These Simple Tips Will Improve Productivity at All Levels of Your Business

A number of poor practices might be nipping away at your business’s productivity—without you even realizing it.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, poor writing was cited as a major productivity killer. But bad writing isn’t the only thing that can sink your employees’ productivity. Among a bevy of other potential reasons, experts have cited inflexible workplace practices, long hours, sterile office environments, and even emails.

But don’t worry—all these issues can be mitigated with a little knowledge and effort. In this article, I’ll show you how you can boost productivity at all levels of your business by

• Communicating more clearly
• Implementing more productive communication channels
• Allowing for more flexible working times
• Designing a better workspace
• Focusing on productive working hours, not overtime hours

These might sound like abstract, pie-in-the-sky concepts. But you can turn them into concrete realities (and improve your company’s productivity in the process) by adopting the following strategies.

Encourage Clear, Concise Writing

Sometimes it seems like your colleagues are having one big competition to see who can write the most tortuous email possible, right?

If you’ve ever felt that way, you’re definitely not alone. According to a survey of 547 business people, 81 percent of respondents agreed that poorly written material wastes time, with a majority calling much of what they read “too long, poorly organized, unclear, filled with jargon, and imprecise.”

To remedy labyrinthine writing, you should train employees at all levels to write clearly and get straight to the point. Lengthy introductions may work well in college, but in the workplace, brief trumps flowery. Emphasize the importance of short sentences and strong, active-voice language.

Embrace New Communication Technologies

There’s another simple way to minimize the number of convoluted emails passing through your organization:

Eliminate the entire idea of using emails for intra-office communication.

Yes, this might sound crazy. But new communication technologies have introduced more productive venues for communication.

For example, businesses report an average productivity increase of 32 percent after switching to the real-time messaging app Slack. And it’s not just startups and small teams who use Slack. Major organizations like Harvard University, eBay, and Ticketmaster have all adopted the tool. Used judiciously, the platform can boost your productivity with shorter, more immediate communication between team members.

Just be prepared for some growing pains as staffers adjust to these new methods.

Implement Flexible Working Conditions

Nine-to-five: It’s ingrained in our collective consciousness. We arrive at the office at 9 a.m., we leave at 5 p.m., and that’s that.

Or maybe not. An increasing body of research suggests that the tried-and-true nine-to-five might not be the most effective schedule when it comes to productivity. Instead, flextime, where workers are free to telecommute and choose from a range of working hours, is growing in popularity.

There’s evidence to support the benefits of switching to flexible hours. Researchers have found that flexible schedules accounted for up to 10 percent more productivity in the pharmaceutical industry, and similar productivity boosts have also been noticed with computer programmers. And with 77 percent of millennials believing that flextime makes them more productive, flextime is likely the way of the future as workplace demographics shift.

So, if you want to boost your business’s productivity, consider implementing flexible work schedules. As an added bonus, employees are likely to be happier and less stressed, too.

Design a Comfortable and Relaxing Office Space

Have you ever been to a spa that blasted heavy metal music? I’m guessing the answer is no. In fact, that image seems ridiculous because most of us naturally recognize the powerful connection between environment and mood.

It’s no different in the workplace. Bland, minimalist offices can drag down morale and productivity. In the words of some of the psychologists who studied this phenomenon, this type of office is “the most toxic space” for humans to work in.

In a three-country study, those psychologists found that simply adding plants to an office increased employee productivity by up to 15 percent. Other studies suggest that showcasing art or adding more natural light can achieve similar productivity boosts.

Not every office can boast Google’s futuristic egg chairs and room-sized hammocks, but putting effort into improving your office environment (even with something as simple as buying a few plants) will bring real returns for productivity and morale.

Eliminate Overtime Whenever Possible

If people work longer hours, they should get more done, right?

This way of thinking seems logical, but it’s actually not that simple. Despite the fact that four in ten Americans work over fifty hours per week, longer hours don’t always lead to more productivity.

In fact, research suggests that productivity sharply decreases as overtime hours increase. Because of this phenomenon, there’s actually very little difference in productivity between, say, working fifty-five hours per week and working seventy hours per week.

