Reduce Stress and Grow Your Business: 5 Tips for Professional Writers
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We’re living through stressful times, and if you’ve been working to build your professional writing business this year, you may have spent the past few months burning the candle at both ends to get your company off the ground. Whether you’re a freelancer who has chosen to start your own writing business or a long-time content creator trying to keep your business afloat, here’s how to reduce stress and grow your business without running yourself ragged.
1. Outsource Tasks
Chances are, you decided to build your own business because you wanted to enjoy more independence and autonomy in your professional life. But this mindset can also make you reluctant to trust others with certain tasks. However, trying to manage every aspect of your business on your own can result in burnout, and hiring freelancers who work remotely to manage content marketing, write blog posts, or handle administrative duties can free up substantial time in your day. To find qualified specialists for all of your needs, you can check out online job boards, like Upwork, PeoplePerHour or Fiverr. You’ll be able to connect with skilled contractors whose rates suit your budget.
2. Set Realistic Goals
When considering the future of your business, you want to keep your goals realistic. Setting your expectations too high can prompt you to push yourself too hard, and in time, you’ll end up disappointed. The Balance Small Business recommends setting goals by following the acronym SMART: make sure your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
3. Automate Marketing
Many writers spend hours every week marketing their services. After all, you need to pitch, advertise your business, and network to find new clients! But if you automate some items on your marketing to-do list, you’ll be able to shorten your workday without reducing your income.
ReadWrite suggests using a social media scheduling service to prepare content ahead of time and decide when you want these posts to be shared. Once you’ve scheduled your posts, you can kick back and relax – the software will take care of the rest! And rather than trying to analyze your marketing data on your own, you can use analytics software to crunch the numbers and find out which channels are most effective.
4. Strict Time Management
When you are your own boss, it’s tempting to cut yourself slack when it comes to time management. But as a writer, distractions can kill your workflow, affect the quality of your content and leave you working longer hours without a sense of accomplishment.
If you want to make the most of every hour in your workday, you need to take proactive steps to eliminate distractions in your work environment. Creating daily and weekly schedules can help! Block off an hour or two for self-care at the end of each workday. And avoid scrolling on social media, eating meals at your desk, or answering messages from friends while working.
5. Focus on Lucrative Projects
Finally, you may want to look at your client roster and make sure that all of your current projects are truly worth your time. If you can ease up on your overall workload by connecting with clients that will offer higher rates for similar projects, you’ll be able to reclaim your time without sacrificing your earnings. Remember, working smart is just as important as working hard!
As a professional writer and business owner, you’re responsible for meeting your clients’ expectations, managing your employees and contractors, and continuously improving your skills to stay competitive. It’s only natural to feel stressed sometimes! But with these tips on how to reduce stress and grow your business, you’ll be able to make progress toward your goals without working overtime.
Guest Post by Julie Morris
Julie Morris spent years of an unfulfilling career in finance before deciding to help people in other ways. Today she is a life and career coach who believes she can relate to the clients who feel run over by life. She’s also living this passion by the use of her site: http://juliemorris.org/
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