I am always on the lookout for new freelance job leads. I like to know what’s being offered and what the average expectations are of the people who are hiring freelance writers and bloggers today. I also like to have a steady stream of new opportunities available to me.
I typically use the same few resources when looking for these job leads. I use Craigslist under both writing jobs and writing gigs. I use Problogger since I’m primarily looking for blogging work. And I use Deb Ng’s daily list of leads. However, I also like to play around with new options for finding work as these options emerge.
One option that’s emerged recently is TwitterJobSearch. Through this site you can enter a keyword for the job that you want to find and it will provide you with a list of such jobs that have been posted to Twitter. You can sort the results by date or relevance.
I have tried to use this tool to find blogging jobs and it doesn’t seem to be particularly useful. I’ve entered “blog”, “blogger” and “blogging” as my keywords and yet most of the jobs that come up don’t seem directly relevant to hiring a blogger. However, I’ve seen more success for general writing jobs when typing in either “writing” or “writers”.
I’m curious - is anyone else out there using TwitterJobSearch to find freelance writing / blogging jobs? Has it been successful for you? Is it any better than searching Twitter directly?
I mentioned here in yesterday’s post that I enjoy the fact that the writing business means constant change. It’s true that I enjoy the changes that happen in this line of work. However, I have to admit that sometimes the changes mean stress. The biggest cause of this is what I call the swinging door of freelance writing. Clients are constantly opening doors and closing them on us due to their own situations and financial restraints.
This affects me more than other writers because I strive to take on jobs that are going to be ongoing. I don’t apply for one-off jobs or short-term jobs (like writing a single batch of articles). I just feel that it requires too much effort on my part to learn the terms and style of a client that I’m only going to write for once. Also, I really like to promote my own work to improve web traffic for my clients and that’s hard to do when you’re only writing for them once or twice.
Since I take on jobs that are designed to be ongoing, I get hit harder when those jobs end. It’s frustrating to build up a portfolio with a client, get used to using their system, get good at promoting their specific type of work to the right industries and then to be told that they just don’t need you or can’t afford to keep you on anymore.
I counterbalance this by steadily applying for new ongoing jobs. I check freelance job boards on a near-daily basis and apply to all of the ongoing jobs that appeal to me. There are only about 1 or 2 per month that I actually get all the way through the hiring process of and decide to work with them. Still, this means that there are 1-2 clients per month that I’m learning a whole new system for (and often a new industry as well!)
And each month there are 1 or 2 existing clients who need to lighten the work load or let go of me altogether. So the swinging door continues. I’ve learned to accept this and to not get too worried about it. I know there will be other jobs when one ends. Nevertheless, I would say that this is one of the bigger sources of stress in my life as a freelance writer.
I scan the Internet almost every day in search of new job leads. I like to see what’s out there and to dip my writing fingers into different waters as often as possible. However, I actually don’t apply to new jobs very often.
Some of the reasons that I typically don’t apply to a lot of jobs include:
- Most of them are low-paying. A lot of what’s actually advertised is either no-pay, revenue-only or low-paying work and I’m not at a stage in my freelance career where that’s what I’m looking for.
- Many of them are not for the writing that I do. I am a freelance writer with a diverse background and I’ve written lots of different types of stuff but these days I primarily stick to blogging for businesses. That’s what I most enjoy doing. As a result, I don’t tend to apply for jobs to write web content, ghostwrite ebooks or any of that stuff which severely limits the number of jobs that I’m interested in applying for.
- Many of them are one-time jobs. Occasionally I’ll take on a one-time writing gig if I think that it sounds interesting. For the most part, though, I like to apply to jobs that will provide a steady ongoing source of income. A lot of what’s advertised out there doesn’t fall into that category.
- I don’t bid on jobs. Many times I’ll follow an interesting job lead only to discover that it’s on a site like elance where you have to bid against others for the work. I used to do that and don’t find that it suits me very well. It’s great for many writers but it’s not an approach to finding work that works for me so I ignore those leads.
