I won’t keep you in suspense. The answer is yes.

There’s a lot of hype about this, of course. And unfortunately, the hype has caused many would-be freelancers to be cynical about their earning potential.

Some years ago, while speaking to a roomful of writers at a local conference, I encountered one young man who kept rolling his eyes during my presentation.

When I asked if he had a question or comment, he told me that he just didn’t believe that you could earn lots of money from freelance copywriting. He said it all sounded like a scam.

I can’t blame him for thinking that. I see all those get-rich-quick ads on the Internet too, and they make me roll my eyes.

Freelance copywriting is not a quick way to riches. You have to have skill. You have to be willing to work hard and stick with it, often for several years, before you start earning big money.

But you can make a lot of money at it. I used to earn little more than $5 an hour. And now I earn closer to the equivalent of $500 an hour. That’s no scam. It’s just the truth.

But it begs the question: Why is it that most copywriters, or other freelancers, never seem to earn much money from writing? Or to ask it another way, what’s the difference between high earners and low earners?

Just from personal experience, here are a few observations:

• High earners approach their work as a business, while low earners approach their work more like a hobby.

• High earners go after lucrative writing work for carefully-selected businesses where there is little competition, while low earners compete with millions of other writers for any writing gig available.

• High earners act like professionals, while low earners act like employees.

• High earners are willing to take a little risk working for themselves, while low earners want the security of a “boss” to tell them what to do.

• High earners are willing to put their skills to the test and compete in the business world, while low earners generally just want to punch a time clock and cash a check.

I’m not trying to be insulting here. I’m just telling it like it is.

If you prefer to work in a job situation, that’s fine. But you’ll probably never earn as much as the high-end freelancers. And if you do freelance, you must get rid of your employee mindset or you’ll always earn low fees and experience a lot of frustration.

I’ve seen this from both sides of the fence. I used to be a full-time employee and didn’t want to do anything like freelancing. I didn’t even like the idea of running a business.

In fact, I was shocked when I realized I was in business after accepting some freelance work early on. But I made the transition and have seen how a shift in my point of view was essential to my success.

So, yes. You can earn six figures a year. IF you’re willing to change your thinking. IF you’re willing to polish your skills. IF you’re willing to do what needs to be done.

In other words, freelancing is pretty much like anything else in life. You must have what it takes and do the work.

I’m curious, do you find that inspiring or depressing?

No related posts.

This last weekend, I went to Las Vegas to visit family and enjoy a little R&R.

I’m not a gambler and have no illusions about winning a jackpot, but I do enjoy some of the games there.

While feeding money into a slot machine at Bally’s, I started thinking about freelancing. (Slots don’t take any brain power, so the mind naturally wanders.)

It occurred to me that many of the freelancers I talk to are gambling with their future because they just don’t know how to intelligently play the game.

So here are a few of the things that popped into my mind as I doubled my money, then lost it all over the weekend.

Play your best game. You can’t win at everything. You need to choose the game you know best and stick with it. That means you should specialize in high-tech, business-to-business, financial services, or whatever field you have experience or interest in.

Know the rules. Every game is different. And the rules keep changing. You have to stay up-to-date with your industry and be as educated or more educated than your clients. They’re coming to you because you’re an expert, after all. Attend conferences, subscribe to publications, talk to your peers, connect with people on LinkedIn, read the latest books.

Don’t bet on just one or two clients. It’s tempting to work for just a few good clients, but this is a big gamble. Every business relationship eventually ends, and if half of your income is coming from the client you lose, you’re in trouble. My rule is to never have more than 25% of my income coming from a single client.

Play to win. Writers can be timid. But freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart. You can’t let fear or doubt hold you back. Success comes to those who are willing to take a few chances. You don’t have to take giant financial risks, but you do have to place your bet and spin the wheel. Freelancing isn’t like having a job. YOU have to take action. And experience shows that doing something, even if it’s a mistake, is better than doing nothing.

Stick with it. The odds are with you. Giving up too quickly is the number one mistake new freelancers make. It takes time to figure out how to find clients and run your business. The overnight successes you read about are the exceptions. Usually, you’ll spend 3 to 5 years before you’re totally comfortable at freelancing.

Freelancing really isn’t risky business. In fact, it’s a lot less risky than having a full-time job, especially these days. But while you have to be willing to gamble a little, there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks.

What do you think?

Related posts:

1. 11 insider secrets for becoming a freelance pro
2. Can freelancers REALLY make 6 figures a year?
3. 8 rules for setting your freelance copywriting fees

Setting fees causes most copywriting freelancers to break out in a cold sweat. Besides getting clients, it may be the most stressful thing copywriters have to do.

Ask for too much, and you’ll drive clients away. Ask for too little, and you’ll lose respect and reduce your income. To make matters worse, no two clients are ever the same. Some are willing to pay more, others less.

So what’s a freelance copywriter to do?

Over the years, I’ve struggled with this, made every possible mistake, and discovered these 8 rules for setting professional-level freelance copywriting fees.

1. Don’t underprice yourself. This is probably the most common mistake freelancers make, especially early in their career. There are at least four reasons this happens.

