Want to Be Among the Most Successful Freelance Writers? Avoid These 5 Traps

WRITING

Jul 9

Subscribe to the Creativity ► Cashflow newsletter here for tips on creating the smarter, easier, wealthier way.

La Familia of the Internet,

Today, we're talking about potential.

More specifically, your potential to be one of the most successful freelance writers in your country, or even around the world.

Do you ever have the niggling feeling that you’re behind?

That you’re not able to write at a sufficient quality level or scale to “make it big”?

Back in February 2020, I had never been paid to work as a freelance writer before. I was nowhere. Flapping around like a headless chicken trying to keep hold of a pen under its wing.

Of course, I wanted to skip all of the hard stuff…

Sending cold emails
Creating free samples
Building a website
Posting on social media

Although I always enjoyed writing poetry while listening to emo rock songs (not ashamed), it was clear I had to write with a style and produce at a volume that was foreign to me.

Intimidated? Me?!

You bet’cha. But I knew I didn’t have much choice…

So, I tightened my belt and got to work.

Fast forward two and a bit years, and it’s turned out alright.

Still, there are a ton of things I wish I’d known then that I think may help you save some time and possibly heartache too. So, this episode of Creativity ▶️ Cashflow will be most relevant for:

a) wannabe writers who can’t seem to get started, and

b) writers with some skin in the game who feel like they’re underachieving

By the time you get to the end, you should have a solid grip on what causes writers to fail to reach their creative potential, and how to navigate your way to success.

Your North Star Is Too Dim

If you ever get lost in the Arctic, the North Star might save you. This star is in line with the North Pole. It more or less stays in the same place in the sky - a helpful shining beacon for any wayward travelers (or drunken Eskimos) to return to safety.

To reach the level of the most successful freelance writers, you too need a North Star to guide you when times are hard.

Writers have to face a number of mean obstacles:

Trying to get your name out there.
Trying to convince businesses not to pay you peanuts.
Trying to swim against a sea of competition. After all, there’s no shortage of freelance writers.

I could go on and on…

Setting your eyes on a North Star will help you in those tough times.

Having spoken with a lot of freelancers at this point, it often feels like their goals are too vague.

“I just want more flexibility.”

“I don't like my boss.”

“I enjoy writing.”

These don't burn brightly enough. They're too cloudy. Too dim.

Fix your eyes on something that will make this a TRUE adventure:

The chief target I set for myself in early 2020 was:

“I want to become the best health copywriter in the world.”

Did it feel uncomfortable to set this goal?

Yes. A bit of poo probably came out as I read it back...

And, of course, I know the word “best” is subjective. But it forced me to think creatively about how I could become the “best” in the shortest time.

Google search rankings. This was the shortcut I decided on.

I built my site, focused on SEO, and within 6 months I had the highest-ranked page in the UK and USA for the search term “health copywriter.”

This gave me authority as a freelancer. I believe a lot of my fast career growth stemmed from that one adventurous goal and the ideas that followed.

So let me ask - what could your North Star be?

You Admire The Wrong People (At This Time)

Y’know those infuriating stats that say the richest 1% hold, like, 50% of the world’s wealth? (Maybe more in some places).

Parallels can be made to the freelance writing world. The most successful freelance writers — typically those with the biggest social media followings — get over 50% of the attention.

Newbie writers see how far ahead these hot shots are and think “noooooo, I can never get to that level.”

They get discouraged, and many give up.

I made this mistake too. Although I never did quit, I do think I timed it wrong with following, say, a $1 million+/year copywriter such as Stefan Georgi.

Really, I should have followed writers that were a couple of steps ahead of me but not way out in front.

I break freelance writers down into several categories:

Total newbies
Up and comers
Sort-of established
Fully established
Elite

At the final two stages, I’ve seen a lot of elite writers branch out and build their own offers using their copywriting skills.

When I was a total newbie, I should have networked with more “up and comers” and “sort-of established” writers, and spent less time feeling inadequate compared with the elite few.

Your Brain Is Stretched From New York to Sydney

Have you ever completed one of those weekly (or even daily) experiments where you measure how you spend your time?

It’s worrisome. For a couple of reasons:

You realize how much time you spend in front of a screen
You realize how much of that time spent in front of a screen is being wasted

Srsly, we all watch a ton of crap.

YouTube is my weakness.

I’ve managed to cut Instagram, rarely use Facebook, and steered away from TikTok after a brief foray.

But I still spend too much time on YouTube, pretending I’m learning from podcasts that I’m semi-listening to (at best) and serve mostly as a distraction from boredom.

This is a BIG problem for writers. Why?

Because most of our best ideas come when our brain is at rest… when it’s allowed to go here, there, and everywhere.

Your brain, like mine, is way too full.

I’m taking steps in 2022 to step away from phone and laptop screens for at least small chunks of time during the day, and turn things off at night. I suggest you try to do something similar:

Go for a walk this Sunday.

Take a notebook and pen. No phone - or at least switch it off for an hour.

Guarantee you’ll come back with a decent idea to write about. And you’ll feel better afterward. Calmer and more inspired.

You’re Too Freakin’ Busy

This follows from the point above.

We spend so much time in “mindless consumption mode” that there aren’t enough hours left for creativity.

Just think - despite mankind’s amazing innovations - what more could have been achieved if we didn’t procrastinate so much as a species?

We might all be living on Mars by now, growing funky-lookin' potatoes.

I know, I know…

There are about a zillion things vying for your attention.

Work
School
Family
Grocery shopping
Exercise
Noisy neighbors
Pet hamsters

Whatever your attention-stealers may be, as a freelance writer, you need to put writing first. This is a hard truth.

The first activity you should block out on your weekly schedule is time for writing.

This could be writing outreach emails.

It could be writing social media posts.

It could be writing for businesses if you have already secured some clients.

I like to do most of my writing in the mornings. My brain is fresher. If I dive into emails and scroll social platforms, I won’t say it’s game over… but it’s an uphill challenge.

We all have at least some time that we can trim from other parts of life and invest into writing.

How much time will you spend writing tomorrow?

You’re Too Reliant on (Limited) Biology

No doubt, you will have heard about the limits of our short-term, working memory. Here’s a snapshot:

“Working memory can really only hold information for 10-20 minutes (Sousa, 2001), and can only hold 5-9 pieces of information at a time. That is why it is so important to take deliberate efforts to move information from your short-term memory into your long-term memory through storage.”

Oregon State University

Yet most of us still wander around somehow thinking the biological limits don’t apply to us.

“Ahh, I’ll remember it later.”

Nope. Sorry buddy, ya won’t…

That brain nugget will fly somewhere into the Universe, never to be seen or heard from again.

If you want to write consistently, you need to jot down your ideas consistently. It’s not quite the circle of life. But it is the circle of creativity.

Without a steady stream of new ideas ready to nudge you into action, it’s going to be tough to keep up the habit of writing.

Since 2020, Notion has been my favorite place to store stuff online.

I use the Notes app on my phone as a sort of middle ground because, while Notion on the desktop is a dream, the mobile version is clunky.

I was also prompted by a fellow creator to set up a WhatsApp chat with myself (this song by Akon immediately comes to mind) as a dumping ground for fleeting ideas throughout the day. I'm enjoying this low-resistance option so far.

Top tip:

Commit to a day of being an “active content consumer.”

That means, for every video or podcast you watch, have a paper notebook or digital note-taking system at the ready.

Write down the 1-3 main takeaways that stood out to you. Take this a step further: