My Move from Unemployed Worker to Freelance Writer

A few days ago I wrote about the things you should consider when moving from a job to freelancing. In it, I admitted that I went back to freelancing because I found myself out of a job. This is a different situation from a voluntary move to freelancing, and comes with its own set of problems and motivations. Here are the steps I took when I lost my job.

Analyzing the situation

When I found myself unemployed and looking for options, I had a few things on my side and a few unique problems on the horizon. On the plus side, I had an employed wife and a few thousand dollars in the bank. I also had this blog, which generates enough income to provide some cushion, but not enough to pay all of my bills.

What I did not have was a single freelance client. For a while, I had balanced freelancing with my last job, but when my job grew more demanding I stopped freelancing. Additionally, although my wife was employed at the time, she had already made plans to take the next year off to finish her Master’s Degree. This meant I only had about two months before our income took another major hit.

Establishing an income with easy sources

As you know, there are some low-paying but easy-to-land opportunities on the web. I’m not going to discuss which service I used, but I found an online content provider and started churning our quick, moneymaking content for them. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable work, but I was able to start earning again within days of losing my job. I made about $2500 over the course of two months. It allowed me to feel productive while I looked for more lucrative opportunities. It was also a steady freelance gig that I could quit at any time without repercussions.

Cutting expenses

Like most people faced with a major cut in pay, my wife and I started to cut expenses. We dropped our premium cable package. We minimized our mobile phone plan. We deferred my student loans. We went out less and shopped much more carefully. Some expenses just naturally faded away. I was no longer commuting 130 miles round trip to work and eating out with my co-workers. My wife and I also went down to one car. That last expense cut wasn’t entirely voluntary; our minivan caught on fire.

Using my social network

Once I had some money coming in, I concentrated on improving my presence on the web. I upgraded my online portfolio site. I updated my resume on sites such as Monster, Dice and LinkedIn. I let my friends on FaceBook know I was looking for work. I also had lunch with friends and former colleagues, some of whom were also out of work.

Because I did this, I got a few leads. One of these was at a company I had interviewed with before. The interviews had gone well, but they had been unable to offer me a full-time position due to budget cuts. I contacted them and let them know I was available as a freelancer.  They had a project for me and we started working together. One project led to another and I maintained them as a steady source of income for almost six months.

Expanding my base

I have yet to find another client that provides me with the steady work of the first big client, but nine months after losing my regular job, I have a number of smaller clients that are keeping me afloat. In many ways I prefer these smaller clients, because they provide more variety and stability than focusing on one big client for all of my income. Concentrating on one big client is almost the same as having a regular job. You become reliant, and that is dangerous. My one big client knows I’m there if they need me again, and I stay in contact.

Moving on

My goal now is steady expansion. Because I also have my blog, I am not entirely reliant on freelancing for my income, but I am entirely self-employed. My wife and I are able to pay our bills, but I want to do more than just get by and stay afloat. We’re a two car family again, but we are still shopping carefully and avoiding major purchases that we would love to make. My wife will graduate in another two months and probably return to her old employer. This will ease some burdens, but it also means that student loans will once again be in the picture. I have my own number in mind for how much I need to make, and I will keep pushing until I reach that number.

How to Treat Your Writing Like a Business

If you want writing to be your career, whether you want to be a copywriter or a poet, you need to treat writing like a business. This can be hard for creative people. Writers like to write. Most writers don’t get into writing because they love business. Unfortunately, if you want to be a success, you have to realize that you are in a business and that the more you know how to conduct yourself as a businessperson, the more you’ll be able to take advantage of writing opportunities and see projects through to completion.

You sell a product

If you are a writer, then your writing is your product. You have to sell that product if you want to make a living. This means that you need to learn about sales. Take a class in marketing or at least get yourself a basic book on sales. Whatever your end product is, from articles to poems to short stories, you can only make a living if you make sales.

You are a product

Beyond your writing, you have to sell another product. That product is you. Whether you are trying to land an assignment, a contract, or a job, you need to sell people on the concept of you. They have to believe that you are the right person for the job. They have to believe that you will not let them down. They even need to like you. You have to make people want to do business with you.

