Category: Blog

Project management is a necessary part of running any type of business. Whether you have a service-based or a product-based business, there are inevitably a variety of projects that you will need to plan. But, you don’t have to make it too hard for yourself. In fact, you can make project management easy if you know what to do.

Use a Project Management System – There are many project management systems you can purchase, like Basecamp.com, Asana.com, Trello.com, and others. But, you can also use a calendar system, a physical planning book, or even a whiteboard. All that matters is that you have a system of some kind to use for each project.

Understand the Scope, Goals and Objectives of the Project – Once you understand these three things, you can easily develop the steps to get to the end goal or deliverable. When you focus on the deliverable and stay within the scope of the project, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier than you thought.

Do Your Research – For each deliverable, you may need to conduct some research to ensure that you’re using the right tools, and that you understand exactly what it takes to get to the finished product without missing any steps or forgetting something important.

 Write a Project Outline – When you know what it takes, you can go through and write down all the steps it takes to get it done, starting with the goal or deliverable of your project. Right now, try to put things in chronological order. Some things may be done simultaneously, but some things will have to be done first before you move on to the next. This is important because for example if you are outsourcing part of the project, you can’t start on the next part until the first thing is done.

Develop Your Timeline – As you look at your outline, move it to a calendar or project management system. Put each item into your system, along with who is responsible for the task and when the expected due date is. Whether it’s a calendar, a planner, or an online project management system, enter it all in – every little detail.

Be Prepared to Adjust – Remember that you can always adjust the project dates and timeline as you move forward with the project. Always give yourself a little extra time on the schedule, especially if you have more than one or two people working on the project, to account for their issues too.

Let Your Experts Work – When you outsource, as long as your directions were clear and you’ve chosen experts, the work will be done on time and as directed. But sometimes it can take time to build a team that works well together. The important thing is to keep communication open, assign fair due dates, and give time for issues that may cause problems for everyone.

Basically, it’s all about understanding that managing a project is just about figuring out what the deliverables are, how they will be completed by the deadline, and by whom, and what is expected of everyone on the team. Then, it needs to be put into an organizational system (whether a calendar, a spreadsheet, a file sharing system or a project management system) in order to keep it all organized and going smoothly.

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You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Free gifts or “Thank You” gifts entice your audience to join or opt-in to your mailing list. It’s also a very effective marketing strategy. However, it’s only effective if the freebie is useful, valuable and of high quality. Your freebies pull double duty for you. They serve as samples and examples of your products, services, values, ethics, and expertise. They also enable you to reach more of the people who want and need the products and services you provide.

If you are serious about getting more subscribers/clients, your freebies should be top-notch and something that your audience needs. Ideally, you want to create the freebie only once. However, under certain circumstances, you may want to make a slightly edited version for a different segment of your target market. Here are a few free gifts you may want to consider offering subscribers.

Ebooks – These are great instant gifts, especially if it’s a book you normally sell. This gives it a greater perceived value. When your visitors see that you are a “giving” person, they are more willing to buy from you.

Reports– A report is just a short eBook that is more focused on solving one problem, instead of a complete guide on the topic like a book would be. If you had a website about vegetarianism, you could, for instance, offer a free pantry check sheet, measurement conversion, or substitution chart for your readers to use.

Coupons– People like getting coupons. Offer your visitors a coupon code for signing up for your email list. Don’t discount your work too much, though, because that devalues what you do.

Videos– Offer a short video that teaches or informs your audience how to do something that will benefit them. An example might be a “How to Install WordPress Editorial Calendar” or “How to Get Perfect Poached Eggs Every Time.”

Checklists– An awesome freebie to give your audience are checklists. People want to save time and checklists can help them do just that.

Charts– Offer your audience a chart or graph that helps them to visualize a complex concept. Pair the chart with a brief explanation of its meaning and relevance.

Related Items Bundle– Compile of all of the above if you want to offer an outstanding freebie to your list subscribers. This is a great way to give them an overall sampling of what you do well.

Ecourse– This is a must-have, especially if you are also a coach. You can provide the course through email or in an eLearning “classroom” type of setting. If you provide eBooks, this might be an introduction to or extension of one of the topics.

