If I were to start my freelance writing business over, I’d do things differently. There are plenty of hurdles and unnecessary difficulties I’ve had to overcome, based on the way I came about it.
Still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything; however I got here, I can confidently say I’m more happy with my career today than I have ever been at any point in my life.
So, this series really is an effort to identify some of the steps I missed in my business, some of the steps that I did get right, and some of the steps that I maybe did out of order.
The first thing I’d do, if I were going to start a freelance business, is to get some education.
Now, I started my freelance business around the time I was working on my Master’s degree. I had plenty of academic education. I didn’t need lessons in grammar or style. As a humanities major studying history, I had to become an expert at very direct and precise writing.
Still, there were some important things that I didn’t know, that I couldn’t really learn in a classroom.
Business education
I dabbled, around the turn of the millennium, with my own computer business. It failed miserably, within a year of opening. There were a variety of factors that went into that failure. Some of them I could have prevented. For example, I had very little understanding of marketing, and even less understanding of how to do some basic business tasks such as keeping an inventory of commonly-sold items. And don’t even get me started on the accounting nightmare.
Some of these things, in retrospect, I could have learned in school. A course on marketing, one on business management, and one on accounting would probably have really helped shore up my business skills at the time.
When it came time to start my writing business, however, I had learned from many of those mistakes from my first business flop. I was able to avoid most of them. I set out to learn everything I could about those weak areas, to shore them up. Over time, I’ve studied all sorts of business subjects via books, blogs, ebooks and even just talking with other people in business.
Do I consider myself an expert in business today? Nope. I have what I need to run my business, and even see it grow by leaps and bounds, though.
Freelance education
If I were to start over today, I would try to spend some more time learning about freelance work and the freelance marketplace before jumping in. I’d spend time on blogs like this one and others. I’d ask questions about how the freelance marketplace works.
One of the ways that this hurt me, in the early days of my freelance business, was that I really didn’t understand the marketplace. I had a wonderful client who paid me a decent price for my work, and her work was nearly enough to meet my budget. However, when I went out and tried to find other work, all I could seem to find was offers to write $3 articles.
I didn’t understand what was going on. I didn’t realize that, just like in other types of situations, you get what you pay for. Those $3 articles are, typically, very poorly written, often inaccurate, and just plain bad writing. I felt sheepish, though, bidding so much more than these low bids that I just left some opportunities behind.
So, how do you become educated about freelancing? There are plenty of ways. I mentioned reading blogs – that’s one way. There are also some decent books on the subject. In terms of eBooks, I’d highly recommend How to be a Rock Star Freelancer (read my review here). You can, just like with business, talk with other freelancers. Find out what they’re doing, what the business is like, and what you can expect.
Writing education
Writing online isn’t like writing for print. It certainly isn’t like academic writing, either. It’s a very different world. There are many aspects that, when you first start out, you aren’t going to understand.
For example, understanding the difference between web copy and website copy is important if you’re going to freelance online. Knowing when to use a personal tone and when to use a professional one is important, too. It doesn’t hurt to have some understanding of the basics of copywriting, either.
For my part, I came about this all backwards. I learned, first, how to write SEO articles. Granted, SEO is an integral part of web writing, and it’s an important skill to have. But there were other skills, such as copywriting, that I had to learn slowly, over time. I learned new ways of writing in response to business opportunities that I was missing because I didn’t possess the required skills.
If you start your freelance writing business with several types of writing skills at your disposal, you’re going to have a leg up on the competition.
How do you learn to write? Again, you’ve got lots of options. The one difference with learning to write is, in my estimation, that all of the study you do won’t do you much good unless you practice the techniques. Writers become better, in many cases, simply by writing and editing their own work.
So, what about you? If you have a freelance business, are there areas you wish you’d been more educated in when you started? If you’re not freelancing yet, do you think it’s realistic and important do learn some of these things?
Follow The Journey: Other Posts In This Series
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Introduction
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Education
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Honing Your Craft
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Planning
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Building Your Portfolio
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Finding Work
photo credit: Menlo School
16 comments ↓
I’m unemployed and just received an opportunity to extend my benefits by starting a small business. The state will provide training so I will understand the business implications. I believe I can do what I want with my life and your article feels like another supporting coincidence. Thank you
Ron Moores last blog post..Writing Sober
I guess the biggest thing for me would be a way to find out what ‘the market’ really is.
