clients Archives - Five Figure Writer

3 Freelance Writing Secrets You Need to Keep to Yourself

October 31, 2017 By FiveFigureSarah

I don’t have a lot of secrets online. I write about how much money I make, my faith in God, and the things that scare me. But when you are embarking upon a career in freelance writing, you’ll soon find out that there are some things that the world doesn’t need to know.

And I’m not just talking about what keeps you up at night or what you ate for breakfast. I’m talking about strategic things that 1) make you smarter when you don’t share them and 2) make you look like a newbie when you do.

In a world where vulnerability and disclosure are hot, hot, hot, here are three secrets you actually need to keep to yourself if you want to be a successful freelance writer:

Secret #1: That you can write anything for anyone

Now, I can absolutely write anything for anyone.

I’ve written tweets, slogans, white papers, blog posts, blog post intros, webinars, webinar abstracts, and data reports, and I’ve written them for my niche (human resources) as well as marketing, construction software, shipping and logistics, website design, data security, cloud solutions, medical surgery foam (seriously), and more.

But do you know what’s on my portfolio and my LinkedIn profile? I write white papers and articles for HR. That’s it. And that’s why I can propose projects and rates (and project rates) that blow my $20-an-article rate of the past out of the water.

It’s not crazy to say you can write something and be able to do it. In fact, if you’re a writer, you’re just good with words. You can make them dance in any format on any topic in any place on Earth…

But the minute you say that — the minute a client reads that on your website — they drop you in a big, bottomless cavern known as “generalist.” And generalists don’t get paid much.

The minute a client reads that you can write anything for anyone on your website, they drop you in a big, bottomless cavern known as “generalist” — And generalists don’t get paid much.

It’s far, far better to niche in both topic and format and say so. It will take a little time, and it will take a little trial and error, and yes, you will have to turn away business, but that’s the only way to command a higher rate and actually enjoy the work you do.

(Spoiler alert: Your niche will change over time! And that’s okay!)

Secret #2: That you’ve been writing and reading since you could crawl

Again, I was a writer when I was a toddler.

I wrote a short story about an iguana in elementary school. My favorite hobby in middle school was correcting my older brother’s papers. My idea of a good time in high school was taking an apple and a book, biking up the street, and reading for hours in the outdoors.

But that wholesome, beautiful story about a young woman’s weakness for word wrangling has absolutely nothing to do with marketing manager with $15,000 to spend on content this quarter. In fact, it distracts that manager from the job she needs to get done with soft, meaningless, Nicolas-Sparks-style words.

Your personal history and soft, meaningless, Nicolas-Sparks-style words distract your prospective clients from the jobs they need to get done.

Instead of talking about how young you were when you got your first red pen, talk about your years of experience and the projects you’ve worked on. Talk about the results your clients got, or the things your clients don’t need to worry about when their writer is on-time, polished, and thoughtful.

You don’t have to sterilize business and be all about the analytics all the time, but the time for sharing who you are and building a connection is after you land the work based on what you can do for them (and after they have paid you ;-)).

Secret #3: Why you can’t make that meeting/take that assignment/be their slave

Sometimes my calendar is booked because I’m going to a doctor’s appointment. Sometimes it’s booked because I don’t have nanny coverage. And sometimes it’s booked because I’m going to be eating a delicious snack. Do you know what my clients hear from me?

“I’m so sorry, but I’m unavailable at that time.”

Same goes for a project that 1) seems like it’s going to be a pain in the tookus, or 2) will conflict with my ethics, or 3) will make me roll my eyes too hard every day for several weeks as I try to schedule 5+ subject matter experts and their entourages.

Over-sharing about your calendar is both annoying to the person you’re scheduling with (seriously, they don’t need to know) and chafes at your professionalism. In fact, it’s just an example of how new freelance writers can get caught up in the negative worldview of freelancers. You think:

Everyone knows freelancers are unreliable, so I have to prove to them that I’m reliable by giving them every detail about my calendar and every legitimate excuse I can.

Or:

Everyone knows freelancers are desperate for work, so I have to explain in excruciating detail why I won’t take this particular assignment and how grateful I’d be to be considered again in the future.