Challenge– Offering a niche-related challenge via email is a super way to encourage readers to step outside of their comfort zone or to reach their next goal. Consider including a time or point when you give them personal feedback during or after the completion of the challenge.

Cheat sheets – These quick “reminders” are a great way to teach your audience or provide information that is a bit complex or lengthy. An example you may be familiar with is the emoticons with the keys used to make the symbol like this smiley face : ) .

Templates – You can create all sorts of templates that will help your audience complete a specific task or activity. Depending on your niche/services, you may want to offer a few eBook templates for your clients to use.

Blueprints– Blueprints are wonderful way to share or explain a detailed concept. For example, you can create a blueprint for clients that explains, step-by-step, “How to Get Readers Excited and Ready to Buy”.

Planners– Offer a fill-in-the-blank content planner to help your audience plan, order, and schedule content. Be sure to brand the planner with your site logo and link. You may also want to include a few planning tips or associate this download with a “Planning” or “Efficient Content” mailing list where you can offer even more planning tips along the way.

Audio– Provide a free audio, where you share tips. Interview someone in your client’s niche. Interview someone about marketing or another topic that all your client’s can use. The interview can help you gain additional attention and recognition, depending on who you interview.

Case study – Give away a case study related to the type of writing or editing you do. For example, if you specialize in writing blog or website content, you might want to offer a case study with the latest statistics about fonts (size, color, styles, combinations, etc.)

Graphics– Depending on your niche, you may be familiar with your audience’s needs and usage of graphics. If you also do graphic work, or know someone who does, you may want to give away public domain images, which have been edited to include phrases, tips, quotes, etc., that relate to your audience’s needs. For example, if you cater to home and family sites, you could offer 25 topic related memes with quotes related to home and family.

Private Facebook (or similar) Group– Give new subscribers access to an “insiders” group where they can get info related to their niche and/or business. Keep this group “by invitation only” so it’s more exclusive and is perceived as having greater value.

Pre-recorded webinars –Offer free access to a pre-recorded webinar that you conducted or participated in. This helps potential clients view you as an authority and/or a leader in your niche. In addition, you get to JV with your peers and stir up a buzz.

Free Pass– Give away a free pass to your next webinar, event, workshop, etc. You can limit this to a specific number of people (spots) or by time, where people have to sign-up during a certain period. Keep in mind that the event or activity should be relative to your audience’s needs. For example, a writer specializing in local business would need to make sure that local business issues and interests were covered.

Guide to…– Create a guide your potential clients and your audience would find helpful. Your free sign-up gift guide will be specific to your niche audience. For example, if your ideal target market includes new online business owners, you may need to create a guide, which explains the different types of content they may need and how you can help them. A guide to online safety might also be appropriate.

Plugins & apps– Offering a plugin or app may be a bit beyond your ability. If you have a coder friend, they may be able to help you create one. There are also some apps/plugins that you can buy with the right to brand them as your own and give them away.

Free trial– Nothing makes people more willing to take the plunge and take a chance than a free, limited-time trial of a product or service.

Contest entry– Hold a contest. Give new sign-ups an extra entry into the contest or drawing. Another option might just be the standard “enter to win” strategy.

Worksheets– You can give away a variety of worksheets. In fact, you may want to provide a bundle of them. They could include a traffic tracking spreadsheet, keyword worksheet, content ordering form (with the info you need), affiliate product sheet, promotion calendar, etc.

Free consultation– Help your audience get to know you by offering a free consultation, when they sign up. The consultation can be done through email, on the phone or via skype.

Book preview– Offer a free preview of your next book (a few chapters) or digital product. This is also a great way to make pre-sales before launch. Ask for feedback.

Freebie of the month membership– Offer a free membership to a freebie of the month club. People love freebies. You can provide a helpful, valuable, free download item, such as images, checklists, guides, comparison charts, calendar pages, and more. You could also create a more complex, related item or package to sell each month.

Fun printables– Using what you know about your target market, create fun printables that help relieve stress, educate, and motivate subscribers. These could include niche related crossword puzzles, word searches, color pages (adults or kids), cryptograms, hidden images, etc.

Tangible Items– Offer a tangible item such as a promotional calendar, pen, t-shirt, 3-ring binder, or other helpful promotional items. This is especially appropriate if your target market is mostly made up of local business owners.

