Hi,I've been just a couple of minutes old on this forum and already took the liberty of starting a new thread altogether. I really hope that's not against the rules.Recently I've been seeing a lot of chatter on different forums about bagging paid writing gigs, without having to bid on pitifully low paying "writing projects" on some freelance sites. I decided to chip in with my views and wanted to offer some lesser known tips to all freelance writers out there.I’m an experienced writer myself and have found these tips to work wonderfully!If someone needs a good writer and is willing to pay handsomely, chances are he’s too busy to post his requirements on freelance sites. Even he has someone to do it for him, he’d probably not prefer to post stuff on low paying freelance sites because he knows “you get what you pay forâ€! Such sites RARELY (I don’t say there are none) have experienced writers on them. The best way to reach out to such webmasters is simply by mailing them. Identify a couple of sites in your preferred niche (preferably individual owned sites and not companies) and type in the site URLs on www.domaintools.com. You’ll be directed to a page having information about the site’s owner/s, including phone and e-mail details. Send across a well written mail to the owner telling him your expertise in the subject and also pointing out gently how his site could get benefited by your content. Don’t talk prices until you’re asked to.This technique can really works wonders and if you write 50 e-mails a day, you can rest assured that you’d hear back from at least 3-4 of them. Once you hear from them, it’s up to you how you negotiate the terms and sell yourself.In some cases the contact details might not be revealed by domaintools.com (watch out for weird looking- alphanumeric character stuffed mail addresses. They don’t work). Use the contact form or try Google to find out the contact info of the company.If you’re good enough with the above process, you’d have your hands full in no time at all.The other way to do it is by commenting on blogs “inside†websites. Look for websites in your niche that have irregularly updated blogs in them. Chances are, the owner wants the blog to remain updated, but doesn’t have the time or resources. Post some genuine comments and offer your services. With some luck you’d be able to hear back from the owner in a couple of days.Try the above two tips and I’m sure you’d have your hands filled with stuff you want and say goodbye to the bidding game.P.M me if you get stuck, I’ll help you out if time permits.Cheers!
Thanks for some very new and unique tip as to how to go about getting the writing work. thanks a lot again.
Cold emailing can work, but that's a lot of addresses one has to collect. Still, it never hurts to try. Cold calling works as well, but it's not for everyone. I know it's something I have to do eventually, but I think I'll give emailing a shot first.
If that is all there is to it then I might as well consider my talented friend to take this up seriously, thanks for the tip.
Hey bro...you missed the whole point! i'd still like to thank you because you took the time to read through the post and even post a reply. I'd be the happiest person if any DP member manages to bag a gig using the above tips. Cheers!
The biggest challenge for freelancers (barring few...and i know someone who charges $1200 per page to write for a top rung football club) is to handle two things with equal efficiency - "find work" and "found work". With domaintools.com, you don't need to grope in the dark for valid contact info and you can expect the other person to at least read your mails because the domaintool addresses mostly belong to site owners. I hope this tip works for you
Some great tips up above. Even if you need to go back and edit the post to put some paragraph breaks in it. Man, my head hurts from reading that big block of text. But you comment about identifying some sites and mailing them is spot on. The problem with freelance sites is they are usually posted on by people who are one man operations and by default probably don't have a large budget to hire writers. If you focus on identifying business sites that have say 100 or more employees then they tend to have much larger budges and you are 100 times more likely to get a high paying job that with just a mom and pop shop. But some great tips in your post.
Good idea, Guitarizma. I want to add that you also contact the ezine owners, they need alot of content constantly. You can find them by googling [your niche]+ezine
Not a bad idea, but you need a portfolio first. Write spec work to build up a collection that interested employers can look at and see whether you fit the bill or not. Make your own website with your services and offers with the portfolio posted on there so that you come off as a professional and not just another kook in the slush pile. Take the steps to show you're a professional instead of just trying to come off as one and you'll snag a lot more clients. Don't be afraid to work for free a bit before you get your paid gigs. Employers want proof along with your sell.
Man unsubscribing above rights. People want to see how you work, your example works. That is, a portfolio and your own website can be compared with the business card.
Why don't you break that up into 3 or 4 paragraphs? I would read it then. Sorry, but it hurts my eyes before I finish the first sentence.