What do you do if your freelance writing business is struggling to succeed?

Sometimes everything runs perfectly if planned, but declines in business due to the least target audience, and we run as per our old version of business, don't add new attractive strategies to assess the market whether it's beneficial or not. It is essential to consider the most demanding and approachable areas of writing where most of the freelancers failed to perform effectively.

The most common reason I've seen people struggle is they're writing for themselves, not the client. They want to express themselves. Follow their own creative vision. Share their unique voice. But the job is to please the client, not yourself. You're paid to do the job, and your only consideration should be satisfying the person who hired you to do that job. If you don't love what you've written but they do, great. If you feel a little creatively stifled but they love the outcome, great. Just as great leaders do, decide that your happiness will come from someone else's success -- in this case, the success (because they appreciate and value what you've done for them) of your client.

Reassessing your freelance writing goals is crucial for business success. Make sure they're SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If they're not, redefine them to align with your current situation and create a roadmap for success. This might involve targeting a new market, specializing in different writing types, or setting more realistic income targets.

Take a step back and reevaluate your business objectives. Are they realistic and achievable? Consider whether your target market, niche, or pricing strategy needs adjustment. Identify any gaps in your business plan and set clear, measurable goals to guide your efforts moving forward.

You need to take a break, and thoroughly assess your goals. What did you start this venture for? Would you rather put monetary outcome above or recognition in the industry? Ensure you have a clear picture of your goals, and those are well-defined, along with a plausible timeline. This can be anything: gaining X number of followers, having a presence on X number of social platforms, doing X revenue in an year. Creating an outline does wonders to ensure you regularly move ahead even if at a slow pace.

Our clients want to know us on a personal level. Many of us can't have 1:1 relationships with every client. Our online presence is our way of transparency. Social media allows us to demonstrate our skills and establish professional identity through authentic yet strategic content. LinkedIn is a “we” focused app. Therefore, our content should elevate togetherness. Strategic content that reflects who we are as individuals creates a space for clients and peers to network and build relationships with us. When we align ourselves to our professions in this way, our brands will stand out in this competitive job market.

Assess market demand, refine services, optimize marketing strategies, network, seek mentorship, and adapt to industry trends for freelance writing success.

advice. Contributor profile photo Mudit Pathak Follow Gandhi Fellow, Global Youth Fellow, Ashoka young changemaker Reassessing your freelance writing goals is crucial for business success. Make sure they're SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If they're not, redefine them to align with your current situation and create a roadmap for success

Firstly, being stubborn enough not to quit is definitely an essential quality for any freelancer to survive! However, having situational awareness and understanding your client's real needs is the true mark of a professional.

Sometimes you need to pivot. One way is to find the best market for you. This may mean targeting a difficult area that people don't write about and the bar to entry is low.

Freelance writing is a competitive field, you may see a lot of writers struggling to get the most out of it. What can you do to stand out in this competitive and saturated world? The only solution is to enhance your skills! Take different courses and attend workshops but don't forget to practice what you learn. The more you practice, the more you will get command in your area of practice. You can even practice different formats of writing, maybe you will get hold of the format you haven't tried before. Explore and see what works for you!

Improving your freelance writing skills is crucial for staying competitive. Explore online courses, workshops, and seek feedback to fill any expertise gaps. Stay updated on SEO techniques and diverse writing formats to attract clients. Enhancing your skills adds value to your services and increases your chances of success.

One thing I have noticed is that Improving your skills as a freelance writer can help you overcome challenges and succeed in your business. Some steps like identifying weaknesses, continuous learning, practicing regularly, and seeking feedback. By continuously improving your writing skills and taking proactive steps to grow your freelance business, you can overcome challenges and achieve success in your career.

Continuous improvement is crucial in the freelance writing industry. Assess your writing skills and identify areas for growth. Invest time in honing your craft through practice, workshops, online courses, or mentoring programs. Stay updated on industry trends and best practices to ensure your skills remain relevant and competitive.

In this continuously transforming world, tools, methods, algorithms are constantly changing; and you can only keep up if your skillset is upgrading regularly, and at similar pace. You need so through various methods. You can sign up for free/paid courses through an institution or online, you can read self-help books, you can follow podcasts or video content from people who are excelling in the field, and learn.

One thing I've found incredibly valuable is the importance of seeking feedback. Feedback is essential for identifying areas for improvement and ensuring that your business remains on the right track, aligned with the needs and interests of your clients. Just as physical businesses use suggestion boxes to gather customer feedback, freelancers can create surveys to collect valuable insights from clients. By doing so, you can refine your services, make data-driven decisions, and ultimately deliver exceptional results that meet and exceed client expectations.

Improve skills  Okay, so many people tell you to do it, but how? Because, as you very well know, if you are not rising in one particular thing, Then you need to wipe out or enhance your weak factors. So in this career, you definitely have to enhance your skills. By determining your weak factors, It is not only related to freelancing but also to outside factors that can affect your confidence.  So improve or upgrade your skills, but not only in freelancing but outside too.  be confident. 

Maybe it's time to improve and learn new things. Some courses are teaching new things always. Find such courses and learn from them. You can attend webinars from already established writers and expert in the field. You will find things that may not be available online. Be willing to experiment.

A tested way to advance our writing skills is to contribute guest articles on the websites of writers who have more reach than us. Having an expert edit and critique our work is essential in improving writing skills. Receiving feedback is how we learn to self-edit, which is crucial for writing excellent content. Contributing a guest article to a leading expert’s website gives us the chance to add published articles to our portfolio, which is an added perk.