First, fees vary widely from writer to writer. There is no industry “standard.”

Second, most freelancers don’t make their entire fee schedule public. This makes it impossible to separate truth from hype about what copywriters actually charge.

Third, too many writers are brainwashed into thinking that their work has little value.

Fourth, many writers charge ridiculously low fees. This distorts the perception of both clients and writers and can make even moderate fees seem high by comparison.

The resulting confusion about fees creates stress and leads most freelancers to err on the side of caution, setting low fees which they think will please clients and attract more business.

But what really happens is that clients show little respect for copywriters with low fees and view their work as a commodity, rather than a valuable service.

To get you started, here are some typical freelance copy fees to consider. If you want more detailed information on copywriting fees, check out Pricing Your Writing Services by Steve Slaunwhite. Steve surveyed working copywriters and shows you what the pros are actually charging.

2. Use a project fee whenever possible. When you know how long a project will take, don’t anticipate too many changes, and have fairly clear objectives, you’re best off charging a flat fee. This lets you sell your expertise rather than your time and generally results in higher pay as your skill and speed increase.

Should you ever charge by the hour? Yes, but only for projects where you can’t determine the amount of work or time involved.

I covered project vs. hourly fees in more detail last year.

3. Use a “good-better-best” pricing strategy. Just because you can command a high fee for one project doesn’t mean you can get a high fee for another. To preserve the value of your core services and also take on a wider range of projects, you can use the “good-better-best” pricing strategy.

If you’re over a certain age, you remember this idea from the Sears tool department. Every item came in three versions, each with more features and a higher price tag as you moved from good to better to best.

For copywriting services, you can use a variation of this idea. Let’s say you specialize in writing instruction manuals for high-tech equipment. For this you would charge your premium fees.

But you may also write product packaging and brochures for these products. This is related to your work, but it isn’t your specialty, so your fees could be in the medium range.

If you write general purpose press releases or blog posts, you may charge a low fee because this isn’t your area of expertise, and you offer these services as a mere convenience to your clients.

4. Set a project minimum. There’s a certain amount of work that goes into any project, no matter what its size. Paperwork, phone meetings, billing, research, etc. If you take on projects below a certain dollar amount, you’re losing money.

It’s about “opportunity cost.” By taking time to do something that earns you $20 an hour when you normally make $50 an hour, for example, you are sacrificing the opportunity to do more profitable work.

I’ve found that I can’t take on any project, no matter how small, that pays less than $1,000. For you it may be more or less. Set your project minimum and stick to it.

5. Use a “fee range.” When I started out, I tried to nail down a set fee for every possible project. This gave me no wiggle room when creating quotes for various clients.

My solution was to establish a fee range, from high to low, for each type of project. Then when writing a quote, I could consider fee expectations, the difficulty of the project, and other factors to arrive at a fee within the range.

I also discovered that the fee range could help close sales. I could say, “I normally charge from $LOW to $HIGH, but I think this project is toward the lower end.” Clients seem to like that and feel they’re getting a deal.

6. Never discount your fees. If a client complains about your price, your first reaction will be to say, “Well, I’m flexible.” That’s a mistake. Not only does this eliminate your chances of getting your asking price, it sends a message that your prices aren’t real to begin with. Plus, it shows you’re hungry.

A client will sense this weakness and weasel a lower price out of you. You lose respect and money. If the price is really too high, let your client say so, then look for ways to adjust the amount of work you do. Never back off on price.

7. Don’t be a “Walmart” writer. You should not compete on price with other writers. That will only cut your profits, since most writers charge far too little. Clients who work with you only for a low price will leave you for a better price. Seek clients who want your expertise, experience, and skill. They will be more loyal and less stingy.

8. Keep testing your fee structure. Over time, you’ll come up with a fee schedule that works for you. But you can’t just set your fees and forget them. You must test and modify your fees regularly to respond to your market and attract the clients you want.

For example, early in my career, I wrote radio commercials for several Fortune 500 companies and got paid a relatively high four figure fee for each 30 or 60-second script.

I didn’t know at the time that what I earned was far higher than the norm. So as time went on, and I kept losing bids for radio projects, I had to lower my fee to a more reasonable level.

It works the other way too. Now and then, you should ask for more than you ordinary get for a particular project to see if you can bump up your fee to the next level. And you keep doing this until you feel you’ve reached the optimum level, where you are charging as much as you can before starting to lose clients.

Do you have a fee setting strategy that has worked for you? Leave a comment below and share it with me.

Related posts:

1. Freelance fees: hourly or per project?
2. How do you know what a client expects to pay?
3. 7 elements of a solid freelance copywriting contract

Recently, I wrote about freelance contracts, the point being to weed out bad clients at the beginning of a project and improve the odds of getting paid.

But what happens when a client doesn’t pay on time or refuses to pay altogether?

Let’s begin by looking at the right way to invoice for your freelance services.

After you’ve completed your work, make sure the client is happy and has received everything you have promised. This is important because you may think you’re finished when, actually, the client has a few extra changes to make.

Also, if you send documents by email, there’s always the chance they will get caught in a spam filter or may get lost in a client’s in-box.

