Don't Get Tempted by Low Writing Rates When Looking for Home Based Writing Jobs

If you want to find better home based writing jobs and make a living as a content writer then steer clear of the low rates. You can find better jobs if you look a little harder and you'll enjoy a much more successful writing career.

When you start working as a freelance writer looking for home based writing jobs you are almost certain to experience dry spells. We all do, no matter how well we market and how hard we work. It is just part and parcel of the job.

However, how you react to these dry periods can help or hinder your success as a freelance writer. One of the ways that you can often be tested during a dry spell is when the offer of cheap work comes up.

This has happened to me a number of times over the years. A few days or a week passes by when I realise that I haven't had any new jobs come in. I try not to panic, I know that I have been marketing regularly, and yet for some reason I get edgy.

Suddenly someone pops up with an offer of work, but they are only willing to pay half the amount I normally charge. I don't like it, but it's better than nothing at all, so I accept it.

A week later, I'm flooded with work. Some of my regular clients have come back from their holidays and have some work for me at my real rates. But I've already committed myself to the half-priced work so I'm either going to have to work really hard or turn some of it down, which I really hate doing.

There is nothing wrong in itself with working for less than you normally do. Freelance writing is all about making your own decisions free from the pressure of a boss. I never tell people that they have to charge a certain rate because it is always completely up to the writer.

I charge a minimum of $25 per short, simple article. That's not a lot for some writers, but I like that rate because it brings in a regular source of work easily. Some writers may work for less. There is nothing wrong with that. It's all about finding the rate which works best for you.

However, when you take on some work for less than you normally charge, always be mindful of the possible consequences.

You could easily find some better paid work coming in later and then you're stuck with the low-paid work. This can then lead to problems in itself. You've committed to the work so you can't very well just cancel the project. But you start to give it lower priority, you end up resenting the work you're doing and as such the quality suffers.

I work for a certain rate because I know that's the lowest I can charge if I want to work to the standard I've set myself. If I worked for less then I know I couldn't do a good job of it.

Whenever you hit a dry spell, don't panic. You don't need to as long as you have been marketing regularly. Marketing is the lifeblood of your business, perhaps the most important part of being a freelance writer. As long as you market regularly then even when a dry spell comes along you will know that it won't be for long.

Some months you will make more and some months you will make less. In the end, if you continue to market consistently, it will end up averaging out and you won't have to worry about one slow month because you know the next month will be better.

Instead of panicking and accepting low-paid work, spend your spare time marketing. Add some new companies to your list who you want to contact. Write some more articles for your article marketing campaign. Post some new content to Facebook. Write some more blogs that you will not have time to do when you get busy again. Create a new information booklet to win you more clients.

You don't have to sit and twiddle your thumbs, because there is always - and I mean ALWAYS - something you can be doing when you want to earn money from home based writing jobs.