As a freelance writer, there will be times when you don’t have any projects on your plate. Sure, you might have client that needs something done in two weeks - but you’re also worried about not having any paying jobs right now. The great thing about freelancing is that you’ve always got something to do, even when you have nothing going on.
If you don’t have any work at the moment and feel like taking a “sick day” - keep in mind that one day off won’t solve your problem. You’ll wake up tomorrow with the same issue on-hand, but you’ll have to make even more money per-day to reach your monthly goals.
When you have no money coming in and you’re worried about the rest of the week, you need to stop feeling bad about your situation and start taking action. Hanging your head will do nothing, putting your mind to work will create results. Here are five things that I do when I have no immediate projects on the go:
- Find Jobs: The only way to get yourself out of the rut is to find more work for the future. You can contact your existing clients to see if they need any more work done, you can scour the internet for job postings, or you can contact local companies that might be needing your services.
- Update Your Image: Whenever you meet a new prospect they will judge you by your website, samples, and resumé (among other things). If you have some down time, it’s a good idea to make sure that these reflect your services in the best way. If you don’t have an online portfolio then you should consider adding one or ensure that you have all your best work in .pdf or .doc format for others to read.
- Meet New People: One of the keys to long-lasting success as a freelancer is to make connections. We are too often a shy group that hides behind the keyboard and without managing to get out into the real world. By going to local networking events you’ll be able to meet new people who might be able to use your services. Just make sure you have your 30 second elevator pitch ready.
- Write Articles Like Mad: Okay, so I haven’t done this one yet, but I’ve considered it. I wouldn’t mind trying to write articles for 8 hours one day - submitting a few pieces to Suite101, Constant Content, Helium, Daily Article, and Triond - to see how much I could actually make when I’ve got nothing else to do.
- Develop Business Ideas: I consider it absolutely necessary to be developing multiple streams of income. You never know when a big client is going to leave you or when you’re going to have a tough time finding work. By developing information products that you can sell or other business ideas - you’ll give yourself a chance to make money while you sleep.
As a freelance writer, you’ll never have a day where you truly don’t have anything to do. Freelancing is an exciting career where you can be going full-throttle whether you have projects rolling in or not. What do you do on your slow days?
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Those are all great tips.
I need to network more. The past few weeks I’ve slowed down considerably because I have had a lot of work. That’s not true. I convinced myself I had a lot of work. Naturally, the articles took longer to complete. Talk about self fulfilling prophecy.
I’ve been thinking about writing articles in advance on my technology website I can write about almost anything I want as long as it’s related to Apple computers. In doing so I would be able to take a few days off.
Oh by the way this post has been Stumbled! http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/profreelancing.com/freelancing/what-to-do-when-youve-got-nothing-to-do.html
Thanks for the stumble Opal! I find that whenever I get really bogged down with work I forget to plan for the next week (keeping in touch with other clients, bidding on projects, etc) and end up with a couple slow days by accident…freelancing is only about 25% about writing - the rest is marketing, planning, invoicing, accounting, and all that other good stuff. My main goal is to maximize my writing time and minimize or outsource the rest.
Hey Chad,
Promised last night I’d stop and check out your house. Nice diggs! I network too much and should just shut up and write more. It gets lonely though when you’re an extrovert. I have seen Opal over at Men with Pens, and at Deb’s. Hi Opal!
Ellen
Hey Ellen, I appreciate you coming by. I must admit, you seem like a very entertaining person and it’d be awesome to have you around more often…so don’t cut down your networking too much!
The big thing to do when business slows is to increase your marketing time and budget! You’re likely not busy enough because clients don’t know where to find you. Do you know who your ideal client is? Do you know how they go about finding someone like you? If not, that’s your first step. If you do, increase your presence in those channels, whether that’s through pay-per-click, online directories, billboards, networking, whatever is going to get those clients to notice you.
Absolutely Andy,
I was surprised by Freelance Switch’s report yesterday (which you can find at FreelanceSwitch.com) which said that only 13.1% of freelancers advertise their services. Isn’t that crazy?
Meanwhile 45% of freelancers feel insecure with their jobs - I’m guessing they just need to learn how to advertise.
I don’t think they sliced and diced the numbers effectively. For example, how many part-time freelancers would bother to advertise? Very few. How many full-timers would? Likely lots more than 13%. However, I still do come across a lot of freelancers who think “I’m doing great just with referrals, so why bother to do more marketing at all?” Which is a recipe for those people leaving the world of freelance when the referrals stop coming in.
Maybe freelancers just think that all advertising is supposed to cost lots of money. Some advertising channels, like pay-per-click, do cost lots of money if you don’t keep a tight leash on your budget. Others, like online directories, usually cost nothing to list your services and clients do indeed look at those places (if they have good Google placement) and contact freelancers that way.
That’s a good point, the numbers are skewed a bit - but whether you’re a part-timer or full-timer, there are always cheap ways to get your name out there.
I pay 10 bucks per month for local ads in online classifieds…certainly worth the money.