Encouraging people to opt in and subscribe to your list is an important part of making your business successful. The major money is still in the email list, even when you market in other places. Get your target market on your mailing list by giving them something helpful and valuable, while you build a better relationship and make more sales.

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If you’re a writer, you have a skill that many people only dream of having. You can use that skill to affect change in so many ways from writing letters to the editor, to writing grants, to simply making your client’s lives easier writing is a wonderful career full of opportunities to help or change others.

Save Your Clients Time

While your writing gives your clients a lot more than just time, the time is what they’re going to notice the most at first. Most people who hire writers aren’t writers themselves, so it takes them a lot longer to get the work done. As a writer, you’ll save them time so that they can come up with other ideas and focus on the parts of their business that they do well.

Persuade them to Be Better

When you are good at persuasive writing, which most online writing is, you’ll be able to persuade people to do all sorts of things from buying that new dress, to getting on a healthy diet, to joining that non-profit fundraiser. It’s an awesome skill to have.

Help a Non-Profit Succeed

Volunteering can be hectic for people who have full-time jobs. As a freelance writer, while you do have to write a few hours a day, you don’t write 8 hours a day or 10 hours a day like you would have to in a job. That means you have time to devote to causes you care about. By volunteering your writing skills to create newspapers, fundraising info and so forth, you will not only give them something invaluable you may also make more connections with people who will pay you for your writing skills.

Help Them Choose Something

Sometimes writing is simple and designed to help them choose between a couple things. For example, if you’re choosing between two books about the same topic what makes you decide? Knowing that will help you get better at that type of writing but helping someone make a choice is a gift.

Special Memories for Your Family & Friends

You can also use your writing skills, assuming you are skilled creativity, to make special memories for your family. If you’re a songwriter, write them a song. You can also just write a beautiful letter as a gift. You may also volunteer your writing for any deaths in the family.

Teach Your Kids to Write Better

Since you can write, you’ll be able to teach your kids to write better. This is going to be a big advantage to them when it comes to the writing they do in school. You can even volunteer at your local library helping other children write too.

Increase Your Client’s Income

If you write a profitable sales page the amount your clients can earn depending on their product is unlimited. If the product is half as good as they say it is, and you can write sales pages that convert your page might make your client 200K in 48 hours after launch. Won’t that feel great?

Promote a Cause You Care About

If you care about an issue, you can write about it. Post on medium.com, or your local newspaper in letters to the editor, or you can even write about those things and post them on other sites, blogs, and so forth.

Using your writing skills to help your clients, your family, friends and you are all reasons to become a freelance writer if you have the skills. Writing is about so much more than just the product. It’s about the results the product produces for the user. When you realize that you realize the possibilities of contributing to society using your writing skills are endless.

 

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here. And you can get in for just $1.

 

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

One way to make more money is to work on intermediate and advanced writing projects. These types of projects often earn more money due to specialization and knowledge. You can find intermediate and advanced work online and offline. But if you want to land these projects, you need to be prepared.

Create a Portfolio – To get advanced jobs you’re going to need some examples of your work that carries your byline. If you’re a ghostwriter, this can be tricky. You’re not going to get clients to agree to let you use what you wrote. Therefore, you need to create content for your portfolio to show the examples. You can do this by publishing on Medium.com, guest posting, and publishing your own work.

Improve Your Online Presence – Your website and your social platforms liked LinkedIn need to be improved and updated. Higher-end clients will check your site out and your process. They want to feel like they are working with an expert. If your website is not professional, and your online presence is sparse or poorly branded, and your onboarding process is lacking you won’t get the higher paying projects.

Be Confident in Your Skills – Confidence is something that comes with experience. When you have the experience of doing good work that gets recognition and praises your confidence will build. Until then you may need to think positively as you practice your craft and act as if you do have the confidence already by using the language of confidence. “I will” instead of, “I think.”

Join Writer Organizations – When you join an organization for writers, especially if you find one that is within your niche, you will see calls for proposals usually in the back of the magazine. Additionally, some publications accept unsolicited work and the writer organization can help you find them.

Pitch Every Day – When you find opportunities don’t put off pitching. You need to pitch ideas at least once a day to get hired for enough work to ensure your income. You’re going to get more noes than yeses.

