Freelancing comfort levels and breaking barriers

June 28, 2010

Many freelancers often find themselves in a specific comfort level and once they find that level they stick with it. This is both good and bad. If you are unwilling to take risks and reach outside of your comfort zone, your business could end up stagnating and suffer from a lack of growth. It is never easy to work at a level that makes you feel awkward, but there are some distinct advantages to reaching outside yourself and finding that last ounce of “oomph” to make something work well. While many fields of freelancing are very specific (e.g. graphic artists for example) that lend themselves to variety but do not always offer extended opportunities, freelance writers have multiple opportunities to expand their horizons. Here are some of the variety of tasks that freelance writers can undertake to help them expand their writing horizons:

Website content – For freelance writers who primarily write articles, website content can be a bit of a challenge. It does not have to be this way however, as there are thousands of websites online that can provide you with direction. When writing web content, the most important thing to have is a good idea about the business and a site map. You can look at other similar websites to see what type of content is being used. Not all websites fall into the category of “landing pages” instead, they are more geared towards the kind of business that the client operates and provides helpful information for potential customers. Most good writers can create good web content.

Sales pages – Not everyone is cut out to write sales pages. It can be very challenging if you do not have a “sales” mind-set. However, those who are good at writing public relations materials, sales brochures and other similar material can write strong sales pages. Like regular web content, there are thousands of sales pages available that you can use for a model if you are brand new to writing sales pages. If you are not the “sales” type, this is content you may want to avoid.

Rewriting - Many writers groan at the idea of rewriting articles. However, this can be a lucrative option for some writers, especially during periods of time when you are suffering from writers block. Many article owners want to be able to use their articles on their blogs, in article directories and on their website. This means they would like to have similar content but written slightly differently. Many good writers can rewrite 3 to 5 articles in an hour since it does not require original content, merely re-wording of articles you have in front of you. This can mean a fairly substantial amount of income for that time period and can help fill in the gap between other assignments.

Create PLR content – If you have some ideas for great articles you can earn extra money by writing them up and making them available as PLR (Private Label Rights) content. You can sell the same articles repeatedly to people looking for articles on a specific topic. There are always people looking for PLR content that they can rewrite and use on their blog or their websites. Decide the terms of your PLR content and create a “bundle” of articles and sell them to as many people as you would like. The best part of this is that you can still publish the original article as your own since you own it.

Summary

In addition to writing for sites like Helium, or posting your work to sites like Xomba, freelance writers have hundreds of opportunities available to them to think outside the box and earn more money. There are many ways that you can break out of your comfort zone and find new and innovative ways to earn more money on your work. Blogging and writing to article sites can be very lucrative and if you combine some of these other methods of earning money, freelance writing can be an even more lucrative career opportunity for you.

About Doreen Martel

Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.