I’m sure Freelance Writing Jobs isn’t the only place you come to in order to find freelance writing job leads. Like others, you visit a variety of sites. This is but one stop as part of your daily ritual.
In your travels you probably came across a variety of frustrating job ads. Some convey the wrong tone, while others don’t give enough information. I’m not sure the people who write the ads know the impression they make. Today, I’d like to share with them:
10 Things to Consider When Placing a Freelance Writing Job Ad
1. We’re Detail Oriented – And You Should Be Too!
To find the writers best suited for your job, put as many details as possible into your job ad. It’s hard for us to work with vaguery. “Freelance writer wanted: inquire within” type ads only waste our time and yours. What kind of writing are you looking for? Blogging? Web content? Resume? Biography? Copywriting? Ebooks? Niche oriented? They’re all different jobs with different types of expertise. By placing a vague ad you’re risking a whole bunch of applicants who aren’t suited for the job or very few applicants because no one knows what you want. By describing the job and its duties, you’ll receive the applications best suited to your needs.
2. We Can’t Offer a Quote Without Details
Asking for rates without providing details will also waste time. Not all freelance writing jobs are the same. A freelance writer might offer a lower rate of pay for a quick piece of “top of the head” writing but charge more for something that needs research or an interview. Help us out a little. Tell us your needs before you apply.
3. We’d Like to Think You Trust Us
If you mention “Copyscape” or “plagiarism” in your job ad, it tells us you don’t trust us to write original content. Most freelance writers know it’s totally uncool to copy someone else’s work. Most web content writers assume their work will be checked against Copyscape. To let us know you expect us to rip off other writers, before we even start, is a turnoff.
4. Different Topics Take Different Amounts of Time to Write
How can you tell us each article “shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to write?” It all depends on the topic. It depends on the research. It depends on the word count. All writers are different. What takes one writer 15 minutes will take another writer 45. When you justify a low rate by telling us we should be able to write several articles in an hour, it only tells us you’re trying to justify your low rate.
5. If a Job as Labeled as “Perfect” for Work at Home Moms, it Usually Isn’t
When you tout a job as being “perfect for work at home moms” all you’re doing is insulting work at home moms. You’re saying “This job doesn’t pay enough for the real writers out there, but if you a mom trying to make some money at home, you should do this.” Um hello? Work at home moms are real writers, thank you very much.
6. You Get What You Pay For
A dollar job gets you a dollar’s worth of writing.
7. Tell Us Who You Are
When you let us know who you are and what you do, it better enables us to see if we’re a good fit for your job. We can visit your website and see your content. We can talk to other writers in your network or on your client list to see what you’re looking for. We will know if applying for your gig will be a waste of our time – and yours.
8. Writing IS a Real Job
We know there are a lot of people who write as a hobby. We’re not them. We need to earn a living with our writing. To talk down to us or treat us as if we’re not working a real job won’t make us want to work for you. We’re hoping for a mutually beneficial relationship.
9. It Takes More Than a Week to Write 50 Really Good Articles
Ok, so you need 50 articles by Friday. Did you mean 50 GOOD articles? Lots of people do it. Lots of people say they can do it. Until you’ve actually sat down and tried to churn out 50 articles about the same thing, you’ll never know what it’s like. To write 50 truly good, well researched, factually correct, type free articles, we’ll need more than a week. Maybe even more than a month.
10. We’re Willing to Negotiate…Within Reason
For most writers a rate quote is a starting point for negotiation…within reason. If we charge $50 an hour, we’re not dropping down to $5, that’s just silly. However, we might offer discounts for long term clients or a gig we believe in. Don’t count us out because you don’t like our quote, ask us if it’s negotiable.
What are some of the things you wish clients would consider before placing their freelance writing ad?
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You already know that everything you’ve written in this post is absolutely spot on, so I don’t need to reiterate anything you’ve said. It’s about time people understand that what we do is REAL, not a hobby. You wouldn’t ask an electrician to wire a house for a few pennies on the dollar or “on spec,” and you shouldn’t ask writers to do the same with their craft.
Rock on, JoAnna. How can we take ourselves seriously if no one else will?
Some of these apply to more than just writing gigs–I’ve seen too many vague job ads. And those vague ads usually turn out to be jobs that either don’t pay well or are a little shady.
And I’ve given a wide range for quotes when the details were vague (I gave reasons for the wide range though).
@ChinaMatt – I once wrote to a person who took out a vague ad asking for more details. it turned out to be a great gig. His problem is that he wasn’t a writer himself and didn’t know how to describe the job very well. Many are scammy/spammy they might be diamonds in the rough too.
Now that I think about it, my first job out of college was a vague ad in the newspaper. Aside from the pay it was an amazing job, and I still keep in touch with my boss and coworkers.