Be Patient – You will get more noes than yeses. Because of this, it’s imperative that you stay patient and don’t let it bother you. If you’re working on perfecting your portfolio and your pitches, you will land an intermediate or advanced writing project eventually.

Find the Right Clients – If you want to work on intermediate to advanced writing projects more, you may need to change your ideal client. Your ideal client may be a multiple six-figure personality or coach instead of a mommy blogger who has a smaller budget.

Know where to look for clients and projects that are more advanced. That may be through publications, or it might be by changing your ideal client profile to match better the type of writing you want o do. As you build your network and get known more online and offline and you continue pitching and marketing every day, you will succeed.

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.  And you can get in for just $1.

 

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

As a business owner, or a freelancer, one thing can send you looking online for jobs fast is a soul-sucking client. A soul-sucking client may come in many varieties from time suckers to overly critical to just outright nasty. Some people think if they are paying you, they can do whatever they want to you. This is sad but guess what, you can prevent it, and you can do something about it right away when you notice it. Let’s look more into how you can cut ties with soul-sucking clients without selling yours.

Prevention is Key

The very first thing you can do regarding soul-sucking clients is not to work with them in the first place. One way to avoid that is to screen your clients carefully. Set up interviewing and on-boarding systems that ensure a smooth transition for you and them. For example, set up an interview process to weed through clients. Set up policies and procedures in a manual, and make sure it’s all available to your clients for reference.

If All Else Fails

No on-boarding system is perfect. You will need to improve it as you go. If you find yourself working with someone you view as soul-sucking and a serious problem to your work and happiness, you’ll have to deal with it head-on. How you deal with it will depend on the client, but most of the time the best thing to do is look to your contract and then send a notice that you’re ending the contract per the agreement. Telling the soul-sucking client why will probably not help much. The more professional thing to do is just let them know when you’re ending the contract by notice so that they can find someone else.

You Are a Professional

One thing to remember is that you are a professional. If you want people to view you as a professional, you must behave as a professional. Set up an on-boarding system, provide “how to work with me” information in your welcome kit, and develop a contract that all parties sign. This alone will prevent you from even attracting a problem client. But when it does happen, understand that you have a right to deal with it professionally and end the situation.

When you first set up an on-boarding system chances are it won’t work perfectly right off the bat. Just like your contract. You will need to tweak it and adjust it as you experience working with different types of people. If something does go wrong, the sooner you address it with the client, the better. If you cannot fix it, do not hesitate to give notice as soon as you can per your contract and agreement.

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here. And you can get in for just $1.

 

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

The first step to starting a writing career is to get started. Don’t just talk about it and think about it. Do it. 

Most people claim they want to be writers. They dream about writing a book and perhaps turning it into a screenplay. They dream of helping million-dollar companies create their sales pages and other content.  They dream of providing content to their audience and/or clients. No matter the writing dream it’s possible, if you just get started.

Let’s talk about a few ways to kick off this dream of yours.

• Start Now – Do not wait. Start on something today that matters. If it helps put into a calendar everything that you need to do to launch your writing career and work on those things every day so that there is an ending and a launch date. You don’t want to leave this open-ended because if you do, you won’t launch.
• Write Every Day – As you are working on building the business, you also want to take the time to write daily. Write blog posts, write guest blog posts, write social media updates, write a Kindle book, write an eBook, write a sample white paper, whatever you want to write for your clients write for yourself and your business to promote it.
• Self-Publish – You’ll want to publish in your own name to get freelance writing jobs that don’t carry a byline or that do carry a byline. Showing work that you’ve published under your own name is going to help you get hired by other people. Publish to Kindle, to your blog, to other people’s blogs, to industry magazines and more.
• Set Up Your Systems & Processes – While you’re getting started, you’ll want to work on setting up all your processes and systems and documenting all the above. When you get your first client, you want to send them a contract and lead them through the onboarding process seamlessly.
• Publish a Professional Website – You need a website despite what anyone else says that you need. Thankfully, building a website is very inexpensive. Use self-hosted WordPress and a free theme to get started. Include an area with links to your work, and uploaded samples, include an email list with an offer of a freebie of some kind and a landing page for each type of writing with an example.
• Perfect Your LinkedIn.com Profile – LinkedIn.com is a great place to get links back to your website so fully fill out that profile including samples, links to your work, and more. Join groups that include people you’d like to work with.
• Set Up Social Media for Your Business – While most people want to keep their business and personal social media private or separate sometimes it’s not easy to do. That is especially true with Facebook. Whatever you decide all profiles should mention that you’re a freelance writer for hire so that people who check you out can get ahold of you.
• Read All Requests for Proposals – Find places that offer proposals for freelance writing work. Today, you can find those on any job board including Monster.com. Plus, of course, you can list via Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, and others. Also, join groups that feature writers if they have a job board. One good one to look at is WriterHelpWanted.com.
• Always Be Marketing – Even as you’re working on getting your freelance writing career off the ground, you’ll want to ensure that you don’t skimp on marketing. The moment you finish your website and have a few samples you should start marketing your services to those who need them.