You have to do things you don’t love

With any luck, you got into writing because you love to write. If you didn’t, you should seriously find another profession, because there are plenty of better paying and less stressful careers out there. If you do love to write though, you also need to learn how to do things such as desktop publishing, bookkeeping, taxes, promotion, research, attending meetings, networking, project planning and customer service. They are all part of the business and you ignore them at your own peril.

You need to manage yourself

You have faults, I know I do, and some of these are going to get in your way as a writer. You may be shy, awkward, lazy, scatterbrained, argumentative, easily distracted, bad at math, prone to depression, a perfectionist, etc. You need to be honest about whatever your deficits are and find ways to keep them from damaging your writing career. Whether you need to get a friend or hire an assistant to keep you on task, or hire an accounting service to keep track of your money, you need to be sure that the important things are being taken care of, either by you or by someone you trust. You need to keep yourself working.

You need money

You can’t make a living without an income. That means you may need to write about subjects because they will make you money, or take on additional non-writing work to keep you afloat. This is the reality of having a writing career. You don’t always get to do exactly what you want. You need to think in terms of how much money you need, and how you are going to get it. Sometimes that means taking on assignments you don’t love. Sometimes it means simplifying your life and giving up luxuries or even some basics so that you need less money. Whatever the case, your income matters and you have to find a way to live on the money you make or make more money.

Think like a businessperson

You are free to write like an artist, but you have to think like a businessperson at times. It is a good idea to take business classes, organization classes, and marketing classes. Once you know something about business, it will be easier for you to think of new projects in terms of how you can make them work for your career so that you can keep writing.

Six Tips for More Organized Freelancing

Make a daily to-do list

Sit down at the beginning of each day and look at your current assignments. If you don’t have any assignments, make marketing your assignment for the day. Make a list of the three things that you most want or need to move forward on that day and decide what steps you are going to take. Tackle those items as soon as possible, before the day gets in your way.

Make a daily don’t do list

Make a list of the things that you aren’t going to do that day. This is for your peace of mind. Write down any of those nagging tasks that you think you need to do but know you won’t do. Get those items on paper and off of your mind.

Throw away everything you don’t need

By throw away I mean throw it in the trash, recycle it or give it to someone else. Everything in your office that you don’t need is a potential distraction. Yes, you are welcome to have art and other things that aren’t entirely necessary but make life better. Just get rid of the junk, and realize that most of the things in your office are probably  junk.

Keep track of the ways that you waste time

If you stop working to log on to Facebook and read your messages or play Viking Clan, write it down. If you stop to check your email, write it down. Make yourself list all the ways that you waste time. It will keep you honest.

Log your thoughts and ideas

Keep an open text file, a notebook, a smartphone or an audio recorder. Whenever you have a thought that seems valuable or won’t get out of your head, record it for later. You can review these thoughts at the end of the day to determine their value and any ways that you want to move forward.

Apply the 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule, which applies to so much of life, is simply this. Twenty percent of effort results in eighty percent of results and benefits. Review your time and your projects and determine the most valuable way to use your time. What do you do that actually results in income, and what do you do that doesn’t result in income.

How to Start Making Freelance Money Today!

The greatest tool ever

I’m about to reintroduce you to the greatest money making tool a freelance writer has. It’s been neglected a bit lately because of this new Internet fad that all the kids are talking about, but it’s still the easiest, greatest way to find work. The best part is that you’re probably carrying that tool with you right now. If not, I’ll bet one is nearby. It’s called a phone. Know it. Love it. Use it.

1 versus 100

Do you know why telemarketers are constantly interrupting your dinner with sales calls? Because it works. They don’t make a sale every time, and they don’t have to. If one out of twenty calls is successful, a telemarketer is ahead of the curve. Now, think about this for yourself. If you’re sitting at home with no work, in eight hours you can certainly make twenty calls. Heck, rejections take no time at all. With enough rejections you can easily make one hundred calls in eight hours. If just one of those calls nets you an assignment, you’re back in the game. That’s power.