So, if you want more productive, well-rested employees, try to stick to a forty-hour work week whenever possible. The best way to get employees to maintain these hours is for upper management to model them.

As a general rule, happy, valued employees are more productive than employees who feel stressed, exhausted, and unappreciated. That’s why implementing a comfortable, flexible office environment, combined with clear and efficient communication, will allow most businesses to reap real productivity rewards.

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Colin Newcomer is a freelance writer with a background in SEO and affiliate marketing. He helps clients grow their web visibility by writing primarily about digital marketing, WordPress, and B2B topics.

Grammarly Is Now on iOS and Android

Hey Android users! Since launching the Grammarly Keyboard for iOS, we’ve heard from lots of you wondering when the app would be available on Android. Well, first, we want to thank you for your patience. And second, we’re pleased to tell you that today’s the day! The Grammarly Keyboard is now available on both iOS and Android.

Life happens on the go. By 2018, 50 percent of workplace communication and collaboration will happen through mobile apps. But typing on your phone is awkward and imprecise—we’ve all fallen victim to the dreaded textfail at one time or another.

That’s why we built the Grammarly Keyboard, a personal editor that integrates seamlessly with all your mobile apps and your mobile browser. Whether you’re responding to an important client’s email, posting a Facebook message for the world to see, or texting your boss, you’ll always look polished and professional, even on your phone.

Want to know more? Read on. We’ve rounded up the most helpful information about the keyboard and put it all in one place for you.

What does the Grammarly Keyboard do?

Whenever you type with the keyboard, Grammarly will check your writing and make sure your message is clear, effective, and mistake-free. For Grammarly Premium users, the keyboard will also suggest style improvements and vocabulary enhancements. You’ll see the suggestions along the top of the keyboard, and you can accept a change just by tapping it. If you want to know why Grammarly made a particular suggestion, you can open the correction to see an explanation.

You can also specify whether Grammarly should use American or British English rules to check your writing, and you can add words to your personal dictionary to prevent Grammarly from flagging them as misspellings on any device.

Why a mobile keyboard?

As you’ve probably noticed, the world has gone mobile. In fact, Internet usage on mobile devices and tablets is now higher than Internet usage on desktop computers. It’s clear that communicating fast and accurately through your phone is more important than ever, but when that involves composing a message, it’s still slow and inconvenient. We designed the Grammarly Keyboard to be a personal editor that works anywhere you write, no copying or pasting required.

How do I get it?

If you’re on an Android device, head over to the Google Play Store and download the keyboard. If you’re on iOS, download it from the App Store. Next, open the app on your phone and you’ll be guided through the set-up process. Need more detailed instructions? We have you covered for both Android and iOS devices.

Can you see what I write on my phone?

The Grammarly Keyboard needs access to what you write in order to provide corrections and suggestions. We know that what you write on your phone is private, so we have encryption and several other measures in place to make sure it stays that way. Additionally, the keyboard is blocked from accessing anything you type in fields marked sensitive, such as credit card forms and passwords.

Does the keyboard support glide input?

Not yet—we wanted to give our Android users access to the app as soon as it was ready. But we do know that glide input is an essential feature for many Android users, so it’s something we will be tackling in the future. Keep an eye out for updates!

I’m using the keyboard and I want to tell you what I think!

Awesome! We love user feedback—it helps us focus on building features that are valuable to you. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Happy typing!

14 Career Development Books That Will Help You Reach Your Goals

Do you need a hand? These fourteen career development books will show you how you can move your job goals in the right direction.

The Classics

People who get stuff done share at least seven common traits. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, you’ll learn what the seven practices are and how you can acquire them.

Though ruling a nation might not be your career goal, you can glean a lot of wisdom from The Emperor’s Handbook, a translation of Meditations written by Marcus Aurelius, which includes some “unique features for contemporary readers.”

For Women

Sheryl Sandberg, former chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department and author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, has also held prominent positions at hugely successful companies such as Google and Facebook. If you like your advice to contain a combination of hard evidence, humor, and personal anecdotes, this is the career guide for you.

