4 Tips to Recession-Proof Your Writing Business
By Kristine Hansen
That we are in an economic recession is no secret.
News outlets release joblessness reports on a weekly basis. You can probably name half a dozen people in your life struggling to hang onto their homes, remain employed or pay down credit-card debt.
While your writing business may be prospering now, how do you know it won’t suffer tomorrow? Last year I woke up one morning to an email – sent overnight – from an editor stating that effective immediately I was no longer blogging for three AOL sites due to a purchase by HuffingtonPost.com. When various airlines merged three years ago, my steady gigs writing for inflight magazines took to the wind.
As a freelance writer, when and if you lose a client, you likely won’t gain job-loss benefits. But, still, there are ways you can recession-proof your business to lessen the impact.
1. Diversify
Focus on three specialties in your writing career, as opposed to one. These specialties don’t have to be completely divergent – such as pets and music. Think of it more as broadening within a topic.
For example, I’m not just a travel writer who reports on hotels. I also report on food and wine trends in my hometown as well as in destinations around the world. My third specialty area is sustainability, which could translate to green hotels, keeping an eco-friendly home or locavore cocktails. The three specialties often play off of each other.
This way you have more markets to reach out to when a publication folds or a budget is all dried up, leaving you with a hole to fill in your income.
2. Aim High
When you sit down and decide how much money you want to make each year, don’t firmly declare the dollar amount you settle on — instead, aim above your income goal.
Say you want to earn $35,000 in a given year. Great! But you are far more likely to reach that goal, and perhaps exceed it, if you bump the figure up to $38,000 or even $48,000.
Entrepreneurial people tend to have a competitive streak and the adrenaline you use to reach your goal doesn’t have to stop at the finish line. Use that extra $3,000 to start an emergency-savings fund to get you through lean times.
3. Line Up B-List Markets
Even if you’re a regular contributor to, say, Entrepreneur Magazine, take the time (even when you’re slammed with assignments) to reach out to other business-minded magazines that are not direct competitors.
Drop the editors an email with a short paragraph about who you are, where you’ve published and what topics you cover. Attempt to lure them in with tangible story ideas and start working for these B-list publications on the side if at all possible. Even if it means lessening the time you write for an A-list client (in this case, Entrepreneur).
It’s important that you widen your reach. What’s going to happen if Entrepreneur stops using freelance writers? Or you have a rejected query from Entrepreneur that’s hot and needs a buyer? It’s easier to repitch your article queries when you have the relationship in place. If you absolutely do not have time to write for other markets now, then make a list of B-markets for when you’re ready.
4. Spruce Up Credentials
If you’ve got the time now, use an hour a week to update article links on your web site, your letter-of-introduction email template or the contents of your résumé.
In a suffering economy, you’ll have to send more cold pitches to nail assignments. Having these tools in place helps. Besides, it can’t hurt to polish up your supporting materials even when you absolutely can’t take on any more clients. When you’re busiest is often when you’re most productive – and your confidence will shine through.
How about you: What steps have you taken to recession-proof your business? Let us know in the Comments below.
Kristine Hansen writes about her passions: flying to far-flung locales and sipping rare wines. She’s based in Milwaukee and has published stories in publications that include TIME, Wine Enthusiast and on Fodors.com. Learn more about her work at http://www.kristineahansen.com or follow her on Twitter @kristineahansen.
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It’s so hard to find the time to look for new clients when you’re desk is full with other assignments. But this kind of reaching out is also completely essential… I tell everyone I coach exactly the same thing. Well put, Kristine!
I used to make custom furniture for a living. Not at all unlike freelance writing. A successful market researcher told me to devote 1 day a week to marketing my business even if I didn’t need the work. I didn’t and when a recession hit, I lost my “A list” clients. After a couple of lean years grovelling, I finally had to give up and get a so-called real job.
I’m not making that mistake again. Thanks for the reminder.
