Ten Tips for Getting out of a Freelancing Rut

It’s easy to get situated in a freelancing rut. You know, a place where the jobs might not be the most interesting things you’ve ever worked on, but they’re steady and they pay well. The work comes to you through the same old clients and their referrals. The work is easy enough that you do it well without thinking, and you’ve grown accustomed to the same delicious praise that follows.

It sounds lovely. In fact, it sounds like the dream we’ve all been trying to reach: good, steady pay; not having to search out jobs; consistently positive feedback.

However, this “dream” can lull you into a place where you aren’t giving yourself the challenge you deserve. Like any career, there is room for growth in the world of freelancing – both professionally and personally. Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of breaking into print magazines but are so busy with your web page content jobs that you continually put it off. Maybe you know that you could be drawing in higher wages, but doing so would mean being forced to find the clients willing to pay them.

By continually sticking with the same jobs, you’re doing yourself and your skills a disservice. Challenge yourself every day with the following tips.

1. Make an attempt to find new clients. Whether you do this five times a day or five times a week, it’s important to continue placing bids on jobs that interest you and applying for different types of work. Not only does this open you up to the possibility of new clients, but you’re also staying abreast of the current trends on the market and what your competition ins facing.

2. Set a dream goal. If getting a byline on a print article is your dream, set up a series of necessary milestones to get there (come up with an incredible article idea, send out queries, etc.). If you really want to hire a personal assistant to handle all your client communications, determine how many hours you want him or her to work and increase your workload to compensate the additional expenses. These things don’t have to occur overnight, but you should set the wheels in motion now.

3. Take a class. Even if you never intend to leave the realm of business writing, you can benefit from a fiction writing class or a study of ancient Japan. Additional perspectives and skills carry over into writing in ways most people would never consider. If nothing else, at least you are continuing your personal educational growth.

4. Take on a challenging assignment. Most freelancers love to know that their work is good. Those agonizing moments between turning something in and getting feedback can be the worst times of the workday. However, if you only stick to projects where you are guaranteed great feedback, you probably aren’t taking any risks as far as content and skill level go. Although no client wants you to “practice” on their project, being forced to work extra hard to get that praise can do wonders for your confidence.

5. Do some writing for yourself. Start up a personal blog, keep a journal, or work on that novel you’ve been dying to write. Although the idea of finding time to do non-paid writing might have you laughing, it’s a good way to remember what got you in this field in the first place.

6. Develop new relationships. Consider bringing on a partner, make new contacts in your blogging community, and reach out to other writers. Not only is the moral support great, but you can bring in additional work or get referrals for projects you may not have considered before.

7. Take a vacation. This doesn’t mean you have to go anywhere. It can be as simple as taking four days to spend exploring your city with your kids (the springtime weather certainly makes this more palatable than work). You may find yourself eager to get back to work and be able to look at the situation with fresh and well-rested eyes.

8. Stand up for yourself with an existing client. Perhaps you’ve been working with one client since your first freelancing days, when your rates were lower or you made compromises you would never consider now. Let your client know that you have reached a new professional level and that your rates are increasing or you are no longer willing to do monthly updates free of charge.

9. Step out of your comfort zone. For example, if you’ve shied away from writing about technology because you feel like you are a straggler in the field, do some research and find a niche of technology you can write about. Maybe you know little about computers, but you’re a whiz with the cell phone.

10. Review your original intentions. When you first began freelancing, did you really see yourself spending the next ten years writing product descriptions for t-shirts, or did you start doing these product descriptions as a means to an end? If you fall in the latter category, revisit what that end was supposed to be. Did you actually want to write descriptions for a higher-end clothing catalog? Were you really looking to write on fashion trends? Determine what you really want to do and get back on that track.

A rut can be a good thing when you’ve got small children occupying the bulk of your time, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, or when it’s simply time to take a break. However, over the long term, a freelancing rut can become a sort of crutch for not trying new things or expanding your business.

Spring is a great time to do a little cleaning – even if it’s the kind where you throw out old ideas and habits!