If you’re an experienced writer with a considerable amount of published work, you may be wondering how you can monetise your skills and what to charge for your freelance writing. Truth be told, there are various ways you can make money from a blog – including ads, affiliate marketing, and product reviews – but none of these methods can bring in the consistent income you need to support a family. That’s why you should consider becoming a freelancer.
The Basics
As a freelancer, you’ll be tasked with writing for clients who have money to spend and you’ll need to keep track of your time. To assist you in preparing for your freelance writing career, we’ve put together a cheat sheet containing the basic information you need to know. Review it before you begin your journey.
Monetisation Options
When considering how to monetise your writing, you need to first decide if you want to go the paid advertising or affiliate sales route. Paid ads are usually the cheapest form of monetisation but they don’t always generate the best results. Consider sponsored posts when seeking out affiliate marketing opportunities. These are posts where the content is’sponsored’ by a brand or business, but you’ll still receive credit for the content you produce. Think of it as content partnership.
Once you’ve settled on a method of monetisation, you can begin to look into the pricing of the freelance writing jobs you’ll take on. Keep in mind that you’ll need to negotiate with your clients. Most freelancers set their rates fairly high because they want to ensure that their work isn’t offered for free. Setting your pricing too low may make you struggle to generate income.
Responsibilities
As a freelance writer, you’ll be expected to fulfil certain responsibilities to ensure the success of your business. First and foremost, you’ll need to be accessible to your clients. Even when you’re not working, you should be available to take on new assignments. When seeking out new clients, try and meet as many deadlines as possible so that your client continues to pay you. This may mean that you need to put in extra hours each week beyond what you’d normally need to complete a project. Clients usually expect a certain level of responsiveness from a freelance writer and being available 24/7 may be the best way to retain their trust. For similar reasons, you should ensure that your work is of satisfactory quality. Your clients will inevitably expect you to deliver what they’ve hired you to produce and being able to deliver on this promise is the key to maintaining their business.]
Owning Your Own Business
The most important thing to consider if you’re looking to make money as a freelancer is that it’s not about the money. We’re not saying that you should walk away from your day job to pursue a career in writing. What we are suggesting is that you need to consider whether or not this is the right time for you to be taking on freelance work. In reality, nothing stops you from picking up freelance writing as a side gig while still maintaining a full time job. However, we can’t stress enough the need to make sure that this is what you want. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get back. If you’re serious about pursuing a writing career, then get ready to work hard. You may be able to land some paid writing jobs but expect to put in lots of unpaid hours before you see any return on investment. As for the money you do make, make sure to save as much as you can. Even if you only earn £500 per month, investing this in a high-yielding savings account will almost certainly give you a better return. Plus, you won’t be liable to pay any income tax on this money as it’s considered to be ‘unearned’ or ‘unwaged’ income. As a freelance writer, this is undoubtedly one of the best opportunities to build a reliable income stream.
The Pros
If you’re considering a career in freelancing, you’ll need to put into consideration the benefits. First of all, it’s highly beneficial to have a steady income stream. While you might be able to generate a small income from a few freelance writing jobs each month, this will never be enough to support a family. Owning your own business also gives you the freedom to decide when you work and how long you work for each project. If you’ve got a family, keeping them happy and healthy is one of the most important factors in your success as a freelancer. Furthermore, being able to set your own working hours is extremely beneficial as it means you can structure your work day so that you can fit in free time to spend with your family. Finally, having a steady stream of work means that you don’t have to worry about securing freelance writing jobs when the opportunity knocks. Instead, you can sit back and wait for the work to come in.
The Cons
Just because you have a steady income stream doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. Inevitably, as a business owner, you’ll encounter various challenges. The main one is balancing work and personal life. Just because you have a steady income doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to pull off a 40 hour work week like some freelance writers. Be prepared to work extra hours if you need to so that you can keep up with your responsibilities as a business owner.
Balancing work and personal life is difficult enough, but you’ll also need to put in the work to ensure that you retain your clients. Just because you have a good reputation as a writer doesn’t mean that all of your clients will automatically come back. You’ll need to establish yourself as an expert in your field and prove to your clients that you can consistently meet deadlines. For similar reasons, it’s important to develop a good working relationship with your customers. By responding to their emails and requests for information, you’ll be able to build a list of valuable leads that will keep you in good stead as a freelancer.
The Verdict
We can’t deny that the freedom to be your own boss and set your own working hours is one of the draws of being a freelancer. Ultimately, it comes down to you and what you want out of this career. If you’re looking for a reliable income then owning a business might be the way to go. Otherwise, if you want to continue being a freelancer for the lifestyle, then side gigs might be the way to go. In the end, it’s all about what’s important to you.