Let’s talk about how you can front load small victories with freelance writing.
These are things I’ve done and/or recommend.
Start Small
Start on fiverr or otherwise look for cheap, simple jobs.
The work might be beneath you, and you might be underpaid, but you’ll learn skills which are invaluable as you move up the ladder rungs.
It’s important to get customer service right. It’s better to get customer service wrong when you stand to lose $15 rather than $1500.
You’re setting an ecosystem this way. You also set up skills and systems that work better because you’re getting paid less and starting from the bottom.
Someone who gets paid $5000 a client doesn’t really have all that much incentive to work as efficiently as possible. When you are getting paid $50 a client, everything you do has to be done with efficiency in mind otherwise you don’t break even.
Do Not Overcomplicate Your Service
Forget websites, autoresponders, etc.
You don’t need them.
You can add them in later.
The only exception to this is if any of the above is part of your service. So if you’re an email marketing consultant, you’ll want to have an email list. If you build websites, you should probably have a website.
But honestly, if you’re trying to get a lot of small victories early on, the worst thing you can do is spend a lot of time on things which won’t get you to those goals.
You are absolutely better off going for a minimalist, direct-response approach to getting your first clients and doing your first job.
Instead of trying to set up a cool website and funnel, instead just email some folks and see what they need doing.
Find a Good Skill… Master It
Stick with one skill, learn it well and master it to an extreme degree.
It’s a lot easier to a) get repeat work, b) get a lot of work and c) increase the value of your service if you stick to one skill and master it.
A lot of people – me included – talk about copywriting as a pathway to do other things.
But to be honest, I know people who make a lot of money just as freelance copywriters. They target particular publications, get a track record for beating controls and otherwise, and then command huge base fees and royalties in addition to that later on.
There’s a lot to be said for branching out versus staying on the same path, but if you want easy victories early on in your business journey, then you should stick to something until it works, and then keep pushing with that thing.
One victory is more likely to lead to another, and when you start over from scratch, instead of going from one small victory to two, you go from having one small victory to zero.
Final Thoughts
Another short article, and another opportunity for you to add to the thoughts with your own in the comments!
(I know; does anyone even do blog comments anymore?)
As with the other articles, the key here is to think of little wins you can have today that’ll ensure you continue tomorrow.