How To Find Great Jobs For Freelance Writers: 5 Helpful Suggestions
Thanks to the Internet, people who are interested in pursuing writing as a career have many more opportunities available to them than they once did in the past. If you are thinking about launching a career as a freelance writer then the following five suggestions should be helpful in enabling you to have a successful career.
- How to find work in the first place
- Produce a portfolio of your best work
- Develop an online presence to help attract clients
- Apply for jobs by identifying the needs of potential clients
- Pick a niche to specialise in
As mentioned, the Internet is a great place for potential writers to start looking for work. There are many options available to writers, including signing up to one or more of the major freelance websites. Equally, there are many smaller websites providing writers with opportunities; however, the amount of work that is offeredon a day basis can be significantly lower than some of the major websites. On the other hand, some of the major websites work on the basis of quantity rather than quality and, therefore, with the smaller websites that have the reverse approach, you can often get paid substantially more for the work you do.
In order to help boost your chances of winning any jobs you apply for, it can be a good idea to produce a portfolio that is made up of any of the best articles and written work that you have produced so far. Even if you have not got paid for any written work at this point, if you have any written samples, including those from your time in education, then these can be included within your portfolio. Over time, once you have completed more jobs, you will inevitably have more samples that you can include.
It is advisable for people who want to become freelance writers to start their own blog. Not only does this give you practice when it comes to writing, but it can act almost like a portfolio, in that it demonstrates your capabilities for the work, and can even attract potential clients who read the work.
When you are applying for a job, be sure to identify exactly what the requirements of the job are. Sometimes, the client doesn’t even know exactly what they need and, therefore, if you can give them extra advice and demonstrate your ability to not only match, but exceed their expectations, then you have a better chance of winning the job.
Finally, it can be a good idea to pick a niche to specialise in. This doesn’t mean that you should stay clear of jobs that aren’t related to that niche; however, it can help to increase your chances of winning work in that particular niche, compared to those who don’t specialise in that area.
