18 Reasons Youre Not Landing Freelance Writing Clients (And What You Can Do About It)

Face it: Youve been trying this whole freelance writing thing for three months, and you havent landed a freelance writing client. Sure, youve gotten a project here and there, but nothing recurring and nothing more than a few dollars. You have no clue why you arent landing a client. Youre pitching, looking for freelance writing jobs and nothing. Not one stinking client to show for it. What gives? Why is everyone else – you know, the other successful freelance writers – able to write for a living? Whats so different between them and you? Ive been freelance writing for over two years, and I know what makes a successful freelance writer. Someone that doesnt need to hustle 24 hours a day. Someone who gets work handed to them and one that doesnt have to worry when they get paid next. Ive taught many writers to achieve this success in less time. I can tell with the first strategy call or email whether they will be successful or not. Here are 18 reasons why youre not landing any gigs and what you can do about it. 1. Your Pitch Looks Like it Came from a Template I know. Ive mentioned on this blog quite a few times that its okay to have a template for your pitch. It helps maximize your time when youre doing this as a side hustle. Let me preface this by saying it is okay to have a template for your pitches, just dont make it appear like its a cookie-cutter template. The best way to avoid this is by researching the prospect you want to pitch to. Look online and visit their website. Read their About page and learn about their brand and message. You can infuse that in your pitch by using the same jargon or vocabulary you see on their site. You can also have a few different pitch templates so you can rotate them when youre pitching. 2. Your Pitch Isnt Personal Part of my course package is a pitch review. I read pitches from students and give them a critique and help them tweak their pitch so that it can convert more and stand out. Over the years Ive checked out a lot of pitches and some pitches just come off as impersonal. They address themselves as we and they dont share anything about themselves (if they are a great collaborative partner for example) and its all about their services in a robust way. Your pitch has to be personal. Small businesses that want a freelance writer arent looking for a company that has a roster of freelance writers; they want a solopreneur that knows their craft and can write wicked copy for them. If your pitch doesnt show that passion from you, then you wont land that gig. 3. You Dont Have a Follow-Up System in Place When you send your pitch, do you forget about it? Do you move on to the next pitch and not worry about the pitches you sent?  If they respond, thats great; if they dont move on. Well, youll have a better chance at landing gigs if you create a follow-up system to every pitch you send out. This means after a set time ( a week, two weeks, or several months depending on whether you pitched a small business or magazine) you email them again and ask if they filled the spot for a content writer. This email isnt mean-spirited. Its just a friendly reminder that youre still available and to to please reconsider. Doing this one thing can help you land that client. Its happened to me, and its happened to my students. 4. You Didnt Negotiate in a Professional Way Yikes! You have to negotiate? You didnt sign up for that! Well newbie freelance writer, if you want to land that gig, you need to grow a pair. Sorry, if thats a little blunt, but its true. Im an introvert by nature. Large crowds (and even smaller crowds) and events drain me. I get energized by being by myself and listening to my tunes or even by doing a presentation to a small group. I do thrive off of some people if I do a Facebook live or webinar. So, for me, emailing, pitching, negotiating and networking is easy peasy. Thats because its online and not in front of someone. When you get a response from your pitch, and they ask you your rate, please dont say, Whats your budget? or My rate is $50 per 500 words, but whatever works for you. Ouch and no. This isnt how you negotiate. Another thing to remember is that you are a collaborator, not an employee of the client. You are working with the client to create content for their business. You can squash any potential freelance writing gig by not being professional in your response. Instead, when they ask you your rate, tell them. My typical rate for this type of project is X per 500 words. 5. You Dont Have a Website There are a lot of new freelance writers that email me asking if they NEED a website. Want to freelance online without a website?! Of course, you need a website. If I want to hire a graphic designer or VA, do you think Im just going to look in the newspaper? Or ask a blogger friend? Sure, they  may tell  me some names (word of mouth is a strong marketing tool), but its inefficient on your end. If people cant find you, they wont hire you. After my debacle with content mills and freelance marketplaces, I put up a website and created a services page and blog. I looked at other freelance writer websites and saw some commonalities. From there I learned how to sell my services. What if you are bootstrapping it? Thats okay. Starting a website isnt a lot of money. For under $100 you can get your WordPress site started. Remember, this is a business, not a hobby. You have to invest in yourself and in your business for it to grow. In the interim, start a Facebook page (if youre really struggling) and market your business there. 