I made my first foray into the freelance world in 2010 while working full-time at a job I hated.
Copywriting jobs were few and far between where I lived, and I wasn’t getting many interviews. So I contacted an old friend and copywriting mentor who had been freelancing for years. He shared some helpful tips and before I knew it, I had named my new freelance business and built a website to showcase my work. Loud and Clear copywriting and consulting was born.
I marketed myself with a two-page prospecting letter I mailed to companies in the area. On my seventeenth letter, I hit paydirt. A national catalog company hired me to write for one of its brands.
I was hyped. For the next four months, I worked my shitty job during the day and freelanced for my new client at night.
Alas, it was not the great escape for which I had hoped.
I was working, yes. I was getting paid. But I didn’t feel any closer to quitting my day job.
Part of it was the work. My client provided me with scant information, which made writing product copy a grueling and time-consuming slog.
But part of it was me. As desperate as I was to quit my job, I just didn’t have the courage to leave the security of full-time employment with health insurance and a 401K plan, no matter how bad it sucked.
And those 12- to 16-hour days were killing me. Something had to give.
After about four catalogs, I ended my freelance contract.
That was a pivotal moment for me. As I looked back on it years later, I’d often thought wistfully that I’d quit the wrong job.
Now I realize I simply wasn’t ready to go out on my own. I needed more skills. I needed more experience, more confidence.
I needed more time.
It took eight years working for some really good people before I was ready.
I worked three more full-time jobs in that time, during which I sharpened my direct response skills and became a Swiss Army knife of digital marketing. I grew my concepting abilities and learned a ton of technology platforms.
And when the day finally came when I again decided to go out on my own, I jumped in with both feet.
That was almost a year and a half ago. Here are some things I’ve learned about freelancing since then.
Note: As I am a copywriter, some of these ideas are written from that perspective. But most are just as applicable to graphic designers and other freelance creatives.
Are you ready? Great. Let’s start with some harsh realities first.
The hardest parts of freelancing full time
It takes time to get going. If you expect to just “start freelancing” one day and live happily every after, think again. Finding clients and work takes time. Make sure you have the stomach, as well as the savings, to last for a year or (preferably) more with very little income.
If you’re not good at your craft, forget it. I see “gurus” all over the Internet telling people they should get into writing if they’re tired of their shitty jobs and want to start a glamorous new life making money from home. My advice? Learn the trade. If you can convince some company to hire you full-time as a proofreader or entry-level copywriter, take that job and build your experience. If you can’t do that, you’re going to starve to death before you ever make it on your own as a writer.
Health insurance is expensive. For many aspiring freelancers, this may be the single biggest reason why self-employment is impossible. Having to pay $700 or $1,000 a month for health insurance on top of a car payment, a mortgage, and living expenses starts you in a hole that’s hard to climb out of. Unless you are married and your partner has a good employer-provided health plan, the cost of health insurance is a bitter pill to swallow.
And that’s not the only reason you’ll need a financial cushion, because . . .
Taxes can kill you. Like everyone else, you have to pay taxes. Plan on around 30 percent for federal and another 5 percent for state. To make matters worse, you’ll also be paying more FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes to help fund Social Security and Medicare. When you work for someone else, this 15.3-percent FICA tax is split evenly between you and your employer. But as a self-employed individual, you are responsible for paying all of it yourself.
Speaking of taxes. If you live in the U.S., you need to pay taxes quarterly. Both federal and state taxes are due on April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Don’t forget, because the government will charge you interest for late payments.
Are you starting to get the sense that freelancing is stressful? That’s because . . .
Freelancing is stressful. When you have no work, it’s stressful. When you have too much work, it’s stressful. When you think too much about how you’re all on your own, it’s stressful.
Freelancing full time is not for the faint of heart, nor for the light of bank account.
The hustle is real. There’s really no end to marketing yourself and finding new clients. Your biggest and best client today may not be there for you tomorrow. (Last year, I had a great client just up and disappear on me. They’d been bought by a competitor and my contact there had been let go.)
When you freelance full time, uncertainty is the only thing certain. Somehow, you have to learn to live with it.
