The advent of online blogs in the 1990s opened up incredible doors of opportunity for anyone considering a career as a freelance writer. In a day’s time, you could hang a virtual shingle on the World Wide Web and market yourself as a scribe for hire. The winding road to the freelance life suddenly became a four-lane highway. But, even on a highway, if you drive too fast, you can put yourself in serious danger. Learn how to avoid the common mistakes that many up-and-coming freelancers make, and create a blog that goes the distance.
Then and Now
Before blogs came into existence, you could spend years trying to establish yourself as a freelance writer. Generally, you had to work your way up the editorial ladder at a print publication or ad agency, or send countless query letters to get your foot in the door as a contributor to a newspaper or magazine. You would spend hours making photocopies of clips, faxing or mailing them to editors and potential clients as proof of your writing skills. In short, you did a lot of legwork to get a leg up.
Blogs, and the Internet as a whole, made it possible to put a stake in the ground even before you had your first assignment. In cyberspace, you could tell the world (not just a single editor or prospect) that you were a skilled scribe, pointing to your many blog articles as evidence of your abilities.
Missing Pieces
The downside of the digital realm is that it makes building a career look deceptively easy—create a website, and you’re off to the races. Many aspiring writers assume that if they simply write a lot of articles, editors and clients will come knocking at their door.
Of course, real world experience will illustrate that’s not the case. Here are three tips for creating a freelance writing blog that will inspire readers to give you a call:
Show Them the Goods – Adding articles to your blog is a smart marketing move, but the articles themselves are not evidence of your skill as a freelance writer; they are evidence of your faith in your own opinion. Clients and editors want to see work you have done for other clients and editors. Your blog should include an online portfolio with PDFs of past assignments. (Check out my freelance writer site as an example.) Haven’t had a paying gig? Post articles you penned for the school newspaper, the press release you wrote for a friend, or the direct mail postcard you put together for the church fundraiser. Show that you know how to write in different styles for different audiences.
Ask Others for Feedback – When you’re writing for a paying customer or a publication, the client or editor will give you feedback on the first draft so the revised version will be even stronger. The same should be true with your blog content. Solicit input from friends before posting an article, so you can tighten up the copy and publish a more polished piece on your website. (Having a second set of eyes on an article can also help minimize grammatical gaffes and other errors.)
Remember Your Audience – Too many writers’ blogs talk about the writer and not the reader. Nobody cares about your Paris vacation or the challenges of working from home or how your dog inspires you. They want to know what you can do for them. Focus your blog topics on educating the reader and giving them the tools to be more successful in their business. For example, you could have an article about the power of video for online marketing and include statistics from an industry report. At the end of the piece, talk about using a freelance writer to create a series of blog articles and social media posts to promote the video campaign.
Blogging is a powerful tool to build a career as a freelance writer, but it must be used with care. The ultimate purpose of your website is to get people to hire you, and you need to give them plenty of reasons why they should. Show the work that you have done for others. Give your own blog articles the same attention to detail as paying projects. Educate your audience to become a trusted resource. By following these three simple steps, you can position yourself as a true professional and create a strong foundation for a lasting career.
In future articles, I will be addressing other tips that freelance writers can use to make their blog more effective. I’d love to hear your ideas and questions, as well. Drop me a line on our Contact page. Until next time, write on!