Who you gonna call?

Phone numbers are easy to come by. I must get half a dozen phone books delivered to my door every year. I keep at least one of them even though I never use it. Why? Because that Internet thingy is so darned convenient! I can look up just about any business online. Want a list of publishers in your city? Type the name of your city and the word publishers into Google. It will not only give you a list of publishers, it will point them out to you on a map. If the publisher has a web site, you can visit it and find out who to call. Calling is a lot easier if you have a name, but don’t let names stop you. Just call up the main number and ask for the editor, publisher, marketing department or even the owner. Not sure how to move forward? Here you go!

1. Call your local newspapers and magazines. Almost all newspapers have a web presence so it should be especially easy to find out who the editors are. Ask for the appropriate editor and explain that you are a freelance writer and that you want to find out what their policy on freelancing is and if they have any needs at this time.
2. After you finish with the locals, you should look to expand your search to the entire region. Call up any newspaper and magazine within a 200 mile radius. This goes for any search. Start locally and move outward as you make more calls.
3. Call your local publishing companies and print shops. Ask for the editor, owner or manager. Ask them if they use freelancers for copywriting, editing or proofreading work. Let them know that you are in the area and available.
4. Make a list of local non-profit organizations, schools and colleges. Call them and explain that you are a local writer. Ask if they are in need of any copywriting or grant writing.
5. Move on to local businesses, especially locally-owned retail businesses. Ask for the owner or manager and explain that you are a local copywriter and ask if they are in need of brochures, fliers, radio copy or other advertising materials.

Friendly neighborhood writer

The important thing to remember is to be friendly and willing to listen. The chances of you landing a sale are about one in twenty, so don’t get discouraged by rejection. Rejection will happen most of the time. That’s why you keep dialing more numbers. If you are friendly and straightforward, all sorts of good things can happen. Some people may ask you to send samples. Others may take your number and promise to call if they have any work. Others may recommend another editor or business. Sometimes, you’ll get the gig right then and there. For any businesses that show interest but don’t commit to a sale, send them your business card, postcard or brochure so that you can be sure they received your information.

I won’t lie to you. Cold calling takes effort and guts. It isn’t for the lazy or the timid. That’s why it works, because so few people are willing to do it.

How to Sell Articles to Daily and Weekly Newspapers

Article by Phil Philcox

Give or take a few thousand, there are over 23,000 daily and weekly newspapers in the United States. Weekly newspapers are published for the most part in small towns where there is no competition from large dailies. A weekly newspaper survives with advertising from local businesses, offering rates that are far below that of a daily newspaper. Of course, weeklies have a limited readership, so they reach a local audience with local news and local advertising. Operating on a budget, many weeklies have a small staff and there are weeklies that have 1-2 people doing everything from writing articles to shooting photos to selling advertising to running the presses and distributing the paper around town.

In my forty-plus years of freelancing, I’ve discovered a good market for my articles in weekly newspapers, but you must realized that small newspapers have small budgets. The Atlanta Journal (not a small newspaper) paid me $450 for a 1500 word travel article on Panama City Beach in Florida. I could never get that kind of money from a weekly newspapers, but I could earn $450 if I sold that article to 45 newspapers at $10 each or 10 newspapers at $45 each. I always retain the rights to articles by offering First North American Rights only. That way, I can turn around a month or a year later and sell the article again and again. I’ve sold one article as many as 30 times over a period of a few years, updating it as required to keep it current. This works with magazines as well as newspapers.

