Guidelines for Responding to Job Ads

If you're a freelance writer, chances are, you look at job boards and websites like Craigslist to find private clients. Despite what others may say about job boards, responding to job ads has been an excellent and very successful way for me to find more work.

I've gotten most of my private clients from responding to job advertisements. In fact, at one point, I was getting a response rate of about 25%, in which I had to start turning down work.

However, when I first started responding to job advertisements, I got very few nibbles until I started putting new tactics into effect.

1. Follow Instructions

This may sound like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised to know how many freelance writers don't even bother to read the instructions when responding to advertisements for writing gigs.

If the advertisement asks you to attach a sample, then you should attach a sample. If they ask you to make "banana" the subject of your email, then make "banana" the subject of your email. In almost all cases, you should follow the instructions down to the letter.

2. Choose Relevant Samples

If possible, try to send writing samples that are relevant to the job in question. If you're applying for a movie review gig, what are the chances you'll get the job if you choose an article about parenting as your sample? Close to zero, especially if there are other freelance writers sending more relevant samples of excellent quality.

If you truly want the job, and you don't have a relevant sample, consider writing up a sample. Even if you don't get the job, you'll be able to use the sample to apply to more job advertisements in the future.

3. Make Things Easy for the Potential Client

There's probably nothing that will irk a potential client than finding a freelance writer they're interested in hiring (due to their cover letter), and not being able to access their samples or resume.

Make accessing your samples and resume as easy as you can for the potential client. If possible, post your samples and resume onto your website, and give them the link.

If you don't have a professional website of your own, attack your samples and resume as a PDF for universal accessibility. You may save your files in the .doc format, but the client might not be able to open .doc files. Or he may not want to open the file, for fear of viruses.

Most likely, the potential client is going through hundreds of job applications. Don't make things any more difficult for him than it already is.

Is Your Mind Cluttered With Goals?

If you're like me, you have a lot of goals that you eventually want to accomplish in the future. These goals may go under different aspects of your life, such as careers or relationships.

Unfortunately, having too many goals may leave you unfocused and unaccomplished. Instead of trying to accomplish all your goals at once, pick one or two goals to focus on. Refuse to move on to other goals before completing the initial two you picked.

Not only will focusing on a few goals be easier, but it will also be less stressful. To accomplish a goal, typically you have to break a new habit or start a new one. Trying to break/cultivate 20 different habits at the same time will prove unsuccessful for almost everybody.

New Year's Resolutions

Before I make my New Year's resolutions, I tend to think about what I accomplished and didn't accomplish the year before. This year, I made a lot of resolutions, and I accomplished quite a few of them.

However, I still think I could have accomplished more this year. Obviously, if I had worked harder, I would have definitely accomplished more. Yet, I think lack of focus was also a contributing factor.

This year, I dabbled in a lot of money-making methods. I tried making money by blogging, selling affiliate products, Adsense, get-paid-to sites, and freelance writing. If I had picked one way to make money, and stuck to it, I think I would have made more progress than I actually did this year.

So, is your mind cluttered with goals?

Earning Three Grand Per Month - Baby Steps

Baby steps lead to bigger and better things.

To sum up this entire post in one sentence, I've decided to put three short-term goals into action. After reading a few inspirational posts (here, here, and here), I realized that I won't be successful if I just read blog posts, online income reports, and free eBooks all day.

Reading and learning new things is one of the greatest things you can do. Implementing the learned tips and strategies is the greatest thing you can do, when it comes to your success.

Therefore, I created three short-term goals to pull me closer to my vision of success: consistently earning $3,000 per month online. I decided that all three goals will be due August 20, 2011.

Goal #1 - $15,000 Savings

Currently, I am about $70 short from having $12,000 in savings. Therefore, I have to earn about $3,100 within two months to accomplish my goal.

You must be thinking: "Greeeeaat. But what does this have to do with earning $3,000 per month online?" Well, I plan to fund my savings account with earnings from Demand Media Studios. Usually, I earn about $1,000 as a freelance writer. This goal forces me to earn approximately $1,550 per month to accomplish it.

Why not increase my online earnings while funding my bank account at the same time?

Goal #2 - Blogging

By the due date stated above, I plan to have 50 posts live on 3 Grand Month. I realize that I didn't even come close to accomplishing the previous blog post goal of mine. Now that I've somewhat changed the niche of my blog, I'm more excited about posting new content.

Hopefully, motivation and having someone put a gun to my head as I write these posts will be enough for me to accomplish this goal. The incentive for accomplishing this goal? A nifty $10 domain (for this blog) that won't go to complete waste.