Being new to writing as a vocation, I have been frustrated with the idea of having to decide right now on a precise pin-point specialty. I know the importance of branding myself and building a platform based on that specialty, but currently, there are several topics that interest me. As I try them out and see what is marketable, I will be mindful of going towards the ones that could play off the others, as you mentioned.
Thank you for this timely article to help me get started in the right direction!
I make it a point to make contact with the businesses that send advertisements out via direct mail and basically anywhere I go. If I spot a local with a poor site, I approach and pitch. If get hit with spam from a poorly written site, I email them. If I come across a site that needs a serious update, I pitch. Sometimes these things work and sometimes they don’t, but being able to spot businesses that need writing really helps open up doors, even if they don’t all walk through them:) Thanks for the great share!
Great tips! I think the most important thing in this economy is to make sure you keep in touch with your contacts. Even if you don’t have time to write for many different publications, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep in touch with the editors on social media and by email. Keep your name out there because you never know when you may need more work.
Marcia
Great advice. As a working writer, I’m particularly please to see “diversify” and “B-markets” on your list. I’ve never before seen someone explain, so clearly, the importance and benefits of having more than one specialty. And while B markets may not have the same level of prestige and pay as the A markets, every single writer I know has a lot some of them on her list of clients. That’s because they a) pay, b) pay regularly and c) are often relatively hassle-free. Definitely an important part of the mix!
Daphne, I completely agree about keeping up the marketing even when you’re busy — and also that it’s hard to build in to an already-packed schedule. Rob, I loved your story about how, in the furniture business, you learned this same lesson. While it’s unfortunate you had to go through the recession I bet you’re completely prepared should it happen to you again, right? Tania, your approach is brilliant! I’m glad you shared it. Anne, I’m thrilled to help you navigate through the first stages of your freelance-writing career! I wish you lots of luck and am happy to hear my article lit a fire underneath you. Marcia, this is so true: even when times are busy it’s important to stay connected. I think social media makes that a tad easier and we shouldn’t hesitate to use those tools. Jennifer, I’m glad to hear you’re a fan of B-markets too!
Love these tips. The only one I’ve actually done is diversify. As a new writer, I’m all B-list (if not C). I haven’t thought about an actual income goal, but I believe it would make a difference. Thanks for the advice, especially since times are always uncertain for freelancers.
May I know how much a client pays the writer for assignments. Here in the Philippines clients pay $3 to $5 per 500-word article in a project basis. 7 to 8 Thousand Pesos a month for a dedicated client.
I wonder if writers in abroad or America are paid bigger than those who are Filipino writers living in the Philippines.
Much much bigger, Nonoy. However, your grammar and spelling has to be up to speed. If you can find a good tutor, it may pay off. $10/500 words isn’t unheard of for ESL writers with better writing skills and if you can pass yourself off as a native, $20/500 should be the least you should expect.
Nonoy, while rates vary from publication to publication (from $100-$1,000!), $3-$5 an article is considered very low. I would try to shoot for a market that is paying at least $200 an article, and you can always go up from there!
You’re recommending an unrealistic market, Kristine.
Rob, I actually get paid those rates and so I speak from experience! On average, I’m probably getting $500 an article. I’d love to help you out by finding some higher-paying markets to buy your article ideas — hit me up if that interests you.
I agree with Kristine. My first article, in 1996, sold for $500. Writers can and should earn a living wage — and even a GREAT wage — from their writing. I’ve been doing it for 15 years full time, and I’ve NEVER written for as low as $20 for 500 words. Heck, I even pay $50 for guest posts on this blog!
I’ve taught many writers how to escape low pay and start writing for decent rates. If you’re interested, check out my phone mentoring for writers.
Hi Linda & Kristine (and Nonoy, if you’re still following this) -
I started out on Elance, which is the kind of place I assume Nonoy is looking for work. I quickly learned that the $5/500 word articles were going to Indian and Filipino writers whose English was adequate, but not up to US/UK/Australian standards. I’d bid $20 and get the jobs. Hence my advice.
