Ugh, those freelancing dry times are tough. :( Have you tried contacting past clients to see if they have any additional work (or know of anyone who does?) That can often drive some business…

Good luck. We’ve ALL been there….

EXCELLENT points, @Michael! Thank you! :)

@Arun, the (unfortunately) sales dip could be a lot of things. You may want to consider asking someone to look over your proposals, emails and website to make sure your value proposition is front and center. Sometimes, we market ourselves incorrectly — and, although we don’t see it, our prospects do. Good luck!

Hi Eve. Maybe that client isn’t for you anyway? As Heather says in the first point, don’t get caught up in low bidding. If you’re worth what you put to your prospect, then stick to your guns. A lot of business people don’t get what we do and therefore can’t see the value we add. I also think using ‘rates’ is fraught with danger; I just quote one price for the work because clients don’t know how many hours I’m going to need to write something and this can freak them out. My price is of course based on an hourly rate, plus maybe 10% to allow for an unexpected twist, but they don’t need to know that.