If you have been looking for jobs and high paying gigs for your freelance writing business, there’s a high chance of frustration within you. As a beginner or an expert writer, the bottom line is it’s not easy, and you have to hustle to get clients.
For the experts, you have to keep expanding your circle to earn a steady flow of cash.
As a freelancer, you are self-employed; hence no work, no pay. But worry not! Great writing jobs are out there and in plenty. You have to know how to get them. Luckily, we have a list of platforms that you can easily fish for high-quality clients. Get your top-notch samples ready, and let’s do this!
Below, I’m discussing 7 Ways to Get High Paying Clients As a Freelance Writer.
1. Job Boards
Some experienced writers will tell you off on job boards but do not panic. Actually, most of them must have landed a couple of gigs from the job boards. Therefore it’s your chance as a beginner to try out your luck. Fact is, job boards, work. How?
With a well-tailored pitch that gets your prospect nodding, you stand a high chance of landing the contract. Job boards work as an excellent fishing ground for clients because;
- You will get different clients based on your niche
- A variety of fresh jobs posting daily or even hourly on active job boards
- The freedom to pitch for other jobs on the same job board
This may sound like a freelance marketplace, but nothing could be far from the truth. The difference between the two is that in job boards;
- You do not have to open an account
- Free to use; hence no buying credits to pitch
- Do not require job bidding
- Do not have star rated expertise
Nevertheless, not all job boards operate the same way. As many as there are free job boards, there are paid job boards as well. You can search through the types of job boards available to increase your chances of landing more than one client. What’s more?
When a potential client posts a job on the job boards, they sometimes ask you to state your rates as you pitch. Other times, they have fixed rates for specific jobs. So you should only pitch if you are comfortable with the rates they offer since they are non-negotiable.
Moreover, you need to follow tweets and job postings on the job boards actively. Most of them operate on a ‘first come, first served’ rule. Hence it would be best if you were alert all the time.
Job boards also give you insight into a variety of niches out there. In case you do not have a specific niche, you can learn of the type and research what tickles your interest. Hence you know about the marketable ones as well.
So, how many job boards do you have on your listing as a member?
Instead of digging every option out there, there are the three most famous market places that have an outstanding record of high-quality clients. These are;
2. Freelance Marketplaces
Freelance marketplaces are an excellent option for getting clients for your writing business as well. But just as the name suggests, the market place is full of possibilities. With the variety, it can be challenging to know which works better than the other.
Upwork
It is, without a doubt, one of the most prominent freelance marketplaces. Remarkably, it has categories for you to specify your skills and clients. Such classes are writing, translation, design, and creative, among many others. With so many varieties, it’s hard to miss what you are looking for.
Moreover, it offers entry-level, long-terms, and short-term projects. This means that it’s suitable for both beginners and experts. You get to choose what project suits you, bid, and commit to it as soon as your proposal goes through. Therefore, if you want a marketplace with many categories and project levels, then Upwork is the way to go.
Fiverr
It is a beginner-friendly marketplace. Fiverr means the minimum order value, which is $5 in the marketplace. But lately, freelancers can price their services in multiples of $5. Hence you can earn a tremendous amount on Fiverr.
Furthermore, it has categories just like Upwork. But the difference between the two is in winning clients. In Upwork, clients list their job offers for a writer to bid. Unlike Fiverr, writers and experts of other categories create gigs for clients to see and hire. Therefore, to be in Fiverr means to display your skills in the best way to attract traffic.
Finding clients in Fiverr should not be as tricky as it is rapidly growing.
Freelancer
This is one of the veteran freelance marketplaces. It has a wide range of categories from the old-fashioned to the current ones. Like Upwork, clients will be posting their jobs, and freelancers get to bid. Then, the clients decide on the bid or experience. It’s easy for experienced since each freelancer has a portfolio where clients view their past projects and testimonials.
With a variety of projects, finding work should not be problematic on Freelancer.
3. Social Media
Social media was a vague concept among people. Even though it presented a way of people coming together, people still preferred physical meetups with friends and strangers. Why? The idea had not hit home yet.
Fast forward to the current model and social media is a growing economy, day by day. People don’t only meet their life partners via social media, but businesses thrive therein as well. Social media is a platform where a lot of companies flourish without even the need for physical locations. It’s a hub for various target audiences for multiple businesses, start-ups, small to big organizations.
The freelance writing business is no exception. With over 2.8 social media users, clients and organizations are hunting for writing services on these streets. Because there are many social media platforms, let’s see how to track clients in some of them. For instance;
Twitter is a platform whose intended purpose was for news and opinions, not fun. Therefore people on Twitter tend to be highly opinionated in all aspects. Because it’s a home for renowned organizations, even politicians, rarely will you find a jobless person’s tweet without response. Within no time, the tweet will overflow with generous offers of jobs and mentorship. What’s more?
There are various job boards on Twitter, as well. Keep browsing and apply for job posts without giving up. Moreover, if you want to hunt for clients on Twitter, you need to pursue and request quality followers. Follow top-class clients who make up to be your potential clients. Look for those within your writing niche to be more specific though being broad is just fine also.
Also, join in significant discussions and share your opinion showcasing your writing skills. Get major influencers to follow your writing business. All these will require you to be active. Optimize your Twitter profile by having an image and website that represents your brand.