6. You Dont Have Samples I beg to differ. You DO have samples. If you edited your friends resumà © or made a newsletter for your uncles soccer store or wrote for your high school newspaper, you can drum up some samples. Now, do they translate online? Not all of them. Thats why the best samples are ones you can create on your blog or from  a Google Doc! Create up to three samples and post them on your writer website. Its that easy. To show prospects you can write, create samples and post them on your website. 7. Your Samples Dont Show Your Value Okay. Theres another problem with new freelance writers. They have samples, but they arent the right samples. Why? Because your samples dont show the value, you have as a writer. A client wants high-value from their writer (especially if they are paying for it). If youre still stuck in the $.04/word or $.o6/word range, clients arent really hiring you for value. They just want a good rate with good enough content. Once you get into the $.10-.30+/word range, then you bet your bottom britches clients want top notch content. If your samples dont show that, then youre not going to land high-paying clients. Over on my writer website, the first couple of samples in my portfolio are high-value ones. They are from popular and established websites, they are long form, and they pack a lot of examples and industry knowledge. Those alone helps me convince prospects that I know my digital marketing niche. Go to your portfolio page and take a good look at your samples. Do they really show how great of a writer you are? Or, is it just filled with all your published posts? Its time to pare down your portfolio. 8. Youre Not Confident Ive been dancing around this one for a while. A lot of new freelance writers struggle with being confident in their writing ability and marketing ability. When I first started this whole thing, I had some challenges with my confidence. For me, it was based on the fact that I dont have a journalism degree or any type of writing degree. But, you know what? Clients could give a hoot about whether you have impeccable grammar or a degree in English or journalism. They want to know you can write for their audience and relate their message and brand to them. They want a professional writer that turns in work on time, can work by themselves, and knows their niche. Confidence happens when you practice. Right now, Ive been doing Facebook live sessions. Now, Ive done webinars before, but Facebook Lives are different. They are more personal and engaging, and the feedback is quick. Youre also on the screen the whole time (mostly) and not referring to your slides. Can I say Im not confident at all? Im anxious, I stumble over my words, and Im so not polished on these Facebook lives. But, you know what? Im still doing them. Im doing a 5 days of freelance writing tips Facebook Live over on my Facebook page. I have no idea how that will go. It will be the wild wild west on my Facebook page, and for some reason, freelance writing gets a lot of ridicule than other freelance businesses! Go figure. But, thats not stopping me. I know how important video will be for 2017, so I better jump on board with cold feet. And, you should do the same with your freelance writing business. 9. You Have No Idea Where To Find Your Ideal Client Do you even know who your ideal client is? Trying to find your ideal client can be a challenge. This is the client that helps you become a writer for a living. This is the client that doesnt balk at your rate, values your writing and offers a testimonial. You want that client, but where the heck are they? I can tell you right now; you probably wont find them on Upwork. Now, I know there are writers out there that have worked with their ideal clients on that platform, but Ive had no luck finding any work there, and pitching was terrible on that platform. To find your ideal client, you need to: Raise your rate Create an inbound marketing strategy Use other pipelines to find a client (not only job boards) Its all in your hands freelance writer! 10. Youre Not Spending Time on Your Freelance Biz Let me guess: This is a side hustle for you, right? You have a full-time job to go to that sucks up all your time, and then when youre home, you have a family to tend to. I get it. I do this as a side hustle too (still do) and its hella hard to find time for my client work. My twins no longer nap and the only time I can write is at night. Now, if this were  the case when I first started, it wouldnt have taken me 6 months to make a living as a freelance writer; it wouldve probably taken much much longer. When you dont give yourself adequate time to grow your business, dont expect to have jobs coming to you. You have to invest in your business, so carve time before going to work or during nap time and at night (sorry The Walking Dead, but Ill watch when my client work is done!). 11. Your Niche is Too Broad Whats your niche? Is it gardening? Parenting? Health? These niches are too broad. Anyone can have those niches, so how do you expect a client to find the perfect health writer? When they find a paleo health writer or medical writer for small businesses. The riches are in the niches writers! When you can hone your niche, clients will magically be able to find you and hire you on the spot. Its that simple and that quick. How do you hone your niche? Look at your expertise and knowledge or look what you like to write about. For me, I enjoy writing about content marketing and email marketing on social media. From there, make a new title for your business. I like to go by a B2B professional writer. 