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?