Tag Archives: freelancing

Working for overseas clients

It’s twenty years since I first came up with the idea of setting up a small copywriting agency. I was working as a property journalist on a local weekly, while my then-boss attempted to find freelance contributors to augment my own daily output. He consistently chose people within a twenty-mile radius of our office in Glasgow, and they were consistently poor. Before long, inspiration struck – I could be the dependable, high-calibre local freelance writer the market clearly needed.

Two years later, I founded G75 Media, naming it after the suburb of East Kilbride where I was living at the time to emphasise our Lanarkshire origins. I chose an accountant in Helensburgh, hired a Renfrewshire-based web design company to build the first-generation G75 Media website, and imagined being a local writer for local people across Lanarkshire – or maybe Glasgow if I was feeling adventurous.

A local business with a global profile

As it transpired, Lanarkshire did not embrace the new copywriting agency at its heart, and Glasgow didn’t rush to engage my services, either. Instead, I worked with companies in Edinburgh and across England, before recruiting my first foreign client in 2015. Since then, I’ve been taken on by overseas clients in the Netherlands, Singapore, Ireland, Australia and America – where a third of today’s G75 Media client roster is headquartered.

Working for overseas clients can be rewarding and inspiring, introducing you to new cultures and offering the prestige of being chosen ahead of that nation’s indigenous freelancers. However, it requires some lateral thinking, a relaxed approach to working hours and an exhaustive knowledge of linguistic idioms in foreign countries. For any freelancers considering the merits of seeking international custom, these are some of the key things to be aware of…

  • 1. Time zones

If you believe work should end at 5pm GMT (or BST), working for overseas clients is not for you. By that time, it’s lunchtime on America’s east coast and Californians are only just firing up their MacBooks. I have emails arriving throughout the evening from my Stateside clients, which I feel obligated to respond to, so they don’t have to wait until the following day to get a reply.

Conversely, Singapore is seven hours ahead of the UK, so if a client emailed me during their working day, it’d be in my inbox as soon as I started work. I’d then feel duty bound to respond straight away to avoid making them wait overnight for a reply. You have to be on constant inbox alert when working for overseas clients, as well as being willing to hold video calls at relatively unsociable hours.

  • 2. Languages

Having grown up in Scotland, I know what words like dreich, scunnered and bampot mean. Having not grown up in Australia, I don’t know their equivalents. Yet working for overseas clients means learning each nation’s slang, syntax and jargon. I write for an American car website every week, where I have to incorporate their nouns, measurement systems and cultural references.

As a freelancer, you’re unlikely to need to know the distinctions between the Portuguese language and its Brazilian counterpart, but an awareness that they’re not the same is beneficial – as is knowing that Brazil speaks Portuguese while the rest of South America uses Spanish. Why? To do with history and empire, which is a whole other kettle of fish from contested waters.

  • 3. Etiquette

I mentioned cultural references in the last section, but working for overseas clients involves far more than respecting their language and not mentioning Gibraltar. It means acknowledging local customs and religious practices/holidays/traditions, right down to adjusting stock email introductions to reflect indigenous habits. It could even mean working over Christmas but not during Eid-al-Fitr.

Cultural awareness of target markets might involve knowing that Americans call football soccer, Israeli clients won’t respond to you on a Saturday or that Chinese customers regard red as a lucky colour. As with language, there’s no need to scour encyclopaedias about the markets you’re potentially operating in, but you do need to know a few basics to avoid any unnecessary faux pas.

  • 4. Billing

When the work is done, and it’s time to request payment, invoicing foreign clients can be fraught. Some will want to pay using platforms like Wise, Stripe or PayPal, which all incur fees and may have varying levels of compatibility with your existing website/bank/accounting software. Before agreeing to work with a foreign company, ensure you’re amenable to its stipulated payment terms.

Many businesses pay via international bank transfer, so put your IBAN number on your default invoice template. Foreign firms might need more information to process payments to overseas contractors. Also, debt recovery becomes exponentially more difficult internationally, with a higher risk of bad debts being incurred, so undertake due diligence before working for overseas clients…

A decade of international copywriting excellence

This article has been written to celebrate the tenth anniversary of G75 Media’s first foreign foray, to advise and support other entrepreneurs and freelancers who are thinking about working for overseas clients. However, if you’re looking for a UK-based writer to undertake English-language content production or journalism, you’re in the right place. Contact us for more information on how G75 Media can bring the world to your website, app or business.

