“Without standards, you end up accepting any morsel of
paying work that comes along. You remain stuck in that
terrible position of doing work you despise, for clients
you don’t like, just because you need the money.”
- Pete Savage

My first ever freelance copywriting job was for a tiny
little marketing agency in town owned by a guy we’ll call
Carl.

Carl needed a freelancer on a full-time basis for a few
weeks to help him with a backlog of work. The first few
projects Carl sent my way were pure copywriting jobs.
Writing brochures, scripts for radio commercials, copy for
web sites and the like. But things changed fast.

Unknown to me at the time, Carl took on any kind of work he
could get. By week two of working for him, the assignments
he offered me were as far from copywriting as you could
imagine. The absurdity peaked in week three when Carl
asked if I’d be willing to spend a few days walking
around the city’s downtown business sector with Cher on
my arm.

Okay, it wasn’t Cher exactly…

Seems Carl had won a bid to be the event planner for the
grand opening of the city’s brand new arena. Cher was to
be the headline act on opening weekend and Carl’s idea
for promoting the event was to set a Cher lookalike loose
downtown for a week.

I accepted Carl’s assignment, which was to follow the
phony Cher around for hours on end and hand out fre.e
concert tickets to anyone who approached her and said,
“Hey, you look like Cher.”

This went on for five days. Often in the rain. Not exactly
the lifestyle I had envisioned for myself when I set out to
become a freelance copywriter.

So why did I accept this ridiculous job? I had bills to
pay. Lots of ‘em.

Why Freelancers MUST Set Standards
My experience as the sole member of the faux Cher’s
entourage provided me with plenty of much-needed cash. But
more importantly, it gave me an appreciation for the fact
that, as a freelancer, I needed to put some STANDARDS in
place. 

After my Cher days, I knew that if I didn’t outline the
standards under which I was willing to work, I would never
rise to a level where I could be choosey about my work. So,
I started to define my standards.

All this means is that I began listing the conditions under
which I would accept work, as well as the type of work I
was willing to do, and not do.

A Sample Set Of Standards For Freelancers
Here are some standards that may appeal to you for your
freelance business. (Some of these statements are from my
actual List of Standards, some aren’t.)

* I do not provide free or “spec” work for any reason.
* I charge a 25% premium for all rush jobs.
* I do not begin work without a portion of the project fees
paid up front.
* I don’t write white papers.
* I don’t work for ad agencies.
* I don’t answer the phone every time it rings. To speak
with me, clients or prospects must first book an
appointment.
* I don’t do work that requires me to sacrifice my
weekends.
* I only do work that is within my target industry and/or
niche.
* I only accept projects where my average hourly earnings
will equate to $150/hr or higher.

Post-Cher, I was ambitious enough to know that I would one
day have a set of standards like the ones you see above,
but I wasn’t so naïve or arrogant to expect that all of
my freelance work would conform to these standards right
off the bat.

Set Your Standards NOW. Stick To Them Later
What’s important is that you set your standards right
now, and that you make them lofty and ambitious. Then, from
this moment on, you compare every project that comes your
way to these lofty ideals.

Realize, especially if you’re just starting out, that
hardly any (perhaps none) of the projects you take on now
will conform to your full list of standards. But that’s
fine. There’s no shame in taking on work that’s less
than perfect if you have bills to pay, mouths to feed or
credibility to build.

There is a HUGE difference between choosing to accept work
that falls below your standards and being completely
oblivious to the notion of standards in the first place.

When you take the time to think about and write down your
ideal standards, you take a gigantic mental leap forward in
your freelance business.

Standards help you focus on the kind of work you ultimately
want to do, and give you the motivation to keep seeking out
the kind of high quality clients that will send this work
your way.

Imagine the sense of accomplishment you'll feel when you
take on your first project that hits every single criterion
on your list of standards! Don’t rob yourself of that
delightful, euphoric experience… set your standards right
now.

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