Love,love,love this post. Especially #s 5, 6, and 8. Making a transition from print to online I’ve found some really ridiculous ads out there. Thanks for speaking up.
Winks & Smiles,
Wifey
You’re very welcome, Wifey – and thanks for dropping by and commenting!
ahhh, a topic always near and dear to my heart.
And you NAILED it…. BRAVO.
under “you get what you pay for” – I’d like to add: Please don’t insult professional writers by offering no pay or excusing your low pay rate because you offer “plenty of exposure.”
Writers can’t take “exposure” to the supermarket, drug store, dry cleaner or anywhere else they are expected to PAY for the services they use. You run a business to make a living as do the writers you are addressing.
Exactly! Thanks for your thoughts, Elaine.
Freelancing is a work where from you could be able to connect with a employee who will give you his/her any online work.Such as data entry,web designing,data upload or something else. Now a days many and a big number of people from all over the world using Freelancing earning a lot of money.
@ Kelly Thomas- Whaaaaa?
Deb, methinks you have a splogger.
The more the merrier, Julie.
One of my pet peeves is how job listings are posted with no information identifying who’s doing the hiring — and more often than not, you won’t get that information even after an email unless you specifically ask for it. No one wants to hire a freelancer without a little information about the writer (and an opportunity to check out her past work), so why should a writer be expected to work for a company without reassurances that the gig is legit?
Thursday, that is exactly what promoted this blog post! Several members of the FWJ community were a discussing vague ads, with no client information or details about the job. How will we know if we’re a good fit? Plus I always recommend knowing as much as we can about a client so we can tailor our pitches to fit their needs.
I think it’s also valuable to be able to check up on a potential client in order to protect ourselves. There are definitely some people out there who don’t share their details because they know a Google search for their names will lead any smart freelancer to walk away from a job.
@ Kelly Thomas- Whaaaaa?
Deb, methinks you have a splogger.
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
When looking at those comically vague ads, I do try to consider that, in any field, people who are hiring usually aren’t experts at hiring. They’re experts at doing whatever their own job is. But oh man, is there some way you can post this on every Craigslist board in the country?
Another thing employers should mention is providing a realistic turn-around time. Today (8/18) there is a job posting for a 100,000 word cat and dog book that they want finished by “very early September” — approximately 2 weeks from the posting date.
Deb–Beautiful post! Thank you! I was one of the ones that was discussing this a few days ago in the comments and I think it’s great how you really picked it up and responded to our concerns–and quite quickly. Very good list. Only other things I would add:
Jumping off #3–in addition to unnecessary plagiarism warnings, any type of talking down to writers like we’re a bunch of idiots is not appreciated. You shouldn’t need to tell us three times in caps that if we don’t follow instructions our email will be treated to a delete–that’s a given.
Making a one-paragraph ad into an entire page by giving way too much extra information like your life history and career highlights. I really need to know about the job details, a brief bit about the company or person and the application requirements. Maybe it’s just me, but I hate spending that much time reading through extraneous information only to find out the job totally isn’t compatible.
Explaining away “no pay” because it’s a “start-up on a low budget”. You had enough money to get the website up and running, you aren’t starving, so why should start-up status mean that I don’t get paid? Chances are the site or publication is bringing in some kind of ad dollars and there’s always a rev-share agreement that could be worked out, so basically not paying means that I’m working to make you money for free because you’re a poor financial planner (or just a cheap skate looking for free work). Sorry, no.
I totally agree here. I have avoided inquiring on many jobs because I wasn’t sure if I would be qualified and I don’t want to waste my time. I really relate to #10. I have quoted a price to some people and not only do they not negotiate, they just don’t respond at all. I think that is a poor way to operate. They could at least say, “sorry, but our budget doesn’t allow for that.” Some sort of a response, yes or no, would be appreciated.
Great list, Deb! I would also suggest that ad placers USE their headlines by including any specific requirements that will eliminate most applicants. For example, a recent ad for an editor only wanted applicants who were Harvard graduates, but not only was this requirement not mentioned in the headline, it was basically the last statement in the entire ad. “Harvard Graduate Needed for Freelance Editing” would’ve been a good headline. The same for jobs that require applicants to be bilingual, etc. If you have a highly specific criteria that the majority of writers/editors will not likely meet, include it in the headline!
That’s a good point as well. It also extends to the type of writing. Too many ads say something like “Writer Needed” where they could say “Automotive Copywriter”. This would save some time when searching leads, so that we could skip over ones that were clearly out of our area of expertise. I guess it’s a bit nit-picky since it doesn’t really help the company one way or another–but in an ideal world…
Wow – I just made these exact same points in a Squidoo lens and some ezine articles just a little over a weeks ago. Amazing that we think so much alike. Must be a writer thing.
.-= Donna´s last blog ..Qualify For The Ezine Articles HAHD Challenge And Win Prizes From 97 Dollar Ebooks! =-.