Let's face it, freelance writing has become a very competitive, prolific and evolved industry ever since the internet found its way into mainstream society. Because of the internet, many paper publications are closing their doors. This seems tragic but cultures must learn to adjust to the ebb and flow of progress and evolution. With that in mind, as a freelance writer your world is ever changing. Now you must find new ways to find work. The old magazine pitch that gave writers a quarterly opportunity to score big with a byline and a nice paycheck is no longer a viable option. That isn't to say there are not still some sound paper publications that will survive the electronic publishing age. In light of the changes, I have explored other options. What I came up is an outline of seven ways that freelance writers can find work.
1. Traditional Job Searches in the Local Community
Utilize the local newspapers and online job listing agencies. Apply in person or electronically but be sure to follow up occasionally to let them know you are still interested.
2. Craigslist
Everything sells on Craigslist! And content writing or freelance articles are just as viable as a good used vehicle or a refurbished lawn mower. So write some creative ad copy and sell samples of your work such as a small article booklet or poetry chapbook. When you ship the item, include your business card and a listing of available content, blogs, booklets, books, magazine articles or ebooks.
3. Content Companies
There are many article content companies that hire writers as independent contractors. Some operate by assigning work and others work like an article auction. A good one that I have found success with is Constant Content. Look for the widget in my sidebar and check it out for yourself. The pay varies according to what you request. The host company always gets a percentage for allowing you to use their platform, software, hosting and list of potential clients.
4. Paid Blogging Companies
The blogging market has evolved rapidly over the last seven years. Change in this field are almost constant and companies come and go. Find companies that hire a panel of bloggers to accommodate their clients by performing a search on the major search engines. I can recommend two that I have been with for several years who still operate. Check out Blogsvertise (dot com) and Social Spark. (dot com) Be sure to follow their instructions for setting up your blog(s).
5. Magazines
There are hundreds of magazines, if not thousands, in the literary market who are looking for freelance writers. Many have either converted to electronic magazines completely and some have both the electronic and hard copy. Submitting articles to established magazines is a lengthy process but one that should not be ignored. Utilize other more swift resources while you prepare your portfolio, sample writings and pitches.
6. Social Networks
Again, there are hundreds of social networks with about two dozen being the most common. Sign up for accounts in as many of these networks as you can find. Build a good profile page, include your links to other networks and to your personal blogs to drive the traffic to your sites. Again, you get an audience. Post a little background about yourself and a small ad offering your talents to your friends.
7. Advertise yourself. Create your personal brand and use ad exchanges, online text classifieds, online magazine classifieds, list builders and any type of advertising available electronically. Utilize social groups and pages to brand yourself and post information about your work.
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
TheMidnightWriter
Posted in: content writing
Original Articles. Constant-Content.