Goal #3 - Start Web Design Class

Right now, I'm almost finished with a course you must complete before you can take Web Design. I only have 14 assignments to go before I say good-bye to Computing for College Success and hello to Web Design I.

According to my Pace Chart, I'm supposed to take eight weeks to complete these fourteen assignments. (Well, I did get exempted from about eight assignments, though...)

No way am I gonna take eight weeks to finish up fourteen simple assignments! Instead, I'll go ahead of the Pace Chart, which I'm allowed to do. Basically, to accomplish this goal, I need to finish this course and start a new one by August 20, 2011.

When I look at these goals, they honestly don't look so mini or babyish to me. Honestly, these goals will take me a lot of effort to complete, but... These goals are nothing compared to my long-term goals!

Don't Put All of Your... (Part Two)

Photo by Ccharmon on Flickr

• Loaves in one bread holder
• Efforts in one website
• Cookies in one jar
• Supplies in one backpack
• Cars in one garage
• Horses in one stable

Okay. So, we all know that we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket if you want to have a fairly consistent online income.

In the previous post, I mentioned that my only source of income was from freelance writing for only one client (Demand Media Studios).

I should be working on diversifying my freelance writing income, but instead, I want to focus on gathering other sources of income that aren't related to freelance writing. In this post, I will explore some possible new sources of income for me.

Freelance Work

One goal of mine is to take two classes to learn how to design websites with HTML. Once I take these classes, I plan to put my newly learned skills to good use by designing sites and blogs for other people. I think building websites for private clients in-between my freelance writing work will save me from burnout.

Unfortunately, I'm not very knowledgeable about web design. I have a feeling I will spend years practicing before I'll be able to create a website a client will be happy to pay for.

If I enjoy creating websites, I won't mind the long learning curve. On the other hand, if I don't really like web design, I'll probably move on to something else before I become proficient at creating websites.

Niche Websites

I definitely think that I have the potential to earn a few hundred dollars a month by creating niche websites. Of course, this will take a lot of work and effort on my part, but the mostly passive income will be worth it.

I'm not too sure when I'll get around to creating my first (well, second) niche website, but I'm hoping to start next month. Hopefully, I won't be so impatient about my niche website this time around...

Revenue Sharing Websites

Hubpages, Squidoo, and Info Barrel are three revenue sharing websites where users can post articles to make passive income. I don't really think it's a good idea to try making money on revenue sharing websites now because of the big Panda update, but it is something I"m constantly thinking about.

Perhaps I could post a few articles on these websites to get the hang of SEO before starting my first niche websites. If I experiment with keywords on these websites and fail, I'll only be out of a few hours of effort.

Even after writing this post, I'm still a bit confused about which stream of revenue I should experiment with first. I want to start creating niche websites, but I'm still thinking about other possible streams of income that I didn't mention above, such as creating and selling eBooks.

Don't Put All of Your... (Part One)

OT: Is it me, or are some of the eggs in that basket (er, bowl) bluish?

• Pencils in one pencil box
• Documents in one folder
• Socks in one drawer
• Words in one sentence
• Seeds in one garden
• Money in one wallet

In case you can't comprehend what I'm trying to say (because of my very poor attempt of trying to being original), don't put all of your eggs in one basket. By relying on one source of income, you are putting yourself in a bad position, and for obvious reasons.

Anyway, this post isn't about why you should diversify you income, nor is this post isn't about how to diversify your income either. (Honestly, I'm in no position to write a how-to post on multiple streams of income, and you'll see why later in this post). Nope. This is the first part of a three-part series (small series, I know, but you gotta start somewhere) about how I plan to diversify my online income.

Current Income Per Month

Just a wad of cash I had lying around... (Kidding!)

Freelance Writing Income

Currently, the only money I'm earning as a freelance writer is from Demand Media Studios. I'm planning to use this lone egg (or seed) to earn $1,000 per month for now.

I suppose I should be trying to find more clients, but I think I'm going to stop focusing on my part-time freelancing career in favor of other income possibilities online. I love to write, but I can't seem to write more than a few articles per day... I need something else to do in-between all the writing I do to avoid burnout.

Demand Media Studios is my only online income... (Go ahead, shake your heads disapprovingly). Fortunately, this will not be my only income by the end of the year. In fact, my short-term goal is to have at least three sources of income in total by the end of the year. I know these sources won't give me the three grand per month I desire, but it'll surely be a stepping-stone for me.

Cheers to finding more wallets for my moola!

