Want a career where you can set your own hours, flex your creativity, proudly send your bylined articles to your mom, and wear cat-print pajamas all day (full disclosure: that’s exactly what I’m wearing right now)? Then freelance writing might be for you! Keep in mind, though, that freelance writers, SEO experts and bloggers spend as much time marketing themselves and their ideas as they do actually writing — if not more. But if you’ve got a craving for freedom and a passion for the written word, then here’s how to get paid for blogging and writing:
- Pitch Publications
When it comes to freelancing for magazines and online publications, a lot of the work comes before you even score your assignment. That’s because no one’s going to hand you an assignment if you just ask for it — you have to show that you’re an idea-generating machine who knows the publication inside and out, and that you have ah-mazing writing chops to boot. That’s why you send a pitch, an e-mail (usually) that contains an awesome story idea that you’d like the magazine to consider. To send a pitch-perfect pitch, first spend your time studying the print or online publication so you know that your story idea is a good fit for the outlet. Then, do you research — if you’re pitching a longer feature article, reach out to a few sources for short interviews so you can include their quotes in your pitch. Find relevant statistics or recent studies that support your claims, and make it obvious why the publication should run this story NOW. Then, you’ll want to write your lead, which should be a paragraph long, that really captures the editor’s attention (often, the lead in your pitch becomes the lead in your story, too!). After the lead, you’ll want to include a few bullet points that outline what else you will cover in the story, and whom you plan to interview to get the inside scoop. Finally, it’s a good idea to include a few links at the end of your pitch to one or two related stories that you’ve written — but if you don’t have many bylines yet, don’t worry. If your pitch is good enough, the editor might just take a chance on a writing newbie.
The pitch process is a little different for blogs and small magazines, like trade journals for very specific audiences. For these kinds of publications, you typically don’t want to send one longer pitch, but several shorter pitches, each no more than a paragraph long. Don’t worry about pre-interviewing sources for these pitches; instead, concentrate on coming up with about three top-notch ideas that really fit with the blog’s theme (and haven’t been written about on the blog before — make sure to use the search bar!). Even if the editor doesn’t think your pitches are quite the right fit, he or she may give you an assignment anyway if it’s obvious that you did your research and are passionate about the blog’s subject matter.
One word of caution: Pitching involves A LOT of rejection, or worse — never hearing back from an editor at all. But just keep pitching! And research publications that are similar to the pub you first sent a pitch to, that way, if you never hear back from an editor, you can send the pitch on to other magazines or blogs with minimal editing necessary.
- Scour Job Boards
In addition to well-known job boards like Indeed and Monster, there a few writing-related job boards that are worth taking a look at. JournalismJobs.com and Ed2010.com are great options for budding freelance journalists, while ProBlogger.net is really popular with freelancers looking to score blogging and copywriting gigs. Just keep in mind that sites like these get a lot of eyeballs, so you can be sure that a bunch of other freelancers just like you are applying to the same jobs. To up your chances of scoring a gig, try to apply to a job shortly after it’s posted, rather than waiting a week or two before sending over your resume and clips. I would recommend setting a schedule for checking job boards once a day — but no more than that — to easily skim for jobs you may be the perfect fit for.
- Pitch Businesses (the Non-Obnoxious Way)
If you’re a writer or marketer, you’ve heard it before: Content is king. Pretty much every company, large and small, has its own blog these days. And if they don’t? Well, that’s where you come in. If you can convince a small business that they really need a blog (“It increases SEO rankings! It positions you as in expert in your field!”) — and that you’re the man or woman for the job — then you’ve just scored a pretty sweet ongoing gig. This, however, involves cold pitching businesses via e-mail and telling them, basically, that their website isn’t up to snuff. But you’ve got to do this tactfully.
Instead of sending an e-mail that says “Hey, you’re website sucks, let me fix it with a blog,” try starting off your e-mail with a compliment to the business. Then segue into how you noticed that they don’t have a blog (or that they haven’t updated their blog in a long time), and explain how having a blog can benefit the business’s bottom line. Now here’s the most important part: include a few knock-your-socks-off-good blog ideas in your e-mail, so that the business owner can really visualize what kind of content you’re capable of producing. Then invite the owner to get in touch so you can chat further about blog prospects. Remember, you’ll really want to take your time researching the business so that you can ensure your blog ideas are spot on. Like pitching publications, you’ll probably get a lot of crickets in response to your emails, but with practice and diligence you can eventually land a client (or several!) that has monthly, or even weekly assignments for you — every freelancer’s dream.
Are you a freelance writer or blogger? What tips do you have for aspiring freelancers? Share them with us in the comments below!