According to the Washington Post, #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso is “Lean In for misfits.” Sophia didn’t start her career with a Harvard education as Sheryl Sandberg did; instead, she worked her way up from petty thief to eBayer to . . . well, read the book and find out!

Every female leader has pearls of wisdom to share with her counterparts. Grace Bonney compiles the best of the best in her book In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs.

For Minorities

If you’re a minority looking to advance, there are some realities you’ll have to face. Good Is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals by Keith R. Wyche gives practical advice for dealing with unique challenges in the workplace.

Authors Richard L. Zweigenhaft and G. William Domhoff examine the personal histories of talented modern forerunners in the world of business in The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies. What imitable factors lead to their success?

For People with Disabilities

Employment Options: The Ultimate Resource for Job Seekers with Disabilities and other Challenges includes interactive worksheets so readers can assess their strengths and weaknesses. After all, according to author Paula Reuben Viellet, you have to know who you are now before you develop a plan for improvement.

For Recent Graduates

If you’re a new graduate, you probably have lots of dreams, but you may not know how to realize them. In So Good They Can’t Ignore You, professor Cal Newport tells you why you shouldn’t follow your passion . . . and what you should follow instead.

Those who land a job after college may be wondering, “Now what?” Emily Bennington and Skip Lineberg demystify the process of climbing the corporate ladder in Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job.

For Science and Math-Lovers

An algorithm is a set of rules a computer follows to solve a problem or equation. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths explores what your life would be like if used the same rigorous standards for challenges and decisions.

In Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success, athlete-turned-author Shawn Stevenson answers this question: Can sleeping differently affect your career development? Try a fourteen-day sleep makeover before you make up your mind about the link between sleep and success!

For Everyone

Martin Seligman, the author of Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, shares a lifetime of psychological research along with absorbing stories and “flashes of brilliance,” says fellow psychologist and author Sonja Lyubomirsky. If you enjoyed his previous books Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness, you won’t want to miss his new offering.

What were you born to do? You may find out if you read Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. Their findings from studying virtuosos in diverse fields will change everything you think you know about innate skill.

Which book on this list interests you the most? Here’s a goal you can accomplish today: Acquire a copy! The sooner you start reading, the sooner you can use the expert advice to reach your career goals.

Adjectives

What Are Adjectives?

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns: enormous, doglike, silly, yellow, fun, fast. They can also describe the quantity of nouns: many, few, millions, eleven.

Adjectives Modify Nouns.

Most students learn that adjectives are words which modify (describe) a noun. Adjectives do not modify verbs or adverbs or other adjectives.

Margot wore a beautiful hat to the pie-eating contest.

Furry dogs may overheat in the summertime.

My cake should have sixteen candles.

The scariest villain of all time is Darth Vader.

In the sentences above, the adjectives are easy to spot because they come immediately before the nouns they modify.

But adjectives can do more than just modify nouns. They can also act as a complement to linking verbs or the verb to be. A linking verb is a verb like to feel, to seem, or to taste that describes a state of being or a sensory experience.

That cow sure is happy.

It smells gross in the locker room.

Driving is faster than walking.

The technical term for an adjective used this way is predicate adjective.

Uses of Adjectives

Adjectives tell the reader how much—or how many—of something you’re talking about, which thing you want passed to you, or which kind of something you want.

Please use three white flowers in the arrangement.

Three and white are modifying flowers.

Often, when adjectives are used together, you should separate them with a comma or conjunction. See “Coordinate Adjectives” below for more detail.

I’m looking for a small, good-tempered dog to keep as a pet.

My new dog is small and good-tempered.

 

Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives come in three forms: absolute, comparative, and superlative. Absolute adjectives describe something in its own right.

A cool guy

A messy desk

A mischievous cat

Garrulous squirrels

Comparative adjectives, unsurprisingly, make a comparison between two or more things. For most one-syllable adjectives, the comparative is formed by adding the suffix -er (or just -r if the adjective already ends with an e). For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, replace -y with -ier. For multi-syllable adjectives, add the word more.

