Yesterday I mentioned how we sometimes head to job boards to find immediate work, only to end up with something offering less-than-acceptable terms. I’m going to say it right here – and you’re free to disagree – but I think using job boards or job postings to find regular, high-paying work is doing you a great disservice.
Have I found long-term work that way? Absolutely. Once. Maybe twice. In one case the work was steady, but the pay was low – 10 cents a word. One job was longer term and better pay, but again, that’s the exception. The rule on job boards is you’re competing with untold thousands of writers/writer wannabes for the same job. You can do it, but the odds are the jobs are one-time gigs or ongoing jobs that offer little pay. You’ll know the gems when you see them, but I think you should be spending your time looking in more fruitful directions. Try looking here instead:
Magazines. Since the Internet, this is a much easier job than when I started writing for magazines. Researching a magazine is as easy as finding it online and studying the sample. Finding topics – oh my lord, is it easy these days! Put a little more time into finding ideas that fit into areas you enjoy writing about or talking about or reading about.
Web-based Publications. Someone has to write all the copy – why not you? A quick look at Yahoo! and you can see how much copy is out there. Check out the various sources and look at some of your favorites. Why not approach them with an idea?
Local businesses. I joined a Chamber of Commerce once and found almost instant work with a marketing firm. I would suggest this – save your CofC fees and just market directly to marketing firms, printing presses, publishing houses, etc. Marketing companies need help with proofreading, copywriting, and editing. Printers have clients asking regularly, “Know any writers?” Publishers need proofreaders and editors, too. And these are just a few of the places you can be marketing to – why not try larger corporations, businesses that don’t have web presences, etc?
Past/current clients. When I’m staring at an empty calendar, I get my emails going. Current and past clients get a quick “How are you/what are you working on/how can I help?” note. Sometimes they have things waiting for completion. A nudge is all it takes.
Where would you look that doesn’t include a job board?
I’ve gotten two of my best and most long running, best paying gigs off job boards, believe it or not, from Anne’s board that were posted on Craigslist. No, make that three — the third, with whom I’ve been for nearly two years, linked back to a Media bistro post. But they were all from Anne’s lists.
However, all three are fiction-related. I think that’s very interesting delineation.
I actually prefer one-offs for the business writing stuff.
I do brochures and letters to local organizations that deal with areas that are my strength. Also, offering workshops to local organizations and businesses has been a boost.
I hadn’t thought about contacting local printers — that’s interesting.
I like the Chamber of Commerce because of the variety of businesses, individuals, and needs that come up. There are so many variations and opportunities I might never have thought of on my own.
But yeah, the job boards are the fall back. I check them every day, but, as far as non-fiction goes, most of the really quality work I’ve gotten has been by finding a company whose purpose intrigues me and convincing them that they can’t live without me.
I attended a Chamber of Commerce open house when I started freelancing, and they gave me a directory of local businesses. Instant mailing list! I landed one of my best clients from that.
Excellent point, Devon. These can be sources of work, but I think my argument was against them being the MAIN source of work. The jobs have deteriorated so much on some of the sites.
Anne’s list is an exception. She works her tail off to find worthy projects. Didn’t mean to lump her in the mix!
I agree — most of the job listings suck over the past few months. It’s the copy mills that pay pennies who are advertising for the desperate, and want quantity, not quality.
I hadn’t realized until I responded to this post, though, that the long-term, well-paying jobs I landed from Anne’s site were all fiction-based.
My two longest-running and most lucrative clients were both Craigslist jobs. Two others were Writerlance listings (both of whom ultimately contracted me off of Writerlance, interestingly enough).
I agree that job boards shouldn’t be your only way of marketing, but I still think there are good jobs to be had. I also think the more impressive your resume and portfolio, the more chance you have of getting the good jobs, so the competition doesn’t scare me… much.
I’m actually in the process of touching base with a bunch of past clients right now. Although it hasn’t led to immediate work yet, it has resulted in a few who said I might need you soon–and that’s just one day into the strategy. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
I’ve gotten good gigs through both Craigslist and Elance, but such gigs are especially hard to come by these days. I agree with Devon. “Most of the job listings suck over the past few months.”
Here’s an idea for a future post: When contacting past clients who haven’t heard from you in a while, what do you use as a subject line to draw their attention and ensure they don’t just delete the message?
Two of my longest running clients have been people I cold-emailed. I did a quick Google search for businesses in an industry I was interested in, found a bunch of websites, and fired off some emails outlining what I did and how I could help their business. Landed two very lucrative clients that way. It’s an easy, absolutely free way to market yourself and in my experience it gets results.
Jen, you impress me. Way to go!
Watch for that post, Kathy. It’s coming… 🙂
Could someone point me in the direction of “Anne’s list”?
Here you go, Kirk.
http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com
Anne is Anne Wayman. She compiles a list a few times a week, and she posts in on her blog. She’s an absolute doll of a person, too.