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Here are today’s writing job opportunities that could kickstart your freelancing career!
30 Job Boards for Freelance Writers
One of the questions that I get asked most often about being a freelance writer is where do I find clients. One of the strategies that works is to visit job boards for freelance writers and applying for available gigs.
Time Management Tip #1: Prioritize
Writers tend to juggle several projects at once, in addition to all of the other things they do during the day – billing, networking, searching for work, living life, etc. There are times when it feels like there are never enough hours in the day to complete everything.
The bad news: there isn’t enough time. The good news: not everything has to be finished today.
One of the craziest things that people do when trying to manage their time is giving each to-do item equal priority.
I’ve talked with friends who have said that everything they do is important. I get it, I like to feel important and busy too, but everything I do throughout the day does not have equal importance. It took me a long time to figure out how to prioritize, but let me spare you the years of bewilderment with three ways to put your priorities in order.
#1 Develop a System
Tornadoes, terror alerts, snow emergencies, they all have one thing in common – set standards that determine which actions to take and when they should be taken. Is that email about dinner as important as the email about accepting a new gig? Is deleting spam as important as editing a piece to make your deadline?
Whether you use color coded Post-Its, numbers or electronic alerts, develop a system that combines standard actions with level of importance. Be careful not to set too many levels. An overly complicated system is ineffective – right, U.S. color-coded terror alert system?
#2 Make a decision.
Trying to figure out where things land within your shiny new system is the toughest part. Start with the obvious items – deadlines, contracts, billing, etc. Then move on to communication items such as research and writing, followed by social networking and follow-ups. Or work backwards – whatever works for you!
#3 Stick with it.
Another thing I have struggled with is implementing a system and sticking with it. It’s one thing to tweak things along the way, but it’s unproductive to scrap the whole thing and start over every couple of weeks. Give your system a chance to work and become a habit.
There are only 24 hours in the day. At some point you have to sleep, spend time with your family and eat. The rest is filled with deadlines and to-do’s. Successful writers figure out what must be done and when to do it.
How do you manage work priorities?
“You’re Stupid.” When Cutting Edge Articles Go Bad…
I love spunky articles and blog posts. When a writer takes an unusual stance or approaches a topic with razor-sharp wit it makes me excited about a piece, often ends up in my saved/bookmarked file and is forwarded on through various social media channels. As much as I like an offbeat approach, I practically cover my eyes and cringe at some ‘devil may care’ stances that fall flat.
One reason why these posts miss their mark is they lack true understanding of who is in their audience. There was a post from a PR rep that recently made internet waves. The blogger confronted mom bloggers who want to get paid for reviews or other corporate sponsored posts. The reaction to the post – on a wildly popular blog that focuses on women building their blogging brand and growing their business – fell flatter than a souffle during an earthquake. The cutting edge/tough love tone came across as condescending to most of the businesswomen that responded.
“You’re stupid if you…” or “You’re crazy if…” or my fav “Only idiots…” abusing your audience will only get you so far. Eventually people will get tired of being berated and find someone else who can give them the same information without the insults. Make sure you don’t overplay your hand.
Another reason why certain blog posts/articles don’t succeed is they cross the line by just being plain mean. There’s nothing wrong with being controversial, there is something terribly wrong with being mean and nasty. Have an opinion, or a unique way of looking at a subject, but settling scores, consistently stoking internet wars and taking cheap shots fizzles an audience out pretty quickly, despite a brief spike in traffic and buzz.
Got a controversial stance or topic? Make sure you keep three things in mind: facts, focus and familiarity with your audience. Supporting facts will allow your piece to stand on its own merit. Staying focused on the facts will keep an opinion from turning into an unproductive (and long) rant. Finally, I cannot stress it enough – knowing your audience will make or break your piece. It’s one thing to want to fire up your audience about a subject, it’s another to have them fired up AT you because you just don’t get them.
Controversy can be an effective tool to starting a conversation, but without supportive facts, smart editing and reader connection the piece may just miss its mark.
Do you have an example of an edgy piece that worked? How about a conversation started that missed its intended audience? Share the link with us!
When is the Right Time to Become a Freelance Writer?
I admit that I lurk around on various message boards and the discussion that I see get me thinking. I’ve been following one discussion about when it’s a good time to launch a career as a freelance writer. These options have been suggested, and both of them have valid points:
- Save up enough money until you have several months’ worth of expenses and go full time.
- Start part time while working in a “day” job and build up a good client base and ease into freelancing.
The idea here is to have some kind of a “fall back” position in case the whole freelancing thing doesn’t work out. I fully appreciate this idea, but there is something to be said for going full tilt and not worrying about the bridges you leave behind. If you are good at your craft and you look after your clients well, you won’t need them.
I must take exception to the idea that “security” comes from working for someone else. It doesn’t. Really. If you are an employee, your employer has the power to decide that your services are no longer required at any time. If the company needs to make cuts, your job may be affected, no matter how well you did your job. Where is the security in that?
If you want to be a writer, then be one. There is no better time than right now to get started. The freelancing has room for people who want to work at all different levels, from those who rely on the income to put food on the table to those who use their earnings to save for something special that they want. If you are waiting for the exact, risk-free time to launch your career, you will be waiting for a long time. It’s not going to happen.
And if you are holding back because you don’t have faith in your abilities, I found a great quote that covers that point too:
“The greater the artist, the greater the doubt; perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” (Robert Hughes, Time)
Now is the time. We can’t live in the past, because it’s gone. We don’t know what the future will bring (unless you have a crystal ball that works…I don’t). All we have is the present, so make the most of it and go after what you really want.
We Get (Client) Feedback About Following Instructions
I received the following feedback from an employer who posted a job ad on Freelance Writing Gigs.
I know we’ve talked about how important it is to follow the instructions in an ad and these comments underscore that fact:
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