A cooler guy

A messier desk

A more mischievous cat

More garrulous squirrels

Superlative adjectives indicate that something has the highest degree of the quality in question. One-syllable adjectives become superlatives by adding the suffix -est (or just -st for adjectives that already end in e). Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y replace -y with -iest. Multi-syllable adjectives add the word most. When you use an article with a superlative adjective, it will almost always be the definite article (the) rather than a or an. Using a superlative inherently indicates that you are talking about a specific item or items.

The coolest guy

The messiest desk

The most mischievous cat

The most garrulous squirrels

Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives should be separated by a comma or the word and. Adjectives are said to be coordinate if they modify the same noun in a sentence.

This is going to be a long, cold winter.

Isobel’s dedicated and tireless efforts made all the difference.

But just the fact that two adjectives appear next to each other doesn’t automatically mean they are coordinate. Sometimes, an adjective and a noun form a single semantic unit, which is then modified by another adjective. In this case, the adjectives are not coordinate and should not be separated by a comma.

My cat, Goober, loves sleeping on this tattered woolen sweater.

No one could open the old silver locket.

In some cases, it’s pretty hard to decide whether two adjectives are coordinate or not. But there are a couple of ways you can test them. Try inserting the word and between the adjectives to see if the phrase still seems natural. In the first sentence, “this tattered and woolen sweater” doesn’t sound right because you really aren’t talking about a sweater that is both tattered and woolen. It’s a woolen sweater that is tattered. Woolen sweater forms a unit of meaning that is modified by tattered.

Another way to test for coordinate adjectives is to try switching the order of the adjectives and seeing if the phrase still works. In the second sentence, you wouldn’t say “No one could open the silver old locket.” You can’t reverse the order of the adjectives because silver locket is a unit that is modified by old.

Adjectives vs. Adverbs

As mentioned above, many of us learned in school that adjectives modify nouns and that adverbs modify verbs. But as we’ve seen, adjectives can also act as complements for linking verbs. This leads to a common type of error: incorrectly substituting an adverb in place of a predicate adjective. An example you’ve probably heard before is:

I feel badly about what happened.

Because “feel” is a verb, it seems to call for an adverb rather than an adjective. But “feel” isn’t just any verb; it’s a linking verb. An adverb would describe how you perform the action of feeling—an adjective describes what you feel. “I feel badly” means that you are bad at feeling things. If you’re trying to read Braille through thick leather gloves, then it might make sense for you to say “I feel badly.” But if you’re trying to say that you are experiencing negative emotions, “I feel bad” is the phrase you want.

It’s easier to see this distinction with a different linking verb. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

Goober smells badly.

Goober smells bad.

“Goober smells badly” means that Goober, the poor thing, has a weak sense of smell. “Goober smells bad” means Goober stinks—poor us.

When Nouns Become Adjectives and Adjectives Become Nouns

One more thing you should know about adjectives is that, sometimes, a word that is normally used as a noun can function as an adjective, depending on its placement. For example:

Never try to pet someone’s guide dog without asking permission first.

Guide is a noun. But in this sentence, it modifies dog. It works the other way, too. Some words that are normally adjectives can function as nouns:

Candice is working on a fundraiser to help the homeless.

In the context of this sentence, homeless is functioning as a noun. It can be hard to wrap your head around this if you think of adjectives and nouns only as particular classes of words. But the terms “adjective” and “noun” aren’t just about a word’s form—they’re also about its function.

Adjective Salad and Adjective Soup

We’ll end with a few words about adjectives and style. It’s one thing to know how to use an adjective; it’s another to know when using one is a good idea. Good writing is precise and concise. Sometimes, you need an adjective to convey exactly what you mean. It’s hard to describe a red sports car without the word “red.” But, often, choosing the right noun eliminates the need to tack on an adjective. Is it a big house, or is it a mansion? A large crowd, or a throng? A mixed-breed dog, or a mutt? A dark night, or just . . . night? Always remember to make every word count in your writing. If you need an adjective, use it. But if it’s not pulling its weight, delete it. Careful editing is the best way to avoid the dreaded (and yecchy) adjective soup.

