Where Do You Get Your Best Freelance Writing Gigs?
April 21, 2008 – 12:58 pm
I hear the same question asked over and over again when I tell people they don’t have to work for peanuts - where do you get the good gigs?
I give the same answer till I’m blue in the face, but it still doesn’t seem to sink in sometimes.
- Specialize.
- Network.
In short, people (in many cases) pay more for niche “experts,” and the best gigs are rarely advertised, so who you know really does count. Most of my best gigs have come through referrals from colleagues or past clients.
I guess what I want to know is this: have you had a similar experience with decent-paying writing jobs, or are there actually “places” where you go to find good gigs? Maybe I’m just a fluke. I want to know. Where do you get your best gigs?
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3 Responses to “Where Do You Get Your Best Freelance Writing Gigs?”
Well, if these people were getting refferrals from current customers, they probably wouldn’t be asking. I’d guess that either they have not great customers, who don’t have any friends to refer, or these people are just starting out and need a place to start. I’d say those two require different answers.
So — how do you start out? When you don’t have a portfolio or a list of past clients to show off, how do you get started without having to do free or very cheap gigs for peanuts just to start going?
By silvermine on Apr 21, 2008
I don’t just say referrals from current customers though… I say “network.” That includes networking with potential clients, as well as with other writers. Writers refer work to each other all the time when they can’t fit a gig into their schedule, they don’t specialize in the material requested, etc. That’s where you start. You post on your blog, in forums, comments on others’ blogs, in private networking groups, etc. demonstrating that you really know what you’re talking about in your area of expertise. You make it known that you write on the subject matter. If people like what you have to say, and they like how you present it, they refer work to you or they remember you when they’re looking to hire someone in your area.
I didn’t start out with a portfolio when I began writing for the Web. I launched a website. I wrote for myself first. Was there much money in it then? No. But it got me a gig with a network. That connected me to a lot of writers, and to people in my industry. They connected me to gigs paying upwards of $.25 / word right from the start of really pursuing clients online. If I believed for a second when I was new that I had to take crap gigs just because I was new, I’d still likely be taking them today.
I’m not a huge fan of writing for free, but there are some cases where I’d do it. For example, posting to a reputable niche site can be good for marketing yourself (Work.com comes to mind - I was hired to write some articles there previously, and have contributed one or two for free since then). When it comes to doing free work for clients, I generally suggest doing it for a non-profit organization. Not only can you “feel good” about the work, but they tend to carry more credibility than writing for a random webmaster no one knows. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that if you need to build some credibility or portfolio pieces. But in this day and age, anyone can write for themselves to showcase their expertise in a subject. There’s just no good reason to take crap gigs just to take them anymore. Writers who do that and then ask where the good gigs are only demonstrate that they didn’t take it seriously enough to do the market research before jumping into freelance writing… I think that’s what ruffles my feathers a bit.
By Jennifer Mattern on Apr 21, 2008
The minute I specialized in online writing I immediately saw an increase in writing fees and work. Plus…
Attend seminars…when people see you face to face, it starts a better business relationship than over the phone or through email.
Joseph Ratliff
By Joseph Ratliff on Apr 25, 2008