Most of the really good freelance writing jobs – i.e., those that are reputable and pay well! – often require you to submit writing samples. Some may even ask you to write something specifically as an audition piece for them, though this isn’t as common. Writing is an art form, after all, and prospective clients want to feel secure before investing in you. Make sense? Writing samples are your portfolio and let you showcase your skills!
Of course, this leads you right into that awful job-related Catch-22. We’ve all faced it at some point. You need a job to get experience (or produce writing samples!), but all the jobs want you to have experience before they’ll hire you. It’s a real pain! But there are a couple of strategies I can suggest to help you work around it.
The first and easiest workaround is to begin a blog of your own and publish your own content. On the plus side, it gives you something to produce content for right away, a solo way to showcase that content, and can help establish you as an authority on whatever subject you want to write about. On the negative side, it’s free labor upfront with no guarantee of returns – and making a blog actually work for you is an entire career in itself! You’ve got bills to pay now! You can’t afford to waste any time.
This brings me to my second and better strategy for kick-starting your freelance writing career:
Have you considered guest posting for other websites or bloggers?
I can personally vouch for this method, even though I’m not officially a freelance writer. However, I do guest post regularly to promote my blog. Recently, I had a big site reach out to offer me a ghostwriting position after seeing one of my posts – and it was a decent-paying offer too!
These are just a few of the benefits you can reap by guest posting for other websites:
- You will become familiar with the pitching process.
- You will become familiar with the editing process.
- You will be able to include your author byline at the end of each guest post.
- You will get those writing samples for your pitches and applications going forward.
Guest posting can be a great way to go. Wonderful. Now – how do you find blogs to guest post on?
I’d suggest deciding what you want to write about right up front. Are you passionate about pets such as cats and dogs and know all about caring for them? Are you a fashionista up-to-date on all the latest trends? Are you a scientist with a wide knowledge-base and deep interest in the ocean? Whatever your interests and training are in – write on that topic! You already know so much about it, and your authoritativeness and passion will shine through in your writing.
Now that you know what you’d like to write about, start looking for websites or blogs that post about those topics. Also, make sure you’re targeting the best sites within those topics – you don’t want to waste time guest posting on a market with limited traffic. You can gauge how much traffic a website gets by examining their social media streams for activity and follow counts, along with checking sites like Alexa Ranking or Similar Web. You can even just check how high a site shows up in Google search results. You’re looking for sites with consistent traffic on recent content, as well – make sure it’s not just a few old posts that are getting all the visitors.
Here are a few of the benefits that guest posting for bigger websites or blogs that are in your wheelhouse can do for you:
- Your potential clients are likely visiting these sites, so your guest post is a free commercial.
- Guest posting on an established website or blog automatically lends you an authority in that field.
- Guest posting on an established website or blog means more eyes on your writing and author byline.
- You’ll be more appealing to potential clients if they recognize sites on which you’ve been published.
Some of these websites may even offer to pay you for a guest post – however, check the fine print on these offers! You want to be sure your author byline will appear on the piece so that you have the opportunity to attract more clients and can use the post as one of your writing samples.
When you create your author byline, make sure it’s no more than a couple of sentences. Always put your name first, and be sure to include that you’re a freelance writer or online content creator.
Link to your website or a contact method so potential clients can reach out to you as soon as they’re impressed by one of your guest posts. Make it as easy as possible for them to offer you freelance work!
Once your guest post has been published, add it to your online portfolio. This can be as simple as a bibliography with links provided to each piece, or you can add some clippings. For example, provide the title and link to your guest post on your portfolio page, then include a brief excerpt that showcases the best or most intriguing part of your piece as well. It’ll really pop as a blockquote.
When you’re pitching to a market or applying for a position online, you can easily link to your online portfolio.
I also recommend that you follow up with the website or blog for which you guest post! Let them know that you would love to be considered should they ever have a paid contributor position available. If never hurts to plant a seed for the future, and maintaining positive business connections is paramount. Besides, you never know what might be available to you if you simply ask.
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