And then there are those ads that you look at and you just know that they are some sort of scam. Like this one on Craigslist right now. The link is surely going to get flagged soon so I’ll share with you what the ad is in full:
Wine gig for blogger: $10K/mo (financial district)
“Blogger to get $10K/mo for wine gig.” B at Market St/Hyatt SF 1130 am 4/28 Kiosk 2 beat pack
Compensation: $10K/mo for six months gig; housing included
I have to confess that I’m really curious to know what this is really all about. They’re offering you housing and ten grand a month do blog about wine. Obviously that’s not really true but there must be some reason that they want you to go to that kiosk. I’m curious as to what that reason is and what people are going to find when they get there. And I’m really curious to know if they are actually going to get anyone interested in whatever it is that they’re really offering.
Mostly I hate seeing ads that are clearly scams but sometimes it’s neat just because it gets your imagination going as to what they’re all about! There’s nothing wrong with a stirred imagination - especially when you’re a writer!
I have written in the past about the many different places that there are to look for freelance writing work. There are classified ad sites like Craigslist where jobs are advertised. There are bid sites like Elance that you can sign up to participate in (although I’ve never liked that option much). There are proactive options like coldcalling and contacting potential new clients via email.
I have used all of those at one time or another and still do use them regularly (minus the bid sites). However, the thing that I do most frequently to look for new freelance writing work is to check the links on the websites that offer freelance job leads. These job leads may come from the individual sites (like Craigslist) or may be in the form of posts about individual jobs. Either way, they typically provide a good collection of leads that point me in the right direction for what work is being offered out there.
Here are the ten sites that I’m checking most frequently for job leads in 2009:
- Freelance Writing Gigs. Deb Ng continues to be the best provider out there for daily leads on jobs. There’s a list of links up every weekday (and some weekends) as well as smaller individual posts from specific potential clients.
- About Freelance Writing. Deb Ng pointed readers in the direction of leads on this site recently which turned me on to the site. There are fewer leads here but they’re posted steadily and they are sometimes different from what you’re seeing on the other sites.
- All Freelance Writing. The same post by Deb that pointed me in the direction of About Freelance Writing also pointed me here. Same deal. Good stuff.
- Problogger. I continue to check the Problogger job leads daily for info on potential blogging jobs that may be available.
- Performancing Blogger Jobs. This one isn’t nearly as good as problogger but people seeking blogging work may find the occasional good lead here.
- Freelance Job Openings. Usually only a few posted here each day but often ones worth pursuing.
- Online Writing Jobs. This is a comprehensive list of what’s out there. It can be overwhelming but you can filter by the type of jobs that you want to look at (blogging, articles, books, etc.) so that makes it easier to find the work that you want.
- Absolute Write. Only a couple posted here each day but always different from what’s being advertised elsewhere.
- Media Bistro. Many of the jobs here are on-site jobs but you can sometimes find telecommute work.
- Journalism Jobs. Same deal as Media Bistro but often worth a look.
Where else do you check for freelance job leads?
I am slowly starting to return to taking on a few freelance jobs here and there. Mostly this is because a girl supporting herself in the city needs to have an income to rely on. But partly this is also because I do like starting new projects and there are things about going back to work that I’m happy about.
One of the things that I’m discovering I really like is the excitement of browsing through all of the freelance writing and blogging jobs that are advertised each day. When life has been busy and I’ve been in a rush to get to actually working, the process of finding work has seemed like an annoying burden. But now that I’ve got some time on my hands to appreciate each part of the process, I’m really kind of enjoying the browsing through jobs.
There are so many different jobs advertised each day for at-home writers. There are jobs on Craigslist and Monster and Indeed and MediaBistro and Freelance Writing Jobs. The truth is that most of these aren’t jobs that I would want to do. They don’t pay well (or at all) … they aren’t on topics that interest me or based on work processes that work for me. But I still really like looking at all of the different projects that are being launched and developed out there.