Sending out your writing via the old paper/envelope/stamp system is no solution if you want to reach 10, 45 or more newspapers. With a list of weekly newspaper website addresses, anyone can get a glimpse of the current issue and possible the papers archives and get an idea of what type of non-local material they use. A writer’s competition at weeklies is syndicated material that includes a variety of stuff (fillers, puzzles, comic strips, self-help articles, etc.) for only a few dollars each. Because there is no overlap in readership (the readers of a weekly in upstate New York never see an issue of a weekly published in downtown Cleveland), they can sell that material over and over again. A column like Ann Landers that appears in over 2,000 or more papers could be offered for $4 per column and everybody involved gets rich. With that kind of pricing, it’s difficult (but no impossible) to get paid fairly if you’re working on a one-on-one basis. Write a 650 word filler on how to save on your income tax and if you find one weekly interested in buying it, they might offer you $10-$15. I’ve been offered as little as $2 for an article and it cost me (at that time) $1 to mail it flat. You can’t survive under those conditions. But you can survive if you send that article to 10, 50, 100 or more newspapers and you can do that directly from the newspapers web site.

Almost all newspapers (dailies and weeklies) have some means of getting in touch with the editors. While dailies are usually staffed with people who can turn out a variety of material at no cost to the editor other than salary, there are dailies that buy material from freelancers. The Atlanta Journal article sale was the result of a query. They bought the article because I know more about Panama City Beach than any of their staff writers. If you know more about any subject then they can uncover through their normal research/writing routine, you can even crack the dailies. With website access, you can send you material off with a click of the mouse and if they respond, find. If not, there are others out there who might.

Here’s how I sold some humor columns over and over again to weekly newspapers around the country. You can do the same thing with a column on any subject or articles on any subject. I started writing the column for two upstate New York weekly newspapers in the mid-80s and over a period of two years had fifty columns, ranging in length from 500-750 words each. The papers in New York paid me $10 a column. The subjects were general in nature (dieting, paying taxes, living with a spouse, the cost of living, vacationing, politics, etc.) These were subjects that newspaper readers anywhere in the country could relate to. If readers can relate, then there are probably newspaper editors out there interested in what you have to say…if they can afford you. I started putting together the websites of daily and weekly newspapers and concentrated my sales pitch on weeklies for all of the above reasons. I picked two sample columns, opened an e-mail link (letters to the editor, staff e-mails, contact us, etc.) with a “…if you can use this at your normal rate of payment, I have some other columns I’d like to submit. If you can’t use it, just delete it.” I sent the two columns off the first time to 25 editors, using their e-mail link or the BCC block. When you send something to someone by typing in their address in the TO: box, only their address appears when it arrives at the other end. When you send something to more than one person and use the CC: box, they see the entire list of addressee…not a good idea. Using the BCC: (which stands for Blind Carbon Copy), they only see their address even if you send it to 500 editors. Check the e-mail HELP to see how to do this. Sometimes you have to insert a comma between each address.

I sent those columns to over 1,000 editors. While it was tedious, it’s my way of selling material over the Internet. The responses ranged from “…take me off your mailing list” to “sorry, not interested” to “we don’t buy freelance material” to “we don’t have any money” to “we like the columns. How much do you want for them?” I deleted all the negative stuff and wound up with 14 newspapers saying “how much?” If I had to do this by regular mail, I’d go looking for another way to earn a living. From previous experience, I knew if I asked for too much they couldn’t afford it. If I left it up to them, they’d probably pay $5. If I quoted them something in the just-over-reasonable range, say $40, they would probably counteroffer with something in the $20-$25 range. That’s fair enough for me.

Remember now, we’re working with weeklies that have only a limited amount of funds to buy outside material. If you have something good to offer and reach out to enough newspapers, somebody is going to respond. If not, you probably have a bad product, you’re probably too expensive or you’re not contacting enough newspapers. This type of marketing isn’t for everyone. There are writers out there who work on a piece for months and expect to be paid for their time. That’s certainly a reasonable request. But I’ve done both and realize that with the Internet, newspaper and magazine web sites and e-mail address, I can start selling my writing a new way and it works for me. All of this takes time, but once you get the hang of it, you can write something and send it off to a variety of newspapers both dailies and weeklies. Using e-mail links, you can send it to everything from The New York Times to the Marathon Keynoter in the Florida Keys. If they delete it and don’t respond, that’s just part of the marketing process.

Phil Philcox is the Editor of The Press Association USA (writer@white-star.com) Phil Philcox is also the creator of Email Publisher 2000