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Your First Big Break in Freelance Blogging: Beware These 5 Myths

Your First Big Break in Freelance Blogging: Beware These 5 Myths

You know you were born to be a freelance blogger.

Undeterred by competition or fear of rejection, you spend countless hours perfecting your blog posts and sharing them with your peers. Every spare minute, you either send out queries to potential clients or absorb the advice of expert bloggers.

Friends and family start to worry; you’re working so hard, when will it pay off?

And then, one day, it happens.

Not only do you land a guest blogging assignment with a high-profile client, they love your work so much they want to offer you an ongoing gig! Ding ding… jackpot!

So, you re-focus your energy on this “golden goose” client. You no longer work on your own blog or pitch new clients. What for? This is a huge company with endless opportunities.

Six months later, the client abruptly leaves the company. His replacement is more comfortable working with established writers and you are left out in the cold.

Is this an imaginary cautionary tale, dramatised to prove a point?

I wish. This exact scenario happened to me.

And it took months of sending queries, reconnecting with my blogging community and an active participation in social media before I was able to get the ball rolling again.

Bloggers are either encouraged or intimidated by their first big break. Don’t get caught up in any of these 5 myths (like I did!) and you will go on to even bigger success. 

Myth #1: Ease up on the marketing

Don’t make my mistake. You should send queries to other well-known blogs after your big break, with a link to your popular post to show them you really know your stuff.

Make sure you have replied thoughtfully to all the comments on the post too; showing you care about responding to readers can go a long way to getting you hired elsewhere.

And speaking of the commenters, when writing for high-profile blogs, people you’ve helped or inspired will be curious about you and want to read more of your great tips.

If you aren’t blogging regularly, make sure you have an up-to-date portfolio site with a great bio page or at the very least, a detailed LinkedIn profile with your current contact details.

As for social media, promote your post to all your active circles. You never know where your next opportunity might be coming from.

Myth #2: The client is always right

Or “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Or “don’t ruffle any feathers.” Take your pick — they all mean the same thing.

Of course you want to please your client and come off as easy to work with, but that doesn’t mean you have no good ideas of your own to contribute.

Part of the reason why you were hired in the first place was because you possess expertise on a subject; be it writing or gardening or underwater basket-weaving, they want to share your knowledge with their readers. So listen intently to your clients’ needs, then offer them detailed suggestions with confidence.

Most will appreciate the information, some will ignore it and continue to make the same mistakes they were making before hiring a professional blogger, but at least you can never be accused of not offering your best.

Which leads us to the next myth…

Myth #3: If a client rejects your idea, you’re doomed

Ah fear… what a bitch.

Yes, it can be disheartening when a client rejects a post you worked hard on or even worse, doesn’t seem to like any of your new ideas. But despite your irrational demons screaming at you to quit and go hide under the bed, don’t give up.

Instead, fight back at the sting of rejection by trying a new approach.

For instance, if up until now your client loved all of your ideas without offering much feedback, ask for it now. Discovering what made them excited about your work in the first place could inspire you to take a different direction. The point is never to quit trying – ESPECIALLY when you are afraid of further rejection (or total humiliation. We writers are such sensitive souls).

Still not convinced what hanging in there can do?

Read writer Brett Guttormson’s inspiring post about how he deals with rejection as a writer.

Myth #4: You must be available 24/7

Sure, your big client can pay you competitive rates and the publicity you can generate with their high-traffic blog is another fantastic bonus, but that doesn’t mean you’re now at their beck and call.

Avoid this misconception by pre-stating your revision rates and communicating your availability after every piece of work you turn in.

Your email can look something like this:

Dear Fat Cat Client,

 Please find attached my latest post with the required revisions.

 If necessary, I would be happy to do another edit as per our original agreement, but note that I will not be available to work on Thursday or Friday of this week.

I look forward to your feedback.

Kind Regards,

Professional Blogger

By letting them know your schedule beforehand, you’ll avoid disappointing them later. Plus you’ll ooze professionalism. And your clients want to work with an in-demand blogger, so they won’t mind your schedule being busy.

Never mind that on those days what you are actually doing is driving grandma to Bingo Night — the client will definitely appreciate the heads-up and either ask for the edits sooner or wait until you are available.

Myth #5: Free work now means better pay later

Ok, I admit it. I was taken in by this one too.

It’s a tempting carrot they dangle: “We have 2 million readers! Many of our bloggers have found great success through us! You’ll get a ton of traffic!”

While this might all be true, once you agree to give up your work for free, often they will expect you to continue doing so.

Or picture this: your client may pay well for your first few posts, but then decide to rethink their approach to blogging. Possible changes include cutting down on your number of posts per month, or paying you for traffic delivered rather than words delivered.

What’s your writing worth? Only you can decide.

When you land a great client, it’s a rush. No feeling quite like it.

But we’re freelancers! We work for ourselves. We decide what jobs we take, how much we market our services and how many hours we’re willing to put in to turn this into a profitable career.

This stalwart attitude is what first gets us noticed by those desirable clients, and will continue to attract new (better!) opportunities — just so long as we keep it up. This empowering realization lets you enjoy the highs of freelancing while surviving the lows virtually unscathed.

So keep that in mind when you win your first big client:
They’re your client, but you are your boss.

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Comments

  1. Jessica,
    Great post. Landing your first high-paying client makes you want to forget about everything else and cater to them. After all, if they are giving you enough to cover your rent, why not?

    I’m learning not to do this, although it is hard. I’m prone to wanting constant communication from my clients, and if I don’t get it, I fear they have moved on. Especially in the beginning of a relationship. I send them the contract, we negotiate, and I wait. And wonder.

