Wondering how to land freelance work from home when you don’t have writing samples?
It can be a pretty intimidating.
You may have heard how other freelancers created their first writing samples on their own blogs. This lets them showcase their skills to possible clients.
But how do you write a blog post a client wants to read?
[H]ow do you use your blog as a marketing tool to get a lucrative writing contract?
More importantly, how do you use your blog as a marketing tool to get a lucrative writing contract?
Recently, I published an article on my blog and used it to immediately secure a contract with a client. Here’s how you can work from home with a blog as a freelancer.
1. Write an Article in a Profitable Niche
Choosing a profitable writing niche is challenging, but it’s essential if you want to earn money as a writer.
Some of the most profitable writing niches include digital marketing, health, finance, and education.
Consider your interests and see if they fall in any of these niches. If they don’t, see if you can combine your existing interests with a profitable niche.
For instance, I like to write about nonprofit organizations, which isn’t the highest paying niche. However, I also have a background in digital marketing, so I chose to write a niche article on the growing field of virtual fundraising events.
Since there are many well-funded companies that produce software and online platforms for nonprofit virtual galas, the chances of me finding a well-paying client increased.
2. Interview an Expert in Your Field
You might not be an established expert in your field (yet), but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to a recognized professional and get them to share their knowledge.
Find and connect with experts through LinkedIn or Facebook groups and request a brief interview for your article. Most professionals are more than happy to share their knowledge, especially if you promise to include a link to their website or social media channel in your post.
Including quotes and insights from a recognized expert helps give your article legitimacy. Your source can also give you information people can’t find anywhere else online, adding value to your content.
In my case, I contacted Emily Quinn, a professional auctioneer and nonprofit fundraising consultant. Emily was more than happy to do a 15-minute phone interview with me, and I also attended her free webinars on virtual fundraising, giving me a wealth of information for my article.
3. Get Your Expert to Recommend or Endorse Specific Companies
Your expert likely uses business services and has strong opinions about which company products and services offer the most value.
Find out about these companies. Ask your experts which businesses they work with and what value they offer your niche industry.
When I interviewed Emily, I asked her which online fundraising platforms she recommended to her clients and received strong endorsements for PayBee and Eventure. She also gave specific examples about each company’s strengths and why her clients liked using their services.
Getting expert recommendations helps you learn about businesses you might not know about. It also helps identify top companies that follow good business practices. And this can help you land freelance work from home.
If you are a recognized expert in your field or have personal experiences with excellent companies, you can offer your own recommendations for the best businesses in your industry, including those you want to work for. However, it’s still a good idea to get an additional opinion from an outside source.
4. Research Those Companies and Promote Them in Your Article
As you write your article, do some more research on the companies your expert recommended. Visit their website and learn more about their services. Find out if they have a blog and see if it’s regularly updated.
Promote these businesses in your blog post. Link to their websites and emphasize their strengths based on your interview with your expert.
Your article doesn’t have to be about these companies. In fact, it’s probably best if you focus on helping your target audience solve their pain points, providing them with more valuable content. In my case, my blog post focused on helping nonprofits choose a good online platform for virtual fundraising events—and offered PayBee and Eventure as good options.
5. Contact Those Companies and Promote Your Writing Services
Once I published my blog post, I immediately contacted all the companies I mentioned, letting them know they’d been promoted in the article. I introduced myself as a freelance writer-for-hire, mentioned my services, and provided a link to both the blog post and my writer website.
In less than a day, PayBee contacted me and requested my writing services for their blog. Two weeks later, I signed a contract with them.
One of the reasons why I felt this marketing technique worked so well was that I didn’t simply send a cold email offering my services. Instead, I offered a published article that was already promoting their company—showing them the value I could provide their business.
This motivated the company to read the article, visit my website, and ultimately hire me.
Since you can mention multiple companies in a single article, this also gives you the option of contacting multiple potential clients at the same time. Even if you don’t get a response from every company, using your blog like this offers you a powerful marketing tool.
Many companies will want to promote your article on social media since it endorses their services. Your expert will also want to link to your article on his or her online channels. All of this gives your writing website more exposure, and increases the likelihood that potential clients will visit your blog, learn about your services, and hire you.
Blogging to Get Freelance Work from Home
Many freelancers find it difficult and intimidating to market their writing services.
With a little creativity, however, marketing yourself with your own blog can be lucrative and even fun.
By writing blog posts using these tactics, you’ll build up your portfolio, create a network of expert sources, and increase the chances of having a well-paying client contact you with a job.
Over to you: what are your favorite ways to promote your writing services and get freelance work from home?
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