Freelance Goals for 2019 — The Freelance Beat

Jan 7

Jan 7 Freelance Goals for 2019

I have a confession to make.

I love Winter.

I know that’s a controversial opinion in the Midwest, but I’m sticking to it. Hear me out!

The snow looks gorgeous. The food is amazing. Most of the world takes some time off, so you can genuinely relax without worrying about catching up on work. I spend time with my family in Michigan, which is important to me now that I don’t have defined breaks I enjoyed in college. There’s presents! (In my case for Christmas and later for my birthday).

When it comes to freelancing, I love the holiday season, because it’s a time for rest and reflection. I finally have a moment to think about my life and my business and what I want my future to look like.

As I’m getting back into the swing of things, here are a few goals I want to hit in 2019:

Diversify my clientele

Right now, my business consists of two branches: content marketing and reporting. I have a couple consistent clients, but I’m looking to bring on one or two more high-end content marketing clients in 2019. Doing so I think will boost and stabilize my income.

Deepen my reporting

I’ve been working on a handful of investigative reporting projects that I’m looking to pitch and report in 2019. My investigative feature in Cosmopolitan was really successful, and I’d like to replicate that effort in 2019. To me, it’s very important to do more investigative, impactful reporting in the future.

Land trade publications

One of the bright spots in media is in trade publications. Unlike consumer publications who are trying to captivate a wide audience, B2B publications concentrate on single industries and have the added benefit of being tax deductible. On the writing side of things, trade publications, in my experience, pay reasonable per-word rates and usually pay on-time.

Increase my income

I made more money than I expected to in 2018, which was awesome. Now, I’d like to see how far I can go. I’ll soon be paying for health insurance and increased student loan debt payments, so I’ll be seeking more consistent, higher-end clients. Now that my bills are going up, so are my rates. I will be focusing on clients who value my time and expertise. One of the things freelancers work to master is to charge what they’re worth, and I’m no exception.

While I’m attempting to stay warm in cold Chicago, I’m also plotting my way toward a great year of freelancing. May 2019 will be more prosperous for everyone!