Just looking through today’s posts, I saw jobs for editing books and conntributing to national travel guides and writing about home design and blogging about the college admissions process … in other words, there is a wealth of opportunity out there to write about so many different things and there are people out there snapping up those jobs and contributing to the body of written work that is out there for all of us to read.
It’s really all kind of amazing!
A slew of writers from around the web have contacted me out of the blue recently asking if they can guest post here on this blog. I’m always happy to help other good writers spread the word about their work if I can. Here’s the most recent of those posts - an article on getting freelance writing jobs written by Maya Richard.
Freelance writers all face a common dilemma; how can you get more
business, and still find the time necessary to actually get your work
done.
Managing your time and attempting to maintain a steady schedule and
workflow is hard enough as it is when working for yourself, let alone
trying to find the time and resources to grow your business and bring
in new customers. If you spend all of your time working, then you will
have trouble finding new business and thus running a successful
operation. On the other hand, if you spend all your time marketing
your services, you will never get any work done.
So how do you find the perfect balance, which lets you keep your
business profitable and reputable, and still keep new business coming
in? How do you take the scarce free time you have and make it work for
you?
Here are 5 ways that can usually help you accomplish this if
implemented correctly.
1. Network with Other Freelance Writers
One of the best ways to solve problems and learn new tricks and tips,
especially when it comes to handling your workloads, and reaching new
customers, is to network and share ideas with other people that do the
same thing you do.
Every freelancer out there is trying to make a living on their own
terms, and this is never a simple task. When you network with others,
not only do you have someone to talk to when you have an industry
specific question, but you also have someone to help you find leads,
advertise effectively, and simplify your workflow and project
management.
Aside from simply networking with freelance writers, building a small
network of web and graphic designers, photographers, coders, and more,
can really pay off in the long run. Doing so will simplify the task of
finding people to take on specific parts of a project you may
encounter which require you to further outsource, such as designing a
website for a customer.
2. Keep it Simple
There are literally tens of thousands of other freelance writers
available on the internet, and while there will always be plenty of
work to go around, you need to stick out from your competition, and
show potential customers that you do what you do well.
One of the best ways to do this is to simply under promise and over deliver.
When it comes to writing a sales pitch, or responding to an inquiry,
it really does pay to understate your services and skills. When you
find the urge to explain in detail, your skills to a potential
customer, simply stop yourself and narrow this long list of skills and
accomplishments down to a simple, quick statement. Think of a resume
when you are doing this, because you never want to send out a 20 page
resume, and the same goes for explaining why you are a good fit for a
freelance project.
3. Make Templates for Common Projects
If you are a writer, or nearly any type of digital entrepreneur, you
will undoubtedly have a copy of Microsoft Office (or Open Office) that
you use nearly every single day of your life. The first thing you need
to do is make sure you have the most up-to-date version, as new
features are added each year or two which can really benefit you.
Now, you should aim to create an entire collection of templates, using
numerous platforms (Word, Excel, Etc.), which can all save you time by
helping streamline some of the more common tasks and projects you do.
Creating a custom billing template in Excel, for instance, can take a
decent amount of work, but once it is done, you will never have to
calculate your final costs. From word and page counts, pricing
structures, and additional services, to taxes, payment processing
fees, and nearly everything else you frequently factor in to your
billing, you can really reduce repetitive tasks, and thus save time
and money.
This doesn’t only apply to Excel, however. Common document formats,
such as sales letters, email sales templates, and even press releases,
can all be recreated as a template which helps you get to each project
more quickly and efficiently, and thus helping you make more money,
and deliver your services in a more timely manner.
4. Constantly Look for Opportunity
Don’t think that you will ever get where you want to be in your
business, if you simply expect customers and clients to come to you.
Sure, advertising your services publicly, whether online or off, can
really bring in a steady stream of work for you, but you are hitting
maybe 15% of your potential market.
