If you are committed to being a freelance writer, you will need to have a marketing plan in place. You will also have a commitment to learning the craft of writing on various subjects; how to calculate the keyword density for the articles you write that require SEO keywords as part of the requirement given you by the client. You must also commit to writing something every day. You can’t just hang out and then write when you get the next assignment.
You need to build up clips. Clips come from writing, take a guess at what you need to do. Write, write, write, and write. If you are not willing to make this commitment, you are probably not going to make it as a freelance writer. It takes a commitment to writing, improving, learning, marketing, and promoting to make it as a beginning freelance writer, and even after you are established. No writer can rest on their laurels, especially the freelance writer. A freelance writer must work doubly on staying in the mind of clients and working on finding the next client, unless you work in-house for some company and they find your clients. If you want to keep busy, you will have to spend more time looking for work, than actually writing.
If as a freelance writer, you are not willing to do the work finding jobs and promoting yourself, you probably won’t make it in the freelance writing arena. Marketing and promoting have become an integral part of every writer’s life, not just the freelance writer. Especially as the economy slows down and companies merge, they can do the promoting for you any longer. You will need to reinvent yourself with almost every piece of copy you write.
Learn, read, and above all practice your trade. Learn to write press releases for your business to let people know you are there. Also look at the copy from businesses in your community, see if you can make it better. Approach the local Chamber of Commerce, social clubs, fraternal organizations, your church, and work on their newsletters, and pamphlets. Anything you can do to learn the art of freelance writing. Write web content for organizations, or church you belong to; any kind of writing to gain practice in the various types of writing freelancers write for a living.
If you cannot maintain this type of commitment, you should reconsider your choice of becoming a freelance writer.
Robert Medak built a website where he offers his services, and maintains five blogs. He also maintains two blogs for AllBook Reviews,
and does marketing for AllBooks. Robert created a social networking site for freelance writers at Ning.com. He keeps it an invitation only site to keep spammers out, he has been plagued enough with spammers in other writers’ sites where he is a member. He also maintains a critique group at Yahoo Groups called “critiquings”. Robert created a course for writers at Writers’ Village University (WVU) which he has facilitated, he has facilitated other courses at WVU. He also helped establish a Creative Writing Workshop at WVU.
Website: http://stormywriter.com or blog, http://rjmedak.wordpress.com/.
