If you are just getting started with freelance writing, you should consider contacting local businesses in a variety of industries. Believe it or not, both small and large companies in your area hire freelancers for tasks ranging from web design to writing, and much more. And if you live in the area you have a much better chance of winning their business. After all, most companies like to keep their outsourcing local if at all possible.
How will you get in touch with local businesses? As you can imagine, this can be done in two ways. Most freelance writers rely on email as a way of getting in touch and showing their interest. This may be successful from time to time, but it will more than likely be a waste of time. Instead, you should consider calling local companies and telling them who you are and what you have to offer. When you speak with a decision maker on the phone you have a much better chance of success. While they can delete an email before reading it, they cannot do the same on the phone. Not to mention the fact that calling gives you a better chance to establish a relationship. And since you have something in common, your location, you will definitely have an icebreaker.
There are enough clients in your local area to keep your freelance writing business running strong for years on end. If you devote time each day to cold calling these companies, you will see your profits and success skyrocket.
The internet helps in so many ways, but it can also hold people back at the same time. This is definitely the case when it comes to freelance writers. Too many of them get caught up in email, and trying to work for clients that are on the other side of the world. While there is nothing wrong with this, you will want to work hard on obtaining local clients as well. You will find that you have the best chance of winning these jobs.Â
A lot of freelance writers that I speak with share the common problem of becoming frustrated because they do not have any samples to show prospective clients. In turn, they feel that their career is never going to take off. While it is true that obtaining work experience and samples can be difficult, there are several simple ways for doing so that you may be overlooking.
1. Simply put, you can volunteer to write for other people. Yes, this means that you are going to have to work for free. But remember, this is something that a lot of freelance writers have to do to get their feet wet. You can volunteer for webmasters, nonprofit organizations, or local businesses among others. As you can imagine, there are a lot of people who would love to get something for free; especially good content. In many cases, those that you volunteer for may offer you paid jobs in the future if they like your work.
2. Do you know a friend or family member who owns a small business or holds a high position within their company? If so, ask them if they need anybody to help with writing related projects such as newsletters, blogs, web copy, marketing copy, etc. You may be surprised at how many companies are in desperate need of a quality freelance writer. Most companies do not have a full-time employee who handles all writing related tasks. In turn, hiring a freelancer is necessary.
3. If you are not yet a full-time freelance writer, ask your current employer if you can help within the company in this capacity. They may allow you to work on company newsletters, sales letters, and other writing projects that need to be completed. This is especially true for companies that do not employ anybody who is solely responsible for writing.
These are three of the best ways to obtain freelance writing samples in no time at all. If you exercise all three of these options, especially number one, it is safe to say that you will collect plenty of samples in no time at all. It is not always fun to work in this capacity, but in order to get samples it is something that you may have to do. Look at this part of your career as an investment. This will help you to quickly obtain several quality samples so that you can then move on with better paying jobs.
…this one does! Even though everybody needs some time off, I find this quite difficult to say the least. As you probably know, today is Thanksgiving for those of us in the United States. Even though I do not plan on working the entire day, I will definitely put in a few hours in the morning before the day’s festivities kick off.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with working on the holidays. I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but if you want to be good at what you do you should be devoted. While I take this overboard sometimes, staying away from the computer all day is hard for me to do.
Since most people don’t have the time to read a long blog post on Thanksgiving, I’ll stop here. If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you are working today. If so, good for you!
