I’ve wanted to make an action plan for my freelance writing business for over a year now. But when I got started it was just side income and even when I transitioned into full time, I still wasn’t taking it seriously.
When I was given Business Boutique by Christy Wright, I did what any aspiring entrepreneur would do and… shoved it into the back of my bookcase. But, when 2022 rolled around, I knew I needed a tangible action plan. It was time to start taking myself and my freelance writing business seriously, which required clarity, focus and goals. So, I dusted the book off and began reading.
The book approached business planning into four tiers, based off of the tiers of a cake, and was action-focused. While it wasn’t tailored to freelancing or writing, it was general enough for both service and sales-based businesses. I set a goal to get through the whole thing in a week because I knew otherwise I would lose momentum. While it took quite a bit of a commitment, I got through the whole thing in a week and learned a lot. Most importantly, I walked away with tangible goals and an action plan to reach them.
Whether you are a freelance writer, entrepreneur or just curious, I figured it would be fun to share what I learned and my action plan for 2022.
How I planned my freelance writing business
Why freelance writing is important to me
I’ve struggled with why I write for a long time now. I knew it was something I enjoyed and that I was determined to grow as a writer, but I didn’t understand why. However, the first part of the book heavily discusses how knowing your why is empowering so I spent way too long in reflection before finally coming to my conclusion.
I love having a freelance writing business because I love the craftsmanship of writing. I will never fully master writing or even SEO or how to use a comma. I can always learn more and grow as a writer. I love the challenge of that and how freelancing forces me to continually grow and refine my craft in a way that no other job could.
SWOT analysis for my writing business
While the book didn’t directly use a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis, I ended up doing one. My biggest take away was that I was working against my strengths. I realized I was trying to produce a large quantity of writing projects and blogs rather than quality, which was working against my strength of learning and attention to detail. Plus, it ignored the whole reason why I love writing, which is craftsmanship and improvement. So, moving forward, I’ll lean into my strengths and focus on high quality, low(er) quantity content, like copywriting, short blogging and magazine content.
I've already begun to move into this area and am especially excited about some of my upcoming magazine articles. While I will still do writing of all kinds, I will focus on writing that works to my strengths.
I often see my job as working to my strengths so my clients have more time to work on on their businesses. So, at the end of the day, leaning into my unique skills as a writer provides the most value to my clients.
Goal and micro goal setting for my freelance writing business
I thought it would be easy enough to set goals for my freelance writing business. But, when I thought about what I really wanted, setting goals got scary. Setting goals meant admitting to myself what I wanted, no matter how big it was.
In freelance writing, there is this overused ideal of making 10k in a month. And It’s something I’ve quietly loathed since it seems so unrealistic. But, when I looked into my heart of hearts, I realized that’s what I wanted. So, within the next five years, I will have a 10k month. I set microgoals to achieve that, including finding passive income streams and setting a self-development plan.
The passive income stream I'm planning to pursue is stock photography. I've taken a few photography courses and have a nice camera but I need to put in the work and time to take higher-quality photos.
I also set some other goals, like making $1 per word at least once and writing an eBook. I liked the idea of setting microgoals and enjoyed this tangible part of setting a business plan, even if it was harder than I thought.
Setting policies for my freelance writing business
When I got to the section about policies, I thought it wouldn’t apply to me since I had a service-based business. But I realized it was still important for me to set policies in order to focus on writing high-quality content and copy, instead of dealing with people who undervalued my services. Likewise, I set some guidelines for how to respond to people and some finer details like contracts and negotiating.
My favorite take away was having a scripted response to “cheapos” (Christy’s word, not mine). When people ask for my services at a discount or give me a low ball offer, I would respond with something like, “Writing [item] costs [rate]. If you’re wanting something more budget friendly, I could [alternative, like writing a single page or splitting payments].”
As a freelance writer, I often get clients who offer “competitive” rates like two cents per word for articles that would take me hours to make. Having a scripted response empowers me to spend more time writing and less time worrying about social graces.
My brand, my identity and growing my freelance writing business
I decided that 2022 would be a year of growth. When I chose that word I had my personal life in mind; however, I’ve realized it will also be a big part of my freelance writing business plan for 2022. I will grow slowly, probably taking two steps forward and one step back. So, to make sure I stay true to myself and my brand, I crafted an identity statement for this year. It might get changed here or there, but the meaning will stay the same.
“I'm a positive life long learner who takes pride in my craftsmanship and the community I have built for myself. I am present and thoughtful, I make people feel joyful, peaceful and at home.
I'm a powerhouse freelance writer. My clients love working with me because I’m reliable and produce content that connects with their audience.”
If you are creating a plan for your freelance writing career or other business, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
I have been a freelance content writer since 2014. I create SEO articles with clarity, quality and authenticity. If you are looking for a writer who delivers results, contact me.