Once you’ve confirmed the project is truly finished and your client is satisfied, send your invoice within a few days. There’s something irritating about sending a bill too soon, but you don’t want to drag it out either.

I create my invoices in OpenOffice from a template, save them as a PDF, and email them as an attachment. I add the words “Please confirm receipt” at the top of my email message and use the delivery status notification and return receipt features in my Thunderbird email program. Again, you want to be sure the email gets through.

In most cases, your invoice will be paid on time. But if it’s not, here are some tips:

1. Don’t get mad. Generally late payment is just that, late payment. Your client could be busy or may have misplaced or failed to submit your invoice to the accounting department.

2. Don’t call the day after the deadline. Give your client a couple weeks or up to a month past the deadline, depending on the client. You don’t want to let it go too long, but you also don’t want to jump on a client too soon. Also, make sure you know the payment cycle of your client, which could be anywhere up to three months.

3. Send a reminder email. Be nice and assume the late payment is just an oversight. What I usually do is wait for two to four weeks, then resend the invoice with a message that says, “I just wanted to make sure you received my invoice.” This is enough to nudge your client.

If after a couple weeks you still don’t receive payment, it’s time to …

4. Pick up the phone. Again, be nice and assume your client is busy or forgetful. Just say that your invoice is overdue and you want to see when you can expect payment. Don’t be pushy. The client will usually get the message.

If after another couple weeks, you still don’t receive payment, things get a little more difficult and it’s time to …

5. Start the official collection process. Here’s where you have to be more firm. By now, your invoice is a month and a half to two months past due. Contact your client and ask for a date when you can expect payment. Explain that you need to get your invoice paid soon.

If the date your client promised passes without payment, you’re probably in trouble. You’ve sent the invoice multiple times. They’ve reneged on their promise to pay. And now it’s time to …

6. Ask for immediate payment. Say you want to avoid any hassles like legal action. This is difficult to do. You won’t like it and the client won’t like it. But it has to be done. Still, be professional and don’t say anything you’ll regret. It’s at this point, you may lose your client forever. But then, a client who doesn’t pay is not a client you want. And a client who owes you money will never hire you again.

If the client does not respond or gives you an excuse …

7. Pick up the phone one more time. Have a last conversation with the client and try to work things out. Offer a payment plan. Ask your client how to resolve the issue. And if this doesn’t work, your next call should be to a collection agency or lawyer so you can …

8. Take legal action. If you opt for a collection agency, try to find one near your client. This seems to have more impact. If you opt for a lawyer, try to find one who specializes in collections and who can follow through with a suit if it comes to that.

9. Be realistic. In the end, if clients don’t want to pay, they won’t pay. Collection agencies can work, but not always. And if you file suit, remember that clients can always file a counter suit and claim you didn’t do the work you promised. It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not, you can sue anyone for anything. So consider the pros and cons carefully before you begin any legal action.

There are alternatives to legal action, such as contacting the National Writer’s Union or the Freelancer’s Union who may be able to mediate your case. But again, be realistic.

If you’re sweating bullets right now, relax. Most clients pay. When they’re late, there’s usually a reason. One or two reminders generally shakes things loose and you’ll get paid.

In my career, I’ve only been stiffed three times. In one case, I reached a settlement through a collection agency. In the other two, the business owners made up a bogus excuse for not paying and I ended up dropping the issue since legal action would have cost more than I would have collected.

There was also one case where a client couldn’t pay because he was having financial issues. He had been a loyal client for several years, so we worked out a payment plan. This is a good example of why you need to see things from your client’s perspective. Sometimes, being flexible and professional can make you a hero.

As a freelancer, you’re running a business. Late payment or no payment is a fact of life. Get a signed contract. Be prompt and firm about collecting your pay. In the long run, you’ll be fine with most of your clients despite the rare bad apple.

Related posts:

1. 7 elements of a solid freelance copywriting contract

Freelance copywriters can be a bit shy about the business end of freelancing, especially when it comes to contracts.

That’s because most freelancers are writers first and business people second.

But contracts are an essential part of any copywriting business. Why? Three reasons:

1. A contract helps you set a businesslike tone at the beginning of a project.

2. A contract specifies and clarifies your responsibilities and the obligations of your client, primarily the work you will do and what the client will pay.

3. A contract acts as a screening device to weed out bad clients.

For me, that last point is the most important.

I ask new clients to sign a contract and pay a 50% retainer before I begin work. When someone balks at signing a contract or paying the retainer, I know from experience that there is a high probability that this person won’t pay me.

On the other hand, someone who is willing to sign a contract and make a written commitment is someone who is unlikely to stiff me later.

In my entire career, only 3 clients have refused to pay. Each of them refused to sign a contract, refused to pay a retainer, or both.

Elements of a freelance copywriting contract

Every freelance copywriter has a slightly different approach to contracts. Some have long and elaborate contracts that spell out every possible scenario. Others rely on little more than a handshake or a detailed email message.

I take a middle road, asking first-time clients to sign a simple one-page copywriting contract, or what I prefer to call a letter of agreement, that spells out these 7 basic elements:

1. The date of the agreement.

2. The name of the business hiring me.

3. A description of the project, including the format of the work, how many pages, the various parts of the project, whether I will include design, the number of edits included, etc.