Jump start your writing career right now by working on something mentioned in this list. The key thing to remember about being a writer is that writer’s write. That’s your most important job. Keep learning about writing in the genre you want to write and implement everything you learn as fast as possible.

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here. And you can get in for just $1.

 

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Transitioning from wanting to be a writer to getting your first writing assignment is an exciting time. Now that you’re going to get paid for your first assignment, you’re a bonafide professional writer. Of course, you must get this first assignment right. Let’s look at the process you should follow to ensure it goes without a hitch.

Get All the Details

Don’t start working on anything until you get all the details. You need to know what the deliverables are supposed to look like. What is the client expecting it to look like? Ask all the questions once you see the assignment that you have. Go through it, write down anything you’re not sure about and ask them right away within the day of receiving the assignment.

Dot Your I’s and Cross Your T’s

Don’t start work without a contract for long term projects and a deposit or payment in full. If you have a long-term regular client, you can probably send invoices instead but if it’s someone new get paid up front or at least half before you start. A contract doesn’t have to be crazy; it can simply be a document that states the responsibilities of each party, the payment, and how to submit the assignment and payment.

Get It Scheduled

Once you know what the deliverables will look like, and you understand what you need to do, and know your deadline you’ll want to get this scheduled. Start from the due date and work your way backward in your calendar giving you enough time to do all parts of your writing process from outlining through editing, completion and invoicing, if needed.

Keep Your Client Updated

For long term projects, it’s a good idea to keep your client up to date as you move through the process. Some clients like more hands-on approach and may want to see your outline, some of your research, or other things as you work, but most of the time you’re going to be totally on your own. Sending a quick email now and then letting them know you’re still working on time will be appreciated.

Get It Done on Time

While no one is going to ever be perfect in terms of deadlines, it’s imperative that you’re not late on the first assignment unless something really bad happens. Once you’ve worked with someone for a long time, you can probably get more flexible deadlines, but in the writing world, deadlines are super important, so ensure you really do set up your calendar realistically. Never miss a deadline without informing them as soon as you know it will or might happen.

Rewrite as Needed (with a caveat)

After you submit the finished work expect the client to want some editing and rewriting. Of course, this does depend on your contract. Some freelance writers do “draft” writing in that they know an editor is going to edit it for them, so they just write and don’t have to worry about editing. The client won’t be offended by that if they have stated that they have an editor. However, try to submit what you think is perfect work.

Don’t worry, it will never be perfect no matter what. The warning: Some clients will start asking for edits that are outside of the scope of the work. For example, if your client asked you to write a list article then changes their mind and wants another type of article that’s not included in the editing process as that is changing the scope of the work.

Send a Survey

After the work is done, and the invoice has been paid, be sure to follow up with the client so that you can find out how they like your work. Put this in your autoresponder so that you don’t ever forget about 20 to 30 days after the due date of the project. You can simply ask the question: “How can I improve the work that I do for you?” Let them answer it their own way.

Finally, it’s imperative that even when you have an assignment and clients (even if you don’t need clients right now) to continue to market your services so that you can have clients in the hopper waiting on you to open a space.

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here. And you can get in for just $1.

 

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

To get paid well as freelance writer, you want to work with clients who have a budget to pay well. But even with that, business owners needing certain types of content tend to pay more than for other content.  Knowing which types of content pay the best is your first step to reaching your income goals.

