Freelance Writing Coach

Existing on the internet these days is a bit of a double-edged sword—and if you’re running or growing your business online, it can be even worse.

Many of us have met amazing people online that become our friends, colleagues, and clients. Still, for each excellent interaction and connection, there are bullies, devil’s advocates, and naysayers. Everything you say in public forums and social media is subject to online “haters.”

How do you deal with this negative feedback without letting it affect your work and self-worth?

Remember: It’s not personal

There’s a lot of bravery associated with the anonymity that comes with operating online, so you have to take everything people say with a grain of salt. Some naysayers are combative and aggressive by default when they can hide behind a screen and keyboard. We’re not dismissing the fact that what people say is hurtful. It’s scary. And it can throw you off your rhythm for days, weeks, (or months!) especially if you’re a particularly sensitive person.

If you’re very sensitive, bullies and naysayers can be difficult to handle. It’s not something you think about or prepare for when starting a freelance writing business.

We find comfort in the fact that what people say online to us and about us often has very little, if anything, to do with us. Either the haters are commenting purely to spark outrage, engagement, and controversy for fun or to support the algorithm, or they’re dealing with stuff in their lives that makes them angry and prone to lashing out. 

So when someone comments on your casual post about an evening walk with some manufactured outrage, remember that it’s not about you and your actions. It’s about them.

Control your inputs and outputs

When you receive comments or direct messages on social media that are triggering or hurtful, you don’t have to deal with them if you don’t want to. It’s your content and page people are commenting on, so don’t be afraid to take control. Moderate your profiles and content like it’s your job:

• Block the trolls
• Mute and unfollow people who post content you don’t care for
• Ask to see certain ad types less often or never
• Report comments, posts, or ads that are inappropriate or hateful

If you want to deal with comments and add nuance to the conversation that was missing before, you can—just be prepared for the possibility that it won’t make any difference. That’s often a losing battle, especially on social media.

Most of us are just trying to do our best: grow our businesses, put out our best work, and do a good job. Sometimes, we either misstep or misinterpret things. There’s not a lot of room for nuance on the internet, especially on social media platforms.

You don’t only find bullies and haters online—sometimes, clients and potential partnerships end up this way, too. Sometimes, clients can come back to you with feedback that isn’t constructive or with anger that doesn’t seem to be related to you.

As you get more experience as a freelance writer, you’ll get better at screening potential clients and projects and seeing these red flags up front…but you can always get surprised. You might get feedback from a potential client that the way you do business makes no sense or some feedback on your blog draft that you “completely misunderstood the assignment.” 

It’s up to you how you handle these interactions; make it clear who you’re willing to work with and who you aren’t…and stick to that.

Create a supportive community 

Sensitive people struggle with hatred and negativity on social media and in the real world; women are confronted with much of it. Instead of dealing with it alone, find friends or coworkers you can talk to when something happens.

Even if it’s just one person, talking to someone who understands the field you’re in can be helpful—it’s someone to commiserate with and a way to get the support you need.

Whether through a group text, Slack community, Facebook group, or something else, you have to have people to check in with, commiserate with, and get a sanity check. Sometimes, just hearing someone say, “You’re not crazy,” or, “They’re overreacting,” can mean all the difference.

Say goodbye to bullies

It’s hard to avoid haters online and in the real world, both for your business and life in general. That doesn’t mean you have to retreat and let them scare you away from the world, especially through online communities. Control your inputs, build a supportive community, and stick to your morals and boundaries. With this support, you can get through any negative feedback or harsh words thrown your way.'

This season of the podcast is brought to you by Catch, the personal payroll and benefits app. If you buy your own health insurance, Catch has you covered. You can renew your plan, enroll in a new one, and enjoy extra savings with Catch’s ability to find government tax credits that can save you hundreds of dollars on your monthly premiums. Open Enrollment is here. Check out catch.co/health to shop for coverage or cut your current bill today.

Things may be a bit quieter right now, and it’s easy to slip into a mindset that makes you think it will be that way for a while (or there’s just not enough work out there.)

“Don’t let the headlines be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don’t see something that says, ‘No one’s hiring freelancers,’ and think, ‘No one’s hiring freelancers, so I guess that’s it for me.’ Look at your business and see how things are going.”

You may see social posts or news articles that report a slowdown in the freelance writing market, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find any work. Depending on your business and the industries you work in, you may even have the opposite experience.

There’s value in leaning into the scarcity, though. If it makes financial sense for you to take a break right now, you should do it. Taking time to appreciate the pause can benefit your mental and emotional health.

When business gets slow, experiment
There are so many paths to explore as a freelance writer—and the freedom to explore those is one of the reasons many of us decided to freelance in the first place.

If business is going slower than you’d like, this might be the perfect opportunity to try that thing you’ve had your eye on. Consider trying out social media posts and email newsletters if you usually write blog posts and ebooks. If you’ve worked in one industry for a while, consider adding strategy or coaching packages to your offerings.

For us, we’ve each experimented with something slightly different than our everyday work—but still within our wheelhouses. Emma’s grown the coaching arm of her business, taken on some larger projects, and scheduled things out further in the future than before. Kaleigh offered one-page website audits with a flat rate to change things up.

Especially with the rise of the creator economy, you can create a financial buffer by diversifying your income streams. If you have a newsletter, you could consider a newsletter sponsorship; if you have a significant social media following, sponsored posts or whitelisting ads might be something to try.

Diversifying your income stream is a good insurance policy for recessions; it allows you to pivot your business as needed to match the industry’s needs. You never know—you might find something you really enjoy and decide to keep doing, even when the economy recovers.

New season, brand new episodes

Be proactive and reach out to potential clients

Right now, getting new projects and clients is an “early bird gets the worm” situation. To get that competitive edge over others, you need to be proactive and get your foot in the door for year-end projects or projects currently slotted for the start of the new year.

This is always good advice, but it’s especially true right now. As budgets become more conservative and approvals for hiring freelance writers comes under scrutiny, reaching out proactively can help keep your workload full.

“One of the benefits of freelancing is that it’s easy to pivot if things come up and you’re not getting as much work as you were in the past. When companies cut back, they rely more on freelancers because they may not have the option of hiring internally.”

As you’re preparing to find new work, ask yourself these questions:

• What things can I do to make myself more appealing as a freelance writer for this particular job?
• Are there solutions I can bring or simplifications I can add to a process to make myself stand out?
• What else can I do to make potential clients more likely to hire me?
• Is there a way I can ask current or previous clients to refer me to others?
• Is what I’m doing attracting the right kind of clients? If not, how can I get more of the right kind?
• Does it make sense to adjust my rates? How much should I increase them by?

Don’t panic

The upcoming recession doesn’t mean you have to panic or your business will suffer. Consider different ways to grow your business—through various industries, offerings, different-sized projects, and so on—and expect to try things out. Recession-proofing your business is possible.

This season of the podcast is brought to you by Catch, the personal payroll and benefits app. If you buy your own health insurance, Catch has you covered. You can renew your plan, enroll in a new one, and enjoy extra savings with Catch’s ability to find government tax credits that can save you hundreds of dollars on your monthly premiums. Open Enrollment is here. Check out catch.co/health to shop for coverage or cut your current bill today.