From 10 Dollar to 10 Grand Gigs- My 6 month freelance journey.
My freelance writing journey started with a brief stint on Upwork. From there, I was lucky enough to find clients from other sources for a couple months.
I'll have some money coming in from a long term ad campaign gig over the next couple months, but it's not a lot- certainly nowhere near a full-time income.
I made the mistake of assuming that when someone says "we've got more work coming for you!" that they mean it.
Never assume that.
Here's the thing. Circumstances change. Budgets change. As a freelancer, it is YOUR responsibility to find clients and work. Don't take anyone at their word when they promise future gigs. Be grateful for the work you have now.
You're disposable, and can be replaced quite easily. There's tons of great writers out there.
So after throwing myself a mini pity party, I asked myself-
Do you want to be a writer? Or do you want to be a F*cking loser?
Part of me tried to rationalize that overbooking myself could lead to me screwing up the more promising gigs that I have going on currently.
But the reality is this- creativity isn't tied to hours put in. You can put in half an hour, or 20 hours into thinking up that "big idea" for your client- and be in the exact same position.
You might as well be working.
So, I've decided to get off my dead a$$, start applying to 2 Upwork gigs every day- and see what kind of business I can drum up.
I'm picking two gigs, because you get 60 connects on Upwork each month, and each gig costs 2 connects. So, If I apply to 2 gigs a day, I'll use up all of them.
I'm going to try to improve my profile by adding a profile video. Thanks @Sanj Modha for the great idea.
I also want to niche down- but am not entirely sure what my speciality should be. Most of my experience is Marketing/Advertising related. I might go with that.
I've sent out 22 applications, and gotten 3 clients, all of which I have done repeat business with.
Any advice on application/ profile strategies would be greatly appreciated.
Here's my current profile. ( Mods, is this allowed? If not I apologize in advance- delete as necessary lol)
David Sullivan
I plan to update this thread every two weeks. Stay tuned!
-Sully.
My freelance writing journey started with a brief stint on Upwork. From there, I was lucky enough to find clients from other sources for a couple months.
I'll have some money coming in from a long term ad campaign gig over the next couple months, but it's not a lot- certainly nowhere near a full-time income.
I made the mistake of assuming that when someone says "we've got more work coming for you!" that they mean it.
Never assume that.
Here's the thing. Circumstances change. Budgets change. As a freelancer, it is YOUR responsibility to find clients and work. Don't take anyone at their word when they promise future gigs. Be grateful for the work you have now.
You're disposable, and can be replaced quite easily. There's tons of great writers out there.
So after throwing myself a mini pity party, I asked myself-
Do you want to be a writer? Or do you want to be a F*cking loser?
Part of me tried to rationalize that overbooking myself could lead to me screwing up the more promising gigs that I have going on currently.
But the reality is this- creativity isn't tied to hours put in. You can put in half an hour, or 20 hours into thinking up that "big idea" for your client- and be in the exact same position.
You might as well be working.
So, I've decided to get off my dead a$$, start applying to 2 Upwork gigs every day- and see what kind of business I can drum up.
I'm picking two gigs, because you get 60 connects on Upwork each month, and each gig costs 2 connects. So, If I apply to 2 gigs a day, I'll use up all of them.
I'm going to try to improve my profile by adding a profile video. Thanks @Sanj Modha for the great idea.
I also want to niche down- but am not entirely sure what my speciality should be. Most of my experience is Marketing/Advertising related. I might go with that.
I've sent out 22 applications, and gotten 3 clients, all of which I have done repeat business with.
Any advice on application/ profile strategies would be greatly appreciated.
Here's my current profile. ( Mods, is this allowed? If not I apologize in advance- delete as necessary lol)
David Sullivan
I plan to update this thread every two weeks. Stay tuned!
-Sully.
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