    So I what do I do? I just pitch that much harder and send querries that much more. Because the motto for freelance writers is, always be marketing!

    Great topic!

    • Hi Elna,

      So glad you enjoyed the post.

      You know what? For me, it never gets old!

      I still get all giddy with excitement when I land a shiny, new client. But after a few moments of daydreaming that I can sit on my laurels just a tiny little bit, I remember how hard it was to get back in the game when I slacked off the first time… and quickly snap out of it.

      It’s hard. Sometimes tedious, but you are absolutely right: our motto is to always be marketing!

  2. Super concise and actionable points, Jessica. Just what busy bloggers need to save time and stay clear of that crazy-making downward spiral… You know, the one that feels like a chaotic trip down the bathtub drain into oblivion. Yes, I’ve been there! Thanks for the great reminders in your post.

  3. You’ve outlined such important things every writer needs to remember! I’ve only started being active about pursuing further work to better my writing skills and achieve my goals. These myths and tips are definitely something I will continue to remember!

  4. Spot on post, Jessica – these are common misconceptions among freelancers from all professions, not just writers. It is a great reminder for everyone just starting – being a freelancer is nothing like being someone’s employee…

    To your last myth, “Free work now means better pay later”, I’d like to add one more variation, so to speak. I have encountered my fair share of clients who offer lower pay for an ongoing gig, with the promise of more work later.

    It’s hard to explain to such a client (or a starting freelancer for that matter), that more work from a specific client does *not* justify lowering your rates; let alone the*promise* for such work…

    Great post – thanks for writing it, Jessica, and thanks for hosting it, Sophie 😀

    • Hi Diana,

      Good point! New freelancers (well, all of us really) need to stay clear of clients like these; those that think they are doing us a tremendous favor by giving us ongoing work in exchange for lower rates.

      Let’s face it, it’s hard to get those first clients, let alone a good paying ones but that doesn’t mean you should sell yourself short.

      Figure out your rates and stick to them. Maybe you’ll lose some clients at first, but if you offer quality services the rights ones will stick around.

      Thanks for posting!

  5. Hi Jessica — useful post here. Certainly, getting one good ongoing client is never a signal to stop marketing! Because you don’t want to have only one client. Then, you’re in a situation that’s worse than having a day job — one boss holds all your income, it isn’t a full-time income, and it doesn’t have benefits.

    You want many clients, so you can pick and choose the best projects, instead of jumping at whatever this one client throws at you, or having to put up with an irrational, super-demanding, or difficult client because you have no other options.

    • Hi Carol,

      Right you are! Why stick to just one when you can have many quality clients to choose from?

      As you move up in your freelance writing career, your confidence will grow along with your skills. So, you’ll not only have multiple clients but the choice of dumping the duds and only work on projects you enjoy.

      What could be better than that?

      Thanks for posting!

  6. Can I just yell: “WOOTWOOT”

    I have been procrastinating just a little. 😉

    My mad pursuit of hat ‘perfect idea’ (along with my extreme fear of rejection) is paralyzing me from taking any action. Time to throw caution the wind and get started.

    Thank you, Jessica

    Kitto

  7. Oh man, such an important topic. I recently went something slightly similar. For most of 2013, I focused on ghost blogging for clients. The money was fantastic, and my work was being published on some of the biggest blogs.

    Unfortunately, the marketing for ghost bloggers is a little different than usual – and I completely stopped marketing because I was busy.

    I’d shut off my old blog a year before, and my writer portfolio hadn’t been updated because I had no new clips under my own.

    Talk about being in a fix!

    It took half of 2014 to get my freelance biz back on track. But now that it is, I haven’t stopped blogging under my own name.

    Great post and a timely reminder to send out a few queries this week 🙂

    • Hi Samar,

      Thanks for sharing your freelance blogging ordeal!

      Although ghost blogging can be another way to get our work out there, we must remember to balance it with byline work that allows our portfolio to shine.

      Glad the post was helpful. Happy Pitching!

  10. Jessica,

    Very timely! I just got that break myself, and landed my first well paying client with an ongoing gig. I think your advice is spot on, and you’ve just inspired me to send out another pitch today, even though I have enough work in the pipeline.

  12. Guess we all have a bit of that “I’ll just find someone to assure me a steady income and to make all the BIG decisions, then I can sit back and coast in this routine for the rest of my life” syndrome. (As if that were a safe attitude even in long-term salaried jobs.) I’m grateful for my natural love of learning and new experiences; if only it were as natural to love the uncertainty and responsibility that comes with growing up, LOL.

  13. Great post. Landing your first high-paying client makes you want to forget about everything else and cater to them. After all, if they are giving you enough to cover your rent, why not?

  14. Hello!
    What an informative post! I confess, I’ve fallen for most of these myths starting out which left me wishing I found the BAFB sooner. Still, thanks for sharing your experience with us. When it comes to blogging and freelancing independently from bidding sites *coughodeskcough*, I still have much to learn and to be honest I’m a bit nervous (you’re right, fear is a bitch). But right now, I’m taking your advice and marketing as much as I can for my new blog. There’s not much in there but with perseverance, I hope it takes off. 🙂
    Keep on writing and I wish you all the best this 2015!

    -Yen

    • Hi Yen,
      I am so thrilled that you will continue to actively market your work despite your fears!

      Wish there was an easier way, but being afraid and doing what needs to be done anyway, is really the only route to success.

      Here’s to making 2015 your greatest writing year ever!

  15. Thanks, Jessica! Just what we all need to get the New Year off on the right foot. I’m still sweeping up Christmas tree needles. Now’s the time to buckle down and start pitching. Here’s to a fabulous 2015!