Writers find work in a variety of ways, dictated mostly by experience level and type of writing. In the nonfiction world, this may mean publications, blogs, websites, corporations, nonprofits, agencies, production houses, and more. This makes it more difficult to answer the question: how do I find work, especially during a pandemic when so many are out of work or are operating at lower capacity? Even given these challenges, there are ways to boost your chances, no matter your skill set or level.
Here are some steps to take to find paying jobs:
Before You Begin
Assess your skill level. Are you experienced or a newbie? What types of projects do you excel at? What are beyond your current skill set? Be honest. It won’t do you any good if you take on a job and fail. Know what you can offer clients and the level of work you can provide. If you are new to freelancing, then starting small is a good idea. Not many clients are going to be willing to take a chance on someone without a track record or samples. Though this is a topic for a future blog, there are jobs available for beginners. Scale your approach to match your experience and skills.
Define your skill set. Make a list of the type of projects you can effectively deliver and want to target. These should be projects where you have matching samples to show. Be clear on what you have to offer.
Identify your market. Who is your ideal client? Again, match this to your skill set. If you are beginner, major corporations are probably not your target. Consider what your skills and then make a list of organizations that match that skill set. The biggest reason to identify your market, beyond going for work that suits your skills and interests, is to target your efforts. A scatter approach to marketing won’t help you.
It doesn’t matter how great a tip is to find work if that work doesn’t fit what you want for your business or if it doesn’t match the work you do. For example, it makes sense for me to target production houses to pitch scriptwriting, speeches and script doctoring services since those are my favorite types of work and a good portion of my business. It would make no sense for me to go after tech firms because I don’t do technical writing and have no interest in developing that area of my business.
Subjects and industries matter. If you specialize in space writing, then you need to focus on companies that have space-related work. If you have a degree in molecular biology, use it. Go for jobs that lean into that field. It doesn’t mean you can’t take other work that interests you, but it does make it easier to find work if you have a specialty you can flaunt.
Focus. You need to figure out how you want to focus your business—what clients you want, what content you’d like to work on, and the format—scripts, speeches, articles, blogs, web content, corporate marketing, white papers, technical, advertising, etc.
Do your research. What clients offer those types of opportunities? This research will help define your search and get you closer to landing work that suits you and your business.
The approach. Once you have a target market in mind and have done your research, you need to figure out how to approach the clients on your list. This will require skill. I’m talking about pitches, queries and general marketing. In fact, you should create a marketing plan specifically targeted to your ideal client list.
Planning is key to success. Know where you want to go before you start looking for work. It doesn’t have to take a ton of time, but it is necessary.
Take this week to begin. Complete your skill assessment. Research potential clients and markets. Identify your goals. And create a marketing plan.
The next blog will cover ways to find the actual work. Good luck during your preparatory phase.