RETURN TO WRITING STRATEGIES

The Writer’s Edge
Tips for the Freelance Writer - By Terri Mrosko

Business Plans for Writers

Freelance writing is a business, so it follows that writers create a business plan. Just like any other business plan, there needs to be strategies and goals identified for finances and marketing.

Finances. A good place to start is to look at the year ahead and project a realistic financial goal. Aim somewhat high, but not ridiculously so that you cannot expect to achieve it.

After determining your expected income for the year, break it down into achievable chunks—how much you can expect to receive from article-writing, how much from client-based projects, how much from part-time income sources, etc.

You will also need to project expenses out for the year. If you’ve been at it for some time, you’ll have a good feel historically what to budget. If this is your first year, take your best guess and try to stick to a budget.

Marketing. Your marketing strategy should include the number of submissions or queries you’ll need to make to achieve the desired income. You’ll need to determine the value of each market for which you know you can write. Again, strive to enhance your market coverage either upward or outward.

You need to ensure your goals match your capabilities. You may plan on writing 50 articles this year, but can you actually sell 50 articles?

Make a list of potential targets—clients, editors, publications, corporations—for whom you’d like to write.

Another good idea is to create a marketing campaign calendar to track your progress. Each month, you can strive for different goals. One month, you may concentrate on sending out queries and the next, it might be on newsletter writing.

Keep your plan simple and straightforward.