How to Get a Big Job from a Small Country

by Sharon Hurley Hall

One of the worries people have about taking their freelance career on the road or moving it abroad is how they will actually get work. There can be a feeling that if you are cut off from the major urban hubs then you might find it difficult to gain access to high paying clients. That’s not true at all. With a bit of organisation, you can have a successful freelance writing career, no matter where in the world you choose to live.

1. Get A Good Website

if you’re not at the end of a local or national phone line – and even if you are – most people are going to want to check you out online, so make sure there’s something for them to see. When I started freelancing, I didn’t have a lot of recent clips to put on my site, but I made the most of what I had, creating a simple site that said who I was, how I could be reached, what I had done, and what clients had thought. I added a few examples of my work and I was done. These days, for writers at least, all of this can be achieved with a decent blog. It’s a great place to post sample articles and show that you can write, and there are so many good templates out there that you can have a fantastic looking website in no time at all.

2. Market Yourself

Once you have a web presence, it’s time to let people know you are there. Effective marketing will help your location independent writing business really take off. You can do this for free, by using techniques such as article marketing, or you can pay to drive traffic to your site through Adwords, StumbleUpon and others. The aim of this is to make your site more visible in search engines for the keywords people will use to find you. Another good strategy to raise your profile is to write about topics you want to be known for on other people’s blogs. Guest blogging gives you a link to your site and can also get you noticed by paying clients. I’ve gained at least two long term blogging gigs that way.

3. Participate In Social Media

Social media interaction is another way of getting the word out there. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others keep you connected to your peers and potential clients, no matter where you happen to be. I find it best to pick a couple of places where you feel comfortable and stick to them. If there are forums related to your interest area, join them and be an active member. The key here is to be active. When people can’t visit you in an office, online is the only way they will get to know you, which brings me to my next point …

4. Watch Your Language

Almost everything you contribute to forums and social media and social networking sites is indexed. And unless you’re using an alias, your name is attached to it. So keep that in mind whenever you post a status update or reply to a forum post. Never say anything you wouldn’t be happy to acknowledge as yours. I once nearly lost a job because someone had reprinted one of my articles on a questionable site. When I pointed out that I was not in control of the site and had no affiliation with it, I saved the gig, but it was a good lesson.

Those steps get you noticed, but what do you do once you actually have the work to make sure that you can make a viable living and keep your clients happy?

5. Find Alternatives

In a big country, you take a working internet connection and affordable phone calls for granted. In a small one, you may have to find a workaround. I use Skype wherever possible for international phone calls, though I am thinking of getting a MagicJack as I talk to so many people in the US. It’s also worth having a backup if your internet connection goes down, as it might. That means knowing where to find free Wifi, having a dialup connection or both. Online backup is a must as you never know when you will be traveling and can’t afford to be without essential files. I use Syncplicity and Mozy.

6. Be Professional

No matter where you are, sending in a bid or application where you answer the clients’ questions (including the ones they didn’t even know they had) will help you get the job. As you secure more and more work, it will get easier, as you will have a bigger portfolio, more testimonials and a larger web presence to prove to clients that you can do the work.

7. Don’t Cheap Out

One of the disadvantages of being in a small place is that some people think you should do the job cheaper. My view is, if you have the skills and do the job, you should get paid the going rate. Unless you’re a beginner looking to gain experience, find out what the going rate is (I can suggest a few resources) and pitch yourself around that level.

8. Deliver

All of the above steps are designed to get you to the point where you get writing gigs. Once you’ve got them you have to provide what’s expected on time. End of.

9. Get Paid

Working out how to get paid when you can’t get a direct deposit can be difficult. If you have moved abroad, it’s worth maintaining a bank account in your home country for easy money transfers. Apart from that, there’s always Paypal and Western Union to cover most other eventualities.

So, Does It Work?

It does. From an island in the Caribbean, I write for clients in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and elsewhere. I generally get the rate I ask for and get paid on time.

Sharon Hurley Hall is a location independent freelance writer and blogger. See more of her work at Get Paid To Write Online.