Hello my fellow scribblers! There is a lot of information bandied about here about writing and finding good writers as well as riters finding good clients. I'd like to add this question to the mix because I hope that it will generate a good deal of useful information for all of us. I want to first thank CoriGear for posting his great thread on the difference between $5 and $50 articles. His thoughts were spot on and I wish every client could read that one it got me thinking about things, however. There seem to be some resources on here about finding el cheapo writing websites that pay a dollar or less for blogs, but what I'd like to know, and I'm sure we all would, is what is the best methods or location to find quality clients? Those who pay what we're worth? Are there any good websites for this? Do you rely on SEO and your websites? Do you find them through social networks or advertising? I hope we can share some great info here and thank you for being a part of this thread
It can be kind of a mixed bag. I have found some of my best clients here, you just have to keep an eye out and know what your set rate is going to be. I have also found some great ones through Craigslist ads, and through referrals from clients I already have. Even on sites where the posted rates can be awful and competition high, it is possible to narrow down a good list of core clients. If you keep your quality high they will be happy, and you can retain them for a long time. Which then leads to them referring you out to others in the industry who need a reliable writer on retainer. The problem is that every year there are a handful of times where the well is always dry. Summer and the end of the year (late June to early September and late November to mid January) seem to be those times. So it might seem like there is just nothing out there right now and no way to really make good money anywhere. But that will pass and the jobs to writer ratio will even out again.
yes, timing does play a part. I've found that to be true for years, not just for writing, but for web design, SEO, etc. Interestingly, the dry times differ. I have also found writing jobs on CG. Most do not respond, but a few have. it's a good place to look, especially for local clients.
Six methods that work for me are; (in no particular order) Advertising Social networking Referrals from clients Contacting potential clients directly Actively participating on forums where my target audience can be found Attending trade shows and conferences
hey TS, yes, those are all good ones. I'm curious to learn a bit more detail on a couple of them. For example, where do you advertise? Do you find that certain things work better or worse? Also, forums where your clients might be. Do you specialize in a particular genre of business? As for contacting clients directly, this has always been a way to drum up biz. Do you search out potential clients' websites and then offer a sample of improved content, cold call, etc? This is a great list. Even the trade shows item can be quite interesting. In other words, are you talking to otentials about writing specifically? Or a broder range of services. I also use referrals quite a bit. I do look on Craigslist but find that there are a lot of these "blogging" jobs that want you to go to empowernetwork and watch a video and join some kind of MLM, I ghink it is. This gets frustrating I have seen many paid writing job services but have always been cynical about that. Perhaps there are some good ones, but I don't like having to pre-pay to see a list of potential jobs. For my money, I'd stay away from those.
Advertise online and offline. -One way is to set-up blogs for people. Many, many people want to set-up their own blog, but are lost somewhere in the process. -Local businesses may or may not have a website. Some have a website, but it needs updated or the text is just simply poorly written. Many businesses want a website, but don't have a clue what to write on it. -Network with designers, website building and branding businesses and SEO firms. They almost always need writers. Forums & Communities - Think of it this way... Are you a parent? Are you single parent? Are you a first-time parent? Are you raising a baby, toddler, child, or teenager? Are you raising a child with special needs? Do you have child who you adopted? Are you looking to adopt? Are you skilled at writing on topics parents are interested in? Hang out where the parents are, interact with them. Always include a signature offering your writing services. Same goes if you are into a particular sport, celebrities, specific hobbies, animals, any like-minded interest that you share or write well about. The key is to interact with these people. Another example... I work with horses at a stable and I also help take care of a herd of 29 free range horses that we use for horseback trail riding. I'll work as a guide for these trail rides when needed. Because I have an interest in horses, I found places where other horse people gather. I launched a horse blog as well. I included my signature in posts and have earned clients this way. Some of the writing was for horse-specific sites, blogs, and businesses. Other times it was for a wide variety of misc projects. Some of these forums and communities start blogging groups. Join them. It's a good way for you to display your writing skills while getting traffic to your blog(s). Direct Contact - I have my own website, portfolio, and niche-specific blogs. I search on the web and contact people directly. Contact may be through email, online form, or by phone. I introduce myself and link them to my site, portfolio and any relevent niche specific blog. I use an email from my own domain. Never a free email address like Gmail, Yahoo, and the likes. I've had clients who contacted me from a bio included in articles I wrote and submitted to free article directories. I've nurtured and built a niche specific Twitter account that has over 10, 900 followers. It's a very targeted following, with all the fluff weeded out. Everyone should take the time to nurture and niche specific Twitter account. It takes time, but it's golden once you do. Create a LinkedIn profile. Join niche-specific Facebook groups. Join blogging groups on Facebook. Join writer groups on Facebook. Another way to get noticed... Write tutorials and include your author bio. Let's say you are good at setting up Wordpress or you know some tips and tricks about certain themes or plugins, or maybe you have the answers to common Wordpress issues, write about them. Upload them or submit them to directories and relevent places. Always linking back to your site. People are always looking for writers. Always network with others such as designers, SEO people, programmers, Wordpress guru's, ... and people who share a common interest. Word gets around... The important thing to remember is that it takes time to build a client base. Even when you have an established base of repeat clients, there will be time when work is slow. It's the nature of the business. You always want to be creating multiple streams of income that can fill-in the gaps when client work slows down. Never rely on one form of income.
Thank you TS, that was a great bit of info that I think everyone can use. Some very good advice in that reply for anyone, be it writers, SEO people, website designers, small business people, etc. Patience and diligence are certainly virtues for those of us who are entrepreneurs. And the advice about creating multiple income streams is very good, especially in the times in which we live.
@mian.owais211 Although I haven't had any experience with oDesk, I have been with freelancer for a while and have found it a mixed bag. Most of the jobs are now falling into the cheap and cheerful bracket although I have one client from there and that seems to be working out ok. I have looked at Elance and have found the same thing there and therefore haven't applied for any work as yet. It might be that I am too fussy but I don't think so, I just refuse to work for peanuts. My best client has been from PeoplePerHour.com and he found me through an add I placed there, it's not the best in terms of pay but better than most other rates I have seen and it is ongoing work, the client is nice too and doesn't hassle me to complete work, I kind of wish they could all be like that.
I have seen a lot of mention of people finding clients here on DP. Is there a special place for this? I havent' seen much in the way of that, a few posts here and there. I'm wondering if there is a specific location that I might have missed.