Ask, Ask, Ask Your Way to More Freelance Writing Work
If you want to turn a one-time gig into a source of repeat business, a good strategy is to remember the “Three Asks,” as I like to think of them. The first one is just good customer service, and the other two have to do with marketing. Here’s the rundown:
Ask if the Client Needs Anything Else
When you hand in your work to the client, ask them to let you know whether they need anything else. This could be interpreted to mean revisions or edits, or the client could interpret it to mean another project that complements the first one. It’s just good business to make sure that your clients are happy with the work that you have done for them and this practice increases your odds of being given future assignments.
Ask for More Work
Clients aren’t mind readers. Unless you let the client know that you would be interested in working with them again, they may not automatically think of you for future projects. Assuming you would be interested, contact the client after you have delivered the project. Tell them that you enjoyed working with the on “Project X” and that you hope that they will contact you with their future writing (editing, blogging, copywriting, etc.) needs.
Ask for Referrals
Assuming that the project went well and the client is happy, you can ask them to refer you to other people who may need similar services. If you don’t mention it, the client may assume that you have a full plate and that you aren’t taking on anyone new right now. While that may be the case today, the situation can change quickly and my take on it is that I’m always happy to talk to a potential client. The details can be worked out once the potential client turns into an actual one.
Do you use any of the “Three Asks” in your freelance writing career?
Why a Targeted Job Search Works Best
As freelance writers, we spend a certain amount of our time in search of new projects. When you are looking for work, do you apply to ads blindly, or do you limit your search to those that closely match your skills and abilities?
Sometimes we can get caught up in wanting to stay busy and we think that if we keep applying for available jobs that we will keep our plates full with plenty of work. This isn’t the best strategy, though. A highly-targeted approach to looking for work is going to be more successful.
I know that I have written that applying for freelance writing jobs is partly a numbers game, and it is. The more opportunities that you apply for, the more you will end up getting hired for. However, you will also increase your chances if you are applying for gigs that are a good fit for you.
Read the ad carefully to see if you can picture yourself doing the job. Some ads seem to be written with you in mind, and by all means throw your hat into the ring and tell the client that you would like to be considered for it.
Why You Should Skip the Ads That Aren’t a Good Fit
If you come across an ad that isn’t really a good fit because of the subject, type of writing, or pay, move on to something else. It’s important to value your time as a freelance writer. You only have so many hours in the day, and the time that you are spending preparing cover letters and getting your resume and samples ready to submit to the client is better spent looking for something that will fit your needs better and help you reach your goals.
If you are spending a certain portion of your day looking for freelance writing gigs and you don’t find any ads to respond to that day, then use the time to make cold calls, prepare a pitch for a potential client that you are interested in working with, or contacting previous clients about their writing needs.
Do you target your search when looking for freelance writing jobs?
5 Things That Clients Won’t Ask You
When you are applying for available freelance writing jobs or make a pitch to a prospective client, there are some things they are wondering about but won’t ask. Consider the following the next time you are communicating with someone new about your writing services:
1. “Are you reliable?”
While freelancers may complain about clients who simply disappear, they aren’t the only ones who behave that way. A client wants to find someone who will show up and do the work they have been asked to do.
2. “Is your everyday work as good as your samples?”
We pick and choose the work that we provide to prospective clients as samples very carefully. It’s only natural to want to find what we consider to be our best work to present with our cover letter and resume. The client who reads them may be wondering if we can produce that level of quality on a regular basis.
3. “Will you be difficult to work with?”
No matter how stellar your samples are, if you give off the impression that you are going to be, um, challenging to work with, then the client may well take a pass.
4. “Can you follow instructions precisely?”
When clients tell you how they want to you to write something for them, it’s not a suggestion. They want what they want, and we get paid to give it to them. Failing to do so means that the work may get sent back for revisions or even reassigned. When that happens, it throws the project off schedule for the client.
5. “Can I afford to hire you?”
The final decision about whether to hire you may come down to whether your rates fit into the client’s budget. If you are asking for a higher rate than the client had in mind, be prepared to show how hiring you will bring value to the project.
You may want to anticipate these 5 questions that clients won’t ask you and address them in your cover letter as best you can. Tell the client about how reliable you are and how you strive to meet your clients’ needs for every project you take on. When the time comes to negotiate rates, give yourself some wiggle room so that you can make a counteroffer if that seems appropriate.
