6 KPIs Every Freelance Writer Should Track
Set yourself up for success by tracking the right kinds of data.
The freelance world is starting to pick up speed, with more and more people turning away from the 9 to 5 rat race and instead opting for a life that allows them more flexibility.
And while starting your own freelancing business can be fun and rewarding, it does require you to make some changes in your day-to-day routine too. Without these changes, running a successful freelance writing business becomes impossible.
One way to ensure your freelance experience is as easy and streamlined as possible is to track your key performance indicators (KPIs).
What are KPIs?
Key Performance Indicators are the measurements that will show you if you’re on track or not by tracking important data points within your business. Your KPIs should give you an accurate picture of how well you are performing.
KPIs are important because they show us what areas we can improve on and how effective our efforts are. Without them, it becomes almost impossible to see which parts of your business need more work or if your strategies are effective.
What KPIs should you track?
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ answer to this question; every freelancer will have different needs and requirements depending on the field they’re in.
No matter your goals, here are six crucial key performance indicators that every freelance writer should consider tracking:
1. The number of blog posts you write
One of the most important KPIs for freelance writers is the number of blog posts they’re writing. This gives you an idea of how often you can publish new content and whether or not it’s enough to keep your audience interested.
That said, different types of blogs have different posting requirements; while some posts are only needed every week, others need to be posted daily. Other data such as views, comments, and link conversions will also give you an idea of how effective your posts are.
Spend some time defining what your number should be, and you’ll have a better idea of whether or not you’re publishing enough content.
2. The number of people that are visiting your blog or website
There’s no point in writing lots of great posts if nobody is reading them.
That’s why this KPI is important — it lets you know how popular your content actually is and gives you an idea of what you need to do to improve it.
When you know your traffic, you can better hone your content to suit your audience’s needs, making it easier for you to grow your reach.
The same goes for your business website. If people can’t find you online, you aren’t hitting the right metrics!
3. The number of words you write per piece of content
A writer needs to have a good grasp on how long their blog posts should be.
If their content is too short, they’ll struggle to talk about the topic in enough detail and hold their reader’s attention; but if they make their posts too long, readers will get bored and feel like they’ve wasted their time.
That’s why tracking the number of words per post is a very important KPI for freelance writers; it’ll let them know if their content length is high quality or not.
4. How much money you’re making on your content
One of the best ways to tell if your blog is doing well or not is to measure how much money you’re making from it.
When you track this KPI, you’ll get an indication of how much money your blog posts are making and may even be able to see which posts are the most profitable. That allows you to focus on these areas to create more content like it.
5. The number of clients and customers you carry week-to-week
It’s crucial for a freelance writer to know how many clients or customers they have. This is because it tells them if their marketing strategies are practical and whether or not they should change anything to make more sales.
This KPI is vital if your freelance writing is less blog-focused and customer-driven. It lets you know how happy your customers are with their purchases and allows you to improve on any issues.
6. The value you bring to clients through your work.
Do you charge clients by word, by project, or by value? Value-based pricing is one of the best ways to ensure you’re charging enough for your work. That’s why measuring how much time you save your clients is a good indicator of success.
A KPI that tracks how much time you’re saving your clients will give you a better idea of the quality of your work. This way, over time, it’ll help you increase your rate and raise prices on projects that are costing potential new customers too much money.
How to track your KPIs
There’s no getting away from it — to be successful, you need to track your KPIs effectively. Whether you set up an Excel spreadsheet or a program such as Notion, it’s essential to make sure you follow your KPIs and don’t forget about them.
This will give you the chance to improve on any areas that need work and measure your progress as it happens. This way, whether you’re just starting or well-established in your freelance writing business, you’ll always know where to improve.
Conclusion
Are KPIs a guaranteed path to success? No, but they can certainly help you become a better business owner. So whether you want to track your blog posts or the amount of time you save for your clients, KPIs are significant and have a lot to offer.
Make this next year the year that you start to track valuable data about your blog and customers to save yourself time, make more money and increase your client satisfaction!
What KPIs do you track that you think other freelance writers should? Let me know in the comments!
