Once I first began freelance writing, I did what many new freelancers do.
I signed up for Guru.
Again then, Guru was one of many largest freelance platforms round. Later, many writers moved over to Upwork, Freelancer, PeoplePerHour, and different comparable websites because the freelance business developed.
I believed I had found the shortcut.
There have been hundreds of initiatives listed. Purchasers have been actively trying to find writers. New alternatives appeared to seem each single day.
As a brand-new freelance author working from my kitchen desk whereas my twins napped close by, it felt like precisely what I wanted.
I didn’t have an internet site but. I didn’t have an viewers. I definitely didn’t have a private model or a portfolio full of spectacular shopper work.
All I needed to do was create a profile, flick through initiatives, and begin making use of.
At the very least, that’s what I believed. The truth turned out to be very totally different.
Should you’re concerned with being a contract author, I don’t need you to assume the ONLY locations to search out purchasers is on freelance platforms. There are soooooooooo many different locations to search out high-paying writing jobs that you’ll by no means have to create an Upwork profile.
I Thought Upwork Had It All
At first, gaining access to so many potential purchasers feels thrilling. You log in and all of a sudden you’re surrounded by alternatives. Weblog posts. Web site copy. E mail advertising campaigns. Product descriptions. Social media content material.
It seems like work is all over the place.
For some time, that may be extremely motivating as a result of it provides you hope. You begin imagining all of the purchasers you’ll land and all the cash you’ll make.
However after just a few weeks, I began noticing one thing that made me pause.
Each single venture had dozens of writers making use of.
Typically tons of.
And plenty of of these writers have been prepared to work for charges that I merely couldn’t compete with.
I bear in mind scrolling via listings and seeing initiatives that will take a number of hours to finish, solely to search out freelancers bidding $10, $15, or $20 for your entire project. Even again then, I knew these charges weren’t sustainable.
It shortly turned clear that I wasn’t competing based mostly on my writing capability. I used to be competing based mostly on value.
And meaning you might be seen as a COMMODITY and never as a helpful collaborator.
It Felt Like a Race to the Most cost-effective Author
One of many largest classes I realized from freelance platforms is that the most cost effective freelancer usually will get the eye first.
Not all the time. There are definitely purchasers who worth high quality. However usually sufficient that it turns into irritating.
Many consumers on these platforms aren’t essentially on the lookout for the very best author for the job. They’re on the lookout for the bottom quote that appears “ok.” In consequence, you’ll find your self consistently making an attempt to justify why you’re charging a little bit greater than the subsequent author.
That’s exhausting.
You’re spending hours writing proposals, refreshing the platform, sending functions and checking for messages ready for the gig.
Then waking up the subsequent day and doing it another time.
I did land some first rate initiatives via Upwork however that’s as a result of I reached out to the shopper first on LinkedIn after which they advised me they have been on Upwork. I don’t wish to faux these experiences was horrible as a result of it wasn’t. A number of initiatives helped me construct confidence, achieve expertise, and discover ways to work with purchasers professionally.
However once I stepped again and appeared on the larger image, one thing wasn’t including up.
The period of time I spent pitching didn’t match the amount of cash I used to be incomes.
The mathematics merely didn’t work.
Finally, I had a realization that modified the route of my freelance enterprise. I began to go to job boards and that lead me to greater paying purchasers.
And that is what I educate (in addition to dozens of different methods to search out purchasers) in Writeto1k.
Fairly than competing with fifty different writers for each venture, I began specializing in job boards and creating my very own on-line presence. I launched an internet site. I began running a blog. I visitor posted on different websites. I linked with different writers. I created content material that showcased my experience and helped potential purchasers perceive what I might do.
And over time, I constructed a profitable freelance writing enterprise.
Why Freelance Platforms Make It Exhausting to Construct a Enterprise
The largest problem with relying completely on freelance platforms like Upwork, Guru, Fiverr, or Freelancer is that you simply’re constructing your online business on another person’s platform….the place they take a CUT of your PAY.
Which may not seem to be an enormous deal whenever you’re first getting began, however over time it could create some critical challenges.
1. You Don’t Personal the Viewers
Whenever you’re discovering purchasers via a contract platform, the platform owns the viewers.
They management the visitors they usually determine which profiles get visibility and which of them don’t.
In case your profile will get buried in search outcomes, your leads can disappear in a single day.