After a lot of digging, I finally found someone who works for a big Australian content company (not content mill), so I got some inside information. Basically, a freelance writer without a name or a technical niche gets paid around $75/500, but even they have to have a good grasp of grammar and a decent style. Only those with a name or niche make $500/500. Writers who come out of the blue asking for $1/word don’t even get a reply. I’m not talking about print articles. Just blogs/articles that take an hour or two to write. I’m aware that print pays much better.
Nonoy may be able to find better paying work by focusing on business or travel niches that require inside knowledge in the Philippines. The information would be worth the bigger bucks.
Yes, that’s why most professional writers who make a good wage recommend ignoring the content sites. Search this blog for a post I did that parses out the rates content mill writers make — it ends up being not even minimum wage. I also have a post on here about why it’s always better to make the effort to find assignments rather than going to the places where they’re laid out on a silver platter, waiting for writers to race their rates to the bottom.
On the other hand, even if you don’t want to pitch print mags you can write for bigger blogs that pay more. For example, I had one blogging gig that paid me $2k per month for 4 posts and some product descriptions. And I wrote blog posts for another company for $600. That’s on the high end, but they’re definitely worth pitching.
Thanks. Yeah, I’m starting to work on that now and I do appreciate the message people like you & Carol Tice are trying to get across. I got suckered for over a year and then underbid for another year because I was using Elance rates as my benchmark.
Good for you for recognizing that you were stuck and getting yourself out of writing for those markets!
We are all on a lookout for professions and incomes which are recession proof. Your post tells me how much the freelance writing business is galvanized to stand times of economy crisis. Thanks for sharing the useful advice.
I’ve been freelancing for only three weeks and just stumbled on your website. Thanks for all the tips! Very interesting and informative. Your second point resonates particularly strongly because I have (inevitably?) found the content mills first. Three weeks ago I didn’t even know what they were, today I already know I don’t want to work for any of them for more than a few assignments. I pride myself in excellent work, and I can’t imagine anyone truly expecting high standards looks for it there.
Took my first two assignments (translation and articles) well below market rates, and although I did bid on a few more projects, I increased my rates. I probably won’t win any of them due to that increase, but I don’t mind. In the meantime I am writing my business plan (aim high, right?), creating a professional website and trying to figure out what market might be a good fit for me. (No idea at the moment. Do I really need to specialize this early?) I think of this as an investment that will pay off in the long run.
To be honest, I am still reeling about the content mills. Trained as a print journalist, but haven’t written professionally for 15 years, so those rates were just utterly shocking.
Good for you, Maren! As for specializing, don’t worry about it right now — just pitch in areas where you have interest and/or expertise, and you’ll naturally find yourself developing specialties. (And yes, you can have more than one — I have several!)
Thanks for the reply Linda. I think I will try a few areas out first and decide later which ones to concentrate on. Just downloaded the Renegade Writer’s Ultimate Guide to my Kindle, and I expect my time will be more profitably spent reading your book than writing another content mill assignment!
Thanks for buying the book…I hope you enjoy it!
Mike and Maren, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Maren, you are on the right track — keep it up! You’re also steps above other writers who see content mills as profitable/worthy of their prose (shudder).
Found your points 1 and 2 very interesting, because a lot of beginners are told to specialize and be realistic in their expectations. What you say in your post makes a lot of sense to me though, especially as I don’t quite know what market to go for. Plus your third point has just prompted me to grab my 2010 ed. of the Writer’s Market and check out the magazine section – lot’s of opportunities there I think.
As for the content mills being worth my time: Before I decided to try earning money with freelance writing, I checked out what local employers would pay me per hour (esp. employers with good terms for mums, i.e. no working hours during school holidays). Then I set this hourly rate as my minimum pay for the first six months. However, after so many years of not working my problem was that I had no idea how long it would take me to research and write each article.
I kept track of time spent on each project and now I know that content mill assignments mean working for a lot less than minimum wage. That’s not acceptable to me, so I have to look elsewhere.