Do you get excited when you get a “nibble” back from a potential client? I admit that I do. What’s a nibble, you ask? Well, it’s when you’ve applied for a writing gig or made a pitch to a potential client and they have responded in a way that indicates they are interested in discussing the idea of your working together.

One of the challenges in looking for work, whether you are a freelancer or a looking for a salaried position, is that the process is quite impersonal. In the past, you might look for work approaching a potential employer personally or calling them on the phone to ask about available positions. Now, we apply for jobs by e-mail or by filling in an online form. If we call a potential client, we may end up getting their voice mail instead. The personal touch seems to be a thing of the past.

When you are working as a freelance writer, ideally you want to have a number of clients that you work with on a regular, or at least semi-regular basis. It helps to smooth out the financial ups and downs that go with the territory. Many clients would rather go back to a freelancer they have worked with successfully in the past for their future needs rather than hiring someone new for each project. How can you increase your chances of being the go-to person for future work? Here are some tips:

Your relationship with a client starts off when you make contact with them for the first time. When you are answering ads looking for writers, you may not know exactly who you are contacting. The ad may be sketchy, and you may know only that the person doing the hiring needs a certain type of writing done.

We have recommended several times here at FWJ that people who are looking for freelance writing work start a blog or put up a web site to provide samples of their work and as a marketing tool. Looking for your next assignment should be a regular part of your routine, and one advantage of having a web site or a blog is that it is always available to potential clients.

While it’s true that finding work as a freelancer is partly a numbers game, it doesn’t mean that you should apply for every opportunity that you come across. Just like in the brick-and-mortar world, you have a better chance of being hired by a client if you can show that you are a good fit for the gig.

I have a confession to make. I hate writing cover letters. Hate them with a passion. It would be so much easier if when applying for a freelance writing job if I could just send in my resume and samples with a note that says, “I can do this job. Please hire me.” Since it doesn’t work that way and prospective clients want to know something about the people who are offering to work for them, here is my take on how to write cover letters. First Paragraph: Who Are You? The first paragraph of the cover letter is where [Read more…]

When you are looking for freelance writing work, how important is the money aspect to you? Do you only apply for opportunities that pay above a certain threshold, or are there other things that go into the decision? I know that at FWJ, we only post opportunities that pay at least $10, and I think that’s fair. Now, here at Casa Redmond, we do enjoy eating and living indoors, and that is part of why I work as a freelance writer. But it’s not just about the money. No two days are the same, and I love the fact that [Read more…]

Recruiter Dave Benach has some more words of wisdom to share with FWJ readers: Now, drilling down a bit more to specific qualifications, here’s what I look for when reviewing a resume: Category Experience It’s great that you’ve written 79 marketing slicks for a large law firm, describing every practice area they serve in detail. At least, it’s great if I’m looking to hire a writer with legal experience! If I’m sourcing for a writer, I want you to come to me with prior experience crafting similar kind of content. Given current market conditions, no hiring manager wants to go [Read more…]

I recently had the opportunity to ask Dave Benach, a recruiter, about how candidates for freelance or contract work can stand out from the pack when responding to job ads. He was extremely generous about sharing what he knows and gave me enough information for two posts! In this first one, Dave shares his thoughts about how to write a resume that makes the recruiter or hiring manager want to take the next step and get in touch with you. After reading his thoughts, I’ve put “update/edit resume” on my To Do list.

When you are looking for freelance writing opportunities, it may be tempting to think of yourself as just a writer. When you are contacting potential clients and ask the question, “Do you need a writer?”, the answer may well be “No.” The client may not have ever hired a freelance writer before. They may not know what kinds of services you can offer (articles, advertising materials, blog posts, press releases, etc.). Part of marketing yourself to potential clients is to tell them why hiring you will help their bottom line, because that is what matters to them.

When someone posts an ad on a job site, Craigslist or even FWJ, they usually receive many responses. People who place ads here have commented many times about how quickly they start getting responses and are very impressed at the caliber of applicants they are getting. If think about the fact that there may be at least 100 responses to an ad (and there may be two or three times that many), you may be intimidated by that. Some people may choose not to apply for something that they may be well suited for because of it.

We spend a lot of time here at Freelance Writing Jobs talking about “where” to find potential clients. I’ve been giving this some thought and I think the first question we should be asking ourselves is “who” the potential clients are. Here’s my take on it: Your potential clients are everyone you talk to, e-mail, IM, follow on Twitter, etc. When you pick up a magazine or a newspaper, you can find potential clients. Local businesses can give you work, as well as ones that you find when you are surfing the Internet. Once you get into the mindset the [Read more…]

When you are looking for freelance work, are there some potential clients that you don’t approach because you feel intimidated in some way? Sometimes it can be easy to talk yourself out of throwing your hat into the ring. You might consider that there may be several other people who are applying for the opportunity. You may also have doubts about your abilities, even if you have written for pay before (and will again). Mostly, though, you just plain don’t feel good enough to write for [fill in the blank here].

The idea of being in sales may bring to mind images of men in plaid sports coats pressuring the poor, hapless customer into buying something that they don’t want or need. The reality is that if you are offering a product or a service, you need to be able to present it to the potential customer or client, give them the information they need to make a decision, and overcome any objections they may have about hiring you. That is selling. The Freelancer as a Problem Solver I used to think that I got hired to write. That is partly [Read more…]

by Jodee Redmond One of my clients sent me a really interesting report yesterday. Entitled the “2009 U.S. Hiring Forecast,” it contains the results of a survey conducted for Careerbuilder.com in November and December of 2008. Here are some excerpts you might find interesting: More than half of the hiring managers surveyed (56%) indicated that they didn’t plan on changing their staffing levels in 2009. 14% plan on hiring new staff this year. 19% of hiring managers indicated that the quality of applicants they are getting for available positions has gone down in the past year. 27% of those surveyed [Read more…]

When you are looking for work as a freelance writer (or any kind of work for that matter), you need to present yourself in the best possible way if you are going to get hired. Have you ever looked at your writing resume and cover letter and considered the impression it makes on someone reading it for the first time? Put yourself in the chair of the person reading your application and think about whether you are coming across like someone they would be interested in hiring. Have you explained who you are (a freelance writer extraordinaire, of course) who [Read more…]

Mystery shopping is a lot more than simply getting paid to shop. These types of assignments can be used to supplement your income, and you may be surprised to learn that there is writing involved. Mystery shopping is a multi-billion dollar industry that helps companies to get a clear idea of how well their employees are interacting with customers. An unhappy customer is more likely to leave and decide not to return than to mention their concerns to management, and this directly affects the company’s bottom line. When you sign up with a mystery shopping company, you have the option [Read more…]

“…Now I got them steadily depressin, low down mind messin Working [as a freelance writer] blues.” With my apologies to the late, great Jim Croce, there are times when marketing yourself just seems like waayyy too much trouble. It’s not always easy to keep putting yourself out there and keep applying for job postings or pitching potential clients. If you have recently been rejected, it can make the task of looking for work especially daunting. Looking for your next opportunity is part of a freelance writer’s life. No matter how full your plate happens to be at any moment in [Read more…]