We've been talking about how to tackle freelance writing jobs that you get, but we haven't yet told you how to get freelance writing jobs. That's why we're shifting our focus today, and helping you figure out how to get a freelance writing job. We're taking it for granted that you've already created a profile on our site (if you haven't, that really will help matters) but doing that is only a starting point. To actually get hired for writing jobs jobs, though, you're going to have to make yourself stand out. We're going to help you out with that today by giving you 4 easy things that you can do to improve your chances
1) Have Blogging Experience
Businesses will pretty much always prefer a known commodity to an unknown, so it's key that you make yourself a known commodity by building up a portfolio. An easy way to do this is have your own blog. Preferably, you'll keep the thing updated frequently, but even just having a handful of posts that you can point potential clients is huge–it's the difference between telling people that you know how to write and showing people that you know how to write.
In addition to maintaining your own blog, be sure to familiarize yourself with different blogging platforms. Know how to use WordPress, Posterous, and Tumblr, and make sure that your resume tells businesses about it. This brings us to blogging's hyperactive cousin…
2) Have a Twitter Account
It's not really "writing" per se, but familiarity with twitter (and the multitudinous applications that go along with it) is always an asset in the eyes of a small business owner. Showing businesses that you can use twitter (especially in conjunction with your blog) only makes you look more valuable.
There's another reason to be active on Twitter (and we stress
active here: do NOT have an account with 1 post that says "hoping to learn about this twitter thing"). A lot of freelance jobs are found through networking–you're going to be more attractive to businesses if they see you involved in their "network."
3) Understand the Fundamentals of SEO
SEO (search-engine optimization) will be critical for a lot of your clients. They want to find a freelance writer who can drive traffic to their site, and a central part of that is finding a freelance writer who understands SEO. How can you be that writer?
For starters, read
this excellent article on Google SEO basics. Get familiar with these basics, and practice them, and you can boast an understanding of the principles of SEO. Keep one thing in mind, though: no matter what sort of freelance writing you're doing, you're writing for people (not algorithms). Google's algorithm does reward your use of phrases, but the
critical component is links.
Good, interesting, and frequent content will draw links (especially if you're working actively on social media platforms like twitter). Bad writing won't. Don't ever make your writing clunky, awkward, and hard to read just so you can sneak in a key phrase a few more times. It makes people a lot less inclined to read–and, more importantly, link–the article. On top of that, people might be insulted by your transparent attempt to improve your search rank. On top of that, we'd also like to add this: freelance writing tips for college students. *Ahem* Where were we?
Oh, right, we're moving on to…
4) Learn basic HTMLFreelance writers aren't exactly coders, but knowing basic HTML is an essential skill for writers. You won't always have the convenience of a button to hyplerlink for you or add bold text; your clients want to know that, in those instances, you know how to get your hands dirty and mess around with the text yourself.
NDNation–a Notre Dame message board–has a great rundown of all of the major HTML skills you'll need to know
here. Learn these skills well (and make sure that your resume reflects that knowledge).
With these four skills added to your resume, you should be well on your way to landing a few freelance writing gigs. Best of luck!
