Freelance writing can be one of the most rewarding, enjoyable
experiences. Unfortunately, since most freelance writers don’t work for
a particular business, they are responsible for finding their own work.
As a freelancer, you must market yourself to people in order to attract
business. This is a lesson I’m learning the hard way, since I am now
breaking into freelance full-time. I previously exclusively used bid
sites like Elance and RentaCoder to find work, but am now finding that
I can’t find enough new projects there to meet my needs. As a result of
this, I’m starting to seek out more work myself.
My first way of doing this is through posting online ads on
Craigslist, advertising my services. I haven’t had too many responses
yet, but my approach hasn’t been that aggressive, either. My whole idea
with this is to get my name out there.
Secondly, using high traffic forums to advertise services is a great
thing to do. I’m personally using Digital Point and since posting a
thread in their services > content forum a few days ago, I’ve had
5-6 inquiries for my writing. Granted, none of these are high paying
(usually $0.01 per word, or $5 for a 500 word article), but they COULD
lead to a lot of future business, which would certainly help my
earnings. That’s really all it’s about when you are breaking into the
business: getting your name out there and establishing relationships
with clients.
Right now, through these two things, I’ve drummed up new business. I
never thought about doing this before, but I am glad I did, as every
bit of new business helps. If you are a newbie to freelance writing, it
can’t hurt to advertise yourself on these sites. It could be the break
you need to fully get into freelance writing.
