A productive Day 1 for your freelance career

Jun 9, 2015 by jgordon@unitedmediaguild.org

How should a new freelancer start his or her career? Writing for The Freelancer, Nicole Dieker had this advice:

The first thing I want you to do tomorrow is identify a new client to pitch. To be clear: Don’t pitch right away, just identify who you want to pitch. Unless you already have a full slate of clients—and are earning enough money from these clients to support your lifestyle and save for the future—you need to take time to think about expanding.

How can you identify which client to pitch? If you are interested in journalism, start with the publications you read regularly. Visit personal websites of your favorite writers and check out their portfolios for new outlets to pitch. Search The Freelancer’s rates database to see what these publications pay.

If you’re more interested in doing copywriting or corporate writing, it’s time to check out the job boards. I’ve gotten copywriting gigs off the Ed 2010 job boards, and you can always search Indeed for solid listings.

Here’s one more task for you to take care of tomorrow: join a writers’ group or forum. I recommend Carol Tice’s Freelance Writers Den as a great place to chat with other writers and learn about who’s hiring, who’s paying what, and how you can improve your skills.

Dieker offered advice for the next several career stages in her blog on The Freelancer.