12. You Avoid Social Media (Like the Plague!) Oh no, dont tell me you dont have a Twitter profile or at least a LinkedIn profile? If you want to get paid as a freelance writer online, you need to be on social media. This is another way to show your credibility as an online writer. Its free to use, and its easy to create a profile. Remember that these profiles are business ones. If you already have social media profiles, you can use them for your business (just remove pictures that dont align with your biz) or create new profiles. Since I didnt have a Twitter or LinkedIn profile before I started freelance writing, I just created new profiles. Make sure you also show your face. Even if you are a private person, you should still show some personal features of you. Some writers choose to use an avatar. This is fine, but having a real headshot helps with trusting you more. 13. You Dont Network I have an email list of almost 4,000 subscribers, and its such a personal relationship I share with my subscribers. And, when I hear from a subscriber tell me they dont normally reply to newsletters or even attempt to email writers, I feel a little sad. Networking is such a pivotal part  to the long-term success of your business. Without networking, youre facing this journey all alone. Networking was what helped me with getting my gig on OptinMonster as well as writing for influences in my industry. It also helped me raise my rate and appear more credible since I had social proof from a network of entrepreneurs that I could write. So, how do you network? Share other peoples work Comment on blogs you want to write for Email other freelance writers 🙂 Follow other writers and small businesses 14. You Dont Try Other Ways to Find Clients I know. You are already having a tough time landing ANY work, so its not worth it to try something new. And heck, you may not even know of other ways (or how to use other ways) to land clients. It took me a while to learn about cold pitching and warm pitching, but now that I acquired those skills, its easy for me to find and land work. I also learned how to find clients on social media too! If you cant find work on Upwork, then try freelance writing job boards. If that doesnt pan out, start looking at cold and warm pitching. 15. You Dont Have a Pitching Process Do you feel like your sending pitches with no rhyme or reason? You pick a job board here, you cold pitch a company there, and then wait a bit before you do it again. Its important to have a pitching process that can help streamline your acquisition process. This means having a process when you pitch and knowing when to pitch, where youll pitch and creating a follow-up sequence. 16. Youre Stuck Writing For Pennies I hear ya. Freelance marketplaces or content mills dont value us as writers. They want the most amount of content for the least amount of money. They care less about the content and what you provide overall. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but this is what I found. You waste your time trying to find these low-ball offers and then dont have time to really try to land some profitable gigs. Its time to switch that around and find a new way to find jobs. To start getting more higher-paying clients: Create a writer website Become an expert in your niche Search for  freelance writing jobs Learn how to effectively cold pitch and warm pitch 17. Youre Not Taking Any Action Youre probably overwhelmed by this all, right? Suddenly, theres just too much information, and you have analysis paralysis. I so get you. I get sometimes stuck if I read too much of one thing or watch videos of one topic. Its best not to get sucked into reading or watching one more thing. Learn to block all that social noise and focus on whats important: creating a sustaining and profitable freelance writing business so you can make a living from it. Then, take action.   Write a pitch, start a blog, hob knob with influencers, leave blog comments, etc.. Try to do one thing a day to get you closer to landing a client (My 6 day free course is a good start). 18. You Had a Misconception That It Was Easy Some new freelance writers think its easy to land clients. They think if  they have a blog or a degree in creative writing, that clients will come knocking on their door so to speak. This type of freelance writer  will find it extremely hard to land any profitable gig. They will hold out and not be any flexible with their writing or expectations. If you think its easy, change that mindset now. Know that you have to work from the ground up to be profitable. It wont be handed to you that easily. I know it may be hard for some, but the sooner you learn that you have to work hard, the quicker youll be at attracting the right client for you. Wrapping it Up There are many reasons why you may not be landing a freelance writing client or a profitable client. I know at  the beginning of my journey, I made a lot of mistakes. I had to learn from them and it took me longer to where I am today. I hope you find yourself in one of these reasons and use the tips to help you change and start getting a client! Let me know in the comments why you think youre not landing any (or profitable) clients.