4. The date I will deliver the first draft.

5. The fee, including the retainer and balance due at the end of the project.

6. My signature and the signature of the client.

7. A list of terms and conditions.

I want to be clear that I’m not a lawyer and that I make no promises that a contract like this would stand up in court. I am simply sharing the contract I use with my clients.

However, I believe these 7 elements make for a reasonably solid, clear contract that should serve you well.

You may choose to make yours more simple or more complex, depending on your situation. Just remember that no matter how carefully you write your contract, if clients don’t want to pay, they won’t pay.

You can only enforce payment by hiring a collection agency or taking legal action, which generally means going through small claims court or hiring a lawyer and filing suit. Whether this is worth the effort, expense, and risk is entirely up to you.

Personally, I prefer to see a contract for the three reasons I mentioned above, to set a businesslike tone, specify responsibilities, and screen clients.

Plus, there are drawbacks to making your contract too complicated: You will force your client to run it by a lawyer before signing. You may scare off an otherwise good client. You will come across as distrustful.

As I said, only three clients ever stiffed me, all small-time operators for relatively small amounts of money. Most clients are honest and will pay whether you use a contract or not.

More information on freelance contracts

Here are some additional resources you might want to check out:

Freelance Contracts: Do’s And Don’ts

How To Create a Freelancing Contract

Do You Need A Contract For Freelance Work?

What do you think? Do you use a contract? What do you spell out? Share your thoughts or experiences.

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1. 8 website elements that generate freelance business
2. The freelancer’s short guide to getting paid
3. 8 rules for setting your freelance copywriting fees

If you want to make a career of copywriting, should you look for a full-time job or strike out on your own as a freelancer?

Good question.

With the economy the way it is, there’s a lot of curiosity about freelancing. So much so that I created a copywriter information center on my business site with quite a bit of information about this.

Over my career, I’ve done both the job thing and the freelance thing and have come to the conclusion that freelancing is what I like best.

I earn good money, set my own hours, and don’t have to deal with the stress of traffic, corporate politics, and an office full of idiots and suck-ups.

Oh, and no ties. I hate ties. I work in jeans and Hawaiian shirts (which I love but my wife thinks are ugly). Yes, I know I’m wearing a tie in my publicity photo, but I did it just that once. And with therapy, I’ve recovered fairly well.

But that’s just me. What’s best for you?

I know plenty of people who prefer having a full-time writing job. They like getting a regular paycheck, having a set schedule, and socializing with co-workers every day. Just because freelancing is best for some people doesn’t mean it’s best for everyone.

It’s important that you look at both options and be honest with yourself about which is best for you. If you’re not the freelance type, if you’re better suited for a full-time job, you won’t make it as a freelancer. And it’s better to find that out before you flip off your boss and storm out of the office, don’t you think?

So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of a writing job and freelance writing.

Writing Job Pros:

You get to work in an exciting, fast-paced work environment. If you work at the right company, that is. Some writing jobs are just dreary, like being a marketing writer at Shoelaces-R-Us. But if you like writing for business, most jobs require lots of writing on tight schedules, which can be challenging and fun.

You get to socialize 5 days a week. I have to admit that freelancing can get a little lonely. So if you’re the social type, you’ll want all the personal contact you get from a corporate office environment.

You get a regular paycheck and paid benefits. This is a biggie. It’s about cash flow. Knowing how much money you’ll get and when you’ll get it makes life a lot easier. And benefits, such as paid health insurance, is a huge plus.

You have the possibility for advancement. A full-time writing job is a great starting point for advancing into management jobs where you can start earning real money. Ad agency copywriters can advance to Creative Director positions, for example.

Writing Job Cons:

You can get burned out. Writing isn’t physically hard, but it’s taxing on the brain. Creative work can wear you out if you do it on demanding schedules every day for years. Add the mental toll to a stressful work environment and you have a recipe for burnout.

You have to deal with big egos. Some people, like me, have a thick skin and can deal with Type-A personalities. But most writers are not compatible with hard-charging personalities and the competitive nature in some office settings.

You face layoff when work slows. When the economy gets bad, the company loses customers, and the budget tightens up, who are they going to fire? Often they’ll come after you. Advertising, marketing, PR, and other writing-related needs are easy expenses to cut.

You have to fit into the corporate culture. You have to speak the language, tow the line, go along to get along, and never rock the boat. Writers are usually pretty smart and free-thinking, so keeping that phony smile plastered to your face all day and pretending that the boss is right is like a second job.

Freelance Writing Pros:

You have control over your work and schedule. If you want to make good money, you can’t sleep until noon and play video games for 4 hours every day. But you don’t punch a clock either. You’re the boss. You set the schedule. And you can be as flexible as you like.

You can enjoy a stress-free work environment. Once you get over the fear of being on your own, there isn’t much stress at all. You sit at a desk. Dress in comfortable clothes. Think. Type. Email. Answer the phone now and then. It’s pretty laid back.

