6 skills freelance writers need besides writing to stay booked

Just because you can write doesn’t mean you can sustain yourself as a freelance writer. The writers who only know how to write often stay at the start of the ladder, struggling to go up, despite how good their writing skills are. 

Sounds harsh, but that’s true. Freelancing is a one-person business, and like any other business, it requires more than just one skill to grow. Let’s look at what it takes to stay booked and grow as a freelancer besides writing. 

1. Communication skills

“Good freelancers with great communication skills secure higher ticket clients than great freelancers with poor communication skills.” That’s what I heard a senior freelancer repeatedly say in a YouTube video. 

No matter how well you write, if you don’t know how to talk to clients, close deals, and negotiate to be compensated for the value you bring to the table, you’ll be outdone by someone who knows the art of communicating. 

Watching role-plays about client dealing and negotiation, and observing how others pitch and deal with clients, helped me improve my communication skills. You can find a ton of sales calls and role-play videos on YouTube. 

2. Marketing 

What’s visible is what’s sold. We freelancers can’t hide in the dark and expect to have our client pipeline full. Traditional freelancing platforms still work, but they are not reliable enough to rely solely on them. 

Personal branding, social media marketing, outreach, and networking all come under the umbrella of marketing. A strong social media presence is not an option; it’s essential now, even if it’s only on one platform. 

3. Time management 

Being a freelancer means you’re a one-man army. You’re your own marketing, sales, writing, editing, and customer support team. Amidst all this juggling and changing hats, there’s a high chance of screwing up if you don’t manage your time wisely. 

To-do lists, time blocking, and planning in advance are simple techniques, but super effective in keeping you managed and organised so don’t miss any deadline. 

4. Project management

Getting a project done is one thing, and executing a project efficiently and in an organised way is another. Project management is a major skill that will benefit you when you’re working on multiple client projects and maybe some of your own. You can use tools like Notion, Asana, Confluence, or Trello to keep everything organised and recorded. It also makes you look professional in front of your clients. 

5. Resilience 

Let’s get this straight, freelancing isn’t as stable as a job. It’s full of ups and downs. The workload, earnings, clients, projects, everything is different every few months or even every month sometimes. And inevitably, freelancers at some point in their journey have to face a season of drought when they have no clients at all. Sounds bad, but it is all part of the game. 

It requires resilience to keep going even in the slow seasons. Though difficult, this is the time when we reflect, re-strategise, and learn to build systems and processes to safeguard ourselves from such difficult times.

6. Adaptability 

The writing and marketing industry is evolving pretty quickly, and AI pressed the accelerator. The landscape is changing and will continue to change. Freelance writers and marketers who adapt to the industry requirements will always be on the safe side. So be ready to tweak your systems and processes as you go, and integrate new skills and tools into your day-to-day work, as we all now have integrated AI in one way or the other. 

What skill are you developing next? 

Oftentimes, the gap isn’t in our writing skills, but we neglect other areas of our freelance business that halt our progress. I hope this article helps you equip yourself for the growth you’re looking for. 

Leave a comment and let me know what skill you are picking up next. See you some other time with a new topic and a new article. Until then, Learn, Grow, and Glow! 

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