Why Private Client Work Is My Priority

With private clients, this will look like pocket change!

All freelance writers want to earn more money for the same quantity and quality of work. All freelance writers want to write less, and earn more for their valuable time. Therefore, all freelance writers want work from private clients, and not content mills.

Unlike content mills, private clients are able to compensate you properly for your work. Instead of earning a meager $15 per article, you could be earning double, triple, or even 10 times this amount! 

Unfortunately, not everyone has clients that pay this much. While you're marketing and creating a brand for yourself, you might have to take lower-paying work from private clients, so you can pay all your bills on time. But what happens when you take on private clients that pay less than some content mills?

My Situation

When I first started freelance writing, I was very happy to take on private clients who paid $8 to $13 per article. This was more than what I made at content mills like Textbroker. Well, one month after getting my first and second clients, I got accepted into Demand Media Studios. 

I was actually making more at a content mill than for a private client. The moment I was accepted into Demand Media Studios, the less encouraged I felt to continue writing for my private clients. Right now, I still love writing for my two private clients, and I don't want to let them go. Yet I prefer writing for Demand Media Studios. 

Writing for Demand Studios takes more thought than writing for my private clients, but I do manage to write their articles in less time. Therefore, my hourly rate is always higher when I work for Demand Media Studios instead of my private clients. Because of the higher hourly rate, I write for Demand Media Studios during the week, and then write my private client articles last minute.

The Problem

Yesterday, I realized that starting and completing client work the same day that it's due is not very smart or business-like. In the afternoon, I finished a Demand Media Studios article and submitted it right on the spot. Instead of being taken to my Demand Media Studios Workdesk, my browser took me to an error page.

Fortunately, I wrote my article in Microsoft Word and just copied and pasted it into the template. Of course, I was very irritated with the idea of copying and pasting the article into the template again. I hated doing it once, why would I want to do it again?

I soon found out it wasn't an error, but that my Internet access was being wacky. Slightly worried, I simply thought that it was my Wi-Fi, and I went to work on my desktop that was connected to the router. No success accessing the Internet.

I didn't depend on my part-time freelance writing to pay the bills, but I still had butterflies in my stomach. I had yet to write any of the six articles that my two private clients require me to write every week. Just the idea of missing a deadline killed my spirit.

The Solution

Fortunately, I got the Internet to start working again after resetting the router. (I'm brilliant, aren't I?) Even though I had access to the Internet, I still felt very nervous. What if it happened again? What would I do then?

As soon as I submitted the Demand Media Studios article, I began to work on my private client work. Fortunately, I finished and submitted all the articles in one day. Never again would I wait until the last day to write my articles like a college student who has a dear friend named procrastination.

Ever since that day, I vowed to complete all my private client work before working on a single Demand Media Studios article.

3 Reasons Why Freelance Writers Should Write Ebooks

Ebooks are usually in PDF (Portable Document Format) form.

Face it - eBooks are taking the Internet by storm. Internet users are buying eBooks for $10, $50, and even $100. The sellers are making hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars by selling 10 to 50 page eBooks.

To top it off, these eBooks, which the sellers advertise as being chock-full of secrets, often consist of common knowledge. If these people can make so much money by writing an insufficient eBook, imagine how much you could make by writing, marketing, and selling an eBook that actually provides value to your customers.

Unfortunately, many freelance writers shy away from writing eBooks. I did my best to stay away from eBooks, too, until I found out how much other freelance writers were making from their eBooks. Now, one of my many goals for 2011 is to create my first eBook, and here are the reasons why.

Money, Money, Money. Did I Mention Money?

Believe it or not, there are people who can sell their eBook for $50 to $100. These people bank $1000 by finding only 10 to 20 buyers. Of course, you aren't going to find too many people who are willing to buy an eBook with money they can use to pay their electric bill. Yet achieving 20 sales is definitely possible if you're an aggressive marketer.

If you can't find enough customers to buy your $100 eBook, you could always try pricing it at $10 to $25. By selling 100 eBooks, you could make $1000 to $2500. Pretty good for a 10 to 50 page eBook, right?

Yet to achieve 100 sales, you do have to spend many hours marketing your product. When pricing your eBook, always take into account how many hours it took you to write it and how many hours you plan to spend marketing it.

Stop Looking Like a Wannabe!

Unless your niche is "How to end the world with a pencil," you probably have at least some competition as a freelance writer and a blogger. People probably see your competition as individuals who are very knowledgeable when it comes to their niche. Because of how people view them, your competition probably have many high-paying gigs and readers.