29 Hilarious Halloween Memes and GIFs You’ll Want To Share

Do you live for Halloween?

Whether you’re a fan of kitsch, horror, fabulous style, or coffin-loads of candy, this mischievous and creative holiday has got a spell for you.

In celebration of this hallowed season, we’ve cracked open the crypt and unleashed twenty-nine of the best Halloween memes and GIFs for you to haunt the Internet with your bone-tingling obsession.

1At First You Try to Play It Cool

If you need me I’ll be out back, carving pumpkins and cackling over my cauldron.

2And Some People Seem to Understand

3Like That One Friend…

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Oh, so you’re not dressing up this year? I’ll just be over here, silently judging you.

4Come On, It’s Halloween

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Yes, I am slathering fake cobwebs over 90% of the surfaces of my home. You can keep looking incredulous, or you can get on this ladder and finish cobwebbing the chandelier. This house isn’t going to decorate itself.

5And Halloween Is the Best

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Sometimes it’s hard to contain the excitement.

6No, Really. This Is the Best Time of Year

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7Even David S. Pumpkins Agrees

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8There’s Just so Much to Revel In

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9Like Candy

10Getting Your Haul Is Serious Business

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Thou shalt take no prisoners.

11You Can Never Have Too Much Candy

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Remember, calories from candy do not count during the Halloween season. These are known as “ghost calories.” (The haunting will begin November 1st.)

12Pumpkins Are Also Essential

Up vote Sigourney Weaver posing on a pumpkin.

And we do mean essential.

13Jack O’Lanterns Are an Art Form

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14Overall, Your Decorating Game Reaches New Heights

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15But the Best Part May Be the Costumes

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16When You Find the Perfect One

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It’s a match made in hell.

17They’re a Fiendishly Good Time

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18And Even More Fun with Friends

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19Especially Best Friends

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Troy and Abed forever.

20There’s No Limit to What You Can Create

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21Even Pets Love Dressing Up

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22Some More Than Others

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23Halloween Is Full of Surprises

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24It’s Exciting

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25It Brings People Together

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26It’s a Time for Transformation

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27And Celebration

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28And Sweet, Sweet Brains

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29Happy Halloween, Everyone!

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What’s your favorite way to celebrate Halloween? Dressing up? Devouring sweet treats? Creating your own haunted house?

3 Perfect Examples of How to Write an Apology Letter

You screwed up. Now it’s time to own it. Knowing how to apologize is a crucial life and career skill. But when you write an apology letter, creating a permanent record of an event and your response to it, it’s all the more important that you get it right.

Why is writing an apology letter so hard?

Apologizing is an art form few of us seem to master. We don’t want to admit our mistakes because we think that making mistakes reflects badly on our character. But the truth is, not apologizing, or making a feeble non-apology, is often worse.

There are a few reasons you may struggle with apologies:

• You assume that making mistakes means you’re a bad person. When you feel ashamed, you have a hard time recognizing that one goof doesn’t reflect on your character as a whole.
• You get defensive. No one wants to feel ashamed. But a defense is not an apology.
• You worry that you’ll have to own all the responsibility, or that you’ll open the floodgate for more accusations. It could happen, sure. But not apologizing builds resentment over time, and that’s toxic to personal and workplace environments.

The good news is that when you put your apology in writing, you have the luxury of polishing and editing your thoughts so that they say precisely what you mean to convey.

The Elements of a Good Apology Letter

Sorry does seem to be the hardest word, but if you can master these steps in the apology process, you’re sure to make a good impression. These guidelines apply whether you’re apologizing for a personal error, or you’re writing an apology on behalf of a team or business.

• Say you’re sorry. Not, “I’m sorry, but . . .” Just plain ol’ “I’m sorry.”
• Own the mistake. It’s important to show the wronged person that you’re willing to take responsibility for your actions.
• Describe what happened. The wronged person needs to know that you understand what happened and why it was hurtful to them. Make sure you remain focused on your role rather than deflecting the blame.
• Have a plan. Let the wronged person know how you intend to fix the situation.
• Admit you were wrong. It takes a big person to own up to being wrong. But you’ve already reminded yourself that you’re a big person. You’ve got this.
• Ask for forgiveness. A little vulnerability goes a long way toward proving that you mean what you say.