Nope! Stop. Sometimes the most B-A thing you can do is sit quietly and say, “I’m sorry, that’s not going to work for me.”

What are your secrets?

So, what about you? Do you have any secrets you’ve kept from clients from day 1? And what other secrets do you think freelancer writers should keep close to the vest?

Stop Trying to Overcome Freelance Writing Fear

June 7, 2016 By FiveFigureSarah

Eileen wrote me this email yesterday, and it was really heartfelt.

“It’s helpful to know that the fear is part of the freelance writing job,” she says. “Like, I guess, I tend to think that if I’m scared I must be doing something wrong.”

Boom.

Zap.

Zing.

Tell me you’ve never felt that way before.

That first day of high school, when you’re shaking with adrenaline that’s half excitement and half, “Where the crap is my locker?”

That first day on the job when you double-check your offer letter to make sure you didn’t hallucinate that congratulatory phone call or your benefits package.

And then… that first day you ask someone to pay you for the words you write for them.

These moments of fear didn’t precede traumatic downward spiral. (Well, at least not for most high schoolers…). These moments also didn’t mean that going to a new school, taking a new job, or taking a freelance client weren’t the right next step for you. It’s just a feeling. And fear isn’t the problem. The problem is how we respond to it.

Fear is not the problem. The problem is how we respond to it.

Freelance writing fear often sends the wrong message

It would be awesome if every good thing we ever did was accompanied by feelings of light-heartedness and certainty that would clearly say to us, “Yes! Do it! This is it!” But that’s not how our guts work.

Fear is really helpful in the jungle when it tells us to hide in the cave and be wary of those scary sounds. But when we’re trying to build a freelance writing business, fear is just a chemical process that comes along with something new.

It’s not foretelling the future.

It’s not a sign you’re doing the wrong thing.

It’s just a feeling — like hunger or sadness or a charley horse– that tells you something big is about to happen.

When we interpret fear as a warning sign that we should stop, we miss out on a lot of great things.

Some of us might not be married.

Some of us might not have children.

Certainly none of us would run freelance writing businesses.

But deep within each of these tough, wonderful, and intimidating-at-first things is a powerful desire that pulls us through the freelance writing fear and toward a new idea.

Don’t try to escape your fear — work with it

Eileen and I both had the same first instinct: run away from the fear. Run away and do something that won’t make those feelings come up. But that’s not a smart move for Eileen, me, or you, because here’s the biggest secret of all:

Successful freelance writers aren’t people who never experience fear. Successful freelance writers are people who understand that fear is a natural byproduct of doing good work — and that confidence is the result of that good work.

Successful freelance writers work side by side with fear to get things done, and at the end of the day they take their fear home with them to dinner.

Successful people aren’t people who never experience fear. Successful people are people who understand that fear is a natural byproduct of doing good work.

If you’re reading this, your story is probably a lot like mine.

You’re a good, solid writer. You know your way around a Word Document and you know that what you do is valuable to your clients. But when you go to pitch, or when you think of writing something for the business world, your throat clinches up a little and you get a bad case of the willies. You just aren’t confident that you’re worth those rates.

Well, some people let those fears stop them. But you and Eileen and me, we’re going to accept those freelance writing fears, scoop them into a little woven basket on our desk, and put on a show for our fear to watch as we try new things, pitch new clients, and turn in draft after draft of our best work.

Put fear in its place

Let’s look at the freelance life with new eyes. The fear you’re feeling isn’t always a sign you shouldn’t be doing this. It’s a sign that there’s something big there if you’re persistent enough to push through your first fluttering doubts.

Keep your eyes out for moments in your freelance journey that cause you to feel fear. Then, don’t run. Look the fear in the face and let it know that you appreciate its input… and that you’ve got some work to do anyway.

P.S. If you’re trying to overcome fears related to breaking into B2B writing, I’ve got just the thing for you: The B2B Booster Shot. If you’re trying to overcome fears about being productive as a freelancer with a chronic illness (or a baby at home, or whatever else you’ve got going on, this post is for you.

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!