Are You Reaching for the Instant Success Button?

As a freelancer you won't have the security of working for someone else. You're setting out on your own to seek new freedom and the prospect of greater income.

A wide world of opportunity awaits you and the freelance work skills you've carefully crafted and honed. Now that you've learned, and practiced...whether it's writing copy, graphic design, resume writing, travel writing or even just writing, you're ready to launch your career.

Are you feeling a little worried or afraid? You are not alone.
Here's what your AWAI forum buddies have had to say:

Cat started a thread called, "the real holdback and the underlying question is..." She asks, "Are all the doors opened to me now? Or do I still have to go out and market myself?"

Her post sums up the dread of self-marketing. She tries to elicit responses reassuring her she doesn't need to market herself.

However here are some responses to Cat's question:

"Hey Cat, for what it's worth, I am in the same boat as you. The idea of having to market my skills seems so daunting!"
Dtravers Vancouver, BC, Canada

"You sound maybe a little nervous about getting started marketing, which I believe is completely normal since there are so many different ways you could market yourself."
Hmrobson  Moderator

"It's all too easy to hide behind the course, our books, and our writing and not get out there and pound the pavement with marketing. My fear of rejection and not being good enough has stopped me from going out on a limb and drumming up travel writing business."
Trease, TriCities, Tennessee

"How about intimidation? I think it is one or two points worse than shyness. I actually had the guy doing my hair on Friday afternoon TELL me he was LOOKING FOR A COPYWRITER...It was like God tapping me on the shoulder and yet I am VERY INTIMIDATED by the idea of him disliking my work...no one wants to put his work into the hands of the inexperienced."
Chrystine, Montclair, NJ

In a response to a suggestion that Karen market a travel article she said, "I'll give it a stab this evening. My palms are sweating just thinking about it! I love to write...but marketing is very scary to me." Karen C., Alabama

In a recent Freebird interview with Russ Banister, "Rendevous with Russ on the way to the Beach". (Russ expresses the come refrain.)

MT:What do you see as the most difficult hurdle as you move ahead with your three year strategy for life as a freelance writer?
RB:More than anything, FEAR!

The truth is, even answering the simple question,"What do you do?" feels ackward. Those words, "I'm a freelance writer or designer" just don't roll off your tongue with an air of confidence. You find yourself saying too much, saying too little or saying the wrong things.

What Degree of Success Will You Have Achieved by this Time Next Year?

Are you looking for the magic button to press to get that career going...the instant success button? If you asked a roomful of people if they wanted to succeed, everyone would raise their hand. Yes they would like to succeed!

With all that desire, why is it...not everyone succeeds? Reasons for not succeeding seem endless. If you were to write those reasons down on pieces of paper and line them up, they'd stretch for miles. And truly everyone would have different rungs they failed to climg in their ladder to success: Self-marketing skills. Correctly targeted markets. Strategy. Sales technique. Cash outlay. Self discipline. Motivation. Effective planning. Strong support. Excellent people skills. Persistence. Diligence...PLENTY OF NERVE.

The idea you might fail at this new job becomes the worst of your fears. Yes, there's just that chance...you haven't got what it takes. Your fellow freelancers know these thoughts going through your head. You can read them in the forum posts, either expressed between the lines or openly in discussions that read like heartfelt confessions. The degree of success you'll achieve lies before you, like a fork in the road, demanding you choose your path. You can walk down the nasty road of self-doubt, focusing on all the reasons why you "can't". What's the point in that? The truth is, there are many successful freelance people in this world. Success doesn't wear a cloak of mystery. With proper preparation, the right tools and knowledge, freelance writers and graphic desighers achieve success all the time. So why shouldn't you?

Will You Choose to be a Spectator or a Participant?

Perhaps the most challenging step on your ladder to success is Spectators versus Participants. You live in a mechanized, spectator society with pastimes like watching TV, going to the movie theater, playing video games, surfing the net, window shopping at malls and not playing...but watching sports games. You sit back, relax and let the gadget do it for you. You drive your car to the carwash and watch the machine soap up and rinse your car. You press a button and microwave your packaged food. Flip a switch and there's light. Turn a knob and there's heat. Mechanization does your work and fills your recreational hours, leaving you a passive participant, otherwise known as a spectator.

Now you want to launch your freelance career. Opportunity awaits you. Where's the button? Sorry. It just doesn't work that way. The good news is Freebird will give you help, tips and guidance. We share the secrets successful people use to launch freelance careers. With knowledge, tools, proper planning and moral support, you too can learn how to succeed at your new freelance venture.

That's enough of being a spectator. Let's get started!

 

(Published in Freebird-zine at http://www.freebird-zine.com/. Freebird is the freelance writer's and graphic designer's guide to developing the self-marketing expertise you need to build your client base and land high paying jobs.)