You can earn as much as you want. Not everyone wants to bust their hump to earn a bazillion dollars a year. Some writers are happy with just a little extra income. But if you work in the right specialty, you can earn a handsome, professional-level income.

You can enjoy more variety. This is a big benefit of freelancing. Since your work will come from a variety of clients, you can potentially do different types of writing on many different subjects from one week to the next.

Freelance Writing Cons:

You have to find your own work. No one will hand work to you. You have to generate leads and close deals to get the paying projects. It’s not all that bad once you learn how, but it’s not a job for wall flowers.

You are alone most of the time. You can do all the partying you want nights and weekends. But during business hours, you’ll probably be alone in your office. I’m fine with that. But it drives some people bonkers.

You must deal with irregular cash flow. There’s no paycheck and no set time when money comes in. You could get a big check one week, then go a month with nothing. You have to be disciplined with money and plan ahead.

You have to juggle projects and clients. If you’re busy, you’ll have a lot going on all at once. If you like to finish writing one thing before you start another thing, and you flip out when anyone rushes you or makes changes, freelancing isn’t for you.

The choice is yours: be a full-time writer with a regular job or take the plunge and freelance on your own for a living.

There’s no one right answer for everyone. But there is one right answer for you.

So what do you think? Are you the job type or the freelance type?

Related posts:

1. Can freelancers REALLY make 6 figures a year?
2. 11 quick ways to kickstart your slow freelance business
3. 15 little secrets your freelance clients won’t tell you

Do you remember that episode of Gilligan’s Island when Gilligan discovered a bush on the island with seeds that make it possible to read minds?

No? Well, I do. And it was a disaster.

At first, it was an amusing trick. But pretty soon, when everyone knew what everyone else was really thinking about them, it got nasty. Even Mary Ann got pissed off.

Well, I think it’s for the best that we can’t read minds. Too much truth isn’t good for anyone.

But it would be nice if you could swallow just one little mind reading seed to get a taste of what some of your clients might be thinking about you.

Would you like to give that a try? Here we go …

Stop being a diva. You’re not that great. Confidence is a good thing, as long as it doesn’t get out of control. You’re doing good work. You’re being paid well. You’re riding high and loving the life of a copywriter. But keep the ego in check. You don’t know it all. You’re not always right. And no, you don’t need someone to remove all the brown M&Ms. Get over yourself.

When you miss your deadlines, I miss my deadlines. Most clients are pretty accommodating. Some will even let you slide now and then on the schedule. It’s easy to start taking advantage of this and deliver work late repeatedly, but that’s a bad idea. They’re saying, “That’s fine” on the phone, but in their head they’re saying, “I gotta find another copywriter.”

I don’t care if the dog ate your copy. If you intend to earn a full-time living from copywriting, there are no excuses for making excuses. Stuff happens, sure. But when you start blaming problems on your dog, kids, wife, family, weather, car, health, or personal problems, you’re just acting like a child. Grow up.

Dude! Too much information! It’s important to make a personal connection with your clients. That means getting face-to-face if you can. Maybe picking up the phone now and then and just saying “hi.” You’ll end up sharing bits and pieces of your personal life. But what you don’t do is share really intimate bits and pieces of your personal life. Keep graphic details about that stomach virus, your rowdy sex life, or messy family disputes to yourself. Don’t talk about religion or politics. Don’t dish dirt about anyone. No one needs to know how drunk you were last night or why the doctor gave you that salve.

Why are you badmouthing your other clients? It’s natural to think you can bond with someone by talking trash about your difficult clients. After all, that shows how well you think of the client you’re talking to, right? “Oh, you are so much easier to work with than Joe Smith at World Wide Widgets. He’s such an idiot.” No. No. No. All you’re doing by badmouthing clients is demonstrating that you’re unprofessional and can’t be trusted. Clients will wonder what you’re saying about them behind their back.

I really do know more about my product that you do. Seriously. No one knows more about a product than the business owner who’s been selling the product for 20 years. They know who their clients are. They know what the best prices are. They know what their customers like and don’t like. What turns them on and turns them off. Listen. Closely. Take lots of notes. Your client may not be the expert on copywriting, but he or she is certainly the expert on what the company sells.

I don’t want poetry. Write copy. What sort of people are attracted to copywriting? Writers. What do most writers like to do? Write. What is the secret desire of every writer on the planet? To have their words praised as magical, lyrical, and wondrous. What can that tempt you to do? Write beautiful drivel. Look, your job is not to write. Your job is to sell stuff, and it just so happens that you’ll use words to do that. Your clients don’t want words. They want sales. You’re a salesman with a computer. If you want to write a sonnet or the great American novel, fine. Do it on your own time.

Stop dissing my designer. This is not as common now as it used to be. Back in the day, copywriters thought that copy was the only thing that was important. Designers were only people who made the copy look nice. One of my clients used to call designers “wrists.” But it was untrue then and it’s untrue now. Design is important. Really important. It’s what brings your copy to life and makes it sing. Don’t you dare diss designers. They’re the final link in the chain for creating printed or online messages and can make or break the whole project. Get to know the designers you work with and treat them like the professionals they are.