Tips for reducing procrastination at work

Have you ever had one of those days when you just can’t be bothered? You sit down at the computer, coffee in hand, full of good intentions…and somehow the work won’t flow through your fingertips as it normally does. The flashing cursor on a blank word processing document begins to seem taunting, and oh look, the neighbours are getting a parcel delivered. They really need to wash their car. Now where was I?

Procrastination has always been part of the human condition, but over the last five years, it’s been indulged as never before. When South Cambridgeshire District Council decided to introduce a four-day working week for their staff, one of the key benefits the council reported was that their employees spent less time procrastinating and more time actually working. In other words, they could have done their jobs in less time all along, had they applied themselves.

With alarm bells ringing throughout the economy and companies shedding staff or cancelling expansion plans, even the bloated public sector is belatedly having to consider productivity. In the private sector, procrastination often means the self-employed and the owners of limited companies simply don’t get paid. Yet it’s easy to drift off, put things off or clock off early, especially if a particular piece of work seems dull, unpleasant or complicated. We can’t all spend our days being motoring journalists.

Based on personal experience and professional best practice, here are ten tips for reducing procrastination at work – starting with something we could all do with taking on board…

Ten easy steps for reducing procrastination

  1. Do the hardest or worst things first. If an unpleasant job needs doing, get it out of the way as soon as possible. You’ll be grateful later on when it’s been wiped from the to-do list, and it’ll allow you to do easier things later in the day when tiredness is becoming more of an issue. Speaking of which…
  2. Keep your energy levels up. It’s far more tempting to procrastinate if you’re also battling a carb slump after a stodgy meal. Try to eat lighter things during the day (this doesn’t have to mean fewer calories or smaller portions) and space out caffeinated drinks strategically for maximum impact.
  3. Turn off the radio. I spent three years working in an office with Radio 1 on all day, discussing how good Evanescence were, or whether Mark and Lard were better than Chris Moyles. In the meantime, we weren’t working. Background noise acts as a natural impediment to concentration.
  4. Keep the TV off. Even worse than an aural soundtrack is an audiovisual bombardment of programming, adverts and (worst of all) live news. Don’t think muting a TV solves anything – few sights are more compulsive than a picture with no sound. TV is for non-working hours only.
  5. Close email packages. Email is the lifeblood of sole traders and small businesses, but there are occasions when it distracts you and breaks your concentration. Close email software while tackling complex or challenging jobs. No email needs an instant response, so deal with your inbox in batches.
  6. Take regular breaks. Giving yourself five minutes away from the screen will reduce vision-related headaches and allow your mind to wander in a healthy, structured fashion. You’ll return to work more focused and less likely to become distracted. A five-minute break per hour is ideal.
  7. Use workflow boards. A Trello board gives you instant oversight of your workload, enabling you to prioritise and structure your week. Having daily and/or weekly columns relating to deadlines focuses your mind on what needs to be done, reducing any temptation to waste time or dither.
  8. Set yourself rewards. If you can finish work by 4pm and you don’t need to do anything else until five, working hard will result in a bonus hour which can be spent on enjoyable activities. Having a goal like this banishes the temptation to slack off, keeping you focused and more productive.
  9. Create an informal time sheet. If you’ve spent the last ten minutes thinking vaguely about updating your website, what would you put on a timesheet? Some clients expect work on their accounts to be recorded, and it tends to focus your mind if you can only charge for things you’ve done.
  10. Sleep well. My final tip might not seem directly related to productivity, but it’s generally harder to concentrate when you’re tired. Banish phones and tablets from the bedroom, go to bed before 10pm, keep the room cool and dark, and avoid caffeine after teatime to boost efficiency tomorrow.

Sometimes reducing procrastination isn’t easy

One reason why you might be struggling to motivate yourself to do something is because it seems (or actually is) difficult. Many people find writing challenging – coming up with content for a website, drafting up a business plan, preparing a speech or compiling a report. These are services G75 Media undertakes on a daily basis, and we’re always happy to discuss how we can simplify new clients’ lives by tackling the jobs they don’t feel able (or willing) to begin. Get in touch with us for more information on our pricing and turnaround times.

The benefits of employing a freelancer

It’s not been a good year for the UK’s employers. In truth, it’s not been a good decade. The 2020s will be remembered for many things, none of which have helped the private sector. From multiple state-mandated lockdowns (and the subsequent growth in online shopping at the expense of our high streets) through to Rachel Reeves’ misguided assault on employers through increased NI contributions and minimum wage increases, it’s been an abysmal decade for companies across the country.

