It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking to build your business with $50 or $500, you’ve got to invest if you want to make it as a freelance writer.

It can be extremely difficult to get things going early on, but the amount of money you invest in your career is almost directly related to the amount of money that you will make.

Here are the most necessary purchases and investments for growing your business and improving your skills…

Less than $50

Books: Go to a local bookstore and purchase any book that you know will help you in your career. I use a number of books as references on a day-to-day basis. Since most of my work is copywriting, here are the books that I recommend the most:

• The Adweek Copywriting Handbook – Joseph Sugarman
• Neuromarketing – Patrick Renvoise & Christophe Morin
• Unlimited Slling Power – Donald Moine & Kenneth Lloyd
• Hypnotic Writing – Joe Vitale
• The Ultimate Sales Letter – Dan Kennedy
• The 4-Hour Work week – Timothy Ferriss
• How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie

eBooks: There are hundreds of inexpensive eBooks out there that can help you get started as a freelancer, grow your business, and improve your writing. In fact, there are many helpful eBooks that you can find for free!

If you’re going to use eBooks to educate yourself, then you can’t just buy the book and expect the work to be done. Too many people fall short of completing the books and applying the tips to their careers. Set aside a specific amount of time each day to read your eBooks and take notes on them – this is the sure-shot way of making your investment pay off.

eBooks I recommend:

• 6 Figure Freelancer by David Drake
• How to be a Rockstar Freelancer by Cyan and Collis Ta’eed (Freelance Switch)
• Write for the Web by Men with Pens
• Guide to Becoming an Advertising Copywriter by FabJob.com

Advertising: Believe it or not, a little bit of money can go a long, long way. Locally, I’ve found an online classifieds section that has a “services for hire” area. The advertising costs me 5 bucks a month (highlighted yellow, free otherwise) and has given me approximately 1 lead per week. Is it throwing prospects through my doors at an incredible rate? No, but I wouldn’t want that anyways.

Here are a few inexpensive ways you can advertise your services:

• Use local classifieds – as explained above.
• Start a blog – as described here and here.
• Attend local networking events – Chamber of Commerce/Board of Trade meetings and other local business events.

Branding: If you’re going to look legit, then you should have business cards to hand people that are interested in working with you. A website is also a great tool for showing off your portfolio and explaining your services.

Internet: Obvious one here…high-speed wireless connection is recommended.

Cell Phone/Skype: Communication is a MUST in freelance writing. Regardless of whether or not your clients need to call you to discuss projects, it’s always nice for them to have the option of doing so. You could probably get away with a home number if you work out of your own house, but I prefer a cell phone for when I’m on the go.

Skype is a fantastic tool for working with non-local clients.

Organizer: An organizer will improve your productivity at least 200%. By planning out your goals for each day you are much more likely to accomplish them.

$50-$500

Printer: When I decided to become a full-time freelancer, this was my first big purchase. I already had a computer, Skype, internet, and a lot of books…but I was missing a printer. I prefer editing my work on paper instead of on the screen, so this was a necessary item for me.

Membership Sites: Depending on what you’re looking to accomplish in your freelancing career, there are a number of membership sites that can help you get there. The best ones are run by people that have successfully accomplished what you want to do.

You can learn a lot from others experiences – not only improving your writing ability but also avoiding costly mistakes that they’ve made in the past.

Here are a couple membership sites that I know provide incredible value for the cost:

• Teaching Sells by Brian and Tony Clark – For anybody looking to build a membership site of their own.
• Copy Doctor by Michel Fortin – For companies or copywriters looking to improve their conversion rates.

Writing Classes: Just because you’re out of school doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to learn. By attending writing classes at your local college or university you will not only stay on top of your game, but you’ll also have the opportunity to get out of the house a bit more than usual.

Aside from local classes, here are a few online writing classes that will improve your writing so you can raise your rates:

• Writing Classes by Gotham Writers’ Workshop – Arguably the best writing classes on the internet.
• Various Writing Classes by Paul Lima – He’s an instructor at the University of Toronto and really knows his stuff.

$500 or more:

Computer: If writing is going to be your career, then you better have a computer to do it on. A friends computer or library workspace isn’t good enough – you need your own!

Workshops: I have yet to invest this kind of money for a workshop, but realize that I probably will sometime down the road. If you’re going to put this kind of cash into your career, then you need to make sure that it’s going to deliver results.

Please let me know anything I may have missed and feel free to share your experiences of how investing in your career paid off.

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