With the new year approaching, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the previous year and consider your future writing goals. Goals are key to personal growth and your ongoing success as a writer. They keep you focused, increase motivation levels, and give you a challenge to rise to.
Try some of the following to recharge your writing batteries and face the new year with confidence and renewed enthusiasm.
Write a Set Number of Words Per Day
It’s easy to make excuses not to write, but it’s important to commit some time to writing. Set yourself the goal of writing a certain number of words per day. Keep your daily writing goal consistent so you can get into the habit of sitting down to write.
The challenge of meeting this daily goal is a great motivational exercise. What’s more, when you exceed your goal, it will build your confidence as a writer. Remember, this challenge doesn’t have to result in a finished piece of writing, although you can use it to tackle actual writing assignments.
Commit to Writing Exercises
Sometimes, you need to step outside your comfort zone in order to develop as a writer. Test your writing skills and strengthen your abilities by regularly using writing exercises. Writing prompts are one of the most popular ways to test yourself. They give you the opportunity to experiment with different styles and use your imagination.
Related Reading: Five Freelance Writing Tips to Boost Success During the Holiday Season
Writing contests are another area to consider. A contest gives you something to focus on, and will ultimately build your confidence. There are thousands of contests available online for writers of all abilities. To learn more, see our post: Using Writing Contests to Become a Better Freelance Writer.
Work on Your Writing Weaknesses
By regularly addressing your writing weak spots, you can steadily improve certain aspects of your writing. Read your own work, listen to feedback, and ask others for feedback. Do your articles have a clear structure? Look at the paragraph and sentence lengths. Do you use the passive voice too much? Is the language concise? Perhaps you need to choose more powerful words. There’s always room for improvement.
Focus on one of the weaker elements of your writing this month and see how you can improve it. Next month, focus on something else.
Related Reading: Six Exercises to Improve Writing Clarity
Improve Your Online Presence
Do you have a presence on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn? If not, make it your goal to create or update your profiles. Remember to mention your writing achievements and include recent testimonials. It’s important to “sell” your writing credentials on social media because it can lead to work opportunities.
Join in conversations, like and retweet posts, and link to samples of your work. You could also create a website that promotes your freelance writing services. And don’t forget to update your Constant Content profile.
Related Reading: 10 Skills Every Great Content Writer Needs
Create Specific Income Goals
If you rely on your writing income, it’s important to keep track of your writing projects and plan for the future. How much money do you need to make this month from writing? And next month? Create a spreadsheet that lists all your current and future writing assignments. How many articles do you need to sell each month? By laying out your work schedule, you can calculate how much work you need to do to meet your budget.
If you need more work, it’s time to review your current and past clients. Make contact with past clients through the Constant Content dashboard, or reach out to new clients that are looking for content.
After a few months, assess your achievements. Did you meet your income goals? If not, why not? Do you need to increase your productivity, or promote yourself more? Set new goals for the next period and then analyze the results again.
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to become a better writer or sell more content, now is a good time to set yourself some writing goals for the year ahead. Goals give you something to focus on in the present and something to aim for in the future, especially if you feel like you’re stuck in a writing rut. Pick one goal today, or go for all five. You might be surprised at what you can achieve.
As a freelance writer, remember that the key to success is to create content that resonates with the specific target audience and engages readers. Don’t forget to regularly check the Constant Content dashboard for writing projects in the “Requested Content” tab. For more inspiration, browse our blog for writing tips. Here’s a good place to start: 23 Freelance Writing Tips That Will Help Grow Your Career