Freelancing can feel lonely. Yeah, working from home sounds great, but it’s isolating. I always imagined I’d have a grand time tapping away at my laptop in coffee shops and bars. But the reality is, I’ve only ever gone out once and that was because my Internet went down at home.
OK, enough scary stuff. Because . . .
Freelancing also feels empowering
When you freelance, you call all the shots. You choose your clients, you choose the work. You choose your schedule. You get the opportunity to sell your ideas as no one else in the world could, or ever would. I love knowing that my success or failure is in my hands, not the hands of some incompetent boss or paper-pushing account manager.
So, what do you need to get started freelancing?
What every successful freelancer needs
You need the right mindset. When you become a full-time freelancer, you become a business person. You are not an employee. The client is not your boss. This changes everything from the way you look for work (I never send my resume unless I’m asked for it) to your day-to-day client interactions.
Just remember, with great freedom comes great responsibility. As a full-time freelancer, you need to stay on top of marketing, billing, taxes, equipment, everything. It’s all up to you.
You need a good website. Every business needs a good store front. Choose a reliable platform such as WordPress or Weebly and build a site that showcases your skills and your work.
You don’t need a niche. I also see Internet gurus telling aspiring freelance writers they need to choose an industry to specialize in, and market themselves exclusively to those prospects. Bullocks. If you can write or design well, you can write or design for just about anything.
You need a good network. Most of my clients are former employers and colleagues, or companies that employ my former colleagues. Having good connections is key.
You (still) need a resume. Call it what you want, make it look however you want, but some prospective clients still want to see a concise summary of your skills and experience.
You still need business cards. It’s faster and easier to hand a card to a potential client or a fellow conference-goer than it is to swap contact information with smartphones. Plus, having an actual business card looks professional.
You need good direction. It’s hard as hell trying to deliver good work for a client when the direction is unclear. Save yourself time and heartache by making sure you know what’s needed. If the client uses a creative brief, great. If not, here’s a creative brief template you can use. I always like to talk on the phone with my clients as we complete the brief together because conversations bring out so many more details.
What should freelancers charge?
I don’t think any full-time freelancer should charge any less than $50 an hour. Remember, you have taxes and health insurance to consider. And your work has value.
If I write a landing page for $50 an hour and it takes me three hours, that’s 150 bucks. Subtract 35% for taxes and suddenly I’m down to $97.50. For a damn good landing page that is going to convert prospects into leads into customers into sales and profits for my client.
This is one reason why many freelancers charge by the project instead of by the hour. If you work quickly and charge by the hour, you shortchange yourself. If you work slowly and charge by the hour, you shortchange the client. But if you charge by the project, you could quote the client a range for that landing page above—say, $200 to $350 depending on complexity.
Don’t forget to charge extra for rush jobs. They can take a lot out of you. Some freelancers I know charge a 25-percent rush fee for jobs with hair-on-fire deadlines.
Other freelancing tips
It’s good to say “yes.” When you’re hungry for work, you can’t be timid. If you’re a good writer and someone asks you to write for a channel you have no experience in—for example, radio—say yes. It’s easy enough to find good examples and follow best practices, and you’ll do a fine job while learning new skills.
It’s good to say “no.” It’s great that you’re ambitious, that you want to help. But if you are too busy to take on another job or you’re simply in over your head with an unfamiliar request, it’s better to say no.
Choose your clients carefully. Yes, you want to work with clients who provide good direction and pay on time. But you need clients whose values are aligned with your own.
If it’s not a good fit . . .
It’s OK to fire a client. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out. Maybe a client has unrealistic expectations, or sends you endless revisions, or they never pay on time. Last year, I worked onsite at a large financial institution. It was a shit-show. Only later did I learn that the place has a reputation for being a “no-go zone” for creatives—it’s the worst of the worst.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, it’s OK to let the client go so you can devote your time and energy to finding better clients to work with.
Choose your partners carefully. Some projects may require you to seek help from other creatives outside your discipline. For example, one of my clients wanted to produce a video. He tapped me to write the script and asked if could recommend an animator. I could and I did.
But I know a graphic designer who subcontracted with another designer when she was inundated with work. The subcontractor was slow, unresponsive, a mess. That put my friend in a jam. She wound up scrambling to do all the work herself. Thank goodness the subcontractor had no direct contact with the client, or that would have looked really bad.
