helped referred me to their business connections

The common thread here is not blog posts or web hits or resumes. It’s people. It’s relationships. So the best thing you can do to connect with good clients is to stop putting time and energy into writing blog posts and start investing it into emails that build real relationships with real people.

Stop putting time and energy into writing blog posts and start investing it into emails that build real relationships with real people.

High-paying clients have powerful networks and they use them. They pass recommendations and referrals back and forth day in and day out. They are paying back favors, asking favors, and meeting with people who are also successful. They want to be valuable to their network by having a good recommendation (possibly: you!) and they want to work with writers that other people have successfully worked with (again, possibly: you!).

Step Two: Reach Real People With Real Values (That You Agree With)

The post that tipped me off to writing this manifesto is Jake Jorgovan’s “How I Won Fortune 500 Clients Through Simple Outbound Marketing.” In this post, Jorgovan sings the praises of outbound marketing, where you straight up chase after the work you want like a talented yet rabid poodle as opposed to today’s very popular inbound marketing. He points writers toward pursuing trade associations, trade publications, industry awards, and conferences and conventions.

I want to second that and add another layer: pursue trade associations, trade publications, industry awards, conferences, conferences… and brands, companies, and products you love.

When I’m feeling the burn on my empty calendar, I’ll start prospecting with companies I looooooove.

I’ve emailed Alter Eco because I love their chocolate and Coconut Bay because their coconut water tastes like vanilla cake to me. I’ve emailed Liz Ryan’s Human Workplace because their posts are amazing, and Buffer and MailChimp because I use their products.

I start with a genuine connection and a compliment because I know that my love for their product makes me an excellent resource to shine a light on what makes me love them in the copy I write. Then I ask if they need help keeping up with today’s demand for high-quality content.

The brands I’ve listed here didn’t take me up on this offer — but they did appreciate the compliment. Writing those emails also made me feel good about the work I do and the products I like. So even though I didn’t land the business, it was a win-win for my time spent. And, of course, some of the other emails I wrote worked out!

(To get started here, check out Ed Gandia’s insights on Warm Email Prospecting!)

When you connect with people based on these interests, you meet out-of-the-way, hard-to-find people who powerful enough that they have good jobs (Chief Marketing Officer, Demand Director, etc) but not famous enough that a genuine, complimentary email will bore them. And that’s where the magic happens.

Step Three: Look For Painful & Costly Problems That You Can Solve

Jonathan Stark has an excellent, free resource called Expensive Problem that walks you through this concept better than I ever could (if you sign up for his newsletter, you’ll also get a fantastic proposal template). For writers, though, there’s a tl;dr version: how expensive is the problem you’re going to solve for your client?

If you’re writing for someone who runs a hobby food blog, you’ll never make more than $10 a post because the blog owner isn’t making money on it either (and, after all, “they could just do it themselves”). Oprah herself could write the post and it will simply never be worth more than $10.

But what if the person you are writing for sells three $750 products for every new blog post that goes live? Suddenly that post is worth $2250, and they’ll gladly pay a fraction of that cost (say, $200) to get it off their to-do list and have it be done by a professional.

This is the relationship you’re looking for: a project where you add value and make people money. If you don’t do that, you may land the job or the client, but it won’t be for long because the money will run out.

There are approximately three people in the world who will to spend more money on a writer just for the luxurious experience of spending more money on a writer.

There are approximately three people in the world who will to spend more money on a writer just for the luxurious experience of spending more money on a writer. The rest of the world expects to get more when they pay more. And if it isn’t obvious that they’re getting more, they simply won’t pay for it.

Step Four: Accept Responsibility for Getting Paid More

Look, accountability sucks sometimes. But the reality is that if your clients aren’t paying high prices…. it’s because you let them.

If your clients aren’t paying high prices…. it’s because you let them.

Pricing is all about positioning and boundaries. Position yourself for higher rates (Leah Kalamakis wrote an article that will help you see this process in action), then say “No!” when people want you to work for less (Ross Simmonds helps you see why that’s valuable).

Build up a huge savings so that you don’t blink when you have to say “No!” and you have the time wealth to pursue better opportunities. Replace low-paying clients with clients you have a passion for and clients who have expensive problems. Anything in between is what’s known as a rut and you’re choosing to stay in it.

Was This Helpful? Help Someone Else!

Hopefully this gave you some creative ideas for connecting with people who value what you do more than your current clients. If this sets you off on a new path of high paying clients… let me know in the comments where you went & what you did to make it happen!