by Leo Wiles
27 February 2015
Whether you’re an accomplished journo, or a graduate about to embark on your freelance journey, there are some common pitfalls even the most seasoned of us have made. Are you guilty of any of these?
1. Not setting goals. Being your own boss means knowing what your targets are for financial projections. Does it boil down to landing one more client per week, or perhaps two? Or is there a blue chip client you want to work towards? Get organised, set some goals and start tracking your work with a bullet journal for client management.
2. Losing the chance for repeat business. A big mistake we all make is ignoring the client we already work with. You hand in your copy and bam – it’s onto the next thing, right? Not so fast. Every time you send off copy accompany it with a polite ‘lovely to work with you note’ and a call to action, such as, ‘Here are 3-5 other pitches’ or ‘Do let me know if you’ll be outsourcing on that other project we discussed at coffee last month, as I’d love to help you out again soon’. Keep in check with our client tracker where you can reconnect with old clients (and even nurture new ones).
3. Never switching off. Hands up who’s guilty of this one? Taking regular breaks and having a clear demarcation between work and home (even when working from home) will stop you feeling resentful.
4. Not putting in the time needed. Rushing copy, not re-reading it before hitting send, emailing it to the wrong address and then wondering why you’ve got an irate editor calling to find out why you missed the deadline… all can be avoided if you just take a bit of extra time.
5. Thinking you can overlook networking. Freelancing can be as lonely as it is rewarding. Which is why networking with fellow freelancers is just as important as landing editors. They’re the people you’ll call when you’ve given up, want to bitch and moan or need a sounding board to see if a story is worth its salt. Our Gold Community FB group is perfect for networking, sharing and yes, the occasional rant!
6. Not knowing your worth. Crappy clients end up costing you a lot more than they’re worth. So no matter how desperate you are, eat the baked beans and hang out for the rate you deserve (or spend the rest of the life wearing a Kick Me shingle).
7. Blowing off the need for a contract. You don’t need to be legal eagle to hit reply with a quick email recapping the agreement. If there’s any discrepancies between your expectations or that of the client then this is the time to work them out. NOT when you’ve done all the hard work and are lying prone over a barrel.
8. Writing pieces before you sell them. Newbie freelancers often ask Rach and I if they should write up their ideas and then send it out. NO, NO, NO! Mags, and to a degree newspapers, work to a publication schedule with feature decisions made between two weeks to three months (for monthlies) in advance, which leaves you with plenty of time to write it up once you’ve agreed the fee. Doing all the hard work before knowing if you can place it? BIG mistake.
9. Not seeing yourself as a business. If you’ve been pushed into freelancing and see it as a last resort to work your craft, then chances are you won’t make it. Passion and persistence are the cornerstones to making freelance work and a lacklustre, scattergun passionless approach is going to see you fail at the first gate.
The good news is that even if you’ve made the mistakes above, or perhaps a few not on this list, as long as you learn from them you’ll be an even more seasoned pro.
What mistakes have you / did you make going freelance?
Photo by Nathan Dumbao, Unsplash
No.3 is probably my main issue. When you work from a home office, it’s hard to keep the work/life division clear. The lines definitely become blurred – for you and your family.
Especially when the kids are too little to respect the fact you’re on the phone or you office door is shut!
I am guilty of writing the story before it’s commissioned. I have worked in broadcast for more than 15 years and am in the habit of saying “While I’ve got you on the phone, do you mind if I just transfer you to tape and we can do the interview now?”
That way I have the interviews in the can ready for when I need it. However, as an inpatient Aries woman it often gets the better of me and I end up writing the article.
I guess I have to remember that I’m working in print now.
Sally you’re a woman after my own heart – the impulsive kind.
The only problem with interviewing on the fly is that you may not have the right angle for the title that would be interested in your subject.
On the plus side you can always call back and say so and so is interested but I hoped you might answering a couple of questions to top up our chat from the other day…
Definitey #9. Glad you wrote this piece Leo, it’s reminded me of the importance of structure and devoting set time to it every week. Rather than just having a freelance attitude towards freelance!
Thanks Leona. It can be hard when you are in the middle of a feast period to shore up the work for potential famine. OR put money away for the tax man and holidays, let alone super!