Every time you go shopping, to a conference, to a meeting, to a
function, or anything else you could really imagine, you need to keep
a keen eye out for the opportunity to offer your services. As a
freelance writer, you are providing individuals and businesses with a
service that can be detriment to their success. Marketing materials,
pamphlets, brochures, emails, web copy, sales copy, and more, are all
a huge part of each businesses success, and you are their key to
tackling these aspects effectively.
Never be afraid to market yourself in person, and pitch ideas freely,
because you never know who might bite.
5. Find Local Business Organizations
Finally, you need to take advantage of local business meetings. Nearly
every city and town has numerous local business meeting events weekly
or monthly.
These meetings are typically held so that local businesses and
organizations alike can share new ideas, and discuss current events
and trends in their local market. Attending these events will get you
comfortable with some of the regular individuals, and you will have an
opportunity to not just learn from these people, but to explain to
them how your services work and benefit others, which can open new
doors that you never knew existed.
Be sure to have professional, informative business cards. A business
card with a fancy design, and a simple phone number or website can
work for you in most cases, but when it comes to building solid
networking “buddies”, it is always good to have a second set of cards.
Name, office phone, personal phone, website, fax, email, and any other
means of contact, should all be listed on the card. If you need to,
get yourself double-sided cards, which appear as normal cards on the
front, and feature extra contact methods and details on the back.
Never leave home without a pocket full of cards, and be sure to hand
2-3 out each time, because they might not be the only person they know
that could use your services.
This article is by Maya Richard (mayarichard@gmail.com) who is
currently a content writer writing about cell phones.
Just a few more job links for those people seeking freelance work this weekend:
Blog Jobs:
- Bloggers, various topics, $84-$140 per month
Ongoing writing jobs:
- IT / Tech writers, state your rate
- Content writers, minimum $10 per hour
- Essay writers, must currently be in college
- Writer/researcher; various projects, 40% of project rate
One-shot writing jobs:
- Non-fiction book authors, several titles available
- Website rewrite, state your rate
- Classified ad for business, state your rate
- Creative writer for teens, “market rate”
- Grant writer, $1000+
Editing jobs:
- Technical book editors, rate not stated
- Auto Trade Publication editor, work from home but must travel to Houston to meet publisher
[Tags] freelance, writing, jobs, gigs, resources, employment, links, freelance writing jobs [/Tags]
I recently got myself into an unfortunate situation with one of my previous writing gigs due to my own failure to read a freelance contract before I signed it. The end result didn’t turn out so bad but I felt foolish because I know better than to read anything without signing it. And I know better than to faily to review my freelance writing contracts; after all, I’ve been in the writing business in some form or another for almost ten years. Heck, I ran a freelance writing company for awhile that relied heavily on the proper use of multiple forms of writing contracts.
So, what happened? I’d been working for a blog network for several months under a contract (which I did read before signing). Then two things happened. First, I began to find that the time the site was taking was much longer than I’d anticipated and I was getting less and less inclined to work for the site. Second, a bunch of changes were made in the way that the network was going to be operated. As a result of those changes, all of the bloggers were asked to sign new writing contracts.
When I received the electronic version of my contract, I skimmed it. My excuse is the typical excuse that I was busy with other things. Additionally, I thought that I knew what the major change to the contract was which was that we were going to start receiving payments in a different manner and time frame than in the past. I was comfortable with that change so I went ahead and signed the contract without further review. I then promptly forgot about it.
Over the course of the next couple of months, I found that it was too much of a drain to keep my writing commitment to that site and I resigned from the position. I still have a few payments coming in from the old work. To my surprise, the most recent payment was lower than I’d expected. Long story short, the contract had changed not only the terms of payment but also the amount. Moreover, it had changed the number of posts I was required to write. Since I hadn’t read it, I’d been almost twice the amount of work that I needed to do - and of course I didn’t get paid for the extra.
