I know I would not be alone in stating that I’ll be happy to see 2020 finally come to an end. It has been one of those years that has impacted all of us in one way or another around the entire planet. COVID-19 is the main issue, in my mind, but I also experienced some serious health issues early in the year that was carried over from late 2019. I’ll be dealing with these well into 2021 but I am much stronger now than I have been so I’m not too concerned about my recovery following my next procedure. I think I can also point to COVID-19 as having an impact on my freelance business. My numbers continue to slowly dip and I think that uncertainty in the online marketplace - where I get all of my writing business - has had something to do with this. Not only are web developers not spending as much on contracting out for services like mine, but some are also switching to creating these things themselves in-house. At least that’s my take on it.
Let’s Look At The Numbers
In December 2020 I completed a total of 14 jobs. That amounted to 36 articles and 34,225 words. Although December does slow down, my stats are not far off of November 2020 (17 jobs, 44 articles, and 31,400 words) and just down slightly more from October 2020 (20 jobs, 49 articles, and 47,500 words). So when I look at the work through comparisons of previous months, the dip is not quite that significant. Maybe this is a sign of stabilization on the horizon. I should point out that during December I did spend some extra time “cleaning up” my Fiverr profile and adding a few new Gigs to my profile there thinking it could generate some more activity. I did get a job out of that so maybe more is on the way. My job split for the month saw 5 of the 14 I completed coming from Fiverr. The remaining 9 jobs, except one of them, were all from regular clients.
Where The Work Came From, What I Wrote About
I saw a slight shift in where my business was coming from this month. I had 6 jobs from Australia and 4 each from the United Kingdom and the United States. The majority of my work during the month came from a contract I have in place with a US-based content service that I have been working for since October 2019. As for topics, December 2020 is another mixed bag of subjects. I wrote about sailing products, healthcare concerns, sports gambling, collectibles, dental care, unusual fonts, how to furnish a man cave, and coin collecting for beginners. With very few exceptions, I have little idea of what sorts of topics I am going to encounter on any given day. I say that this is one of the things I find that makes freelancing so interesting as it is never the same thing two days in a row.
Interesting Developments
One of the regular clients I have has been making good use of my years of experience in the newspaper business. I have rewritten and edited several news releases this past month converting them into 1,000-word articles. It has been a lot of fun to be able to put that skill back to regular use. I suspect that I’ll see several more of these types of jobs from this client in the coming months. I also interviewed for a contributor spot with a US-based firm that has developed a medical device. The interview was just before Christmas break so I may hear more about it early in January and I’ll be able to say more about it at that time. I will say that the firm sought me out after following me on Instagram and liking some of the content I have posted there. The fact that I am a freelance writer made me a bit more attractive prospect.
An Anniversary Coming Up
It will be in early January when I will mark my 7th anniversary as a freelance writer. The time has gone by rather quickly and I have to admit that I have truly enjoyed what I have been doing in this, my third career. I didn’t turn to freelance full-time right away as I was using it at first as more of a side hustle than anything else. However, there was a time when making it a full-time career made sense and it still does. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to write and be in demand for my web content for several more years. And as I have noted above, it will be good to close the door on 2020 and hopefully, the New Year is going to be filled with positive things for all of us.
Let’s Look At The Numbers
In December 2020 I completed a total of 14 jobs. That amounted to 36 articles and 34,225 words. Although December does slow down, my stats are not far off of November 2020 (17 jobs, 44 articles, and 31,400 words) and just down slightly more from October 2020 (20 jobs, 49 articles, and 47,500 words). So when I look at the work through comparisons of previous months, the dip is not quite that significant. Maybe this is a sign of stabilization on the horizon. I should point out that during December I did spend some extra time “cleaning up” my Fiverr profile and adding a few new Gigs to my profile there thinking it could generate some more activity. I did get a job out of that so maybe more is on the way. My job split for the month saw 5 of the 14 I completed coming from Fiverr. The remaining 9 jobs, except one of them, were all from regular clients.
Where The Work Came From, What I Wrote About
I saw a slight shift in where my business was coming from this month. I had 6 jobs from Australia and 4 each from the United Kingdom and the United States. The majority of my work during the month came from a contract I have in place with a US-based content service that I have been working for since October 2019. As for topics, December 2020 is another mixed bag of subjects. I wrote about sailing products, healthcare concerns, sports gambling, collectibles, dental care, unusual fonts, how to furnish a man cave, and coin collecting for beginners. With very few exceptions, I have little idea of what sorts of topics I am going to encounter on any given day. I say that this is one of the things I find that makes freelancing so interesting as it is never the same thing two days in a row.
Interesting Developments
One of the regular clients I have has been making good use of my years of experience in the newspaper business. I have rewritten and edited several news releases this past month converting them into 1,000-word articles. It has been a lot of fun to be able to put that skill back to regular use. I suspect that I’ll see several more of these types of jobs from this client in the coming months. I also interviewed for a contributor spot with a US-based firm that has developed a medical device. The interview was just before Christmas break so I may hear more about it early in January and I’ll be able to say more about it at that time. I will say that the firm sought me out after following me on Instagram and liking some of the content I have posted there. The fact that I am a freelance writer made me a bit more attractive prospect.
An Anniversary Coming Up
It will be in early January when I will mark my 7th anniversary as a freelance writer. The time has gone by rather quickly and I have to admit that I have truly enjoyed what I have been doing in this, my third career. I didn’t turn to freelance full-time right away as I was using it at first as more of a side hustle than anything else. However, there was a time when making it a full-time career made sense and it still does. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to write and be in demand for my web content for several more years. And as I have noted above, it will be good to close the door on 2020 and hopefully, the New Year is going to be filled with positive things for all of us.
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