How would you deal with these issues with a prospective client?
You Have a Full Plate: Do You Still Look for Work?
The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Marketing your writing business should be an ongoing activity. Many freelancers have peaks and valleys in their work load. It goes with the territory.
If you want to keep the work coming in, you should be constantly doing activities that will grow your business. Even if you are at the point where your time is completely booked and you couldn’t possibly squeeze one more thing in, do it anyway. Find a few minutes to check out job boards, the job leads we post here at FWJ, to make a couple of cold calls, or approach a potential client by e-mail.
Don’t worry about how you are going to fit the next gig into your schedule. You haven’t got it yet. It may take time to hear back from your job searching efforts, and chances are that you will apply for many more gigs than you actually get. You can always discuss deadlines when you are negotiating fees with the client.
Part of being a freelancer is juggling the work we have in front of us with being on the lookout for our next project. Do you look for work constantly, or do you back off from these activities when you have a lot of work do do?
When to Name Names on Your Freelance Writing Resume
Thank you to Jeanne Grunert, whose comment was the inspiration for this post.
When you are preparing your freelance writing resume, do you list your clients’
names or do you keep them confidential? There isn’t one clear answer that will work for everyone. If you have signed a confidentiality agreement, then you can’t reveal the fact that you have worked for a specific client.
I do include some client names on my resume and some others I don’t mention, although I do describe the kind of work that I have done for them. Here’s how I make the call: If the work is being published under my own name, then I include the client’s name on my resume. A lot of my work is ghostwriting, and I choose not to reveal the names of those clients on my resume.
I can still list the kinds of work that I have done for people and the topics that I feel most comfortable writing about without naming names. So far, no one has asked me to do so, and I think that a prospective client is more concerned with whether I would be a good fit for their project than the names of the other clients I have worked with.
Do you list the names of your clients on your freelance writing resume or do you focus on your experience instead? How do you decide who should be included, assuming you have not been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement?
Listing Multiple Clients on Your Freelance Writing Resume
Preparing a freelance writer’s resume is a little different from writing one where your goal is to find a job. A functional resume, where you focus on your skills and achievements, is a style option that you may want to consider. Can you make the more traditional chronological style work for you? Sure you can.
The Challenge With a Chronological Format for Freelancers
The challenge (notice I didn’t say problem) with preparing a chronological resume when you are a freelancer is that you may be juggling multiple clients at once, do a few one-time-only assignments, and have some dry spells in between. If this sounds like your professional life; relax, it’s not uncommon.
You may be reluctant to list everyone you have done work for in chronological order because of the gaps in the time, or (gasp) because you only worked with the client on one project. Working freelance and having a series of assignments of different lengths is not an indication that you “can’t hold a job.” It’s the way that freelancers roll.
Listing Your Writing Experience on Your Resume
What you want to do with your resume is to tell the person reading it about your experience so that they can determine whether you would be a good fit for their project. My suggestion for listing your experience looks something like this:
2002-Present
Self-Employed Freelance Writer, Blogger, etc.Provided freelance writing services to several clients [including....]
[You can name names or choose not to - your preference]Assignments included [SEO articles, web copy, ebooks, blog posts....] on the following topics [list them here]
I have used this strategy on my resume, since it also lists the work I did before I started freelancing. The point where I started my business is listed like another employer – except the employer is me.
If you use a chronological resume, how do you set out your freelance writing experience?
3 Tips for Finding Work in the Hidden Freelance Job Market
Looking for freelance writing work is something you should be doing constantly. Part of the process involves looking at and answering ads like the one we post links to on our Writing Jobs Leads blog. You also should be tackling the hidden job market regularly. Here are 3 tips for getting started.
Look to Current Clients for More Work
Current clients who are happy with your work are a great source for getting more assignments. I don’t know if you are in the habit of thanking your clients after the project has been completed and the client pays the balance owing, but it’s a good one to get into. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it gives you the opportunity to open the door to future projects. Clients can’t read your mind, so if you would be interested in working with the client again, tell them that.
Contact Past Clients
If you haven’t heard from a past client in a while, send them an e-mail reminding them about the previous work you have done for them. Mention something positive about the experience, and ask them to keep you in mind for future work.