As a freelance writer and blogger, you want people to see you as someone who is credible within your designated niche. People are going to choose someone who's already established in the health niche over someone who doesn't seem to have any credibility. Fortunately, you can gain some of this credibility by writing an eBook.

Think of it this way. By writing an eBook, you will send people this message: If she has the knowledge to write a quality eBook, she probably knows a ton about health.

Want More Freelance Writing Gigs?

Do you typically stick to writing articles or blog posts for clients? Why don't you branch out to writing eBooks? Some freelancers are able to charge clients $25 to $200 for just one page. Imagine writing an eBook for a private client who demands 100 pages. That's $2500 to $20,000 for an eBook!

If you want to get these eBook writing gigs, you should have an eBook of your own. Why would a client trust you to write an eBook if you've never written one before? If you write an eBook, you might even have businesses asking you to write one for them.

It's Not So Easy

Don't think you can just slap up an eBook to get all these benefits. With some marketing, you might be able to make money by selling a bad eBook. Yet creating an awful eBook won't improve your image, nor will it help you land more gigs.

Writing a good eBook is not easy, not to mention that the marketing will eat up a lot of time, especially if you don't have a presence online. Yet the effort you put into creating an eBook should help your freelance writing career progress more rapidly. Whether you write an eBook or not, if you're not willing to work hard, you're probably not cut out to be a freelance writer.

Are you thinking of writing an eBook?

Freelancers Getting Organized

Some freelancer writers can certainly get by in less than clean conditions. Yet other freelancers (like me) could never survive a day, let alone an entire career, in a workspace that isn't somewhat clean. Fortunately, there are several methods of getting organized that all freelancers can utilize if they're willing to put in the effort.

A number of freelancers use notebooks to keep track of receipts, clients, deadlines, expenses, etc. My notebooks, especially those with spirals, look beaten up and mutilated to some extent within months or even just weeks. Once my notebook begins to look unrecognizable, I get a new notebook to add to my "collection."

Although these notebooks do save me an abundance of time, they also take up a ton of space. Currently, I have five notebooks that I constantly sift through to find information, and I like to have at least three of these notebooks with me whenever I'm working on the computer.

Microsoft OneNote 2010

A few days ago, in curiosity, I looked through some of the programs I have installed on my computer. I have Microsoft Office Professional 2010 installed on my computer, but the only program I ever use is Microsoft Word 2010. Well, for the first time, I explored everything Microsoft Office Professional 2010 had to offer.

The program that really caught my eye was OneNote. Having a digital notebook on my computer sounded oh, so appealing. I'd be able to have an organized notebook (or five) without sacrificing valuable desk space.

Moving!

Of course, moving the information from my physical notebook to my digital notebook would be no easy task. I had two options: I could photocopy each page and upload it to OneNote, or I could use my ultra-amazing typing skills. I choose the latter, since I prefer looking at computer text than my horrific handwriting.

I admit I've been lazy when it comes to moving. So far, all I’ve typed up is my short-term and long-term goals. I plan to type up my payments next.

What Can OneNote Do for You?

The only reason why I use OneNote is so I can organize and store important information. Yet other freelancers might use OneNote for more than just organization and storage.

If it fancies you, try using OneNote for research. Do you need to complete 50 articles about dogs for a client? Send all information you find on the web about dogs to OneNote. Right-click any spot on the page and a drop down menu should appear. Click on "Send to OneNote." Of course, this only works if you have OneNote installed on your computer.

Moving to OneNote won't be fun, but I expect the hassle to be worth it. I can't wait 'til the day I shove those notebooks aside to make room for my new printer. Once that day comes, I'll have nothing to worry about except backups!

How do you stay organized as a freelance writer? Are you planning on using OneNote?

April Goals

In March, I made $733.06 as a part-time freelance writer. (This money also includes work from last month; I base my earnings on all transactions in my PayPal account). It's not as much as I used to make, but this is good money for me after losing so many private clients due to Google changes and the economy.

Most of the money came from Demand Studios ($510). I only started with them during the second week of March, so I except to make about 25% to 40% more with them in April.

Come April 30, I hope to have at least $1200 worth of transactions in my PayPal account. I definitely think I can accomplish this goal, especially with Demand Studios on my side.

Weekly Workload

• 16 DS Articles ($240)
• Five Private Client Articles ($52)
• One Bright Hub Article ($10)

= $302 for 24 articles

With my current weekly workload, I still have enough time to squeeze in some blogging and marketing. I really want to get better private clients, since an average of $12.50 per article isn't really worth my time. Hopefully, the articles I write for the content mills will help get my name out there. (Ghostwriting for clients pays well, yet it doesn’t help at all in this department).

