I am currently stepping up my freelance writing networking efforts and I am wondering where people do theirs and what steps they use? Obviously DP is one such place, the WF's another. Personally I have started using LinkedIn as a marketing tool and will be ramping up my twitter efforts in the next few days (when current projects are completed). Also just set up a freelance writing blog on my website in my sig. Other than that i was participating in one forum that attracted numerous website owners who were traffic hungry as well as in need of SEO'd web content which garnered me plenty of work, but the forum changed the rules re selling your services and signature links so that has dried up for me new business wise. So how do you guys go about networking yourselves. Do you ever network or pitch nonconventional outlets to try get work? Or simply contact editors/known freelance users as a basis for new business seeking? Very interested to see what people do beyond the traditional elance/getafreelancer/odesk sites.
Well, networking is always useful. but you need to try out other ways to build your reputation and increase your work. As you are a writer like me, it should not be a bad idea to work in freelancing sites. I have recently written a blog. Please go through it carefully. The results will be seen only after a while. But it is guaranteed.Thanks.
I avoid freelancing sites like the plague. If you can network and market yourself effectively, you never need to go near them. As soon as you do, you place yourself into a buyer's market, and you'll be tempted to market / compete on price (which is always a bad idea when marketing services). Personally, I network in a lot of ways - DP for example. I also run quite a few blogs, and I'm always amazed at how many clients they attract. Commenting on other blogs is something else you can do. You should join other forums or communities where members of your target market hang out. If you work with local clients, attend local networking events to meet people face-to-face. Spend time getting to know other writers (with different specialty areas, chances are they occasionally come across projects for services they don't offer - I regularly refer work to other writers, and they do the same for me). Every time you work with a client, you're also networking. Keep them happy, and you improve your chances of them referring you to others. Also, try social networks (for actual networking an not marketing, as in spamming). While I don't go often, I've found that answering questions on LinkedIn offers a remarkably high return in visibility and traffic, which brings potential clients to your sites to learn more.
I avoid freelance bidding sites simply because I'm not interested in being the lowest bidder and reducing my income this way. I'll also NEVER respond to any calls for work from this site. The pay rate is slave-labor rates - so I'll leave those clients for the beginners. I'm not interested in this low paying option. I have a blog that I keep updated regularly. There are no writing samples on there, no prices and no advertising pitch. Just posts about how I got about each freelancing day. Clients love to see how I treat my business and how professionally I deal with responses from other writers. I've picked up so many curious clients from this blog. All of my clients are repeat clients. They refer friends and business colleagues to me so all my new clients come from talking to existing clients. I've never been busier. The only marketing I do is to offer my existing clients a package of 5 free articles for every new client they refer to my services.
what a great tip... thanks for that! I assume you mean new clients that order over X-amount? how do you make your clients aware of this offer? For myself I use this board as a basis of bringing in income that pays the bills (at very low rates), network on other sites at slightly higher rates and have recently started sending out pitches to publications that pay 'proper' rates now that I am confident enough in my writing skills. Not ideal but as long as I keep my average rate on an upwards gradient then I'm happy for now
You're right in that DP sucks for advertising (and I also don't bother responding to ads here). But it's great for networking. Normal posts (like those in the copywriting, SEO, and general marketing areas) very often attract private work offers from higher-paying clients - there are plenty of them here. They just don't advertise publicly, because they don't want to be bombarded with offers from unqualified writers. It's good when your business is based entirely on past clients and referrals. I tell writers all the time to work towards that, and then they'll love never going back to the querying / advertising ways of finding work. But at the same time, be careful not to overlook the value of places like DP. The referrals you'll get here privately after building a reputation and networking for a while will make sure you always have the luxury of being very selective in the jobs you choose to take on or turn down - and I sincerely hope most writers making a career out of it are looking for ways to get to that point. Nothing beats it.
LinkedIn and Twitter are great- I also use Facebook, Flickr, and MeetUp.com as well as others like it (ie: Doterati). I've found local social networks, or groups centered around upcoming events, are most productive.
Non-writing forums are a great place to network in my opinon. There's so much competition on general writer boards that it's easy to get lost among the other posters, but if you're a regular poster on boards within your area of expertise, then when someone is looking for an 'expert' who is also a writer, you stand out. I'm on twitter, it's great for research, and it's found me a few useful leads, but it's not my main way of networking. I also have a LinkedIN account and I've found it a great way to keep in touch with my contacts, but I haven't found any new work from it. Perhaps I don't spend enough time on there.
I have to agree with you about writing forums. I don't waste time on them at all anymore. I tend to stick to webmaster, marketing, or business forums. I'd probably only go back to a writer forum if I were looking to hire a writer and couldn't find someone qualified elsewhere (which would be rare). Networking with other writers can be done in a variety of ways - I prefer mostly doing it through their blogs. There's a more personal touch about it, and far less "noise."