Long Form Blog Posts

The pros of this type of content are that blog posts that are in-depth and cover a lot of information tend to pay more. The reason is that a post that goes very deep into the topic requires a lot more expertise to accomplish. But the con is that it will take you a lot more work than a more general post.

You may need to interview subject matter experts or read other published works from your client, and do a lot of time-consuming research to get a long-form post of 2000 words or more to be informative, engaging and actionable enough that people will want to read it and act on the calls to action.

Email Sequences

If you understand how funnels work and are good at writing persuasive copy you may be good at creating email sequences that market a particular product of your clients to their audience who is signed up for their email list.

The best part of this type of content is that usually, emails are not long. However, this particular type of email can earn your clients a lot of money. Therefore, the pay is higher since it includes conversational writing, product knowledge, audience knowledge, and copywriting skills. However, they may take more background work that you’ll have to rely on your client being able to give you.

Specialized Content

Any type of content that requires expert knowledge is going to pay more. For example, if you’re a nurse who wants to write about topics relating to your nursing expertise you can charge a lot more for that than if you were writing about organizing your home using items from Ikea which you can learn from a magazine and no education.

The positives of this, of course, are that if you can take education, you already have and apply it to your new writing career that is going to give you a profitable niche to work in automatically. The downside is you may want to leave that profession even if it’s your expertise. You may not like it anyway.

Case Studies

You may notice a theme. Longer, more specific content pays more. A case study usually includes discussion of a problem, with mention of one or more solutions along with the proven results and the conclusion you want the audience to come through when they read the case study.

The cons of doing case studies are that you must collect the information from the client to produce the case study. Give yourself enough time to ensure your client gets the information to you promptly. The plus though is that you can charge a premium for this type of work since case studies are longer and take more time and a more professional type of writing.

Sales Page Copywriting Plus Audio & Video Scripts

With all the YouTube videos, webinars, and podcasts that abound today, it’s no wonder that you can charge a premium for scripts. Usually, these are focused on specific sales related scripts. For example, a video that goes on the sales page. These videos can also be put on YouTube but think of it as a sales page video.

You need a lot of knowledge about copywriting to create scripts for video sales pages and marketing videos. That’s the downside. However, if you have a skill for writing in a persuasive way you can get it done. If you can write a sales page that gets results, you can do this.

Whitepapers

A white paper usually includes a client interview or subject matter expert interview, plus collecting lots of proof, research, and information that goes into the whitepaper. For this reason, it takes more time, and it is long so that will garner a larger fee.

The con of this is that white papers are long. It can take months to create one due to the back and forth necessary. They always include a table of contents, images, examples, and so much more. It’s a lot of work. However, it’s satisfying work because when you’re done with it, it’s a great sales tool for your client.

As a business owner, it’s imperative to remember that you are the one who sets your fees. Not the client. The client establishes a budget, and they choose who to hire based on a combination of budget and other factors. But you don’t have to take work if it doesn’t pay what you want to be paid. In fact, you should not take jobs that pay less than what you feel that you’re worth. If you are having issues getting the pay you want, you may want to try a different audience.

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One question many writers have is about improving productivity when writing. If you’ve ever sat down to a blank document and stared at it for an hour you probably have wondered the same thing yourself. Writing productively is an imperative if you want to have a freelance business or you want to become a writer because most of the time you will have deadlines.

Do Your Research

Before you ever start writing anything doing the research comes first. You need to know who you’re writing for, what you’re writing about, and who the audience is that will read it. Plus, you’ll need to know a lot of other facts such as those revolving around the subject matter you’re writing about and the best keywords to use in your title.

Craft an Outline

Once you’ve completed the research, it’s time to develop an outline. Some people like to make a mindmap first, then turn that into an outline. It’s up to you how you do it, but it’s an important step that will make your writing easier. An outline will help you order the piece logically while also enabling you to fill any holes in your research before you get down to really writing. For some people, it helps to write a summary right now about what each section will talk about.

Check Your Facts

Once you’ve done the research, and made the outline, you should be able to easily plug the facts into the right areas, before you start writing anything. Summarize and quote the facts under each section where you want to write about it as you are checking them. This is going to fill in a lot of your requirements for the piece before you even get started.

Eat & Sleep Regularly

Now that you’re exhausted this is a friendly reminder that you need to eat and sleep like a normal person even if you’re a writer. The stories of the sleep-deprived writer or artist are old hat. You can do this without living that life. You can eat and sleep regularly and be a profitable writer.

