Freelancing Basics, Part 3

So far in this series on freelance writing basics, we’ve covered the importance of being a good writer and some of the tools you need to have on hand to get started. This article will focus on the all important concept of finding clients.

Let’s face it. Without clients you’re not a freelance writer, you’re just a writer. Good enough for ego gratification I guess, but it don’t pay the bills, friends and neighbors. The idea behind freelance writing is having a bevy of folks who are willing and eager to pay you for all of the hard writing you do. Sounds easy enough. So you know it can’t be easy. Truthfully, it is probably the most difficult part of freelance writing. Personally, I hate sales. I hate the idea of having to sell myself in order to get work. Can’t get around it, though. It is the nature of the beast, at least until you have enough of a reputation that folks will seek you out. That can happen, but don’t expect it to happen right away.

There are essentially two ways to get clients: Draw them in or seek them out.

Draw Them In

These days, there really is only one way to do this with much success. You need a web presence. If you’re missing the geek gene this may be a show stopper for you. Fortunately, most of us are fairly familiar with navigating the web and we know what works and what we like. If that is the case, you need to figure out a good name for your site, purchase the domain and find hosting. At this point you need to make a decision. Do you want a static or a dynamic site? My strongest recommendation is for you to use a WordPress platform and build your presence around a blog. Don’t pus out and get a wordpress.com site either. Suck it up and get a domain. Are you a professional? Good. You want a professional site. And a free, wordpress.com site ain’t it. Make no mistake, building your own site comes with its own set of frustrations but in the end it is completely worth it.

Your web site should attract visitors and showcase your work. It needs to be as close to perfect as you can get it. For myself, if I land on a page and it is obvious that English is the owner’s second language then I am out of there, post-haste.

Seek Them Out

This one is a lot tougher. First, I am a big believer in community. Before you drive yourself nuts with spammy email marketing campaigns, look locally. Do some good old fashioned pavement pounding and drop some flyers and business cards at some local businesses. Start up a conversation. Show them that in addition to being a professional, you are are a personable entrepreneur. Generally, people like that.

Let me pull out my soap box and talk about bidding sites. Do the entire writing community a favor and boycott those rascals. I do, however, encourage to go to a few of them and have a look around. Look at the jobs that are out there. Do you really want to write 50 keyword rich, 500 word articles in the next ten days for someone who has budgeted $50 for the project? You think I jest? Sadly, I do not. As long as writers are willing to be paid peanuts, we will continue to be paid peanuts.

Consider sites like Textbroker where you can get your feet wet without bidding your life away. Yes, the pay is minimal at first, but it can lead to other, higher paying gigs.

The bottom line here is that clients are out there and if you work at it hard and long enough, you will find them. Hang in there and don’t be discouraged. There are always clients looking for good writers.

The final post in this series will keeping those rascals once you’ve landed them.