Where's the Work?

I have a confession to make. I’m on social media but have never received an inquiry or locked in a single project from any of the platforms. Others might disagree, but social media (and I’m looking at you, LinkedIn) has not been the hotbed of leads and like-minded connections it’s supposed to be. So how has an intrepid freelancer like yours truly consistently found work over the years?

First, let’s look at some methods that are touted as “surefire” ways to land freelancing work. (Disclaimer: I’m doing this for two decades, and I’ve never used any of them to find work. So I can’t speak to how “surefire” they actually are).

·        Job sites. I see job openings posted on LinkedIn (LI), and occasionally on job sites like Indeed as well as freelance writing-specific sites. My thought is, if I’m seeing this posting, thousands of others are seeing it, too. The odds of the decision makers seeing my profile are slim to none. I tend to avoid these sites completely.

·        Social media. I’ve responded to posters looking for writers who do what I do. I’ve shared posts featuring work I’ve done. I’ve put out calls for sources. I’ve joined groups and posted on their boards.  Crickets. I scroll through LI far, far more than I post. It just hasn’t paid off for me—and I’m on it for a long time.

·        Bidding platforms. Fiverr, Upwork, Thumbtack, and the like—last year, during an uncomfortably long writing dry spell, I went so far as to create a profile on Thumbtack. Frankly, I didn’t understand how it worked and I couldn’t get past the “create profile” stage, so I never pursued trying to find work on these platforms. The bids seemed very low to me anyway.

Now, I’ll tell you what has worked for me over the years—a lot of legwork and research. These methods certainly haven’t worked 100% of the time—I’ve been ghosted more times than I care to admit—but the work I’ve received has almost always come from one of these three methods:

·     Letters of introduction (LOIs). The LOI has been the single most effective way I’ve landed freelance writing work over the years. It’s a great way to get in front of editors and business clients without being too pushy. It’s different from a story pitch, or query, in that you’re basically introducing yourself and sharing a bit about your skills. A query focuses more on an angle for a proposed story and less on you. Watch this space for a helpful template in a future post.

·     Referrals. I have a writer peer who is looking toward retirement and has been kind enough to refer me to a few clients for some of her projects. I pay it forward whenever I can. Referrals are priceless—never take them for granted!

·    “Write for us”. Feeling a bit stale in your existing niche, or just curious about what else might be out there? Type “Write for us [topic]” in Google and see what comes up. I see a lot of markets that don’t pay writers (a big no-no!) but will occasionally find some that pay. I did this a few weeks ago and found a market that sounded promising. I reached out to the editor (with a trusty LOI!) and learned she was looking for writers. I wrapped up my first piece for them earlier this month.

I occasionally find publications looking for writers in an online newsletter I subscribe to, but not frequently enough to include it in the above list. I’ve also landed writing gigs through queries but would rather contact an editor and have them assign me a story. Bonus: I've gotten far more ongoing work from an LOI than a 1-time story pitch.

Where/how have you landed freelance writing work?