1. Introduce yourself and what you do
I’m Rachel Quin and I’m a freelance marketing consultant and copywriter based in Canterbury. I also teach on the distance learning Publishing MA at Oxford Brookes, focusing on the marketing and production modules.
I’ve been working in marketing for over a decade and I’m passionate about commercial fiction and non-fiction, digital marketing and most importantly, cats. Previously in-house at HarperCollins UK developing award-winning fiction marketing campaigns, I now work across genres with clients including Bloomsbury, Canongate, Faber, HarperCollins, Hachette and Penguin Random House.
2. How and why did you start freelancing?
I began freelancing in April 2021 after spending several years in-house at a publisher and previously working in tech and events. I’d already been freelancing outside of my full-time work, working on some copywriting and small marketing projects for previous employers.
I decided to take the leap for a few reasons, the main ones being a desire for greater flexibility in my work environment post-pandemic (I was able to move out of London) and also because I felt like I’d learned everything I could in my current role. I wanted to be able to try new things, take on a variety of projects and do more copywriting.
3. Where do you find your clients and new projects?
I’ve been doing this for two years now and I’ve been extremely fortunate in that about 90% of my work has come from word-of-mouth recommendation. That said, in the three months leading up to going full-time freelance, I put in a lot of work into gathering testimonials, reaching out to my entire network to let them know what I was doing, and building a portfolio of work for myself that I could show to potential clients. I initially used freelancing platforms Upwork and Reedsy to get a few more projects under my belt, but I stopped using them about three months in.
4. How do you know what to charge?
One of the trickiest things as a freelancer is to charge what you’re worth – charge based on your experience, not just the time it takes to complete a task – without completely pricing yourself out of the market. My baseline for my day rate was to take my in-house salary (which was admittedly, pitifully low considering I was a Senior Marketer) and double my hourly rate. That gave me a starting point for my day rate, which I’ve adapted over time. I also spoke to a lot of other freelancers who were very generous in sharing their pricing and charged what I felt comfortable with and felt worth my time and energy.
5. What important pieces of advice would you give as a creative freelancer
1. Know your worth. Haggling is a normal part of the process when talking to clients and quoting on projects, but if someone is trying to race to the bottom on price, I find they’re the kind of clients I’d prefer to walk away from as they’re likely to be difficult throughout the project. I am very blessed that this has only happened once or twice!
2. Get the right tools in place. Freelancing requires you to be extremely organised and self-motivated. I use Todoist to keep track of projects and tasks, Toggl to track my time, and Shift to manage multiple email accounts and workspaces. All of these tools together make me feel productive and enable me to manage everything I’m working on more effectively.
3. Take breaks. No really, TAKE BREAKS. When I was starting out, I was so determined to make freelancing a success that I was working all hours of the day and pretty much every weekend. It can take a while to find balance, but I find taking time out for myself (I’m not a morning person, so sleep is essential, and I love to swim in the middle of the day when nobody’s there!) is one of the most valuable things I can do for my business.
You can connect with Rachel on LinkedIn or check out the links below to find out more about her work:
www.rachelquin.com
Twitter: @RachelMayQuin
Instagram: @rachelquinmarketing