What I mean is a way to find out what people care about, are interested in (and willing to spend money on).
There are lots of shoulds about giving people what they want (I have some reservations about this approach) but little actionable advice on how to do it.
Evans last blog post..How to Calm an Angry Person
@ Ron – you’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of the series, and good luck with your new endeavor!
@ Evan – What I’m thinking of, specifically, isn’t so much the full-blown details of what’s selling at any given moment. That changes from one day to the next.
No, I’m talking about the big market paradigms – copywriting vs. sales writing vs. blog writing vs. SEO, and how they all differ, and what they have in common. The bird’s eye view, so to speak.
As far as giving people what they want, a business succeeds by giving people what they want. Now, sales is all about helping the client know what they want in the first place. The trap to avoid is where you or I think we know better than the client. We can recommend, but it’s up to the client, in the end.
If we don’t like the direction the client wants to go, we can always say “no.”
So, actionable advice? There will be more to come as the series goes on. For now, it’s this: study the freelance marketplace. See what kinds of things people are buying and learn the differences between them.
Glad to see someone talking about this. One of the biggest mistakes I see with new writers in my network is that they’re often clueless about the business side of freelancing – admin work, bookkeeping, marketing, etc.
Coming from a business and marketing background myself, I really can’t imagine succeeding as a full-time freelancer without that – or at least not nearly as easily.
So thanks for shedding some light on the topic, and hopefully other new writers will give some of these things some more thought before jumping in.
Jenn Matterns last blog post..New Web Writer’s Guide E-book Launched TODAY!
Of course it is important do learn some of these things. Especially if you don’t possess the required level of the skill, the important is you can learn from it from what you are doing.
I think that the first step to any business has to be a plan. You need to have a direction that you want to go before you begin heading in that direction. If you create a business plan for your freelance writing then you will know how to educate yourself to best meet that plan.
Kathryns last blog post..Finding Time
Yes, I wish I’d been more aware of when there were freelancers with an agenda to push. There are sites out there that tell you what not to do, but only because they will profit more from it if you don’t. Freelancers need to be willing to do what works for them rather than from what some cheesy guru says is right. I lost countless hours to one such cheesy guru.
LSheps last blog post..Kontera
There is SO much for a new freelancer to absorb about being a good marketer. Knowing how to write is only half the battle…Bob, you really nailed it there. And like you, if I only had it to do over again…I would have changed my whole approach. I could have saved myself at LEAST a year–365 whole days of low-to-no pay–just by being smart about marketing my skills.
Great article.
Two things I’ve learned over the years that I think all beginners need to understand –
Marketing is a constant need, even in the busiest times (especially, in my opinion).
Securing at least two regular clients is essential to surviving when the work inevitably wanes.
Okay, three things -
This is a business. It’s not your ego, it’s not a personal endeavor, nor is it a personal attack when a client balks on paying or fusses you didn’t deliver what was expected. It’s just business. The moment you make it personal, you fail at that business.
Loris last blog post..Ask the Expert – You
[...] How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Education: There are some things you should learn before getting into freelancing. [...]
Everything in life can be looked at as a business, in most cases must be looked at as a businesss.
As such the basics of the business must be learned to have any chance of success.
Writing is a business with human resources, production equipment, office supplies,customers and suppliers, all the things that any business has. Why do we think that it can be treated any other way than in a businesss manner and succeed?
Learn the basics before you start and the rest as you develop your skills and the chances of success are far better.
Like always your posts are amazing and educating.
Alexanders last blog post..Working Together In The Bedroom prt 1.
Hi, Bob. I’ve been through the same pitfalls that freelancers with only a tiny idea of business and marketing encounter. Nice to know that I’m not the only one, and that you stand as an example of the way to overcome it.
Great post!
Cedric Solidons last blog post..Why Now is the Best Time to be a Freelancer or to Start a Business
Thanks for this series…these are things that you have learned as we all do “the hard way” and the advice and information you give to someone who is just starting out is priceless. Keep up the great work you are doing here.
[...] great advice in his series on How to Start Your Freelance Writing Business. I liked this post on Education. While you’re there, take the time to check out another posts called Recognizing [...]
[...] Closer to home, the Writing Journey blog recently had an important post discussing the proper educational background for a freelance writing career. Blog author Bob asserts that a lack of business savvy doomed [...]
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