Examples of Diacritical Marks

Examples of Diacritical Marks In phonetics, a diacritical mark is a  glyph- or symbol- added to a letter that alters its sense, function, or pronunciation. It is also known as a diacritic or an accent mark. A  diacritical mark is a point, sign, or squiggle added or attached to a letter or character to indicate appropriate stress, special pronunciation, or unusual sounds not common in the Roman alphabet, according to  L. Kip  Wheeler, a professor at Carson-Newman University in Tennessee. Purpose While diacritical marks are more common in foreign languages, you do encounter them quite often in English. For example, diacritics are often used with  certain French loanwords,  words  that are imported into one  language  from another language. Cafà © and clichà ©Ã‚  are loanwords  from French that contain a diacritical mark called an acute accent, which helps indicate how the  final  e  is pronounced. Diacritical marks are used in dozens of other foreign languages, including  Afrikaans, Arabic, Hebrew,  Filipino, Finnish, Greek, Galician, Irish, Italian, Spanish, and Welsh. These marks can change not only the pronunciation but also the meaning of a word. One example in English is rà ©sumà © or resumà © versus resume. The first two terms are nouns that mean  curriculum vitae, while the second is a verb meaning to return to or begin again.   Diacritical Marks in English There are literally dozens of diacritical marks, but it is helpful to learn the basic diacritics in English, as well as their functions. Some of the marks and explanations are adapted from a  list of diacritical marks  created by Professor Wheeler. Diacritical Mark Purpose Examples Acute accent Used with certain French loanwords cafà ©, clichà © Apostrophe * Indicates possession or the omission of a letter children's, don't Cedilla Attached to the bottom of the letter c in French loanwords, indicating a soft c faà §ade Circumflex accent Indicates reduced primary stress à ©levtor à ´pertor Diaeresis or Umlaut Used with certain names and words as a guide to pronunciation Chloà «, Brontà «, coà ¶perate, naà ¯ve Grave accent Occasionally used in poetry to indicate that a normally silent vowel should be pronounced learnà ¨d Macron or Stress Mark A dictionary notation to signify "long" vowel sounds pÄ dÄ  for payday Tilde In Spanish loan words, the tilde indicates a /y/ sound added to a consonant. caà ±on or pià ±a colada Tilde In Portuguese loanwords, the tilde indicates nasalized vowels. So Paulo *Because marks of punctuation arent added to letters, theyre generally not regarded as diacritics. However, an exception is sometimes made for apostrophes. Examples of Diacritics Diacritical marks are plentiful in English-language articles and books. Writers and  lexicographers  have used the marks to great advantage over the years as these examples show: Acute accent:  Feluda handed over the blue  attachà © case  before he sat down.- Satyajit Ray, The Complete Adventures of Feluda Apostrophe: Lets go down to my house and have some more fun,  Nancy said. Mother wont let us, I said. Its too late now. Dont bother her, Nancy said.- William Faulkner, That Evening Sun Go Down. The American Mercury, 1931 Diaeresis  or Umlaut:  Five young activists were voted into office, bringing political validation to a youth-driven movement dismissed by establishment elders as naà ¯ve, unschooled, and untenable.- Youthquake. Time,   Oct. 6, 2016 Grave accent:  Margret stood in her chamber;Shed sewn a silken seam.She lookà ¨d east an she lookà ¨d west,An  she saw those woods grow green.Tam Lin, The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads Macron: neighbornoun  Ã‚  neigh ·bor   \ˈnÄ -bÉ™r\- Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., 2009 Diacritics in Foreign Languages As noted, there are literally dozens of diacritical marks in foreign languages. Wheeler gives these examples: Swedish and Norse words may also use the circle marking above certain vowels (à ¥), and Czechoslovakian words may use the hacek  (ˆ), a wedge-shaped symbol to indicate a ch sound as in English chill. But unless you learn- or at least develop a proficiency- in those languages, you wont know how to read the words and letters altered by diacritical marks. You should, however, learn where these marks have become common in English- and where they have been dropped, notes  Shelley Townsend-Hudson in The