Developing a Freelance Writing Platform

The importance of a platform has been stressed to me several times over the last couple of months. Publishers want to have a proven sales record before taking a chance – particularly with a new writer.

There seems to be no magic number for how many unique visitors need to be stopping by for my platform to be impressive. I have heard as many as 15,000 and as few as 1,000. The truth is that my websites are a far cry from either point. The potential is there but I have to take my writing and my passion to the next level before the results will follow.

4 Keys to Expanding my Freelance Platform

1. Consistency – readers want to know what to expect and when to expect it. Writing a post on Thursday and then doing nothing for over a week is likely to mean that I miss out on a few readers and possibly even lose some that I already have. Any one that has met me or read my writing will know how much I value consistency – and how much I struggle to implement it in all aspects of my life.

2. Purpose – anything that is in my life that is not a part of my purpose is a hindrance of that purpose and is just stuff. That goes for all the flowers that I have filled my garden with over the years (and that I am unable to maintain), the classes that I have signed up for (but still haven’t finished) and even the volunteer work that I agreed to do (but that is getting in the way of the things I KNOW to do). Purpose has to be primary in my freelance writing career and in my life.

3. Passion – readers are like customers and they can feel the motive behind the words. There is nothing more frustrating to me than a salesman focused on the sale and not on the person. I understand that he needs to make the sale to survive financially but it is my money (or time) and I want to know he wants to match me with my needs. Writing is not all that different. Each reader is taking time and sometimes money – am I more concerned with taking that money or with sharing the things that are on my heart and mind?

4. Personal writing – the strongest freelance writing platform in the world is not any good if I do not follow through with my writing. A book that is unwritten will always be unpublished. Even though my freelance writing feeds the family there has to be a balance between work and words.

Freelance writing is my job but it is also my heart. Unlocking the balance between those two points will lead me to the strong platform and freelance writing success that I have been working towards.