Most articles and even a few books on this subject start out by telling you how fiercely competitive the freelance world is, which is really an outdated perception. The market use to be fiercely competitive, until the client base grew exponentially. The fact is there are many more projects (large and small) than there are writers to do them. Most small companies do not feel they need a full-time professional staff writer, and they are right. They only need a professional staff writer when they need something written. Even small companies however need communications created far more than a few times a year.

Ten years ago, when the need arose to have a communication created, the task had only a few places it could land. There were not many places you could simply go to, and have a press release, or sell sheet written out. Brochures required ad agencies or professional marketing firms. Or, they landed on Jan’s desk, the office manager, and she put together something in Word, or Power Point, between payroll and purchasing office supplies. Or something else happened which was even worse; the communication wasn’t created.

With the WEB and the Internet came a greater need for professional content, and a way to contact a pool of freelance professional writers. With the availability of professional, dependable writers small companies who before would simply not make the communication, now have the third option they were looking for.

This has created a huge market for the freelance writer, with only a few rules to keep in mind, to insure a steady work flow of good paying projects.

The first rule to keep in mind is professionalism. While the Web has allowed project managers and sales team leaders to find us, it is still the Internet, and there are those amongst us who feel that working at home is not really work. If you keep your clients informed, and complete projects on time, you will always have more work offered to you than you are able to take on.

The second rule is to find out your limitations and stick to them. Over extending yourself as a writer is so incredibly easy, and so very tempting.

The third rule is to find out what you are worth and stick to that as well. It really is a Writer’s Market these days, and there is no reason to take less than you are worth. There is reason, however not to push your clients, simply because you can either. With professional, original web content at a premium, you have the opportunity to make long term clients with every project. There is a website called www.salary.com, which can help you find what you would normally be making. Spend a few weeks writing articles on various topics, preferably topics that you know little about, so that you have to do the research for those topics in order to write them. This will tell you two things, one; what you are capable of putting out over a give period of time (remember that this is rule number two above) and the second, it will give you a basis to find out what you need to charge for your writing. As a side benefit it will also give you the content you need for a portfolio website, which as it happens will be my next article. How to make your portfolio website.

Posted by Glenn Hefley in Freelance Writer