When freelance writers tell me they’re having trouble finding gigs, I often find what they really mean is “I’m sending out lots of resumes to online job ads I find on Craigslist and not getting any bites.”
But there are many, many other ways to land a freelance-writing job.
If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you are likely to get the same result you’re getting now. If you want to find more clients, it’s time to get proactive and try new marketing strategies.
Here are 50 suggestions for other ways to market your writing:
- Ask friends if they know anyone looking for a writer
- Ask former coworkers if they know anyone looking for a writer
- Ask former bosses if they know anyone looking for a writer
- Find former editors — reconnect and see if they have any current writing needs
- Find former editors and ask them to refer you if they hear from other editors who need a writer
- Call all your previous clients and see if they have any writing needs now
- Check in with previous clients and ask them to refer you business
- Ask current clients to refer you business
- Ask current clients if they have any additional writing needs
- Analyze what your current clients are doing and actively propose new projects
- Bid for jobs on freelance bidding sites — especially on jobs that seem high-quality and have few bidders
- Put your profile on freelance bidding sites, then just lurk and let clients find you
- Have a profile on MediaBistro, the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, or other professional sites prospects might check to find writers
- Develop story ideas and send query letters
- Make cold calls — identify prospects, call them on the phone and simply ask, “Do you use freelance writers?”
- Send a direct mail pitch to prospective businesses
- Drive the industrial parks of your town and write down business names — then check out their websites and call them.
- Go to in-person networking events
- Create a new in-person networking event and serve as the host
- Go door to door on your main street and meet business owners
- Send InMail on LinkedIn – they have a high average response rate, and LinkedIn now guarantees you’ll get a response
- Troll the full-time jobs on LinkedIn and apply, asking if they might also need freelancers
- Check “Who’s viewed my profile” on LinkedIn and reach out to people who’ve looked at your site
- Hold a free or paid in-person class about how writers can help businesses succeed
- Hold a free or paid webinar or teleclass for prospects
- Do a podcast about the benefits of your type of writing to clients
- Start a blog with tips for your target audience
- Create a free ebook or report that can be downloaded or emailed to prospects
- Make your website rank high on Google for key search terms, ie “freelance writer + your city”
- Take out an ad online — on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or a popular site for your niche
- Take out a print ad in a publication your prospects read
- Place ads on Craigslist (instead of just answering ads on Craigslist)
- Find niche job boards with better-quality jobs you can apply for
- Look at newspaper classified ads
- Send an unsolicited article to a magazine or online publication
- Inquire about guest posting on prominent blogs your prospects would read
- Send an unsolicited guest blog post to a prominent site
Write promotional articles on Biznik with useful tips for your prospective audience (they can be emailed to everyone in your market)or offer a free or paid event for members only [NOTE: Biznik has closed.]- Refer other writers so that they in turn refer you
- Tweet about the type of work you do
- Look through the job offers on Twitter
- Use the Writer’s Market online to identify new markets you could approach
- Join business and writing organizations and take advantage of their events and forums to find new prospects
- Call relevant organizations your prospects might belong to, and ask if you can be listed in their online resource guide for members
- Join writing communities such as A-List Blogger Club, where lots of other writers will get to know you and might refer you
- Put a bumper sticker or door sign on your car that says you’re a freelance writer
- Wear a button everywhere you go that says you’re a freelance writer
- Create business cards that make a special offer for prospects and hand them out everywhere you go
- Put a tagline about your writing business in all your outgoing emails with a link to your URL
- Write a substantial ebook or print-on-demand book that would build your authority as a pro writer
How do you find freelance writing clients? Leave a comment and let us know your approach.
