Freelance writing tips on winning the job
Making a good pitch when applying for a job is fundamental to freelance writing success. Often a freelance writer can be in competition with dozens, sometimes hundreds of freelance writers, all eager to win the work. Your pitch must stand tall in among this competition and be well supported by good, relevant examples of your previous work.
When I pitch for a job I have a template in my mind of points I need to include. They are:
Who I am and where I'm from. Sounds obvious, but many jobs specify someone from the English speaking world, and this shows that I am.
My experience. I normally state the number of projects I have been involved with. the more work I complete the better this looks.
My approach to the work, including gauging tone, keeping the copy interesting and informative, and to engage the reader.
My CV/Resume. This contains a cross decision of my previous work, along with testimonials. Both of these are significant.
A link to my website. The writers website provides a means of displaying their talents together with an opportunity to showcase what they can do. This recently won me a job and has done so in the past.
Depending on what the ad has asked for, depends on how I construct my pitch, and I mention any previous experience that I feel is relevant to the job.
Your bid is also an important factor in winning the work. Often, there is a budget specified for the job, and to stand a realistic chance of winning the work, it is best to put forward a bid that is within it. I have found that bidding slightly lower than the maximum, tends to give you a fighting chance.
Good luck!
Words, words and more words, and an update!
The freelance writing world has been a little quiet of late, with my focus on Link-optimise and our other projects. The former has just launched its resources page, and this is proving popular among visitors. Those of you who accessed the blog via the homepage may have noticed a few changes to it, but we'll say no more about that. I recently had 13 articles rejected by pure-content, and though one of them was ropey, I do feel the others were not 'off topic' as they stated, but were ok. Anyway, the upshot of this was that I rewrote them. We'll see what happens with that one.
Dr Teng paid me for my efforts, and asked me to write a poem about Star Wars, as his daughter is selling Star Wars trading cards on Ebay, and wanted a suitable rhyme to go with it. Can't say I ever envisioned I would ever write about that.
Chris, from Digitpedia recently asked me to write six press releases and not to write about Blackberry Curve smartphones any more. Both were good decisions on his part!
I have recently paid a company to conduct a link campaign for Teahon.co.uk. This is in part a test for the company to see it is something we can offer to Link-optimise's clients, I'm also hoping that we can generate ad revenue through extra traffic. We'll see.
The next step for both this blog and Link-optimise is to add ads. This will be done via Google Adsenseand is currently in Phil's hands. Sadly, we have been dogged by more IT problems as every night for about five hours, Phil's Internet crashes. All very puzzling and annoying. That being said we are making progress and are currently investigating what sites work with children, and should we have a character to introduce the site. Personally, I'm against this as I prefer to think of the site more like a very interesting book, but I could be being old fashioned in my outlook. Phil and I are agreed that the site's character should it have one, have an interesting character that is appealing to children, and not too annoying for parents. If we can't achieve this then we will scrap the character idea altogether.
Phil and I, have had another website idea of having an online comic. This site will be just like a comic with updates happening every week or month, and telling a story which is continued with each new installment. Though we do not feel the ad revenue will come in quite as often as our other ideas, it does allow us a way of flexing our creative muscles. Of all the projects we have started or are planning to start, this is the one that I would like to work on the most.
Talk soon.
Freelance writing decisions
Hi there!
Well it is looking a little dicey whether or not I can continue writing for a client. I do not like to reject the work, but as the pay is poor, and will impact upon better paying projects. Also, I cannot find anyone to do the work for me, so it is not looking good. The impact my reputation will receive because of this I cannot determine, but it will almost certainly not be favourable.
My hope for this work was a new writer who approached me via facebook, and offered their services. Sadly, as she is based in Pakistan, I cannot pay her unless my bank allows me to do a bank transfer. This I feel will not be likely or easy.
So, my friends, unless someone comes out of the woodwork and accepts the work, I will have to reject it. Not something I wish to do.