Managers and directors could be forgiven for despairing at the hostile climate they find themselves attempting to navigate. Yet necessity is the mother of invention, and there is still one way to ensure major projects or elevated workloads are effectively managed without long-term costs or consequences. It involves employing a freelancer instead of a salaried employee, which brings a wealth of advantages – and very few of the drawbacks listed below…

Workers of the world unite

Salaried employees are, and will always be, the lifeblood of most businesses around the world. Yet the regulatory and financial obstacles facing companies wishing to recruit new workers have never been more challenging:

  1. From April this year, employers have to pay National Insurance at 15 per cent from a far lower threshold than was previously the case.
  2. The minimum wage has gone up by almost £4 in the last five years and now stands at £12.21 per hour.
  3. From autumn next year, employees will receive day one rights to sick pay and paid leave, while sacking incompetent staff will be much harder due to revised unfair dismissal rules.
  4. The Employment Rights Bill will reduce the viability of zero hours contracts by implementing anti-avoidance measures.
  5. Agency workers will also be affected by this, since they’ll be entitled to a contract reflecting regular working hours and greater notice rights.

In tandem with all the existing costs and legal obligations involved in employing someone, it’s easy to see why there has been a dramatic slump in recruitment in recent months, as employer confidence hits lows not seen since the depths of the pandemic. Yet this doesn’t have to preclude all forms of recruitment. Indeed, employing a freelancer on a contract basis negates all the bullet points listed above, while enabling a fixed price to be agreed at the outset in exchange for a particular piece of work being completed. Freelancers tend to be flexible about pay structures – per hour, per day, per word or per project – and the prospect of repeat business provides all the incentive they need to deliver high-quality work on time and on budget.

It’s what we do best

At G75 Media, we’ve spent almost twenty years helping businesses of all sizes with content production, freelance copywriting, ad hoc journalism and wider marketing support. We’ve worked on one-off projects for sports clubs on the same day as ongoing blog production for price comparison websites. We’ve produced scientific magazine articles, white label reports, customer newsletters and sales literature, usually at fixed prices agreed in advance. While many companies are ramping up the rates and fees they charge their customers, we’ve done our best to avoid price rises, giving existing and prospective clients alike a sense of receiving value for money.

The benefits of employing a freelancer run deeper than monetary advantages, however. Choosing to work with G75 Media unlocks access to huge reserves of industry-specific knowledge, which a newly recruited employee couldn’t be expected to match. We have contacts lists to make even industry veterans jealous, allied to the inherent efficiency which comes from almost 20 years of always meeting deadlines – and never losing focus of what our clients expect.

Above all, G75 Media can generate outstanding written content for any scenario, brief, requirement or project. We can tailor and adapt our work to meet the evolving requirements of companies as they grow, diversify and compete in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace. Yet we can also produce quickfire content at short notice to meet onerous deadlines, without lowering our quality of output. As such, employing a freelancer can represent the ideal outcome – we’re there whenever you need us, without incurring any costs or responsibilities at other times. Get in touch with us for more information on G75 Media’s content production pricing, copywriting services and turnaround times.

How to make freelance applications stand out   

Freelancers and creatives work in a constant state of volatility. You’re only ever one phone call or email away from gaining a new project – or losing an established client. I lost five clients last year to a combination of Google algorithm changes, cancelled projects and financial hardship. As a result, I found myself submitting more freelance applications than I had done in previous years.

For anyone used to working in the public sector, or a steady salaried role, the cut-throat freelance industry can be truly shocking. Almost every copywriting, editing, proofreading or communications role advertised on LinkedIn will have over 100 applications within days – sometimes hours – of going live. Employers no longer have the resources to reply to the hordes of people applying for every role they advertise. When I undertook recruitment for G75 Media, I received hundreds of freelance applications every time, yet most of them were purely speculative. Many candidates exhibited poor knowledge of the English language, lacked relevant experience or simply hadn’t read the job description.

With this in mind, and to help people who are still at a formative stage of their freelancing career, I’ve compiled five recommendations on how to make freelance applications stand out.

Tip #1: Research and incorporate keywords into your freelance applications.

Swamped by a tidal wave of (often unrealistic) enquiries, employers and recruitment agencies are increasingly resorting to algorithms to weed out opportunists. Applicant Tracking Systems scan covering letters and CVs for keywords and phrases, sifting out weaker applicants; in the public sector, sifting is often a key stage of the recruitment process. You need to tailor a covering letter to each vacancy, studying the job description and crafting a response which touches on as many themes as possible. Without this crucial step, your application may never be seen by a human.

Tip #2: Give your CV some love.