The situation was bad for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s disappointing to do work and not get paid for it (through no fault of the network; I have only myself to blame there). Second, I’m a little bummed because if I knew that the requirements for the site had changed, I probably could have kep my commitment and not quit the job. And third, I just feel ridiculous about the fact that I didn’t read that contract in full before I signed it. What an amateur error!
But it’s good because it serves as a reminder that we should always read every word of a writing contract and make sure that we know what it says. Additionally, I would encourage you to consider amending three standard parts of each new freelance writing contract that you sign:
- Late payment fee. Every freelance writing contract should specify not only the amount of compensation but when it is due (for example, the contract may say that payment is due within 30 days of the date on the freelancer’s invoice). Additionally, the contract should specify what the late fee is (such as ten percent) for failure to pay within that time frame. Most freelance writing contracts will not have this written in to them but you should negotiate a change with the client before signing the contract. This is a way to protect you from non-payment by clients (a problem which happens all too frequently in the freelance world); even if you don’t end up suing, the threat of the legal problem can suffice to motivate people to pay you in full and on time.
- Length of contract. Make sure that the contract specifies something about how long it lasts and/or how to make changes to it. This is so that you can properly negotiate raises to your pay over time. For example, the contract may state that it requires renewal after one year. At that time, you are in a position to negotiate a better rate. It also puts a time limit on other terms of the contract so that you have wiggle room if you find out after a period of time that there are certain terms you agreed to that you don’t like.
- Rights. Your contract will say somewhere in it who retains the rights to anything that you write for others. You should read this part carefully and try to retain as many rights as possible to your work. In many cases, this will mean amending the contract. Most clients are open to amending the contract within reason because they realize (or can be shown) that typical contracts in the world of publishing allow the author to retain certain reprint rights or to gain rights to the work after a certain amount of time passes. Read up on this area of copyright law so that you can protect yourself.
And read those contracts. Every time. No matter what!
Question of the Day: What stories can you share about problems and successes related to signing your freelance writing contracts?
[Tags] freelance, writing, contract, rights, legal, blogging [/Tags]
There are many times in a freelance writer’s life when it becomes necessary to track down new work. Here are eighteen ways that you can start bringing in more freelance jobs today:
- Check the classifieds. Craigslist is the best of the sites out there for daily advertisements by people seeking to hire freelancers. Be sure to check for telecommute writing positions in multiple cities and not just the ones posted on the Craigslist site for where you live. Other good sites include Performancing and Online Writing Jobs.
- Check sites that offer job links. There are several sites that will troll through Craigslist and other advertisements for you and provide you with links to the good opportunities for freelance writing. Freelance Writing Jobs, Freelance Hub and Freelancing for Blogs are good places to check. There are also job links here on Real Words on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Check the job boards of sites that advertise open postions for their own sites. For example, Word Press has listings when bloggers are needed for any Word Press blogs. Likewise with the Creative Weblogging blog network.
- Advertise on your own blog or website that you’re available for work. Let people know what you’re seeking to do and provide them with links to relevant samples. If you don’t have a blog / website that gets noticed, you’ll want to get it some attention. Run a contest asking other bloggers to mention your site.
- Advertise on writing job sites that you are available. You’re able to post your resume or write an ad that you’re available on numerous sites including Online Writing Jobs (see link above) and Blogger Jobs. Take advantage of that.
- Get active in social networking. Make contact with people on sites like LinkedIn and let them know that you’re looking for new writing work.
- Identify online sites that you would like to work for. Put together a great cover letter as to why you would want to work for them along with a sample of your writing ability. Contact the people who head the site with this information. They may not be hiring immediately but they’ll surely think of you when they are.
- Cold call local businesses. Nobody likes cold calling but it can be a really effective way to start getting new writing work. When you’re in the famine time of the feast-and-famine freelance world, you should consider trying this out.
