I have freelance writing on my mind today, or rather, the freelance writing niche. For those of you who haven’t been with this blog network from the beginning, Freelance Writing Jobs started out as a single standalone blog posting job leads every day. From there, we branched out to having some advice posts on the weekend, then a mixture of the two during the week. Now we’re a full-fledged network of eight blogs.
Here’s the interesting thing. This blog/network has been around for about four and a half years. We have some regulars who have been with us since day one (thanks, guys!) but for the most part this is a transient niche. It’s an interesting thing about blogging, some niches do very well, others do OK, and some only have a few loyal readers. While the FWJ network does better than I ever expected, I do notice the names and faces change often. This is a different experience than some of my other blogs. Here’s why I feel the freelance writing community is different – a transient community.
- Unlike many writing niches, this niche is freelance writing jobs. We handle everything you need to know about finding and keeping freelance writing work. Because of this, many of the freelance writers who visit FWJ are new. As they advance, they move on.
- Freelance writers either move back to day jobs or they move on to bigger and better clients. As their level of success grows, they don’t exactly need blogs like mine anymore.
- Folks come here to find work. Once they have a decent amount of clients, they’re to busy to spend time at blogs.
- As freelance writers become more successful, they build a word of mouth business.
This isn’t only FWJ. I notice this about many writing forums too. The regulars particpate heavily for a while and move on, I hope because they’re advancing in their careers. Every now and then I’ll bump into someone from here or “the boards” and learn they’re just too busy to socialize as they used to. Transience isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I may lose members of this community as they branch out, but that’s a very good thing.
What are some other transient blog niches you can think of?
I haven’t been here the full 4+ years, but I’ve been here long enough to see a lot of “regular” posters leave. That can be normal evolution for them and for you.
The blog can’t be all things to all people, though your “network” of blogs certainly serves a wider audience than a single one can. For a new writer, you provide a tremendous resource. As people get busier in their careers or families, though, they may have to cut out some items, and this may be one.
A few years ago, I was a lot busier with work, was more involved with kids (they’re teens now, so it’s Dad, leave me alone, except when they need money). At that time, I wouldn’t have come across the blog in the first place because I had all the clients I could handle, and was even outsourcing some overflow work.
Things are starting to pick up again now. That’s not to say I wouldn’t be staying even if I got very busy again, but it would certainly reduce the amount I participate — got to feed the family first — but I’m also not so full of myself to think that I can’t learn from others here. As an old-time writer, I’m still trying to understand the business case and ROI of blogging.
But when others get busy, they may cut out this or other blogs because their needs have changed and their time is more restricted.
At its heart, FWJ is an educational site. Like other education, there is are introduction, learning and graduation stages. What keeps us “graduates” popping our heads back in every so often is the community; the virtual class-reunions. I’m not so much interested in tips in writing than in finding what’s on your mind or learning what new trends in writing or markets may have appeared. Freelance writing is an odd mix of craft and profession. Like most crafts, you learn the basics, hone your skills, then set up your own shop. As part profession, there is still some continuing education, but it is much more specialized – a good reason for FWJ to have expanded beyond just job listings and into niche writing areas like business.
I fall into the category of an established writer who lost one too many clients over the past year. Also, a number of print clients now work on the web, which means a serious reduction of income. I used boards like this when I first started out but find I need to revisit them in light of this changing economy. I am sure I am not alone in this regard.
I stay plenty busy with two main clients, and I’ve gotten some word of mouth, but I still browse the leads here (and at four other sites) on a semi-weekly basis, just looking for the ones that hit my particular niches.
Mostly I enjoy reading the comments. It helps me further my own career by seeing the attitudes and reactions of other writers, and helps me understand several of the “whys” as to how certain things are.
I can honestly say that I didn’t use a single, solitary resource from any of the websites I browse to get started in the industry. As someone who ran a business before, and started on my own rather than using my family’s reputation in the industry, I was already intimately familiar with the concept of “going door to door” with your resume/portfolio and drumming up work. When I went into this last year I didn’t even stumble across this particular site until I had already been writing for about 8 months with other clients, and I came here purely for the leads at that point in time.
Most of what is discussed is “old news” to me. Contracts are contracts, business to business. Men with Pens, FWJ, any other number of sites out there offer a lot of “business info” that I already knew, so that part of the industry I was already hands-on with. However, one thing I can say I have used since then is “how to deal with a client who won’t pay you in an online setting”.
I ended up using a different resource from Google, but I had already read a few other people’s posts here with how to deal with it, so it pointed me in the right direction. I contacted them 4 days after my payment was late with a query, got no answer, so I sent a formal letter saying “pay up or face a C&D”. I received an e-mail from their CEO (this is a multi-million Euro company out of Holland) stating that “due to reasons beyond our control, we are late in payments; please be patient with us”.
I gave them a week to remit payment. They still hadn’t, so I gave them a C&D letter that gave them 4 days to remit payment. I received an e-mail from their CEO FOUR HOURS before the deadline was up asking for my bank account information so he could wire transfer me the money.
Hated having to go to that lengths, but at least I got paid. And I found the information on how to do so from this and various other sites.
In any case…I probably only find one lead per month that I actually apply to, from 4 or 5 sites I browse. It has to be very particular for me to want to take the time to submit a query letter. The last lead I applied to from here was around 5 or 6 weeks ago, I think. Since then I haven’t seen anything up my alley, and blessedly enough I’m plenty busy.
There are several transient blog subniches inside the main entertainment niche, for instance. Today people are in love with an actor, a TV show or a band, but tomorrow they won’t care anymore and will move on.