Answer my calls and emails, dammit! Okay, you’ve been taking some courses on productivity and now you’re doing the 43 folder thing, breaking your work into 20-minute chunks, and generally being an anal-retentive control freak. Fine. If that works, go for it. But don’t think for a minute that you can get away with only checking your email or phone messages once in the morning and once in the evening. Your clients expect you to be responsive. So respond. There are few things more annoying than calling or emailing someone and having to wait for a day or two before they reply.

Spell check. Use it. That about says it. You have a spell checker. Use it. Print out your copy. Check it again. No one expects you to be perfect. A few typos can easily slip through on big projects. But those should be few. It can really shake a client’s confidence if you deliver sloppy copy. Remember a few moments ago when I said you’re more of a salesman than a writer? Well, forget that. When you’re proofing what you’ve written, be a writer. Get the spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style right. And get it right the first time. I like to deliver solid copy that needs little if any editing. It impresses clients.

Keep regular business hours. One of the big benefits of freelancing is that you can set your own hours. Flexibility is wonderful and can dramatically de-stress your life. But if you’re always out, if clients always get your voice mail, if people can only reach you in the evening or at random times, you’re going to fall out of the loop. The business world works anywhere from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. You need to be available during these hours and doing work at the same time as everyone else. You can work at other times too, but there’s no getting away from regular business hours.

Get to the point. I’m busy. Being chatty is like having bad breath. No one will ever tell you. They’ll just try to avoid talking to you. Sure, you can socialize for a minute or two. But most clients are in an office with a pile of work on their desk and just can’t shoot the breeze with you all day. When you’re on the phone or in a meeting, know what you have to say and say it. You don’t have to tell a long story about it, just SAY IT. People don’t need every fact preceded by the history of Western civilization, for pity’s sake.

Stop bitching about your fee. If you think you deserve to earn more, then start charging more for your work. If you can’t get more for your work, maybe you need to polish up your skills and your reputation a little. The point is, once you agree on a fee, shut up about it. Do the work. Accept the fee. Move on. If you let a client negotiate you down from your normal fee, there was a reason you let that happen. You needed the work or you wanted to work with that particular client or whatever. You accepted the deal. Live with it. No one likes a cry baby.

It’s annoying when you send your invoice with your copy. Asking for your money the very moment you finish writing sends clients up the walls. It’s almost as if you’re saying, “Here’s your copy. Now PAY me!” It’s just too forward. It gives the impression that the money is more important than the client’s needs. Besides, your client may have a few changes. You’re not that great, remember? Wait until you’re sure the client is satisfied and the project is finished before sending your invoice.

Don’t call me every week asking for work. Clients don’t like it. Prospects don’t like it. No one likes it. Be aggressive in tracking down work, but don’t be a jerk. No one owes you a paycheck. There’s a big difference between being persistent and being a pest. For a pending project, you might call a couple times. But if you’re just fishing for new work, every three months is plenty. And you don’t have to always use the phone. Send a link to an article. Ask for advice. Comment on your client’s advertising. Just staying in touch is all that’s necessary. They know you want work and a light reminder that you’re still around is sufficient.

Had enough? That seed should be wearing off now, but I want you to remember this little experiment. Maybe it will help you make an extra effort to act like a professional. When you do, your clients will think a lot of really nice things, such as “I love your copy” and “it’s a pleasure to work with you.”

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If you’re a designer, you’ve probably heard of CrowdSPRING. If you’re a writer, you’re going to hear of them soon.

They’ve been around since 2008 and have billed themselves as a way for freelance designers to access a worldwide market, and an affordable way for small and medium-sized businesses to get logos and graphic design quickly and affordably. Now they’re expanding into freelance writing services.

Sounds great, right? That depends on your point of view.

From the point of view of hobbyists, stay-at-home-moms, out-of-work creatives, students, and desperate freelancers, CrowdSPRING probably sounds like a pretty good idea. From the point of view of a professional, the idea is pernicious and borderline unethical.

What CrowdSPRING is really doing is sounding a freelance cattle. They’re automating the spec work concept. They want to convince you to work for free … and like it!

Here’s how it works.

A business posts a project and the price they want to pay. Freelancers then submit “entries” for that project. CrowdSPRING promises the client at least 25 entries to choose from and boasts that the average project attracts over 100 entries. The client chooses a winner and the freelancer gets the “award,” while CrowdSPRING pockets 15%.

This is a great arrangement for the business. They get at least 25 freelancers to submit work, but they only have to pay for one. This is called “spec” work or work on speculation.

But for the freelancers, it’s not such a great deal. I looked at project and award statistics for the top 10 freelance designers (there were only 4 writing projects when I looked today). This top freelancer has received 944 awards out of 3,942 entries. That means this person has been paid for 1 of 4 projects since mid-2008.

So if this freelancer charges $25 an hour, the actual pay works out to $6.25 an hour. That’s less than minimum wage.

But it gets worse. In the top 10, one of the freelancers has received only 226 awards out of 2,643 entries. That’s 1 in 11. Using the same $25 an hour rate, this freelancer is earning $2.27 an hour. This is getting embarrassingly close to what some kids get for an allowance or a good report card.