—If You Want to Know How to Apologize, First Do This…

It’s as easy (and as hard) as that. No minimizing, no shifting blame, no defenses. Now, let’s take a look at some apology letter examples that follow this format.

Apology Letter Examples

Before you begin writing, there are a few pointers to keep in mind. First, keep your letter brief and to the point. Don’t ramble on about what happened—distill it to the essentials. Don’t exaggerate, either. There’s no need to fall on your sword. But do keep your language respectful, sincere, and professional.

The Third-Party Apology

If you supervise an employee who made a mistake and find yourself apologizing to a customer or client, it’s important that you take responsibility without dumping all the blame on the employee. After all, what your employees do reflects your leadership.

Dear Ms. Jones,

On behalf of ABC Office Equipment, I extend our sincerest apologies for the bad experience you had with our sales associate, James. I understand that James made unprofessional remarks when you visited our storefront to inquire about a new copier. You came to us in search of information, and instead were subjected to a pushy salesperson.

At ABC, it’s our goal to help you make an informed purchase decision without having to deal with aggressive sales tactics. James is a new employee that I’ve been training. I take full responsibility for his behavior. He has received a written reprimand and will be shadowing one of our senior sales associates until he has a better understanding of the ABC Office Equipment approach to customer service.

I’m grateful that you brought this issue to my attention and I ask your forgiveness. We’d love to earn your business. I’ve included a voucher for 20 percent off your next purchase in our store as a thank-you, should you decide to give us a second chance. We hope to see you again soon!

Kind regards,

Jennifer Smith Equipment Sales Manager

The Personal Apology Letter

Sometimes, you have to own up to something you did that hurt or inconvenienced another person. We’ve all been there. Keep it simple. Don’t make excuses. Show that you’re trying to improve.

Dear Dylan,

I apologize for not arriving on time to pick you up from the airport yesterday afternoon. I have no excuse for keeping you waiting and wondering when your ride would show up.

It’s important to me not to let people down when they’re depending on me. Next time, I’ll make better use of calendar alerts so I’ll be sure to leave in plenty of time to arrive as scheduled, or even ahead of schedule.

I humbly ask your forgiveness. I hope my mistake won’t prevent you from seeking my help in the future. I’m always happy to be of service.

All the best,

Jillian

The Mass Apology

It’s horrifying to think about, but sometimes you end up upsetting a group of people rather than just one person. As with all apology letters, It’s important not to say, “I’m sorry if anyone felt offended.” (That’s like saying, “It’s too bad some of you don’t know how to handle my personality.”) Instead, say, “I’m sorry that I offended anyone.”

Hello Everyone,

I owe you all an apology. When I planned my costume for our annual company Halloween bash, I clearly wasn’t thinking. I now realize that what I wore was offensive to some of you, as well as to your families.

It was never my intention to cause anyone distress. Looking back, however, I can clearly see that I didn’t think things through before I decided on what to wear. Next time, I’ll be sure to weigh my warped sense of humor against my sense of propriety and choose something that isn’t controversial.

I hope you’ll forgive me for making you uncomfortable. Please accept the cupcakes in the breakroom as a sincere peace offering.

All the best,

Jamie

Here’s How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Sick of the 9-to-5 life? Yearning for work that’s creatively fulfilling? If you’re someone who loves to write, the idea of becoming a freelance writer has probably crossed your mind.

And if you’ve ever wondered how to turn that fantasy into a reality, this post is for you.

I’ve been a freelance writer since 2013, and over the years I’ve fielded many questions from folks interested in freelancing. This is a truly mammoth topic, so what I’m sharing today is simply a brief overview of how you can get started as a freelance writer.

By the end of this article you’ll have a better understanding of the process, and hopefully a better idea of whether or not it’s for you.

