Friday, 5 September 2014

The 10 Freelancing Commandments



Hi everyone. Today, I am going to share with you about simple things that cost you clients and stop you from making money online as a freelancer. Earlier in the week I wrote an article about making over $300 genuinely writing online, if you missed it, you can read it here. The article garnered slightly below 1,000 views on the very first day, thank you all. After reading this article, my readers have been sending me emails asking almost the same line of questions like “how do you manage to make money online,” “what keeps you going,” “how have you managed to fully depend on freelancing online full time” and many others. I have therefore been motivated to write about the mistakes I think do pin me down, but I work around them to keep me at the top of my game.


In the beginning, I made a lot of mistakes; almost everything I did seemed to be a disaster. At one point I felt I was going to give up because I spend the whole week online, but still fail to make enough money to complement for a lot of time spent. Am happy we have the power in our hands to correct mistakes.




Here are The 10 Freelancing Commandments:

1.      Love Your Marketing, Like you Love thy Money

It seems difficult marketing to most people. Earlier on, I was used to doing my marketing vigorously for only one day then take a long break. No effort is worthless, today, I ensure that I reach at least 5 blogs, contribute impactfully, and afterwards get new friends. I also update my Facebook profiles, and several others. I also do email marketing and paid ads. At least do something on a daily basis towards marketing. It is true that on the days that I make an effort, there is a recommendable change in the number of views reported on my Hootsuite and Google analytics dashboards. Market all days; do not develop the habit of marketing only when the business is slow.

Run promotions, update your website, make your portfolio enviable, allow for customers testimonials and comments. Good communication skill is key to marketing. Reply to your emails promptly, reply to all stupid questions appropriately, follow up on all your emails, only share what is necessary on your pages, accept customer negotiations, only do things you want to do, and give straight answers. Do not be irritated when talking to clients, just be humble and treat your clients equally.


2.      Though Must Have your Working Terms and Conditions

Before I begin working on a project, I email my clients with a terms and conditions that they read to let them know the limits and rules that will govern our contract. If a client feels not happy with them, they will definitely write me back. However, I have nothing fishy kept inside my rules, they are just simple guidelines that will keep professionalism while we deal together.


3.      Thou Must Meet Your Deadlines

Out of 100% of the jobs you do, you are likely to default on 3% or more on deadlines, even if you are very efficient. The key to being successful in meeting your deadlines is to keep in touch with your client. Ask him or her how missing the deadline will impact them. Try to fix a new deadline keeping in mind that you must not fail again.

Sometimes things just happen; life brings forth things that make you leave your daily routine to attend to them. When making deadlines, ensure you give enough room for life to continue. Don’t promise what you cannot deliver. And do not over-promise, for heaven’s sake, promise what you can deliver, but do it in action by over-delivering. When you miss deadlines, also try and give your customer and an extra something to compensate for the late delivery, it works like a charm (only don’t make it a habit).

Freelance is purely based on deadlines, if you have three tasks to accomplish and you do not properly plan for your time, then you are most likely to miss on one or more deadlines. Keep a calendar; if possible, invest in some to do list software, or a calendar.

Make use of the tools that will help you save on time, for example Gmailnotifier, Hootsuite, Yoono, grammar checker, do it list and many others. I will soon be writing an article on freelance tools to make your work easier.


4.      Remember to Save, You Will need it During Scarcity

“I cannot save when I missed a meal yesterday,” “I bought a pair of shoes yesterday, therefore I cannot save”. These are common excuses. What about the rainy days? Save 10% of your freelance earnings because a day comes when you will lose an opportunity because you do not have $100 to strike the deal, and you are also not in a position to borrow. Save for emergencies, because when you do not have money when you need it most you will not be in a position to freelance. Saving gives you peace of mind, and it starts from saving as little as $1.


5.      Thou Must Say NO when Necessary

When a new client comes on board, I do over-deliver to ensure that they continue coming back for more. After a few jobs down the line, the very same client begins to be bossy (not all of them). It is almost a must that a client will start to request for several revisions, want jobs done on credit, some even want to miss-use you. Am a writer, despite the fact that am passionate about what I do, sometimes some clients are annoying. I have learnt to tell my clients no when I feel something is going wrong.  When it reaches this point, I know it is that time when a client may leave, so, I handle them delicately while at the same time not allow them to misuse me by suggesting alternatives and saying an intelligent no.

With the same spirit, when you have too much work in your hands, learn to say NO, when a client gives you more.


6.      Thou Should Charge on Pay Per Hour Basis

When I started freelancing, I looked for jobs mainly from bidding sites like Odesk and Elance. This gave me the perception that I must always charge my clients on the hours I worked for them. When I started doing my own marketing, I charged clients on the number of hours I spent writing e-books, and doing several other things. I went by the rule that only those who can pay for my working hours will get my services; I’d rather get some dollars than spend hours doing just one project that does not compensate for my time.

I realized I was wrong. First, work per hour is expensive for clients, a fact I ignored. Second, I became smarter in my work, and I could deliver a task in less than an hour, meaning clients will pay me only for half an hour’s work instead of an hour’s work. When I changed to charge my clients per article, did a little marketing, my income jumped instantly. And I found better ways of packaging good plans to clients.


7.      Though Must Not Repeat the Same Mistakes Again, For you do not have a Second Chance in Freelancing

Repeating the same mistake over and over again is what spoils everything. When something goes wrong, try as much as possible and look for the solution. When you finally work around it, look for better ways to shield from the same happening. Do not allow the same mistake that almost put you down earlier bug you again. In a freelance world, there is nothing like a second chance, you screw it a second time, your client goes away.


8.      Freelancing is Your Job not a Hobby

Am a full time freelancer. I was once employed and quit “to do what I love most,” it was only a matter of time when I realized it is not a hobby any more. I had to figure out real ways how to make money to pay for all my bills. Treat freelancing as your daytime job. If you work from home, your kids and friends must stay away when you are at work. Keep time for everything, a time to work, a time to rest and time to spend time with your family.

Also invest in education to empower yourself. Read other blogs to get equipped with lots of knowledge in your field. Plough back part of your income; you are likely to get more when you do so.


9.      You Shall Not Keep All Your  Eggs in One Basket

Have more than one stream of income. When you begin, you realize you have one source bringing you more income; you want to quit others which are not giving you more, to focus on the single source of income. What happens if the major source bounces back? You are dead.


10.  Thou Must Discover your Niche

Am a writer, and writing is my profession. You cannot do everything; you can only do one or a few things perfectly at a go. Today, people are known for what they do, am known as a professional writer because I have mastered my skills. It is easier being successful in a given field; people find it easier referring to you as an expert in a specific field and not as a general freelancer. It is also not a good idea taking too much work for you, delegate to others when you have too much on your hands. My policy has been to work with the best, know how to separate the chuffs from the grains. Along the way, you will get people who will serve you well, others will be messy, get along with the best.

When I started, I used to write my ass off, day long and night. Today, I have a list of writers who work alongside me. I have developed networks that allow me to get what I want how I want it. When I have too much to accomplish, I outsource it out. The truth is, you cannot handle a growing business on your own, at least according to my experience. Get others to help you where you can’t.




What is your experience freelancing? What are the challenges you are facing. Share them and we will find solutions together.