Back in the 1990s, my CV contained Clipart. Hey, it was a different time. Today, my CV has been endlessly fettled and revised, focusing on soft skills and achievements rather than dates and qualifications. Your CV may also benefit from revision if any of the following apply: it’s over two pages long, it contains your school qualifications, there are unexplained gaps in your employment history, it lists references (these are usually requested later in the recruitment process), or it starts with a word-salad introduction full of meaningless buzzwords. Or it features Clipart.

Tip #3: Ensure your social media accounts aren’t contradictory.

If you’re looking to diversify into non-executive roles, does your LinkedIn profile still suggest you’re a photographer first and foremost? If you claim to be empathic and considerate, have you recently gone on social media rants about Audi drivers, politicians, Just Stop Oil or other enemies of the state? If you puff yourself up as a talented editor with a forensic eye for detail, did you drunkenly update your status in a message containing typos, and inappropriate use of the Oxford comma? Employers and agencies won’t be shy about studying your socials, especially if you link to them in freelance applications. Look through each registered account and ask yourself what a stranger might deduce from these snapshots. If the conclusions aren’t flattering, start deleting.

Tip #4: Don’t be overly ambitious.

Employers usually have a certain calibre or type of candidate in mind, and it’s rare that someone changes their mind. Few job offers start with the phrase “you weren’t what we were initially looking for, but…”If you’re starting out as a freelancer, you’re incredibly unlikely to get a commission from a Royal Academy or a national newspaper until you have a portfolio of quality work. Bogging down the recruitment process with speculative freelance applications wastes your time and theirs. Some recruiters have long memories, so you might be damaging your career prospects further down the line.

Tip #5: Explain why this job appeals to you.

People want to earn money – that goes without saying. What does need to be said – and emphasised throughout freelance applications – is why each role caught your eye. Expressing passion and enthusiasm for a vacancy could elevate you above more highly qualified applicants with a less committed attitude. Perhaps you’ve volunteered in this industry, or the job contains elements you feel strongly about. Nobody will know if you don’t explain these points, but don’t get immersed in granular detail; one sentence per point should be enough to convey your commitment.

Taste the difference

If you’re an employer reading this and wondering why it’s so difficult to find high calibre writers and editors whenever you publish freelance applications, get in touch with G75 Media to discover the difference a quality copywriting agency and content production can make to your own organisation.

Ten things any freelancer’s home office needs   

Every self-employed person goes on a journey, and one of the less heralded aspects of the freelancing journey involves the organic development of a more professional workspace. I started out with an antiquated old PC balanced on a glass display unit in my living room, with no storage or space for paperwork. It’s a far cry from today’s dedicated home office, where a six-foot oak desk packed with drawers and cupboards supports a high-end laptop and twin 27-inch monitors through a docking station.

I’ll come back to some of these efficiency-bolstering elements in a moment. First, let’s consider some of the benefits afforded by an appropriate and well-configured working environment:

  • – It’s ergonomic. Freelancing from a laptop at a dining table or on the sofa can induce numerous physical ailments, from RSI and tendonitis through to tech neck and eyestrain-related headaches.
  • – It’s professional. When a client calls, you need pads and pens, Dictaphones and documents to hand. Running around the house trying to find a Biro is tiring, unprofessional and unduly stressful.
  • – It’s distinct. The boundaries between work and home life are blurry for most freelancers. They’ll disappear entirely if you work where you eat or socialise – making it harder to switch off at night.
  • – It’s private. A dedicated workspace avoids unrelated clutter building up. It means children coming home from school don’t suddenly appear in video calls. It ensures you can work in relative peace.

Gone are the days when you could eke out a skinny latte in the local coffee emporium for an entire day while exploiting their free WiFi. Also gone are the days when employers or clients accepted people answering Zoom calls in onesies, with piles of laundry in the background or accompanied by unscheduled interruptions from other household members. In today’s ruthlessly competitive freelancing market, battered by generative AI and budgetary constraints, only the most professional freelancers will flourish. Doing so requires a dedicated place to work (even if that’s just a corner of a room) with the following ten essential attributes:

