How to Move From $ to $$ or $$$ in Freelancing?

Sunday morning newsletter -- ah! This somehow reminded me of the time when during the yesteryears, I used to come back home after a great cricket and swimming session only to watch Disney Hour followed by Chandrakanta (did I just remind you of that title song?).

I don’t know about you, but for me, those days comprised of a few things -- to go to school, to come back home and make my sister laugh, to run to the playground to play cricket, to come back home to read a novel (yes, reading stories since I was 7 years old), and tune into Fashion TV (yes, watching it since I was 8, I guess :D). Those were the good old days, haina? When most of us were only worried about the scraped knees and the pending homework!

We had no idea that there would be days when, after preparing for tons of exams, getting scolded by parents, getting taunts from aunts and uncles, staying back at home while the rest of the cousins grooved to some mehendi ceremony of our favorite cousin, the thing that we all will worry about is how a strange client is treating us -- how that strange new client is holding on to our payments -- how others are growing in this relatively unknown field -- and how we, who once looked up at the stars only to hold it in our palms, are now worried about the payment that we receive from the strange companies!

Life… haina?

Today, I am not going to discuss how to find that one client. I have already done that in one of my earlier newsletters. If you haven’t read it already, go and read it! I am not going to internally link it here [a little on-page SEO joke! He he he]. I am not even going to talk about the contracts that you need to make or things you need to see in a new client -- all those newsletters are here and are well-loved by most of you.

Today, I am only going to talk about how to increase your rates. How to go from earning a smaller amount to making big in your domain.

Before thinking of increasing your rates, you will need to first ask a few questions to yourself:

• How are you different from the others? [And no, the answer here is not that you can easily learn new domains or you write by heart or you are writing for 8 years now! These are the things that help you get a gig, but are not enough to distinguish you from the others].
• What’s your relevant work experience in your domain? [If you worked as a dentist for 7 years and have been writing for two, how many years of relevant experience do you have in writing? TWO!!!! if you wrote reports in college, wrote poems to impress someone, and then worked as a CA for 10 years and now pivoted to writing and working as a content writer for six months, how many years of relevant experience do you have in professional writing? SIX MONTHS].
• Have you studied enough? [You took 4-5 years to become a dentist, na? You took 4 years to become an engineer, right? Then how come one night you realized that, oh, I know English -- I am now a writer! Answer this one with the utmost truth in your heart.]

As most of you know, we at CJ Digitals always have some sort of opening for writers, and that has blessed me with an opportunity to speak to around 200 writers since March 2024. Sadly, half of them are not even professional writers.

Hear me out before you cancel me -- half of them are only writing because they know English! Areee bhai, Munshi Premchand ji made it big and he wrote everything in Hindi. Nabokov and Tolstoy wrote in Russian. The forefathers painted their stories in those caves -- so understand that English or any other language is merely a tool to express. I personally know a writer from Chandigarh who only knows Punjabi. He writes for local ad agencies and creates some astounding ad copies, jingles, and reports for local media.

“Chandrakanta… ki Kahaani.. Ye Maana He Puraani” -- aaaaa the earworm!?

Aaargghh!

The problem here is not that you are not qualified enough. The problem lies in the fact that you need to work and learn before you can make it big. Ask any reliable person out here… Naa naaa, go and ask your parents or other elders -- did they make it big on their first day of the job? Nahi na! They worked hard, they learned things from their seniors, they REACHED ON TIME, they communicated on time, and they understood the importance of learning from everywhere -- and that’s how they got this house in which you live. That’s how they ensure you have a bright future!

So -- lesson number 1: if you want to increase your pay as a freelancer, STUDY!

Find some reliable writers or seniors and learn from them. Do not learn from someone who only knows success. Learn from someone who was once at your stage and now made it big -- No, I am not asking you to join my sessions. Join wherever you feel comfortable. Study from YouTube. Check Neil Patel , Brian Dean , Larry Kim, or others, but choose someone reliable and who is approachable!

Once you have learned all the things that distinguish you from the others, it is time to find your niche and sub-niche. Always remember that the money is in sub-niches.

You write for a bakery that sells cakes => niche

You write for a bakery that only sells chocolate cake => sub-niche!

Samjha na difference?

So, go and find your sub-niche and create a portfolio. If you have a portfolio and you are still not able to make it big, you should realize that it is not working out and you need to update it ASAP.

The third thing that you need to do is NOT TO RELY ON ONE SINGLE CLIENT. You have finances to manage, right? You need to pay the bills! You need to ensure your security and safety! So, never rely on one single client. Instead, focus on one big client and get a few extra side projects that you can deliver without hampering your mental health and quality. Such smaller projects will increase your monthly payout and will help you navigate through those DRY DAYS!

And fourth thing? Well, just don’t get scared by others who proclaim to make it so big that they can retire in Paris and eat crème br?lée anytime they feel like it! They are just the loud noises, trying to feed on your pain!

Simply focus on yourself, your learnings, and your speed! And if you have it in you -- if this is for you [very big and important thing to say] -- if this is you, then, my dear friend, who has read till now, is going to make $$$$ in no freaking time!

Trust yourself and as I always say, I always am a message away! I won’t judge you for asking questions. I won’t judge you for pinging me at any time of the day. But I will judge you on your taste of movies, music, and poison! So ask me questions and I will try my best to help you out!

Chalta huun, it’s raining here! I might watch something or play some video game or probably sleep! Too early for a Sunday noon beer no?

Until later.

Baw-Baw

- V