Move More

Writers spend a lot of time sitting. You need to move more. Sitting just four hours a day is worse for you than being overweight or smoking. The only way to reverse this problem is to move. Set the alarm to move at least every 90 minutes for about 10 minutes, and you won’t suffer any bad consequences from sitting.

Eliminate Distractions

When you sit down to work eliminating distractions is going to help the most out of almost any advice you can get. It might seem impossible, but you need to turn off the music, the TV, and anything that might interrupt your flow. Read studies about multitasking, and you’ll soon realize that it’s a myth and no one can do it even if they think they are good at it.

Let the Words Flow

When you do sit down to write, if your area is comfortable and quiet, you’re not hungry or thirsty or tired you can now just let the words flow. You have done your research, you know about the topic, you understand who you’re writing it for, and now you can just go to the outline and fill in the rest.

Rest

Remember that you should take the time to take breaks and rest. You don’t really need to worry about writer’s block when you are well rested and have done all the background work for the piece you’re writing. Try to keep a regular sleep and work schedule so that you train your mind to work at work time and do other things like sleeping, playing, and eating at other times.

Even if your deadlines are self-imposed, it’s important to know how to produce a finished product as a writer. Without any finished work, can you really say that you’re a writer or an author? If you follow this process, you will find that you produce better work faster without all the stress and no writer’s block.

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Most of the time the reason you cannot get the words to flow is that you don’t know enough about the topic, you’re not sure of the direction of the work, or because you are distracted by something else. You can mitigate these issues with practice and by not accepting the idea that anything like “writer’s block” exists. These tricks will help most anyone who really wants to be a freelance writer.

Do More Research

If you’re not sure what to write it more than likely means that you need to do more research either on the topic you’re writing or on what your client expects from you as a deliverable. If you don’t have these things clear in your mind, it’s going to be hard to write. Writing quickly requires that you’ve done enough research to have enough knowledge to put something down on paper accurately.

Make In-depth Outlines

Many people calm to hate the outline, but the thing is, your writing will be better with a proper outline. Outlines do take time but when you do them the writing part is not going to take as long because it’s thought out so well. Also, with a good outline, you can stop and catch up later more easily.

Eliminate Distractions

Create a place for writing that is conducive to writing. The room should have the right temperature, the right seating, and the right ambiance. You should not have noises taking you out of flow like dogs barking, kids screaming, or notifications beeping.

Try a New Environment

If you do have a good place, but you’re still unable to focus, try changing your environment. You may want to just get out with a recorder of some kind and record your thoughts in voice while you’re out or you may want to take your laptop to the park. Now, this is kind of going against the other advice but for some people writing in a new place works.

Go for a Walk

Sometimes you just need to get moving. Of course, take your recording device with you in case you get some ideas. Walking fast and working up a sweat can distract you from anything that is causing you not to be able to write today. This is especially true for anyone who has anxiety because anxiety is just extra energy that needs to be released.

Just Write Whatever Comes to Mind

Another method that works for some writers is to free write. This means you just write whatever comes to mind without giving it much thought even if it’s not about your project right now. Sometimes just getting in the right mood helps. You can write in your diary, work on another outline, or free write about the topic you’ve learned about and edit later. In fact, you should never edit during the writing process, only after.

Take a Music Break

This comes with a warning. If you listen to music with words in it, it can distract you more. Listening to instrumentals is better especially if it doesn’t have too much base. Classical music is very energizing and good for your brain. The idea is to get different parts of your brain active but not distracted.

Get Some Sustenance

If you haven’t eaten enough today make sure you do. Don’t sit down in the future to write until you’ve eaten, brushed your teeth, go to the toilet and so forth so that nothing gets in your way. Eating the right food can give you a lot of energy and brain power. The brain loves glucose but likes it mostly in the form of fruit and veggies rather than sugary candy and other concoctions. Plus, add some protein to make it balanced.

Remember, doctor’s do not get “doctor block,” and as a writer, this is what you do. The action that makes you a writer is that you write. What will make you a profitable writer is the ability to write on demand whenever you sit down to write. You can do that by setting up a comfortable place to write and remembering to do enough research.

 

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