Freelancing 101

Roughly three years ago, I started freelancing just because I had nothing else to do. I love to write and so I thought, why not use my love for writing to earn a little extra income? And so I tried it out. Like any other new business, my freelance career started out slow. I had to publish dozens of articles first in my blog before I got noticed. When I did get noticed, I had to work for a minimum pay. The thing with freelancing is, you can’t charge as much as you’d like when you’re only a beginner in the field.

Eventually, however, I gained reputation in the field of writing. Projects started coming in one after another; and I didn’t have to charge so low just to land a writing job! How did I do it?

1. If you want to get clients, create a portfolio that they can view. In my case, I started a blog where my clients can see content that I publish. A nice (and free) blog host you can use is Blogger. It’s easy to use and very customizable.
2. Connecting with other bloggers can increase your reputation. This can even gain you a ghost writing job! The point here is to get other people to view your blog. Comment on their posts (make sure you make quality comments) and refer them to a similar article in your blog if there is any.
3. Use the social networks available to market yourself. I use Twitter and Facebook to gain readership for my blog. I basically post links to my latest blog entries there and at the same time, connect with people with the same interests as mine.
4. Join a website where you can submit articles. The more your articles are seen on the web, the more likely clients will want to contact you for a writing job. As of now, I am only a member of Triond. Sites like Article Base and Ezine are good options too.
5. Finally, enjoy your freelance career! Don’t stress too much about getting clients. Always remember that there are low times and high times… so just go with the flow.

Freelancing is just like any career. It requires hard work and loads of dedication. But, as soon as you get a hang of it, it is definitely worth all the effort!