By R. Alex Crabtree
There seems to be a great number of writers competing for a great number of jobs, and there appears to be a variety of ways to try to obtain those jobs. There also seems to be a large number of strategies employed to find and secure freelance writing gigs.
Two very popular ways to seek online freelance writing jobs are the use of what I call article pools (Associated Content, Constant Content, etc.) and bid for jobs sites like Elance.The article pools give writers an opportunity to pick and choose from a list of article requests, which gives the authors ton opportunity to write about topics they are comfortable with. The lists will also show what the pay rate for the accepted article is.
This all sounds like it can't be passed up because everything is right there in front of your face. Your topic and what you'll get paid for it. What more could you ask for? How about not having to compete against 177 other submissions for the same request? No problem, just write another article for a different request. Yeah, why not flood the list with submissions?
• Number one: With the urgency of getting content posted or into print, how many of the 178 article submissions do you really believe are going to get read? Think about the standards for reading and writing web content.
• Number two: how many words are you going to have to write before you sell an article for ....ohhhh....let's say.....$20? How many hours of research and writing those words are you going to spend? You're working pretty cheap.
Elance may be a step up in trying to find freelance online writing jobs in that the writer actually bids on work. An author can get a good feel for fair market price and there is the advantage of potential clients being able to see authors' portfolios.
Oops. Did I mention portfolio? For an up and comers, this could be a hefty barricade when writers are looking for gigs. Also, Elance seems to put restrictions on contacting potential clients about the work. Elance takes a cut from your pay as well and I can't think of anyone, much less writers that want one more hand in their pockets.
There is another method that may seem difficult at first, but is highly effective and very beneficial. Hitting the "ether bricks" can give authors a chance to approach potential clients and sell themselves and their talents.
There are a number of sites that offer lists of freelance writing gigs, but the one that has been the best is at Freelance Writing Network. There is a fresh listing of jobs posted every day at this site. Jobs that a writer actually can apply for as well as strike up a conversation with potential clients.
There is no need to for pre-writing, no cut going to any liaison, no having to worry about 177 other articles in the pool. You get to sell yourself, which is most of what freelance writing is. You may have talent, but how well do you communicate with your client? There's the trick.
The Freelance Writing Networking site also happens to be a stellar site dedicated to us writers and our struggles to work online.
Don't forget about Twitter and some the group apps associated with it. A properly set up profile and honest personal branding can go a long way on Twitter.
By going "old school", a writer can free themselves up and create an impressive footprint based on talent, reputation, and communication. That beats the heck out of being tied to your keyboard and waiting for a buyer to pick your article out of the dozens available.
For more information about R. Alex Crabtree and the writing services he offers, visit http://extremewriting.wordpress.com/about-me/
No comments:
Post a Comment