  1. Full spectrum lighting. These lamps cast a clear white light that’s easy to read by, great for designing in and capable of minimising the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder in the GMT seasons.
  2. An ergonomic chair. It may involve trial and error to find a chair deep enough to support your thighs and bolstered enough to offer lumbar support, but it’s a vital investment to avoid back or neck pain.
  3. A storage-equipped desk. Don’t try and work from a breakfast bar – you need drawers/cupboards/shelves for documents, brochures and post. Solid wooden furniture will last forever.
  4. Sound-cancelling microphone-equipped headphones. This ensures you can work in peace when the house is noisy, be clearly heard on video calls and listen to webinars without anyone eavesdropping.
  5. A docking station and laptop. Laptops are ideal for taking to meetings, pitches and presentations. Plugged into a docking station with hardwired peripherals, they’re also as practical as a desktop PC.
  6. An attractive backdrop. Blurring your background inevitably distracts with flickering, suggesting you’re hiding something. A nice picture is fine, as is a garden view; avoid clutter, clothes or mirrors.
  7. Full fibre broadband. Most UK households now have access to full fibre. ADSL lines of 10Mbps aren’t enough in today’s OneDrive and Zoom age – they’ll slow you up and result in stuttering streams.
  8. Privacy. It’s lovely freelancing from home with pets mooching around, but not during interviews or meetings. A door you can close (or a screen you can put up) is vital for appearing professional.
  9. Proximity to a window. A glance at trees or sunshine can provide inspiration, while daylight boosts our mood and simplifies reading. Position workstations beside or below windows wherever possible.
  10. Space to pace. A surprising addition, perhaps, but many people find it easier to talk on the phone or think while moving. A hallway will suffice, providing there’s nothing to bump into while you muse.

A professional approach

Having been founded back in the mid-Noughties, G75 Media is a paragon of professionalism, elevating freelancing to a fine art from a dedicated home office which ensures we’re able to deliver optimal work to every client. Get in touch to see how we can collaborate with working partnerships, marketing copy and content production for businesses in any industry.

How to manage the work-life balance as a freelancer

I hadn’t realised how burnt out I’d become until I drove into the back of a parked car at the traffic lights, one cold December evening. It was only later, pacing around the living room on the phone to my insurance company, that I realised I was partway through my fiftieth consecutive week of work. Apart from taking three days off to move house (even relocating to Carlisle couldn’t justify a full week off), I hadn’t had a break from the pressures of running a small business and freelancing for clients since the New Year.

The year was 2021, and it represented a turning point in my attitude to the work-life balance. Until then, I’d been a workaholic – always saying yes to clients, always meeting my deadlines, always afraid to ask for an extension or put back a proposed deadline in case it somehow caused offence. No wonder I was too tired to stop at the lights.

Striking a balance

The work-life balance is something many freelancers struggle with. When you’re a salaried employee, there’s usually a clear delineation between working hours and personal time, but company directors and the self-employed can’t draw that line as easily. Matters are compounded when you (a) work from home and (b) have your works phone number plastered all over the internet. In the past, I’ve had 3am phone calls from people wanting me to research state-led cover-ups, and 6am emails from people thinking I’d already be at my desk rather than asleep. Yes, you can put your phone on silent or Airplane mode, but then what if a friend or relative has an emergency and can’t contact you?

Based on 25 years as a professional, 17 years as the founder and chief copywriter of G75 Media, and almost 15 years working as a full-time freelancer, these are my recommendations on how to manage the work-life balance as a freelancer…

1. Have a dedicated home office.

I’ve previously written about how to create an optimal home office, which also brings benefits in terms of the work-life balance. If your ‘office’ is the sofa, it’s much harder to switch off at five o’clock. A home office is a distinct space, used for a specific purpose; when you close the door, it mentally segregates the working day. Your office doesn’t need to be spacious, or well-appointed, but it’ll feel more professional than using the dining table. It’ll also be quieter, more private for video calls, and better for storing paperwork, peripherals and a proper ergonomic desk/chair setup. 

2. Plan your annual holidays well in advance.

I now take two full weeks off each year – the minimum required to maintain my mental health, and the maximum I feel able to impose on my year-round clients. These breaks are organised before the start of each new year, which means scheduling time off many months in advance. However, I can then inform existing clients in the New Year about my forthcoming plans, and having those weeks blocked out in my diary ensures I’m aware of impending absences before entering into new contracts. And booking a trip away a year in advance tends to unlock bigger discounts…

3. Clear your desk before going on holiday.

Most freelance clients will respect you taking time off. It won’t materially affect their business if you aren’t around to submit content on weeks 23 and 44. Giving them plenty of notice also gives you time to prepare for your departure – stockpiling work if you want to hit the ground running on your return, for instance. Set Out Of Office autoreplies covering the weekends before and after any absences, promising to respond on your return, and record a similar voicemail message on your works mobile or landline. Holidays are vital for recharging, so don’t spend them working.

4. Keep weekends clear.

When your smartphone has push email notifications and your laptop is on the worktop, it’s very tempting to let your business encroach into personal time. Resist that temptation at weekends wherever possible, working on weekday evenings instead. A couple of mental rest days will reinvigorate you for the following week, whereas working 11 or 12 days out of 12 will result in fatigue, an increased likelihood of mistakes and an inevitable sense of resentment. Burnout – and car crashes – may ultimately ensue if you don’t get the work-life balance right.