Christian Writers Manual of Style. It can be tricky to know when to retain the diacritical marks, she says: The language is in flux. It is becoming more common, for example, to see the acute accent and diacritics being dropped from the words  clichà ©, cafà ©, and  naà ¯ve- thus,  cliche, cafe, and  naive. But dropping diacritical marks can change the meaning of a word. Townsend-Hudson argues that in many cases you should retain these crucial marks, particularly various accents, to ensure you are referring to the correct word, such as  pà ¢tà ©Ã‚  instead of  pate: The first use means  a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat, while the second refers the crown of the head- certainly a great difference in meaning. Diacritical marks are also important when you are referring to foreign place names, such as  So Paulo, Gà ¶ttingen, and  Cà ³rdoba  and personal names such as  Salvador Dalà ­, Molià ¨re, and  Karel ÄÅ'apek, she notes. Understanding diacritical marks is the key, then, to correctly identifying and even using many of the foreign words that have migrated into the English language.

Warehousing and Inventory Management Master Essay

Warehousing and Inventory Management Master - Essay Example This is of importance in case of an accident, where rescue activities can be conducted easily. The big space is also important in that it provides enough space for the workers to do their work without congestion and hence have a comfortable working condition. Edward A Silver, David F.Pyke (1999) Warehousing spacing and planning are of utmost important as long as the storage of goods is concerned. When there is proper planning and spacing is utilized well then there is maximum and economical utilization of the resources. For the warehousing process to be effective, it should involve an effective and an efficient warehousing process. Here it involves project management that involves use of different personnel to perform different tasks with an aim of attaining a common goal in good warehousing planning. It should bring out the use of a schedule showing the different task to be performed by those responsible, the dates on which the task is to be performed and the cost involved. Edward A Silver, David F.Pyke (1999) There should be a clear layout in which the objectives of the warehouse are clearly laid out. The objective should be the one that is going to minimize the cost of warehousing by reducing the expenses that bring unnecessary cost. The cost reducing methods should not affect the maintenance of the customer maintaining services. It should also involve the economic utilization of the available space although it should not negatively affect the operation efficiency. Also the space should be effectively be utilized in relation to the cost of the labor force, the available space and the cost of the equipment utilized. Edward A Silver, David F.Pyke (1999) The planning and spacing process should define the profile of the products to be stored. It should show the products to be stored and their nature such as storing perishable products in a cool place and storing inflammable products away from an area where there is the presence of fire. Storage space should be considered in that a small warehouse cannot be used in storage a large size then its size. Hartman Sadler (2000) The experts involved in warehousing spacing and planning should look deeply in the layout to be laid down when setting up the warehouse .Physical location should be given a significant attention .For example an ideal warehouse dealing with the goods for import is advisable to be near the custom duty offices while the warehouse dealing with the transport commodity such as vehicle should be near roads. Also to be considered is the climatic zone where some product cannot be stored in other climatic zones that may provide adverse condition such as hot climate is not conducive for storage of the fruits. The items that are received together should be stored together for easy handling. Heavy and bulky items should be stored close to the point of use in order to minimize the cost of handling them since they are heavy to transport as they involve use of a lot of manpower and equipment. Also to be involved is good house keeping method where the accessibility of the product should be maximum. H artman Sadler (2000) After the necessary evaluations have been done, a specific layout should be