Freelance Article Writing on the Net - Get Articles by Jill Black |  |
> Get Articles > Articles and Article Promotion > Freelance Article Writing on the Net Freelance Article Writing on the Net Download as PDFJill Black jblacknetwrite-publish.com Net Writing and e-Publishing Success http://www.netwrite-publish.com This article may be freely distributed in your ezine, on your web site or in your e-book provided this resource box is kept intact complete with active links and author information. I would appreciate it if you let me know if you have used this article mailto:jblacknetwrite-publish.com -------------------------------------------------------- Freelance Article Writing on the Net by Jill Black Copyright © 2001 As a freelancer there are many opportunities available for working from home as a career or providing an extra stream of income for your established information publishing business by filling the needs of a widely diverse market as a paid freelance article writer both on the internet and in offline publications. What is a Freelancer? A freelancer is an independent writer who earns his/her living by contracting for work projects, working for no fixed employer, and may work for a number of employers at any given time. You will be required to negotiate the terms and conditions of work and all work must be completed to the satisfaction of the clients requirements. Note: The objectives and requirements of both parties should be understood fully by both parties from the start to save any problems later on - this includes terms of payment. As a freelancer you need to keep up with the latest developments to compete in the marketplace. This requires studying and researching the needs of the marketplace along with selling yourself to your potential clients. Getting Started as a Freelancer The freelance market can be fiercely competitive at times requiring emphasis on marketing your work effectively and assessing your expertise and skills. "How to" articles tend to sell well and most successful freelancers maintain constant contact with marketplace trends and requirements seeking those areas where they can fill the needs of potential clients. Write your resume with the view of selling your strengths. Use short sentences with each paragraph easy to read, clearly and concisely giving your qualifications or related experience for the job. Usually you will only have a few seconds to make an impact on your prospective client and this can make the difference between hiring you over someone else. To find a niche (your niche) Web monkey has a very good article on finding and defining your niche as a web freelancer. http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/98/44/index4a.html?tw=jobs Many writers prefer to stick within the topic subjects they can write confidently on although a good freelancer can research and write on any topic if and when required. When you are decided on the subject niche you would like to fill seek out magazine publications, online and offline, on your chosen topic. There are two main ways most freelancers find work - Submitting to publications Bidding on freelance contracts If you do not wish to bid for work contracts until you have gained a degree of confidence in your abilities e.g. at some of the sites listed below... Seek out publications in your chosen field that accept articles e.g. if your interest in in fishing go to your local outlet selling magazines and see if they accept article contributions (this can usually be found inside the front cover in most magazines) Many freelancers start by submitting to local community newspapers/letters as a way of establishing credibility as a published writer. Send a query letter or email your chosen publications with your subject ideas and an outline of your proposed article and how they may contact you if interested. However, still expect to wait some time (sometimes up to three months if approaching offline publications) for a reply as most editors are very busy people. Finding work on the Internet The internet has made it easier to build a successful freelance career as a independent professional. To find markets on the internet visit yahoogroups, topica etc and join writing job newsletters and job boards. Some newsletters/groups I have found very informative are - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freelancewriters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/workforwriters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/webwritingbuzz http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritersMailBox http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writesuccess http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com (fee $5.00 per year - well worth the money to receive) http://www.sellwritingonline.com - (mailto:sellwritingonline-subscribetopica.com) There are many sites that bring people together... some offer a free service, others you will need to register with and/or supply your resume before you can get started. http://www.writerfind.com (international) http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com http://www.freelancewriting.com http://freelancing4money.com http://www.worldwidefreelance.com (international) http://freelancewrite.about.com http://www.burryman.com (click on the freelance job and non-fiction writing link) http://www.burbages.com http://www.flipdog.com http://www.guru.com http://www.writersweekly.com http://writerslounge.com http://www.smarterwork.com http://www.writerswrite.com http://www.bullhorn.com http://www.writestart.com http://www.jobsonline.com http://www.elance.com http://www.travelwriters.com (for travel writers) The government is the largest source of freelance contract work in most countries. One USA based web site set up to bring you the latest news in the market today, whatever your area of expertise, can be found at: http://www.bidmain.com For other countries try your local government web site for information. Another option is to do some detective work to source work. Look for new web sites to send a congratulatory email. Explain your services and how your work can the improve chances of survival on the net while politely enquiring if they have any current or future needs for the services you can offer and how they may contact you. Newly launched web sites can by found via press release sites- http://www.internetnewsbureau.com http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/home http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com http://prweb.com Sign up to receive the daily releases if you are serious about earning money as a freelancer. Invest in Writers Market and digest books (both local and international). These list thousands of markets, niches and industries that require the needs of freelance writers. Put together a portfolio with a selection of your best articles. If you enjoy for example, travel writing, include a selection of your best photos if sending queries to offline editors as many will ask if you will be supplying photos along with your story. If you can send photos to accompany your article your chances of having your article accepted increases as it saves them the trouble of sourcing photos to compliment the article. At the bottom of the article include your resource box. For example: Joe Bloggs is a freelance writer and webmaster at your domain.com and whatever ties your web site into the article... Producing free content articles are a great way to build up your business and reputation. They can also be used as publishing credits if they have been placed on another's web site -mention where samples of your published work can be viewed. Writing freelance articles increases exposure for your business to another market segment of interested individuals. If you had not considered freelancing as a possibility... give it a try. ----------------------------------------------------- Jill Black is a professional freelance writer and photographer and member of the New Zealand freelance writers association (NZFWA). For writing and epublishing resources and ideas visit http://www.netwrite-publish.com . How useful did you find this article? This article can be downloaded freely from http://www.get-articles.com and used on your website or in your ezine so long as the author is credited and their resource box left intact. You should not change any links in the article, and where the article is used on a website it's links should be clickable. Please see our terms and conditions page for more information: http://www.get-articles.com/authors-publishers-terms.php |
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