- Put together a media kit and/or brochures and send them out to local businesses to advertise your writing skills and availability. This can be just as effective as cold calling and can be a lot less intimidating for most people.
- Send out an email to all of your contacts. This can go out in the form of a general update about what’s going on with you but may briefly mention that you’re seeking work. Someone might bite or may at least point you in the right direction of new freelance work.
- Add announcements on all of your social bookmarking sites (such as Mixx or Digg) that you’re always on the lookout for new work. Describe what type of writing you do and encourage people to get in touch with you if they know of availabilities.
- Teach a class. This is a great way to earn money by doing something relevant to your writing and possibly get new writing work as well. Think of an aspect of the writing business that you know well enough to speak on. Hold a class (you can advertise locally and through sites like Craigslist) and charge a small fee for your efforts. At the end of the class, pass on your contact information and encourage anyone in the class that is seeking writing help to get in touch with you to discuss your rates. You may end up doing writing, editing or consulting as a result of this work - and if not, at least you have something new to add to your resume!
- Drop a hello to previous clients. A simple “hey, how’s it going” can remind previous clients that you’re still around for work and may get them interested in hiring you for a new project.
- Work on submissions to magazines and anthologies. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get paid for this work but it pays well if it pays off. And it’s better than doing nothing at all when you don’t have work flowing.
- Write content articles for sites like HubPages. You can earn revenue for the articles that you write. On your profile, you should state that you’re seeking writing work. Make sure that the content you create is representative of the kind of work that you would do for your clients.
- Ask other writers if they know of work that’s available. You should try to put together a social group of writing friends. That group can be through an online forum or a community networking event. Either way, you’ll have a group of people who will send work your way. Sure, they’ll keep the jobs they want but they may suggest jobs to you that don’t appeal to them (for example, if you do music journalism and a writer friend doesn’t, she might send a client who wants that your way.)
- Circulate a press release. Come up with something stellar that you’ve done related to writing and write a professional press release about it. If you do a good job on the release, you’ll be proving that you’ve got what it takes to be a good writer and someone will likely take notice.
- Offer to write for free. It’s not typically recommended that you write for free because it takes away from your other writing time. However, it’s better than not writing at all. If you’re in a position where there’s not a lot of work flow, volunteer to do some writing for your favorite charity. You help them out, you get a tax break, and you may find that it leads to a paying writing job with the place that you’ve volunteered.
The main thing that you should get out of this is that jobs come along when you put yourself out there. There’s always writing that can be done in order to secure new jobs down the line. Don’t get lazy and don’t burn bridges and you can make a career out of this type of work.
Question of the Day: What are some other ways to find freelance work that I’ve forgotten to include on this list?
[Tags] freelance, writing, jobs [/Tags]
Job links from employers around the web
Blog Jobs:
- Business mergers and acquisitions blogger, rate not stated
- 10 short blog posts per day, $20-$35 per hour
- Business and marketing blogger, rate not stated
- International real estate blogger, rate not stated
- Health bloggers, $75 per week, amount of work not stated
- Multiple blogging jobs, varied pay
- Reality TV recap blogger, 1 post per day, $100 per week
- Adult content blogger, $5 per 100+ word post
- Electronic music blogger, “small stipend”
- Attention-getting blog posts, $20 (details vague)
Ongoing writing jobs:
- Various articles, 500-1000 words, state your rate
- International travel writers, $40K+ per year and travel expenses
- Online researcher / writer; 10-20 hrs. per week, state your rate
- Web 2.0 copywriter, $500 signing bonus if you get the job
- Healthcare technology copywriting, rate not stated
One-shot writing jobs:
- Athletic articles, 350-500 words, $20 per article
- Website press release, $100
- Men’s wedding planning articles, 800-1000 words, state your rate
Editing jobs:
Misc:
- Professional translators, all languages
[Tags] freelance, writing, jobs, gigs, resources, employment, links, freelance writing jobs [/Tags]