As for my blogging goals, the main thing I want to do in April is get about twenty posts up. Once I accomplish this goal, I'll start promoting this blog more aggressively. I realize that it isn't very smart to spend multiple hours marketing a blog that only has two or three posts up. I mean, what's the point?

In late April, I want to start thinking about writing an eBook to make extra cash while branding myself as a reputable freelance writer. I'll probably only end up picking a topic and creating an outline. If I manage to do at least that, I'll definitely start writing it in May and I'll finish it by June (or July). Yup... April obviously won't be too busy!

What goals do you want to accomplish in April?

Overcoming My Laziness

My long-term goal is to earn $36,000 per year as a part-time freelance writer. That means about $3,000 per month, $750 per week, and $100 per day. My goal is 100% possible if I can somehow land enough $25 per article gigs.

I can land more gigs by using many methods. I can respond to job advertisements, I can cold call (or email) businesses, and I can blog. Of course, the latter caught my eye. Thus, 3 Grand Month was finally born.

After setting up my blog, I decided to learn more about blogging. I soon realized that it takes a ton of time and hard work before you see the effects of blogging. I just shrugged and thought, "Oh well, better I start now than never!"

This brings me to my speculation. What if I had started blogging one year ago instead of now?

Before Instead of Later

One year ago, despite how little I knew about blogging, I was fully aware that it would help me land more jobs by building my portfolio. I knew that blogging would improve my writing, my presence on the internet, and it would provide me with multiple sources of income (advertisements, platform to sell products).

Yet did I have the common sense to start one? Nope. To tell the truth, it had nothing to do with my intelligence. In fact, it had more to do with my laziness. Freelance writing was already hard enough, I had no desire to run a blog to top it off.

But it kinda hurts to know that if I had sucked it up and started a blog back then, I would be pretty close to achieving my goal now.

Old Habits Die Hard

Sadly, despite my speculation, I still have trouble overcoming my laziness today. You have no idea how much I had to kick myself just to write this blog post. Moreover, my laziness is not just with blogging.

My mindset is always: "Ugh... I don't want to write this article for 'so-and-so' at all," or "Maybe I could write this article tomorrow..."

Frankly, I find it sad. I don't lack the talent or intelligence to succeed, yet I seem to lack the drive. I want to accomplish my goals, but I don't want to work hard. Fortunately, I came up with a plan to increase my productivity.

Overcoming My Laziness

To overcome my laziness, I decided to come up with a list of reasons why I'm less productive than I should be.

• I'm always surfing the internet instead of working.
• I'm not getting enough sleep? (Always feeling sluggish and tired).
• I don't have much motivation.
• I take large breaks instead of small breaks.

Stop Surfing

The wonders of the internet are always distracting me from accomplishing my work. Every five minutes, I find myself reading threads on the WAHM Forum or skimming my favorite blogs.

Interacting with other freelance writers and reading advice is fine and dandy, but "too much of a good thing" does exist. I'm hoping to limit the amount of time I spend on these websites by tinkling with Internet Explorer Parental Options.

Lack of Sleep

I'm not sure what to do about the "lack of sleep" thing. This may sound greedy, but ever since I started freelance writing, I've been unable to sleep due to thinking about the money I could be making. It's nearly impossible for me to tame these thoughts! Reading and writing (in a journal!) has helped ward these thoughts away.

Motivation

Lucky for me, I don't need my freelance writing skills to survive. If I ever stopped writing, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my house or not having the money to pay my bills.

Yet this big convenience has a small downfall. I have nothing to motivate myself.

I stuff all the money I earn as a freelance writer into my savings account. Now, I do love seeing my savings account grow, but I’m not receiving any instant gratification. To solve this, I've decided to treat myself whenever I accomplish my goals. For example, if I earn $1300 in April, I’ll finally get myself one of those nifty Kindles!

Breaks – Large or Short?

I get my work done by doing everything at once and then taking a break for the rest of the day. Usually, I'm exhausted after knocking out three or four articles (pitiful, I know) in a row.

Yet I realize I can write so much more articles if I took tiny breaks after each one.

Now, each time I write one article, I take a break for half an hour or so, and then I hop back onto the computer to write another. If I do this consistently, I can get five to seven articles done per day instead of my usual three.

So far, my plan has helped me increase the number of articles I write for Demand Media Studios, and it forced me to write this lengthy post!

What are you doing to increase your productivity?