As a freelance writer, it’s important to learn from the mistakes of others in order to avoid making them yourself. In this blog post, we will discuss 14 common mistakes that freelance writers make in their first year. By knowing what these mistakes are and how to avoid them, you can set yourself up for success as a freelance writer!
1. Thinking that all you need to do is write.
As a freelance writer, you also need to be proficient in things like social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and marketing. While writing is obviously a vital part of the job, if you don’t know how to get your work seen by potential clients, it won’t matter how good your writing is.
2. Not doing your research.
Before you start pitching to clients, it’s important that you do your research and know what you’re talking about. This means understanding the client’s business, their target market, and what kind of content they’re looking for. Without this knowledge, it will be difficult to create content that resonates with the client and their audience.
3. Failing to edit your work.
One of the quickest ways to lose a client is to submit work that is full of errors. Always take the time to proofread and edit your work before you send it off to a client. This will show that you’re professional and take pride in your work.
4.Not being responsive.
When a client reaches out to you, it’s important that you respond in a timely manner. If you take too long to respond, they may think you’re not interested in working with them or that you’re unprofessional.
5.You Make Too Many Grammar and Formatting Errors
When you make several grammar and formatting errors in your pitches or articles, it creates a sense of carelessness to the client. If they think you don’t care about your work enough to proofread it, why would they want to hire you? They need to be able to trust that when they hire you, they’re getting a quality product.
6.You Only Hustle When Business is Slow
As a freelance writer, it’s important to always be hustling – even when business is slow. This means actively looking for new clients, networking, and creating new content. If you only focus on marketing and networking when business is slow, you’ll never be able to build up a consistent client base.
7.You Don’t Have a Project Management System
As a freelance writer, you’ll likely be working on multiple projects at one time. This can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t have a system in place to help you keep track of everything. Invest in a project management system (like Asana or Trello) to help you stay organized and on top of your work.
8.You Don’t Diversify Your Income
As a freelance writer, it’s important to diversify your income sources. This means having multiple clients and not putting all your eggs in one basket. If you only have one or two clients, you’re much more likely to experience financial instability.
9. You Don’t Have a Blog
As a freelance writer, one of the best ways to market yourself is to have a blog. This is a place where you can showcase your writing skills and attract new clients. If you don’t have a blog, now is the time to start one! blogg should be about 700-800 words and should be SEO friendly
10. You Don’t Have Clear Goals
As with any career, it’s important to have clear goals when you’re a freelance writer. Without goals, it will be difficult to measure your success and track your progress. sit down and take the time to figure out what you want to achieve as a freelance writer.
11. Your Niche is Too Broad
When you’re first starting out as a freelance writer, it’s tempting to try and be a Jack (or Jill) of all trades. However, this is not the best strategy if you want to be successful. It’s much better to focus on one specific niche and become an expert in that area. This will make you more attractive to potential clients and help you stand out from the competition. Niche selection should be based on your interests, experiences, and skills.
12. You’re Not Sure How to Use Social Media
As a freelance writer, it’s important to be active on social media. This is a great way to market yourself and attract new clients. However, many writers don’t know how to use social media effectively. If this is you, take the time to learn about the different platforms and how you can use them to your advantage.
There are many social media platforms to choose from, but some of the most popular ones for freelance writers are Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Learn from mistakes
You should alway take time to learn from your mistakes so that you don’t repeat them in the future. If you can avoid making these common mistakes, you’ll be well on your way to having a successful freelance writing career!
It is not necessary that you will make all of these mistakes, but if you are aware of them then hopefully you can avoid them.
Do you have any other tips for avoiding common freelance writing mistakes? Share them in the comments below!