5. Leave things until tomorrow.

Expanding on the last point, there’s always a temptation to deal with after-hours emails. They’ll keep. I have several clients in America, whose working day starts as mine draws to a close, but they’ve all accepted my GMT working hours with good grace. If I need to video call them, I schedule meetings in the morning Stateside time. If they email me towards the end of their working day, I don’t feel duty bound to respond, and neither should you. A next-day response to evening emails or calls is normally fine, unless your business provides crisis management or PR services.

If you’re struggling to achieve an optimal work-life balance,  outsourcing part of your (or your company’s) workload may be advisable. Contact us for more information on how G75 Media can assist you with anything from content production to bid writing, and from social media posts to company reports.

How many clients should I have?

For freelancers, there’s a perennial balancing act between finding enough work and becoming overwhelmed. If you haven’t got enough clients on your books, the days can become frustrating and drawn-out in equal measure.  Attract too much work, and the only way to meet the constant barrage of approaching deadlines is to start working in the evenings and weekends – or let your quality control drop in the interests of getting work out of the door. Since these options will respectively lead to burnout and lost clients, it’s far better to seek the Goldilocks solution – just the right amount of work to keep you busy without precluding holidays or a good night’s sleep.

The problem many freelancers face is knowing how many clients to have on their books at any given time. It’s a tightrope act every self-employed creative or company director will wrestle with on a regular basis. To help people who want to be a freelance writer set realistic targets, and to benefit people already struggling with this thorny problem, we’ve shared our thoughts based on our own experiences. These are the key factors to bear in mind…

Frequency of work

Firstly, review your existing client portfolio (assuming you have one). How many of your accounts are regular, as opposed to sporadic or seasonal? G75 Media produces weekly blogs for a leading Ofcom-approved price comparison site, and a biannual newsletter for a national chain of opticians. The latter is more time-consuming, but the former requires several hours dedicating to it every week. Get a year-to-view planner and map out the level of work you can expect in the rest of 2024, which will highlight gaps in your schedule and indicate how many clients to have.

Existing commitments

Next, think about your own lifestyle. Do you need to finish at 3pm every day to do the school run, or take a few weeks off every summer for childcare? Do you go abroad every December to escape Christmas, or struggle to work regular hours due to unpredictable caring responsibilities? Many companies don’t care when or where freelance writers produce content providing it’s supplied by a certain deadline, but some firms might expect you to be available at set times. And that’s before we get into the thorny issue of whether you’re allowed to work from a home office or expected to attend client premises…

Complexity of assignments

Every client has varying expectations. We have clients who are happy to receive Word documents, and others who want articles uploaded into a CMS like Wix or WordPress. Some clients want copyright-free images supplying, while others expect pull-quotes and meta descriptions. This affects the amount of time each piece of work requires – in turn affecting how much free time you have. Spend a week compiling a timesheet at 15-minute intervals to get an idea of how busy you really are. This will reveal the proportion of your week being wasted on procrastination/social media/coffee breaks/chatting.

The risk of losing clients

In G75 Media’s first full year of trading, we had two clients who provided 75 per cent of our annual turnover. Today, we have a dozen clients, none of whom individually contribute more than 15 per cent of our income. Consequently, the loss of any one client wouldn’t be catastrophic. It’s easy to put all your eggs on one basket, especially early in your freelancing career, but always think about how you’d fill the working week (and pay the bills) if you suddenly lost your biggest source of income.

Your personality

This is far too diverse a factor to sum up in one paragraph, but essentially, it relates to how you cope under pressure. If you’re a single workaholic, burning the midnight oil enables you to increase turnover, whereas a fifty-something parent may be less keen on weekend working. Everyone copes differently with pressure, impending deadlines and project management. Being organised also makes it easier to juggle multiple projects; Trello boards are a great way of highlighting key deadlines and ensuring you don’t forget anything.

Although G75 Media has a healthy roster of freelance copywriting clients, we’re always happy to discuss new assignments and projects, from one-off commissions to regular work. Contact us to discuss how our award-winning copywriting services could benefit your brand or business.

How to price freelance copywriting jobs

One of the most challenging aspects of any job interview has always been the moment when the interviewer looks across the desk and blandly asks what your salary expectations are. Presented in such a deliberately open-ended format, there’s rarely a perfect answer. Set your self-determined value too low, and you’re potentially agreeing to be underpaid for the foreseeable future. Set it too high, and you could come across as arrogant, or simply price yourself out of contention.