You can also approach a past client like this: Send them an e-mail explaining that you have some project time that has just opened up and you want to offer past it to people who you have enjoyed working with in the past first. You could also offer a price discount for people who book projects by [X] date. If you decide to offer preferred pricing, set the deadline within a couple of weeks to encourage clients to make a decision soon.
Talk Up Your Business to People You Know
This third tip takes a bit of practice, but with time it will feel more natural. When you are out and about and someone asks you what you do, use your elevator speech to tell them about it. Have business cards ready to hand out, and let the person know that you are always happy to talk to prospective clients about their needs.
Have you successfully landed gigs using these strategies? Which ones have been the most successful for you?
Don’t Ignore the Hidden Job Market for Freelancers
I read recently that only about 20 percent of jobs are ever advertised. We post some of them here at FWJ regularly. That means that a whopping 80 percent of all opportunities are never advertised. Most people looking for freelance writing work concentrate their efforts on the portion of the market that is readily accessible.
Why Answer Job Ads?
The short answer to why people who are looking for work look to job ads is that like the low-hanging fruit, these kinds of opportunities are accessible and relatively easy to get. The client indicates they are looking to hire someone and what the project involves. Some of them even list the price they are willing to pay for the project.
You read through the ad and if it sounds like something you are interested in doing and you are qualified for, you answer the ad. Very simple. The only problem is that there may be hundreds of other people who have the same idea and the competition for advertised freelance writing work is very stiff.
Does that mean that I’m saying that you should give up on answering ads? Heck, no. I got hired by Deb by answering an ad, and I’ve been hired by several clients by using this method. I am suggesting that you also consider tapping into the larger market of opportunities that exists.
I’ll post some more suggestions in future posts, but you can start by doing the following:
- Tell friends, family members, coworkers, your kid’s teacher, etc., about what you do
- Ask your current clients for referrals
- Make a list of potential clients and contact them to make a pitch for your services
Do these strategies work? Yes, they do. It may take some time, but if you are consistent about your efforts, they will pay off. I was recently contacted by someone I had originally approached two years ago about the possibility of working on an assignment.
Where do you focus most of your freelance job search efforts?
How Do You See Your Resume?
Preparing a freelance writer’s resume is a bit different from a standard one. If you were looking for a job where you are working for an employer as opposed to offering your services as a self-employed professional writer, your goal would be to make the employer interested enough in you to invite you to come in for an interview. It can be a little different when you are applying for freelance writing gigs.
I’ve only had one client where I had to go through a formal interview process before being hired. The other people I’ve worked with (so far) have made a decision, given me the assignment, and our working relationship started. Since freelancers may not be asked to interview for a gig and the client may make a decision based on the resume and your samples only, you need to give the potential client all the information they need to make a decision based on the content of this important document.
One important part of a freelance writer’s resume is sharing your accomplishments with the potential client. If your web copy has improved sales for a client, mention this detail. You can also share the fact that articles that you have written are on top-ranked web sites. If you have successfully pitched an article idea to a magazine, then by all means include the details on your resume. If you are relatively new to freelancing, then share accomplishments from your other work.
As a freelancer, how do you see your resume? Is your goal to get the potential to want to learn more about you, or do we need to adopt a higher standard since we may not be interviewed in a traditional sense before being hired?
Functional Resume Format for Freelancers
The “standard” resume format that most of us are familiar with is the chronological resume. In this style, the job seeker lists his or her previous jobs in reverse chronological order. This may not be the best choice for freelance writers, though.
We may have long-term clients that we work with regularly, a series of short-term projects, or a combination of the two. Using a strict chronological format may not present us in the best way to a potential client, especially if there are gaps in our work history or times that are less busy than others.
Another issue that freelancers can encounter when writing a resume is whether or how to list volunteer writing projects on it. I think that the fact that you worked on the project is what matters, as opposed to whether or how much you were paid for it, but other people feel that work experience should be limited to paid work only.
Enter the functional resume. You can use this style to focus the potential client’s attention on your skills, as opposed to who you have worked for and when you did the work.
You can check out an example of a functional resume here.
When you are writing your own functional resume, you can include sections for the different kinds of writing projects you have done (SEO, web copy, ebooks, ghost writing, press releases, etc.).
Do you use a chronological resume or have you tried a functional style? Do you feel that one is more likely to get you a gig than the other?
