“I can” is a powerful phrase!
Whenever Mother Nature grants me the privilege to see a new dawn, I would realize the immense importance of helping others succeed.
I see life as an abandoned city desperately waiting for someone to rebuild it.
“I can” has helped me cross great hurdles, and positioned me better in my freelance writing career and today; I want to share the 7 reasons that have kept me from making a living writing.
I’ve always aspired to make the world a better place with my golden pen – but I never realized this dream until late 2010.
If you think you can’t make a living writing, you may be right because your perception about life determines how you approach it. As for me, I believe “I can.”
1. You can’t make decisions
A lot of aspiring writers who think they can’t make a living writing online have a different view to life. When it comes to decision making, they have to resort to several persons before making resolutions. If you can’t do a thing and put in your best efforts, it’s as a result of indecision. There is nothing you can’t do, except you didn’t set your eye and focus on it.
By the time you start resorting to other people’s opinion, and advice on a particular issue, you’ll get exposed to diverse strategies and confusion would set in. Seeking counsel is good, but make sure you’ve the discerning gem within to decipher the right advice from the wrong one. Yes, you cannot make a living writing when you’re indecisive. Think about it for a moment.
2. You don’t like reading
Becoming a freelance writer and making a living from it can be strenuous at some point.
Those who dislike reading will experience severe ‘writer’s block.’ In fact, I recently discovered the reason why freelance writers complain that ideas are nowhere to be found. They’ve neglected their study. Reading exposes you to the world of ideas; you won’t struggle to write on a given subject if you’ve read so much about it.
You can never make a living writing if you don’t read extensively. Most of the bloggers and web writers we know today are ardent readers. You can ask Carol Tice how many books she’s read in the past 30 days and I’m sure you’ll scream, Wow!
The more knowledge you acquire in a given niche, the greater urge to write for money you’ll get. So, stop complaining you can’t write for money, start reading whatever (good book) you find that can help realize your writing dreams.
3. You can’t trounce the competition
Read my lips, “competition is the writer’s best friend.” I know this might seem and sound ridiculous but you’ll come to understand this statement later. When there is so much competition, it’s an indication that ‘quality content’ will get the lion’s share.’ You can’t make a living writing when you abhor competition.
For those of us who emigrated from affiliate marketing, we were trained to run away from competition.
But as a freelance writer, run towards that competitive market and leave a ‘trail’ which is unique, easy to identity and full of vigor. When you do this, the entire competition will turn to your favor and clients would run to you with their hard earned cash.
They would be in dilemma now, because they can’t find the right person to handle their writing job even though thousands of writers exist. Be unique, focus on quality, know what clients are after and stick to it with your life.
4. You can’t create new concept
Creativity is the antidote to freelance failure. Few years from now, you’ll flash your mind back to this post and understand that being creative will get you better paying offers, sensitize clients on the ideal rate for quality contents and help you leverage on the right tools to excel.
But if you can’t create new concept, then you can’t make a living writing. If you doubt my words, head over to Google and conduct a search for any given keyword.
You’ll discover that all the article topics you’ve in mind have been written. There is no new thing again – we’re simply rewriting what has already been indexed years ago. Do you believe this?
In order to sound relevant and professional in the eyes of clients, they want you to create new concept in content marketing.
No longer will you write the generic or already published contents, but you’re coming from a new ‘angle’ where no one has ever crossed. Clients are looking for creative writers, and if you’re not amongst the creative group, you can’t make a living writing. Period!
5. You’re just a writer
Don’t get me wrong; knowing how to write has its place in freelance business. But if jamming those pretty fingers on a keyboard is all you know then get ready for a frustrating career. Like I said above, you need more than writing to succeed. We said that competition is a good thing, but that’s for the creative writer who knows how to market him/herself.
Professional freelance writers like Carol Tice and Onibalusi Bamidele are more than writers. They know how to be everywhere that matters. If you can’t promote your expertise, potential clients will not find you. You can’t patronize your writing services – you need the right eyeballs to read, find you attractive and decide to hire you.
If you’re already a writer and still struggle to earn decent income to support your life and family, I suggest you take this a bit up; go and learn how to do marketing online. Learn how social media works and use every marketing weapon to expose yourself.
6. You lack confidence to speak out
Confidence is the lifeblood of freelancers. This trait is absent in some writer’s life and that’s the stumbling block between earning four figures and earning nothing. Clients want you to speak out.
If something isn’t working out the way you want, don’t stay in the corner and pray for miracles to happen. A blogger friend of mine couldn’t ask his SEO clients if they needed a freelance writer for their blogs. He is too shy to market his writing skills and when I asked him why he hasn’t taken that bold step, his response was “I don’t want to lose clients.”
To me, this looks pathetic and I hope you’re not like my friend. You can’t really go far in making a living writing if you lack confidence. For you to get a pay raise and secure more profitable writing gigs, you need to speak out. Even if you lose a client for speaking your mind, don’t be perturbed. The right and good ones will come. Cheer up!
7. You’re too slow in writing
Wow, this point is obvious. With the number of freelance writers increasing, you need to move up an inch and look for an edge over them. Speed-writing can help you meet up deadline and secure better paying gigs online. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing about, clients want to achieve their business goals on time, without sacrificing quality.
So, if you can craft quality web contents as quickly as possible, you’ll make more money. On the contrary, if you’re a snail-typist or reader, the only money you’ll earn is for peanuts, barely enough to pay for web hosting. Go and sharpen your writing skill and improve speed this year.
In 2009, I was exposed to bum marketing method; an article marketing system of leveraging search engines top 10 with long-tail keywords. This exposed me to speed, as it was the criteria for making more money. When I started blogging and freelance writing, I wasn’t concerned about speed – I had speed in abundance and I’m yet to find any writer who is faster than me (are you)?
Go out there and do it
I’m giving you a wake-up call. I’m making a living writing for clients and I’m confident you can do it. None of the reasons above can be justified, especially when you’ve this urge to succeed and help other people experience a better life. Until you feed your mind with “I can” statements, your inner spirit would continue lying to you.
I can make a living writing, can you?