LinkedIn is a social platform specifically for business. This is a platform where people and brands connect, hire, and partner for business services. Hence, this is the ideal platform for getting high-quality clients for your writing business.
As a writer, use keywords to help your clients find you, for instance, writer for hire, best freelance writer, health, and fitness writer. You can decide to be specific in your keywords by including your niche. Make sure your image on LinkedIn is high-quality and attractive. Besides, clients want to work with happy and beautiful people.
You can side chat with clients who view your profile and ask how you may be of help and offer your services. You can as well share your blogs on LinkedIn and the link to your website. If a client likes your writing, they will hire you.
Moreover, you can contact clients via the premium LinkedIn’s in-mail feature. Like Facebook, LinkedIn has job communities for different niches that are appropriate for you to join and look for your clients therein.
Facebook alone has over 2.4 billion users globally. This makes it a goldmine for many clients. But to reach out to these clients requires more than just your Facebook profile.
As large as it is, it comprises of many job boards and groups for writers. All you need to do is join the groups and hunt for potential clients. These groups are not only a hub for clients but also a source of information. You can post a query and have many people responding to you. Also, people share tricks, hacks, tools, and information on various aspects of their writing career. What’s more?
You can also direct clients to find you. How? Create a Facebook page. On a Facebook page, you will advertise your writing skills by regular posts. Have the right image and a bio. Also, incorporate testimonials to add oomph. When your page is ready, please look for similar pages of your niche and comment on the various posts. Make sure your comments are valuable to the reader; hence they will follow you to your page. This way, you will increase visibility.
4. Word Of Mouth
Most people call it referral. Word of mouth is among the leading sources of clients for freelance writing business. Could you not take it for granted?
A referral is popular because people want to work with those they know or get a recommendation from people they know. This is great because you cannot recommend someone who will let you down. You advise people who know what they are doing and are experts at it. What’s more?
Word of mouth is the oldest but very effective marketing strategy. So to get freelance writing clients, you should
- Satisfy your current clients
- Build strong, healthy ties with successful freelance writers
Networking accelerates your referral chances. If you know, talk and share stuff with other successful writers, chances are they will call you whenever a writing gig comes up.
Once you satisfy and exceed your current client’s expectations, they will recommend your services to their colleagues. A tip to meeting your client is; deliver quality work and be punctual without excuses. Clients never forget the good or bad instances; therefore, be wise!
Don’t feel shy to seek and ask for referrals from your clients. But timing is crucial in this approach. For the best tactic, make sure you complete a project and a client offers a compliment. Always be polite and professional when asking for a referral.
5. Start a Blog
As a writer, owning a blog is your key to winning clients and not just a hobby. Starting a blog means that you should feed it with regular content. But, regular content alone will not get you the clients; it should maintain the quality as well.
Blogging will draw and influence potential clients with your skills as an expert in your field hence convincing them to hire you. Even with SEO, blogging helps improve the rank of your website on the SERP. Most freelancers owe their success to blogging.
Start a blog in your niche and write about everything people want to find solutions for. Perhaps there’s a thirst for weight loss challenge; write about healthy and working tips to accomplish weight loss. Have well-researched and high-quality content on weight loss, and it will attract clients your way. Perhaps people selling exercise equipment or dietary plans want writers for their business online; you will be their priority.
However, blogging can take a while, like over six months, before generating any income. Start a blog because you want to and not because you have to. Therefore, patience is a virtue.
6. Email Other Bloggers
Most top bloggers are busy hence outsource other jobs. If there’s a blogger that you admire and follow their writing industry skills, feel free to email them for employment.
But top bloggers get free job submissions and guest posts, you ask? Yes! But most of these free pieces tend not to meet their requirements; hence they would rather pay to get high-quality content. Therefore, if you offer quality content, a top blogger would most likely hire you for a consistent work supply.
But, know that most of these bloggers will not advertise for a hiring post. Take the initiative and contact them via email (it is a professional approach) for any job offers. Be sure to attach high-quality samples to grab their attention. Remarkably, if your content is as perfect as they need it to be, they might hire you permanently and have you on board for many of their projects.
Remember that most of them will also hire you if there’s a point of connection. Be a member of their audience. comment on their content, or even contribute a guest post on their website. Don’t feel rejected the first time they don’t respond; remember they are always busy. Try sending another follow-up email after some time and be patient.
7. Partner With Other Freelancers
Ever heard of unity is power? Supporting and working together with other freelancers is a great way to earn your clients. You should have a list of writers that you can get your clients to hire.
There are times that jobs are way too many; hence you can’t take any more projects. Instead of declining an offer from a client, connect your fellow freelancer with the project. Partnering and supporting clients generate referrals. One right turn deserves another, as the proverbial saying goes. Sooner or later, you will get a referral client from a writer you once connected with a client.
It will help if you are always willing to come together with other freelancers to maintain high-quality clients within your circle. But, make sure you have a circle that is well-skilled and delivers the best. Losing a potential client is very easy if you pass them over to a writer who cannot match up and deliver good content.
My Final Thoughts on Ways to Get Clients as a Freelance Writer
Beginner or experienced, the above tips for getting clients for your writing business never grow old. They are accommodating, and one could keep learning and polishing approaches. The writing industry is very lucrative to both a full-time or part-time writer. All you need to do is learn where to aim your fishing line and catch the freshest and largest fish in the water. It is possible, incorporate discipline and consistency.
Time is ticking. Let’s secure that bag!