Many freelance copywriting jobs are advertised with set fees, based on what the employer is able (or feels willing) to pay. Yet some companies don’t really know what it costs to hire a freelance copywriter, or how much they should pay for professional freelance writing services. On the other side of the coin, it’s hard for an inexperienced freelancer to price freelance copywriting jobs accurately, especially when every vacancy (and project) requires differing skillsets. Some assignments are research-intensive, while others are more creative and freeform. Some require interviews and Zoom/Teams calls, while a few necessitate field-based research.

Having been a freelancer for over 20 years, I’ve become astute at valuing my own expertise and accurately gauging the potential complexity of assignments. These are my recommendations for any up-and-coming freelance marketing writers or freelance copywriters wanting to set competitive rates while ensuring they’re reasonably remunerated for potentially technical and time-consuming work.

Weigh up your existing knowledge

If a client asked me to write an article about a specific town or city, I could produce pages of copy almost instinctively, drawing on two decades as a property journalist. Yet if a client asked me to write about yachts, my limited knowledge of this specialist field would necessitate market research and competitor analysis. Topics you’re passionate about or familiar with are easier to write about authoritatively – reducing the time needed to complete assignments and enabling lower fees.

Add a ‘pest premium’

Some clients are engaging and accommodating, but others…aren’t. Although I’ve cultivated a roster of helpful and proactive clients, every freelance writer will encounter chaotic or unreasonable customers. You can usually tell from a first encounter whether they’re likely to want multiple rewrites or leave you chasing unpaid invoices. When it’s time to price freelance copywriting, a ten per cent premium on normal rates is a reasonable insurance policy, with a written contract formalising who’ll do what, and when.

Check what’s included

Building on the last point, submission processes vary enormously. Some clients are happy to receive a Word document, while others expect you to upload content through a CMS like WordPress. The latter is further complicated if you have to provide keywords, captions and copyright-free images. Are rewrites likely to be needed, and will they be demanded at no extra cost? Multiple people reviewing your work can hugely increase total editing time, so establish a chain of command at the outset.

Ask how they’d rather pay

Some clients price freelance copywriting projects with a lump sum on completion. The majority are advertised with a flat per-word fee, while a few involve an hourly rate. At an interview, it’s often advisable to let the client express a preference. If they want a per-word rate, you’ll need to factor in research and travel time; if there’s a fixed project fee, will the quoted sum justify the hours required to complete it? Also confirm whether they’ll be paying by BACS, Wise, etc – and when payments will be made.

Price freelance copywriting on a scale

Returning to our opening paragraph, if you’re pinned down mid-interview by a question about rates, provide your prospective new client/employer with a scale. Be honest and say you don’t know enough about the role to quote an exact fee, but you’d normally charge somewhere between X and Y for work of this nature, leaving a healthy gap between the two. That gives them room to negotiate, while providing you with scope to vary your fees once you know exactly what’s involved…

Finally, if you’re a small business owner reading this and wondering how to price freelance copywriting contracts, make life easier for yourself and contact G75 Media. We’ll sit down with you and discuss what’s needed before agreeing on a mutually satisfactory rate. Life’s easier when it’s kept simple.

Why freelance limited company status is preferable to being a freelance sole trader

Why freelancers should be limited companies

It’s exactly sixteen years since I founded G75 Media as a limited company. It’s also exactly twenty years since I started freelancing as a copywriter. In late autumn 2003, I was approached by a former employer to quote for completing a key element of the job I’d recently left on a freelance basis. I did so gladly, using my Yahoo email address and submitting an invoice in my own name.

It didn’t take me long to realise that companies would rather deal with another company than with a private individual. That’s especially true when it comes to something as nebulous as copywriting, where the quality of work can vary hugely between one contributor and the next. Companies often have to trust a hired freelancer to be professional, and that’s much easier to do if they have a recorded trading history and a proprietary email address. Who’s to say greatwriter101@gmail.com won’t simply take a paid deposit and vanish into the ether, or deliver a load of ChatGPT-penned nonsense?

How does a freelance limited company operate?

By setting up a company, you are making a series of pledges:

  • To maintain an accurate list of directors, secretaries and employees with Companies House.
  • To prepare end-of-year accounts, ensuring that any incurred taxes are paid timeously.
  • To ensure all debts are paid off before the company is closed down.

Each of these actions reassures a potential customer that they’re not dealing with some fly-by-night scammer, especially as limited companies need a registered head office address to which correspondence can be directed. Companies usually have a website and a proprietary email address, alongside business reviews by past and present customers.