That’s very totally different from constructing your individual web site, electronic mail listing, or LinkedIn presence. These are property you personal and management.
A weblog submit you publish at this time might convey purchasers years from now however a proposal on a contract platform would possibly solely be seen for just a few hours.
2. You’re Always Competing on Worth
Some of the irritating elements of freelance platforms is how usually they flip writing right into a bidding warfare.
As an alternative of specializing in the worth you convey, you’re usually competing towards dozens of different freelancers who could also be charging considerably much less….and that is discouraging for you I wager! It was for me.
I began pondering, perhaps I don’t deserve extra then just a few {dollars} to write down one of these content material.
Over time, this may make it tough to lift your charges and place your self as an skilled.
When prospects discover you thru your individual content material, web site, or referrals, the dialog is often very totally different. They’re already concerned with working with you particularly, which suggests the dialogue turns into much less about value and extra about outcomes.
3. The Platform Controls Your Enterprise
When you’ve a profile on a contract platform, you don’t have any management over algorithm adjustments, or rule adjustments.
I’ve heard tales from freelancers who constructed their complete earnings round one platform solely to have their account suspended or restricted unexpectedly. Out of the blue, the leads stopped coming they usually had no backup plan.
That’s a scary place to be in.
When your complete enterprise is determined by a single platform, you’re placing a whole lot of belief in an organization that may change the principles at any time.
I all the time counsel to writers to have multiple place to deal with your portfolio. Place it on LinkedIn, Pinterest, your weblog or on Journo.
4. It’s Exhausting to Construct a Recognizable Model
Most profitable freelance writers ultimately turn out to be recognized for one thing.
Perhaps they’re SaaS writers or they concentrate on electronic mail advertising.
Perhaps they’re specialists in finance, well being, or B2B content material.
However on freelance platforms, it’s usually tough to face out as something apart from one other profile in an extended listing of candidates.
Constructing your individual web site and creating content material permits prospects to see your experience, character, and expertise in a approach a platform profile by no means can.
5. It Encourages Quick-Time period Pondering
Freelance platforms are sometimes targeted on discovering the subsequent venture.
After which the subsequent one.
After which the subsequent one after that.
It’s simple to get caught in a cycle of continually chasing work as an alternative of constructing programs that appeal to purchasers persistently.
Whenever you make investments time into content material advertising, networking, referrals, visitor posting, or rising your on-line presence, you’re constructing one thing that compounds over time.
That’s the way you create a enterprise that continues producing alternatives even whenever you’re not actively pitching every single day.
Are Freelance Platforms At all times Unhealthy?
No.
I don’t assume freelance platforms are evil, and I definitely don’t assume each new freelancer ought to keep away from them fully. I imply I even assume content material mills have a spot for freelance writers (at instances).
In reality, they are often helpful in sure conditions.
Should you want expertise, confidence, testimonials, or just a few early initiatives to get momentum, they may help. They may also be helpful throughout gradual seasons whenever you’re trying to fill gaps in your schedule.
The issue begins once they turn out to be your complete enterprise technique.
I’ve seen writers spend years refreshing freelance platforms each morning.
Years!
In the meantime, they by no means construct an internet site. They by no means create content material. They by no means community with folks of their business. They by no means develop a shopper acquisition system that works independently of the platform.
That’s when freelance platforms cease being a device and begin turning into a lure.
Construct One thing Greater Than a Profile
Wanting again, I’m grateful I began on Guru.
It taught me how you can write proposals. It taught me how you can talk with purchasers. It taught me how aggressive freelance writing might be.
However I’m much more grateful that I ultimately moved past it. As a result of the aim isn’t to turn out to be the very best bidder on a contract platform.
The aim is to construct a contract enterprise that helps your life.
- A enterprise the place purchasers rent you due to your experience.
- A enterprise the place your charges aren’t decided by whoever is prepared to cost the least.
- A enterprise the place you’re not refreshing freelance platforms each morning hoping somebody chooses you.
As an alternative, you’re constructing a repute that pulls the suitable purchasers to you.
And belief me, that’s a significantly better place to be.
Upwork Isn’t All the pieces
I hope you notice that Upwork isn’t EVERYTHING and it doesn’t even have to be the STARTING level.
It’s there for sure instances and naturally, if you happen to tried every thing go forward and take a look at a contract platform. It’s possible you’ll win on the finish!
Let me know if you happen to’ve tried any of those platforms and what your ideas are about them.
I’d like to know!