And if you can believe it, one freelancer I saw has been paid for just 1 out of 311 projects. That’s so pitiful, I can’t even fathom the lack of self-respect and self-worth that would cause someone to do so much work for so little pay.

To be fair, CrowdSPRING is a solid business concept. It’s successful with over 50,000 freelancers around the world who participate  (though I wonder how many are in the U.S. vs. India or other low wage countries). And the fees for projects seem to be reasonable, if not lucrative. At least you don’t have the ridiculously low offers you find on some other freelance sites.

But you don’t get paid for all your work. You have to roll the dice and “win” the pay.

If you’re a professional, you don’t want to do spec work if you have any real experience or expertise. Spec work is the human version of a cattle call. You are asked to strut your stuff along with a herd of other freelancers and hope you are chosen.

What other professional does this? Doctors? Lawyers? Dentists? Airline pilots? Accountants? What would you think of a dentist who agreed to treat 25 patients and get paid for just one? You’d think he or she was desperate. Would you want to work with a desperate dentist?

For a professional freelancer, doing spec work perpetuates an unprofessional image, devalues your time and skill, and prevents you from reaching your full potential.

I’ve always turned away ad agencies and businesses who hold cattle calls for spec work. I refuse to work with CrowdSPRING or any similar operation. And if you seek to be a full-time professional copywriter, so should you.

CrowdSPRING will undoubtedly attract thousands of writers who don’t want to be a professional, don’t care about the profession of copywriting, and don’t realize they’re being taken advantage of. I hope you are not one of them.

You are not cattle. Ignore the freelance cattle call.

You’ll notice that I’m not giving you links for CrowdSPRING because I don’t want to promote their work-for-free concept. But I will give you links to two sites that agree with me that spec work is unprofessional:

Spec Watch

NO! SPEC

Both are focused on design, but are militantly against doing spec work of any kind.

Please spread the word. Share this article with every freelancer you know.

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How long has it been since someone called with a paying project? A week? Two? Welcome to the life of freelance copywriting.

Unpredictable workflow goes with the territory. One week you’re scrambling to write all the sales letters, brochures, and web pages you’ve been hire for, the next you’re knocking around in your skanky old bathrobe waiting for the phone to ring.

Don’t worry about it. Even the very best freelancers go through times when business is slow. Depending on your reasons for freelancing, you might even consider these mini-vacations a perk.

Then again, if you’re like me, those occasional slow periods can also freak you out. Sure, I have plenty of money in the bank to tide me over, but I’m happier when I’m working. And frankly, so is my wife. She is no fan of that skanky old bathrobe.

So what can you do?

Down time gives you the ideal opportunity to do a little marketing. In fact, there are some quick and easy ways to kickstart your slow freelance business and generate paying copywriting projects.

Call past and present clients. Don’t sit around feeling depressed. Pick up the phone and call everyone you’ve worked with. Don’t tell them your business is slow, just say you want to see how they’re doing. Chitchat for a minute, then ask if there’s anything you can help with. No hard sell.

Call leads and prospects. Again, don’t say things are slow. Just say you want to stay in touch. Ask if they need more information or would like to see additional samples. Keep it short and friendly. You can’t force people to work with you. Just remind them you’re available.

Make mini-proposals. This works best for established clients whose business you know well. Write up a short one-page proposal telling your client what you can do, how it should be done, and what it will cost. Look for improvements you can make or ideas they’ve overlooked. Generally, clients appreciate this, as long as you don’t do it too often or too aggressively.

Suggest add-ons for work you’ve finished. If you’ve written a brochure, suggest a letter to accompany it. If you’ve designed an annual report, ask about creating a shorter version that can be used in promotional literature packages. It doesn’t always work, but now and then, clients will bite.

Offer to handle different types of projects. If you normally handle technical documentation for software products, tell your client you can also write ad copy for the packaging. If a client usually calls you to design a newsletter, suggest that you can also handle the photography for less than the cost of buying the photo rights. If you create a website for a client, say you can also provide consultation for online marketing.

Do a quick mailing to prospects. One thing I often do during a slow week is copy an article I’ve just read and send it to clients with a note that reads, “I thought you’d be interested in this.” Of course, you can send a letter, re-mail your brochure, send samples, or anything you like to let them know you’re still available. This works faster with email, though it’s a little less personal. People get zillions of emails, but today actual mail stands out.

Welcome a different type of client. If you normally work with banks, take on a fast food chain. If most of your clients are software companies, solicit work from a publisher. It’s good to specialize, but sometimes you have to branch out to get a project or two. And the variety will do wonders for your mood.

Offer your services in a less expensive form to smaller clients. If you handle an eight-page newsletter for a major client, you might charge a pretty penny for your work. But you may know a small business owner who needs a simple two-pager and who isn’t very picky about it. Offer a generous discount and you can pick up some bread and butter money.

I used to do this with a small client who needed a dozen little radio blurbs with health tips every quarter. I only charged $250 for all twelve, which is far less than I usually charge for just one full radio script. But it was fast and easy. I could knock out all 12 in less than an hour.

