How to Avoid Feast and Famine as a Freelance Writer

When you think about freelance writing feast and famine may just be one of your biggest fears. Okay, maybe you are not so afraid of feasting on clients and money. But I am sure you are certainly worried about the famine period.

The lack of security and the ups-and-down nature of freelancing is a stereotype that holds so many new freelancers back. Even seasoned freelancer struggle with regular times of famine. It’s true though, your income will fluctuate to a certain degree and you won’t have the exact amount every month as you would as a salaried employee. 

However, your income doesn’t have to fluctuate too much. There is no reason for you to go through serious times of famine. There is also no reason to hustle, overwork, and burn yourself out during times of feast because you are afraid of the inevitable famine.

How to Avoid the Feast and Famine Cycle as a Freelance Writer 

It is absolutely possible to create a sustainable freelance writing business with a reliable (and growing) income without worrying about feast and famine. Here is how.

Work with Several Clients at the Same Time

Having one well-paying client offering ongoing full-time work may sound safe — until it lasts. If you lose a full-time client, it can be worse than losing a full-time job. There won’t be unemployment waiting for you. It’s a quick way to find yourself in the famine part of the feast and famine cycle as a freelance writer.

If you have two clients and lose one, you may only lose 50% of your income. With three or four clients, you may only lose 10 to 30% depending on how much of your time and income they were responsible for. There is no magic number. Some writers prefer to work with 10+ clients, others feel better with 3–4. I personally tend to work with 3 to 6 clients. It’s rare for me to juggle more than 6 clients and I will always have 3 ongoing partnerships on hand. Your sweet spot may be different but if you want to avoid the feast and famine cycle as a freelance writer, never rely on just one client.

Be Reliable and Do Excellent Work

Having a great portfolio and testimonials will help to drive new clients and more work. Being a reliable freelance who delivers excellent work on time will keep clients around. Build good relationships with your clients and deliver quality work. In return, you can expect long-term collaborations, increased rates, and referrals. Being reliable is a sure way to avoid feast and famine as a freelance writer.

Offer On-Going Services and Packages

Working with on-off clients and on short-term assignments can risk running into times of famine. Sure, it works for some people, but unless you are super established or constantly want to hustle for new clients, working with long-term or retainer clients is the best way to keep your workload (and pay!) steady and avoid famine as a freelance writer. Offer ongoing writing services, such as blogs, newsletters, or social media content. 

When You Can’t Do Retainers, Keep Your Clients Happy

Offer bigger projects that need a longer-term collaboration, not just a week, such as ebooks, course content, or web copy. If you are offering short-term or one-off projects, keep your clients satisfied. A retainer may not be right for their needs, but if they are happy, they will be coming back for other writing assignments. Always remind them how you may be able to fulfill their various needs. Clients that are keep coming back to you will help you to avoid the feast and famine cycle as a freelance writer.

Get Referrals

Many seasoned freelance writers will tell you that they can sustain their freelance writing business through referrals alone. If you have a good relationship with your clients and deliver great work, chances are, they will recommend you to their friends and colleagues in their industry. Don’t be shy to remind them that you are open to referrals.

Optimize Your Website

SEO is not just for your clients. You can enjoy the power of SEO too! People are searching for writers on the internet. But they don’t necessarily put out ads. They do what everyone does: google! Optimize your website to show up on people’s search results. When clients are keep finding you, chances are, you will avoid the feast and famine cycle.

Optimized Your Linkedin

Linkedin is another real estate to claim. Potential clients are searching for writers on Linkedin. Optimize your Linkedin profile. Make your specialties, skills, and services known. Make sure your website, portfolio, and contact information are all clear. Avoid the feast and famine cycle and let those Linkedin clients find you.

Network and Make Friends with Other Freelance Writers

Other freelance writers are NOT your competition. They are your peers, virtual colleagues, and in some cases, your friends. Some freelance writers are looking for writers to outsource their work to. Others may be looking for reliable freelancers in their niche to refer to work they can’t or don’t want to take on. Keep the karma going around and refer work to other freelance writers too if you have something you can’t take on.

Pay Attention to Seasonal Fluctuation

Paying attention to and preparing for seasonal fluctuation may help you avoid feast and famine as a freelance writer. Many companies start thinking about their content for the next year in November and December. This is a great time to reach out to secure clients for January. Some clients are incredibly busy during the holidays, others are actually really slow. Pay attention to trends and needs in your industry. Prepare and do outreach accordingly.

Do Regular Outreach

When you are fully booked with long-term clients, it’s easy to forget about outreach. But even if you are fully booked with long-term clients and a reliable income every month, you may still benefit from cold-emailing your ideal clients, keeping up with Linkedin, checking job ads, and networking with other freelancers. You never know, you may run into a well-paying dream client at the right time.

Diversify Your Income Streams

Diversifying your income streams may be another great idea to create variety. You may want to set up your own blog and monetize it through ads or affiliate links. You can write some ebooks and sell them on Kindle or your website. You may offer mentoring, coaching, or courses. You may create other digital or non-digital products, such as planners, digital stickers, or t-shirts. Diversifying your income streams may help you to feel safe and to avoid feast and famine as a freelance writer.

Learn to Save and Budget Better

No matter what you do, there is no full security in life. The unexpected can happen. To avoid the feast and famine cycle as a freelance writer and to simply create more safety and security in life, learning how to save and budget is key — no matter how much or how little you are earning. Think about your needs and purchases carefully. Build up a solid emergency fund. Start saving for retirement. Start doing all these grown-up things. 

Are you interested in creating a sustainable freelance writing business without the hustle? Check out my freelance writing course with a step-by-step process of exactly what you need.

Remember, the feast and famine cycle doesn’t have to be your reality as a freelance writer. Following these tips has helped me to avoid feast and famine as a freelance writer and they can help you too. Let me know if you have any other tips on how to avoid feast and famine as a freelancer. I would love to hear from you.