1Consider: why freelance writing?

Knowing your goals for freelancing will influence how you approach it.

• Are you looking for a creative outlet or a chance to share your ideas? Consider writing posts for your favorite websites that accept submissions (e.g., Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Bustle, The Penny Hoarder). Some sites pay, many do not.
• Are you looking for a side hustle to generate some cash? Consider pursuing small or one-off projects (e.g., writing a business’s monthly newsletter or doing Facebook ads for an online program launch).
• Are you looking to fully replace your day job with freelancing as your primary source of income? Prioritize big projects and opportunities for repeat work (e.g., full website copy revamp, e-books, book ghostwriting, weekly blog posts, weekly scripts for YouTube channel).

2Find Your Niche

What are your interests, background, education, expertise? What do you like to write? Who do you want to work with? There are many types of writing and types of clients for you to pursue.

You may not truly find your niche until you stumble onto it in the wild, but in the meantime here are some ideas to get your wheels turning.

• Are you an engineer or tech geek? Technical manuals could be right up your alley.
• Passionate about travel? Write blog posts or web copy for travel sites.
• Love writing short stories? Use your storytelling chops to write case studies (customer success stories) for businesses.
• Ever written a book? The market for book ghostwriting is hot and lucrative.
• Already doing marketing at your 9-to-5? Write sales pages and create social media campaigns for entrepreneurs.
• Maybe you enjoyed writing essays in college, processing complex information and synthesizing an argument. Writing white papers could be your niche.

3Build Your Portfolio

Stressing because you don’t have a degree in writing? Not a problem! My clients never ask about my education (BA in Economics and Anthropology), they ask about my experience working on other projects.

Bottom line: Clients don’t care if you have a degree, they only care if you can do the work.

This is where your portfolio comes in. Your portfolio is your proof that you can do the work you say you can do. Here’s how to get started.

• Gather whatever pieces you already have that pertain to your desired niche (e.g., personal blog posts, articles you wrote for your current company, the brochure you created for the nonprofit you volunteer with).
• Network with family, friends, and community to get a few more projects under your belt (e.g., a social media campaign for your cousin’s ice cream shop, an e-book for your friend’s health coaching practice, a newsletter for your faith community’s food pantry).
• You can work for free (family only) or at a reduced rate (everyone else) since they are taking a chance on you (remember, you don’t have a portfolio yet).
• Starting small (five to ten projects) is fine. What’s important is quality and that you’re showcasing experience in the niche you’re interested in.
• Put your work on a website you can share with potential clients. There’s Journoportfolio (which I use) and Clippings.me (both are free for up to ten articles), or find a Squarespace or WordPress theme that’s designed to be a portfolio.

4Find Clients

Now that you have an idea of the type of writing projects you’d like to do, and a portfolio showing your ability to do that work, it’s time to find clients. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Contract with your current company. You already have a relationship with the company and understand its mission and voice. (This is how I got into freelancing.)
• Email the contacts within your business network. Let them know what type of projects you’re doing and invite them to pass your info on to others who would want to work with you too.
• Email your friends and family about what you’re doing. Promote your new business on your social media channels.
• Cold email companies that you’d like to work with. Identify a need they have (e.g., regular blog posts or newsletters) and show how you can help them.
• Pitch your article ideas to your favorite websites that accept submissions. Some sites pay for posts, many do not (worst case, you have a prestigious portfolio piece).
• Pitch for projects on a job board (ProBlogger, BloggingPro, All Freelance Writing) or content mill (Upwork, Scripted, Contently). But be warned, these opportunities tend to involve high effort and low pay. I’ve never used these sites, but I know many writers have gotten into the biz this way.
• Build relationships with creatives who provide complementary services, such as web and graphic designers. They have clients who need copywriting.
• Network with other fabulous freelance writers. They’ll pass on referrals when they can’t take a job, or when a company they’re writing for is looking for more contractors. (This is how I got connected to Grammarly : ) ).

Let us know in the comments which freelancing topics you’d like to hear more about in future posts. And if you’re already a freelancer, share one piece of advice that helped you get started!