5 Reasons why you Fail at Freelance Writing (and what to do about it)

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fail at freelance writing

You have heard that it is possible to make money writing online.
You registered on writing platforms and start prospecting for jobs.
You waited and waited for clients to give you projects, but no. None of them did.
You finally gave up and concluded that freelance writing does not work online.
If you can identify with this scenario, raise up your hand.

fail at freelance writing

See, you are not alone!.

Most often, I receive emails from people who have read my post on forums and other websites on the internet, asking me to help diagnose their problem and how they can succeed as freelance writers.

There is a common trend I observed in these emails.

Do you know what it is?

They fail to make money as a freelance writer.

Below, I will talk about five major reasons why you fail at freelance writing and how you can overcome it.

1.   You easily give up

fail at freelance writing

One of the most common problem, why you fail at freelance writing, is lack of patience.  It can be discouraging to place bids on projects or send cold emails to prospective clients and you did not get any response from them.

You know what!

I have been there.

When I was just starting out it was difficult to get writing projects. I would place bids on at least 2 – 3 projects per day and wait for a positive response. Sometimes, I get two or three projects per week. This is because there are a lot of competition on content mills. Everyone wants to outbid one another.

When I left content mills, getting clients was even harder as I have to source for them myself.  But, looking at the project fee, it is well worth it.  Sometimes I have to send cold emails to 50-100 prospective clients to get a sizeable number of clients to work with.

What you need is an encouragement.  You need to keep doing it.  Keep bidding, keep prospecting for clients. It will get to a stage where you wouldn’t need to actively bid or prospect for new clients again, because, you will have enough clients to work with.

2.   You are afraid employers will reject your work

fail at freelance writing

The second reason why you fail at freelance writing is because of fear. You are afraid that when employers give you writing projects, you will not be able to deliver what they want.

You know what?

I have been there!.

Initially, it was not easy for me.  I know what to write, but the fear of what employers would think about the project crippled me most of the time. Until, I broke out of my shell.  I determined to write anyway.

I started bidding on top projects with top freelancers who have more reviews than I do.  I built up my confidence level and improved my writing skill.

The more I write, the better I get at writing.

The solution is to keep writing more and more. If possible get a free blog on blogger and start writing. It will help develop your writing skill and boost your confidence.

3.  You are looking for a short cut to make it online

fail at freelance writing

I am sorry to burst your bubbles here.  Freelance writing is not a short cut to making money online. I read emails every day from people who are looking for a quick way to earn money online. They don’t want to stress themselves, yet they want to earn money.

If are looking for a quick way to make money online, then freelance writing is not meant for you.  Look for other things to do.

Freelance writing is for people who are hard-working and patient.  This is what it takes to make money online. You have to sit down and write for hours to make money.  Most often than not, I write daily from 7 am to 6pm with little breaks in between.  You have to work in order to earn.

4.  You love the security your day job offers

fail at freelance writing

It is not as if you don’t like to make money online, but you are afraid to leave your day job. You don’t know what the future holds and so cannot take the risk.

Everything is a risk in this life and those who are not ready to take risks, hardly make it.

Now, I am not advising you to quit your job immediately. You have to start writing and making money online first before you think of going full-time. Make sure you are earning a sizeable income that is likely to double when you finally resigns.

It is possible to combine your day job with freelance writing.  You can write in the early morning hours and late at nights if you are serious about making money online.

5.  You don’t improve on your writing skill

fail at freelance writing

One thing I love doing daily is to read blogs of great content writers and marketers.  These are people that I respect a lot in the marketing niche.  I read their blogs daily to improve my writing skill. Like I said in my guide on how to earn more as a freelance writer, I learned content marketing for six months and it really paid off.

As a content writer, you need to keep sharpening your skills if you want to earn more and scale high. There are courses you can take  if you are not ready to do the research on your own.

Above are five major reasons why people fail at freelance writing. You don’t have to look for excuses again.  Get up and start writing and making money online today.

As a freelance writer, what are the things you faced when you were starting out and how did you overcome them?  Let’s discuss in the comment section.

Hephzibah Asaolu

I am Hephzy Asaolu (aka Ladywriter), a professional Freelance content writer and blogger.

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