Although writing about one's own subjects is easy and approachable, it becomes difficult for freelancers to write something that is out of context for their grip subjects. As far as I know, to tackle it, it is simple to have diverse background knowledge of various disciplines, and one should be intended to learn new things by enrolling in new courses, watching various videos for compensation. To use the new tools and websites for various algorithms, different keywords, and having diverse knowledge of different formatting patterns. Writing skills can be improved by utilizing these activities.

Effective marketing for a struggling freelance writing business requires a multi-faceted approach. Firstly, optimize your website to attract and convert visitors by ensuring it's user-friendly and showcases your portfolio and expertise prominently. Secondly, leverage social media effectively by engaging with your audience, sharing valuable content, and networking with other professionals in your industry. Consider creating a content marketing strategy that highlights your writing skills and expertise, demonstrating your value to potential clients. Lastly, network with other professionals to expand your reach and increase your visibility in the morning.

Effective marketing is essential for attracting clients and growing your freelance writing business. Evaluate your current marketing strategies and explore new avenues for promotion. Utilize social media platforms, professional networking sites, and freelance marketplaces to showcase your expertise and connect with potential clients. Consider offering special promotions or incentives to attract new clients and generate buzz about your services.

Most of the time, when writers talk about marketing, they’re talking about things that are done at arm’s length. Sure, it’s important to have a great website. Yes, you should post on a variety of platforms and increase your visibility that way. What most writers don’t consider is what sales pros call “prospecting.” Reach out directly to people you would like to hire you or refer you. If you really want to boost your business, boost your prospecting.

A lagging behind business can get a literal makeover if the branding is done right: and marketed. Marketing is very underrated, and it need not be paid always. If you have a budget, there's an abundance of options available: browse through to find the options that provide the best value for your money. You can run ads, buy a paid article or podcast feature or simply advertise through good old print media and radio advertising. However if you're bootstrapped and do not have a budget, you're going to need to work harder and smarter but it is still very much doable. You can drop comments on blogs/videos that have similar niche, creating backlinks to your content. You can share the content through your peers, or reach out to reviewers.

Marketing these days is not limited to the use of social platforms. Undoubtedly, social media is one of the most potent sources, but there are some other sources that we ignore completely, for instance, conferences or seminars where we can additionally target our niche of interest.

You can try new strategies by writing more on platforms that allow you to do so for free. There, you can also see how others are writing. You can share your work with them. Likewise, if you are sharing your work with 10 such people, you are making an impression. Maybe you are opening up new chances. What if someone reposts your work on their network? That means you are not welcome in their community and maybe you can boost your chances of succeeding.

When using social media to find your audience, do some research into what platform your target audience is using. Most small operations don't need an account on every social media platform.

Enhancing your marketing efforts is crucial for propelling your freelance writing business forward. Explore various avenues such as social media, networking, and targeted outreach to promote your services effectively. By refining your marketing approach, you can attract more clients and elevate your presence in the competitive writing landscape.

Provide more in less!! Sometimes it's not good But people like something additional. It's like an extra cookie in a packet of cookie If you are giving something extra, you are making an impression.

Diversifying your freelance writing business is key. Expand services beyond one type or industry to tap into new revenue streams. Offer copywriting, blogging, technical, or grant writing to broaden your client base without abandoning your niche.

I’d also suggest writing for different formats: from magazine features to podcast scripts, news journalism to video treatments; all need great writing as their foundation

Diversifying the products/services that you provide can help revive your business. Look at any successful digital business and one thing that the most if not all of them are doing is providing a huge range of services. You can thus cater to newer audience, and also ensure you make more sales. If you think you can not provide all of the services on your own you can hire someone, or simply outsource your work. It may not benefit your business much monetarily, but it does wonders increasing visibility and thus eventually bringing gigs/business that your business can do in-house and make better margins.

Niching is, ironically, a broad concept. You may have niched into a specific topic, so diversification for you may look like expanding the types of content you’re willing to provide for clients. Perhaps right now, you only offer short-form content. You may consider writing white papers or case studies. Another means for diversification is expanding the niches in which you write specific types of content. You may only write blogs but decide to expand the niches you blog for. In this way, we are capable of new ways to use our skills to solve our client’s problems.

Client feedbacks are your gold in service business But taking feedback positively and taking actions on that feedback To improve things is crucial To stay in long run

One reason why most of the businesses fail is they are disconnected with their clients. If a business is not able to crack sales it is most likely due to customer not being able to find value, or there's some level of dissatisfaction. This can only be figured if there's communication between the business and the client. Therefore, maintaining regular communication with customers removes chances of customer dissatisfaction and more likely to strengthen relations that not only builds sustainable business, but also helps expand it.

Listening to client feedback is essential for freelance writers. Solicit honest opinions from past and present clients to gain insights into your business's strengths and weaknesses. Use this feedback to refine your approach, improve client satisfaction, and build stronger relationships for repeat business and referrals.

As freelancers, we write for our clients not ourselves. I know that sounds harsh, and so non-idealistic — not the fantasy we dreamt of when we created the picturesque life of a writer when we were young. BUT the silver lining is, that as a writer, we’re story tellers and we help others express what they cannot and share that with the world, which is beautiful thing. If you’re struggling as a freelancer, remember this and consider reaching out to your clients for feedback on how you express their stories. Feedback is a writer’s life blood and it has the potential to revitalize your approach if you’re in the trenches.

Create a connection or network If you work as a content freelancer, in addition to the above, pay attention to this issue: Build a strong professional network of people. This network helps your credibility

Review your business plan and adjust pricing based upon market demands. Offer reduced charges for new clients and special pri e adjustments for loyal customers. It is important to preserve the client base while buili g new opportunities.