Freelance writing is undoubtedly an awesome career for those looking for some extra income on the side.
You work from home, and have the chance to select projects and work within your capabilities and interests.
Freelance writers need to work hard to be noticed.
Nevertheless, because of the rising competition from all the other freelance writers claiming their stake, you need to constantly improve your status and get recognition.
As this field is mainly dependent on being online, one of the most effective ways is gaining popularity and exposure through various social platforms.
Eventually, this would lead to getting potential employers who are willing to offer loads of money to excel in your life. Some of the renowned platforms are very user-friendly, attractive, addictive and at the same time is the home for many high-paying employers looking for freelance writers.
Freelance writers need to work hard to be noticed. You need to project an image of a professional freelance writer through all your social media accounts.
There are lots of ways to increase the productivity and boost your career as a freelance writer through social media marketing. There are many social media platforms out there to make use of.
1. Get Recognized
Be popular for the right reason. Your abilities are useless if not recognized.
So, create and use your existing profiles on all popular social media platforms wisely.This means:
- Being professional
- Sharing content your audience would like
- Using these platforms to grow your business, not yourself
While everyone has different paths, getting recognized could mean being good at your craft by being creative. This might mean having a memorable profile image.
It could also mean promoting your client work and helping them reach their business goals. This will definitely attract many freelance-writers-seeking clients.
2. Expand Your Skill Set
Be a quick learner and have interest in new skills.
Clients can always ask for things that you have never done. For example, they may want you to optimize your post for SEO or provide no-follow links in your post.
To increase your chances for future hiring, learn these new skills. Remember, in any industry, innovation is of utmost importance. It’s not sufficient to only have writing skills when dealing with your online writing career.
There is a requirement to learn about marketing strategies, search engine optimization guidelines, attracting an audience, blogger outreach, digital marketing, branding and so on, which can make you the first preference to the client.
3. Establish a Good Reputation
People associate you with what they read from you.
If you post philosophy, to them you are a philosopher. If you post medical information, you are a doctor. Be careful what you share.
Ensure that with what you share, you will be remembered by the prospective clients for being the guy that is a freelance writer, knowledgeable at what he does.
Take Twitter for example. The speed at which Twitter users are growing is impressive. Twitter is a good place to share content, get noticed and land clients.
4. Pay Attention to Industry Bigwigs
Once again using Twitter as an example, there are a great number of Twitter tools – like Klear – that can help you find industry bigwigs.
You can follow their profiles and impress them with your content. Getting your message across is much more challenging, but with well-thought out content, you’ll definitely get the recognition that you need.
5. Hijack Trending Topics
There are some freelance writing companies that use social media such as Twitter to recruit talented writers. Amongst them are:
Be keen to ride on the wave of what is trending on the day and take advantage by cleverly attaching your content to it.
Now let’s look at three social media platforms and how we can use it to our advantage.
LinkedIn is a different type of social media platform. It’s more professional.
To build a reputation, you should be transparent. Do everything professional that you can in order to attract prospective clients. LinkedIn is one place where you can get enormous attention by carefully doing the following:
1. Do Social Media Optimization for Your Profile
Avoid being too vague or broad when filling out your bio. You also want to appear credible so there’s no need to describe yourself as a high-end writer as it would discourage prospective clients.
So, make sure your job title includes different writing skill sets such as blogger, copywriter, content writer, freelancer, social media manager, etc. Add all these relevant skills to the profile as a way to market to the right clients.
There is no limit to the keywords in LinkedIn, so the more you include, the higher your chances of being found by clients.
2. Keep Your Profile Up-to-Date
Updating your LinkedIn profile from time to time will give you an edge over other freelance writers looking for clients. Creating an account is not enough, as constant updates and mentioning your successful ventures would create a massive impression.
Update your profile regularly! When you complete new projects or gain new skills, make sure to brag about them. Endorse respectful editors and your potential employers, and get endorsed back in order to get a higher rating.
3. Be Part of Professional Groups
Widen your network by joining online communities. There are many groups in LinkedIn based on freelance careers, and this could act as an encouraging foundation for your journey.
Many out of these groups will provide good information about new job offers for freelance writers and link you to clients. Consider connecting to LIONS (Linkedln Open Networkers) and monitoring the latest announcements in the freelance writing communities. You can reach your prospective client on the following Linkedln searching for the following communities:
- Freelance Writers Wanted
- Freelance Writing Jobs for all Levels of Experience
- Freelance Writers Inc.
- Find a freelance journalist/writer
4. Keep in Touch
Freelance writers who keep in touch remind prospective clients that they are available for work. When someone views your profile, send a message.
It’s a great chance to connect. You won’t ask for a job at this point; just connect and offer your assistance and collaboration. Do not forget about endorsements and recommendations section, by endorsing your new connections in a field of their expertise.
This is the largest social media platform in the world. It has the potential to give you the largest chunk of clients compared to other social media networks.
It offers a lot of opportunities to display skill and talent. You can create a page that represents your outstanding skills and present you as a professional freelancer. In addition, you should post content that is unique so that people can realize your talent. Furthermore, you can analyze different pages created by business professionals and offer your services for the enhancement of the page.
1. Start a Business Page
In addition to your Facebook account, create your own page that presents you as a professional freelance writer and add your professional expertise in order to get clients. Here are some examples:
2. Connect with Other Business Pages
Ensure you analyze the pages of different businesses. When you notice that some of them are potential clients or need your services, propose to offer your services to them.
YouTube
Sometimes videos are a better tool to use. YouTube is a great platform for writers as well, but it needs a bit of creativity and you should know how to make an everlasting impression through a video.
People love watching videos, so it will be easy for you to grab their attention by posting an informative clip that explains how businesses can benefit by collaborating with an experienced freelance writer such as yourself.
Many writers use YouTube as a place to offer tips for other writers. For example Lauren Tharp has a YouTube Channel where she answers pressing questions new freelance writers have:
Wrapping it Up
Most of the freelance writers’ jobs are done online. That means, even clients looking for freelance writers and posting jobs do it all online.
Then it goes without saying that you should make the best of your time online if you are looking for where and how to get freelance writing clients. The above suggestions don’t turn your investment into a cash-cow instantly, but when done properly, it is a great and effective way for freelance writers looking to get clients online to get successful.
Now it’s your turn – which social media platform has generated the most client work for you?
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