Create a good workspace. As tempting as it may be to just set up on the couch, sitting in a good chair at a good desk is better (and better for you).
Consider a contract. Many freelance creatives ask clients to sign a contract that details the fees, deadlines, deliverables, and other aspects of the job prior to starting work. Templates abound on the Internet. I confess, I don’t use contracts. My clients are large enough and legit enough that I’ve chosen to eliminate the friction of asking them to sign a contract.
Consider asking for partial payment up front. Some freelancers ask their clients for a 25-percent deposit before starting work. This can help you weed out clients who don’t want to pay. It also forces clients to have some skin in the game, which reduces the risk that they’ll ghost you.
Personally, I’ve never asked for an up-front deposit. If I was ever that concerned that a client might not pay, I would pass on that client.
Ask for reasonable deadlines. Yes, do your best to turn work around in a timely fashion. But don’t be afraid to ask for adequate time. Not every job has to be done the next day, and you don’t want to burn out. Ask clients when they need your work and negotiate if you need to. Most of the time, they’ll understand.
Can’t find clients? Try a staffing agency. Staffing agencies help companies find creative talent to fill their open positions. Contracting with a staffing agency can be a good way to get into freelancing while maintaining many of the perks of full-time employment: on-site work, regular hours, even health insurance. Contracts usually last a specific period of time—several weeks to months or a even a year—often with the possibility of full-time work at the end of the contract if you want it.
Set a schedule that works for you. The beauty of freelancing is that you’re not chained to a desk all day. You can work whenever you want. I like to start at eight or nine in the morning, taking a short nap or a trip to the basketball court in between jobs.
Just remember . . .
Boundaries are important. When you freelance, work has a tendency to creep into the rest of your life, distracting you from family time and delaying any personal projects you want to work on. Do your best to draw a line so work doesn’t encroach on everything else.
Keep your calendar up to date. Add every new meeting to your calendar immediately, and set a reminder for 10 or 15 minutes ahead. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being late to a client call or missing it altogether.
Take time off. As a freelancer, it’s easy to obsess over the fact that the more you work, the more money you make. Don’t let this stop you from taking a break every now and then. We all need it.
Take care of yourself. It’s great not having to sit in a germ-infested office. But it’s easy to neglect your health and hygiene in the never-ending process of working and finding new work. Remind yourself to eat healthy, exercise, and get out for some fresh air.
Keep learning. As a freelancer, your professional development is up to you. Fortunately, freelancing full time affords you more time and freedom to choose the training you want. Break up the workday with an educational TED Talk or YouTube video. Get out of the house to attend a marketing conference. Use every problem as an opportunity to learn new skills.
Tools and resources for freelance creatives
Email. Having a custom email address (rob@loudandclearcopy.com) looks more professional than one like WildThing1975@yahoo.com. Most domain-name registrars give you an email account when you buy a domain name, so this part is easy.
Web-based office apps. Sorry, Microsoft. For word processing, spreadsheets, and slide presentations, Google Docs is awesome and free.
Time-tracking software. Toggl is a good app and the basic plan is free. Harvest adds tools for invoicing clients and accepting payments.
Invoicing software. I’ll admit, I still create my invoices from a template I made in Google Docs. One of my graphic design friends recommends Wave. Its accounting and invoicing software is free.
Video conferencing. I like Zoom for its ease of use and free basic plan.
Meeting scheduling. Make it easy for clients and prospective clients to meet with you. One of my colleagues who runs a content-marketing business uses Calendly. The basic plan is free.
Image editing tools. Check out Pixlr, an online photo editor with effects, filters, and overlays. Canva is an amazingly easy way to create great-looking graphics for social media and other uses.
Free stock photos. Unsplash is my first choice to find free images. Some of my other go-tos are Pixabay, Pexels, and Gratisography.
Image compression. For faster page loads, I compress JPEGs and PNGs using TinyPNG.
Community support. We can learn a lot from our fellow freelancers. Find them and share ideas in relevant groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.
I am a freelancer, and I’m still learning
I’ve been freelancing full time for nearly a year and a half, and I’m learning new things every day. About copywriting. About running a business. About myself. It’s not easy, but it’s exhilarating.
I can’t wait to see what I learn next.
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