CASE STUDY: Imagine you’re a prospective employer, advertising a freelance job vacancy. You receive two responses – one from info@g75media.co.uk, with company details and a registered head office address at the bottom. The other is from g75media@mail.com, complete with a Sent From My Mail.com Account footer. Which one would you regard as being more plausible and promising?

Some people opt to be sole traders because it’s easier – no annual statements to be filed, and no VAT returns if your annual turnover exceeds £85,000. However, ‘easier’ does not necessarily equal ‘better’. It certainly won’t impress a prospective client as much as a registered business, even if that business is effectively a one-man band. G75 Media has always been a trading vehicle for my own freelance services, and despite a few unsuccessful attempts at employing other freelancers, it remains my own business. People who contact G75 Media speak to me directly; people who engage our services benefit from my award-winning writing; people who receive invoices do so alongside a friendly message I’ve penned specifically for them. Being a limited company doesn’t make you seem impersonal or distant.

Taking care of business

If you’re concerned that setting up a freelance limited company sounds intimidating, it really isn’t. Companies House do most of the legwork for you, registering the business with temporary personnel who immediately step aside and appoint you as the director. All you need to do is find a company name not already in use, select a legally permissible head office address, and appoint an accountant to handle financial affairs. From there on, the development of the business is entirely in your hands, including decisions about websites, social media activity and marketing. Because a freelance limited company will be more appealing to clients than a sole trader, you’ll have the best chance of growing rapidly and establishing a name for yourself.

How to become a freelance copywriter

“You’re a writer? How did you get into that?”

If I had a penny for every time I’ve been asked a variation of that question, I’d probably have enough money to buy a nice bar of Swiss chocolate. It’s usually the first response to telling a new acquaintance that I’m a freelance copywriter, while the second response is often along the lines of “I’ve always wanted to do that” or “how do I become a freelance copywriter myself?”

To anyone unfamiliar with this industry, freelance copywriting can seem impossibly glamorous. And in some respects it is, but it’s still a job. It requires dedication, organisation and creativity at all times. The pay is often modest, time off is either unpaid or made up in the evenings, and you have to deal with clients who can occasionally be unreasonable and/or rude. Crucially, this is a hugely over-subscribed industry, where companies can be highly selective about who they commission.

Sounds great! So how do I become a freelance copywriter?

First of all, if you’re reading this as a student or in the early years of your career, there’s one key thing to remember:

There are no shortcuts.

With so much competition from established writers, it’s going to take a long time to build your own identity and become a freelance copywriter of repute. You’ll probably have to work for free, and you’ll certainly have to work on projects that don’t interest you. There may be clients you don’t get on with, deadlines that require burning the midnight oil, and articles which are never published.  The latter scenario is especially frustrating, because you can’t promote them if they’re not published. Most freelance copywriting job vacancies request several hyperlinks to published online features with direct relevance to the industry or company in question.

This is why it’s far harder to become a freelance copywriter than it is to remain one once you’re established and known within the industry. I have a Word document containing links to a hundred of my best articles, arranged by category with one-line summaries and URLs. If I spot a tempting freelance writing opportunity, I can call upon a stockpile of relevant articles demonstrating my expertise in that specific area. A new or aspirational writer won’t have such a portfolio to draw on, but you can start by linking to your own blogs, or offering to write guest posts for clients in industries you’re passionate about. Every time an article is published, make a note of its URL for future job applications, or save a screenshot onto your PC to compile a portfolio like this one.

You’ll also need other resources to become a freelance copywriter, including a comfortable workspace. We’ve previously discussed how to create the ultimate home office, even with a small budget and limited space. You’ll need a laptop which can be used at home, at the local café and at client meetings. You’ll have to create some administrative templates, including a professional-looking invoice and a spreadsheet to track income and expenditure. Some writers remain sole traders rather than going down the limited company route, since the latter brings additional layers of bureaucracy and responsibility. However, clients tend to prefer dealing with a registered company than with a private individual touting for work with a generic Gmail address.

Windows onto the world

Above all, you’ll need a website. This is your digital shop window, where you explain what you can offer and highlight key achievements. Its contents will evolve over time, as you work for more clients and build up greater expertise. Freelance copywriters usually develop one or two niches – the G75 Media website outlines how we’re property writers and motoring journalists first and foremost. Nobody will be impressed if you claim you can write about anything, because topics like SaaS or property law demand expertise and an intuitive knowledge of the subject.

Your website will often be the first impression made on a prospective client, so update it with your best work and list the attributes which make you stand out from all the other writers. It’ll take time to become a freelance copywriter, but you’ll succeed if you persevere.