Remind people that you want referrals. Referrals are the best way to get business, but you can’t control them. What you can do is tell people you want them. One way to get referrals is to give referrals. A more immediate method is to send a short note to your clients to thank them for their business and remind them that you appreciate referrals. Keep it short and sweet. Mailing a few business cards can’t hurt either.

Write an article for a magazine or blog. This is my little “big” secret for marketing, because a lot of the business I get comes from people seeing my articles and then calling me with a project. An article on a topic relevant to your prospects will position you as an authority and prompt a few people to call. Some will just want information. Others will have a project ready to go.

Offer a special package deal for more work. If there’s a client who has ongoing work, it can help to offer a small discount in return for getting repeat projects. It’s a fair trade, since after the first few times, you’ll be able to do the work faster and more efficiently. And it’s regular income you can count on month after month.

Even if these tips don’t create immediate work, at least they’ll encourage you to pull on a pair of pants in the morning and leave the bathrobe in the closet. Enough said.

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Freelance copywriters face many challenges, especially when they just start out. One of those challenges is understanding the special language used by business clients, which I call “Client Speak.”

Client Speak shares many common traits with standard English, with one notable exception: All the words have a different meaning.

This may sound like it would cause confusion. But all it takes is a little experience, and you’ll be able to translate Client Speak all on your own.

Here are just a few examples of common phrases and their English translations.

“We’ve already invested a lot in this.”

Translation: We’ve wasted a pile of money on cheap writers and trying to do it ourselves. We’re screwed. I mean, totally screwed. Now we’re looking for someone with serious expertise to save our ass for dirt cheap.

“Our previous writer charged about half this.”

Translation: Our previous writer couldn’t handle the work, but we really liked the price. We think all writers should charge the same low price regardless of their skill or reputation. That’s because while we really, really , really need your skills, we think that has very little value in terms of dollars.

“We’re looking for someone to partner with us on a great opportunity.”

Translation: We want you to bear the risk of our business venture. If all the stars align, we’ll give you a little something for your trouble. If it doesn’t, why should we be out any money? All you really want is the pride of accomplishment, right?

“We need to see a few more samples of your work.”

Translation: We have no clue what we’re looking for, so we can’t tell if you’re qualified or not. We want something totally different and original, but along the same lines as what we’ve done previously, and with an edgy feel that communicates tradition to the highly targeted demographic of men and women aged 18 to 88 living inside or outside the U.S.

“We have a tight schedule for this project.”

Translation: We’re going to give ourselves plenty of time, and our other vendors won’t budget on the time line, so we want you to take up the slack and work really fast to keep us on schedule. Thanks sooo much.

“Can I get back to you on this?”

Translation: I have no intention of hiring you, but I don’t have the guts to tell you that straight up. The fact that you’ll spend the next 6 months wasting time checking in on the status of our project doesn’t concern me in the least. All I really care about is my upcoming Caribbean cruise. I’m taking mambo lessons!

*crickets*

Translation: I’m not communicating with you anymore because I was never serious in the first place. I guess I was just a little bored and wanted to talk to someone. And it made me look busy here in the office. But now I have some real work to do, so have a good life.

“You’ll be the first person I call.”

Translation: I threw away your business card a week ago. What was your name again?

“We need you to show us some concepts before we make a decision.”

Translation: We all got together and decided that if you put in a few days working for free, we’d get our solution for … well … FREE! We’ve always been a savvy and frugal organization. Oh, and when we finally tell you to take a hike, we’ll present your work as our own so we can take the credit.

All we really need are a few tweaks to what we’ve already done.

Translation: Our stuff if total crap and we need a massive overhaul. But there’s no way we’re going to admit that because we’re responsible for it. And we figure if we say the word “tweak” enough, you’ll be able to magically fix the problem quickly. Tweak tweak tweak.

“If this works out, there are plenty more projects.”

Translation: Our business is infinitely more important than your business. We assume you want to work with us so much, you’ll do nearly anything for the privilege. Here boy! Jump through the hoop. That’s it. Good boy.

I think we’re headed in the right direction, but …”

Translation: I think this sucks. And now I’m about to finally reveal to you the way I wanted it done in the first place. Abra cadabra!

Can you incorporate more of our corporate vision into the copy?

Translation: The president of the company thinks he’s a writer and wrote this inane copy for our annual report which he insists on jamming into everything, everywhere. No I don’t like it ether, but I have a presentation coming up and want to do a little sucking up.

I’ll circulate your work to the team and get feedback.

Translation: We believe in working by consensus here so that blame for failures can be spread around evenly. I’m going to let anyone and everyone get involved in this project even if their input is ill-informed, counterproductive, or contradictory. And it will be up to you to clean up the mess.

We’ll have to run this by legal.

Translation: The next time I talk to you you’d better be sitting down because we’re about to beat your copy to within an inch of its life. Your keyboard has an asterisk, right?

We’ve decided to put this project on the back burner.

Translation: This was never an actual project. I was just pulling your chain. Since you didn’t deliver any words yet, I’m sure you probably didn’t put any time into this, so no we’re not paying you for meeting with us a dozen times, doing research, brainstorming ideas, and finishing an outline. That’s not writing.

Do you have experience with Client Speak? Give me some more examples with your own translation.

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