Hidden Freelance Writing Gigs You Can Uncover Now

Not long ago I was supplying a steady client with articles. The process went like this:

• I proposed article topics
• They selected
• I wrote and got paid

I’ll say upfront I wasn’t compensated terribly for the articles, though I wasn’t going to become rich off the work. What was sucking up a bit too much time was the first part of the job — proposing topics. I had to come up with about six ideas for this client, from which they’d typically take maybe four.

Wasted time, you’re thinking. I was too, at first.

But those ideas they turned down — those were now mine. I could shop them to other buyers. Higher-paying buyers.

You can do the same.

But we don’t think of it because we’re stuck in the moment sometimes. We’re so intent on getting the job in front of us done and done well that we tend to overlook the potential of what that client isn’t crazy about.

Not anymore. Today, let’s put that idea to rest.

Here are some other places where your next freelance writing projects may be hiding:

The rejected proposal.

This is different than the pitches for articles — you’ve proposed to a potential client the work you can do for them, the scope, and the price. They’ve decided their budget can’t handle it (or they’ve changed their minds for some reason). So that’s an hour of your time you won’t recoup. Unless…

You now know exactly how much it will cost a client for you to handle the work you’ve spent time outlining. Suppose you outline a website rewrite, 24 blog posts, quarterly newsletter, and a monthly email blast. The next client may need one or two of those projects. There’s your pricing and your scope. Of course, the price will vary somewhat depending on length and research, but you have a basis now for future pricing. In fact, you should be using your proposals, even those that are accepted, as the foundation of your pricing. Need to give someone an answer immediately? Open up that proposal and give the ballpark estimate you’ve already figured.

Your growing specialization.

You never thought you’d be writing 12 articles on cannabis this year, did you? But here you are, a mini-expert. So why not shop that around to another buyer? If you’re writing for a company, think of how to spin what you know into magazine work, blog posts, or other related work. This can work for any writing you happen to be doing more frequently. Today, you may be writing a lot of brochures. Why not market your specialization? Take whatever you happen to be working on more frequently (particularly if you like it) and find other places to sell what you now know.

The client that never materialized.

Remember those potential client calls you got at the end of last year? You know the ones — the calls went well, they were excited, said they’d be in touch in the next few months…. Meant to follow up on those, didn’t you? Now’s the time. Look back through your emails (I flag the potential client ones) or your notebooks (I tape conversations and take notes as I go) and reach out.

Last year’s client.

You haven’t worked with Judy and her team since March 2017. Why not reach out right now and find out if Judy is working on anything? Stay in front of people who have been satisfied with your work and with whom you’ve enjoyed working.

All those press releases.

Don’t delete those press releases just yet. Open one — an interesting-looking one. What does it say? The one I’m looking at is from a company announcing its latest partnership with a customer service management cloud technology. In this pretty standard press release, I’ve found a few article ideas:

• Contact center engagement analytics: what do they tell us about who will buy? Could bring in the GDPR privacy law angle and examine how analytics may change as the states get on board with bettering consumer privacy rights.
• Using analytics to train customer service: What data can be gleaned, and how will that improve customer service? What success stories are there to back this up? How can this change how complaints are handled?
• Privacy in the call center: How are call centers keeping customer data safe? What risks are there, and what protocols need to be in place to protect the company from inadvertently revealing private data?

There are more ideas, but I happened to pick a release with really tiny font. No thanks. But do go through press releases and look for key phrases or ideas. Play around with it. Think of what interests you first, then worry about finding a home for your idea. You can always craft a pitch letter after you’ve found something that interests you.

Writers, where have you found hidden work?