Every freelance writer wants to land better online writing jobs. However, there is more than meets the eye because landing a job does not come in easy. Most of the content gigs that are associated with online freelance jobs in most cases come through sample writings. When you pitch, it is important to attach a sample, and you will surely land good jobs. Making good samples transcends actual writing, and if you have an idea of how you can improve these samples, then that serves you good
Samples show your writing ability
Samples are necessary to create a good portfolio. They market your writing ability when it comes to online writing. Every sample that you come up with must enhance your writing skills. Samples can:
- Show if you are conversant with online content
- Show if you can engage the audience through captivating content
- Show if you can write coherently
- Show if you are new in the field
Any self-respecting newbie must have at least three samples when doing online writing. These samples must also show your niche insofar as freelance writing jobs are concerned. For instance, if your niche is in writing business reports, ensure you have samples in that area. The same goes for blogging and other online writing fields.
So how do you improve your samples to attract clients?
If you want to improve your samples especially for your portfolio, you can invoke the following tips:
Make them relevant
You must have samples that are relevant to what you are pitching. It is a great strategy especially if you are a newbie and pitching to anything in which you are interested and accompanying it with a sample; you stand a chance of landing a job. However, it is advisable to have three samples from which you can choose topics that relate to your niche. As you progress, you can narrow down on one niche, but if you are a newbie, three samples will suffice.
When you are having trouble with topics within your niche, you can always use research blogs in that area. You will get different topics making it easy for you to narrow on the ones that you feel you can develop excellent content. Another option is to follow other freelance writers within your niche since they can help you with good ideas.
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Format your samples
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Your samples must be published
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Know your niche and target clients
- Write 1 who has different samples with no specific niche on his freelance writing sites or,
- Writer B whose online writing site indicates his specialty in writing law blog posts for law firms?
Ensure your samples are correctly formatted. This implies that your samples must have short sentences to make it easy for the audience to reads. The paragraphs must also be reasonably short, and as such, the audience is able to scan your content. Subheadings are also crucial because they help the audience by scanning as they read the text.
If you are doing online writing jobs that relate to marketing, a call to action (CTA) must be included. If this is your niche, you ought to have this section in your sample.
This can be tricky especially for newbies who are seeking online freelance jobs. Although this is a longshot, putting your sample in PDF format is good, but it does not guarantee that you will land that job. Clients want to deal with writers from freelance writing sites that have published works. Publishing helps in enhancing your credibility in online writing. It also shows that writing is more than just a hobby and depicts you as a legitimate writer. If you can get your samples published, you enhance your chances of being hired.
Starting a blog is another way of making publishing your samples. Different freelancing sites have guest post opportunities, which you can use to publish your samples too. These opportunities can be free or paid, and it is an easy way of publishing your content. If you are new in the world of online freelance jobs, you can publish your samples on platforms like LinkedIn Pulse or Medium. This will help you to attract good online writing jobs.
You can use Medium as a blogging platform especially because some of the small businesses use it for their blogs. As such, it is easy to land a client here. LinkedIn Pulse is a platform where professionals interact and network, making it a perfect platform to land gigs. LinkedIn launched Pulse as a publishing platform, and you can get the latest information and news from different influencers and other professionals. If you publish your content on this platform, you are likely to land yourself a well-paying client.
Picking a niche can be scary, but it is necessary in the world of online writing. Sometimes you may feel like being too specific will limit your chances of landing better gigs. However, writers who have established a specific niche get to be paid more and have better chances of landing well-paying clients. Picture a situation where let’s say a law firm wants to hire a writer to help with blog posts. Which one of the following writers is likely to get that job:
This is a no-brainer because Writer B is the one landing this gig. With samples that show your niche, you will attract clients in that field who will need to trust you with their work. As such, you can earn and build that trust by providing niche-specific samples to underpin your expertise.
As such, it is crucial to be very niche and client-specific before delving into the available online freelance jobs.
If you are a newbie yet to recognize their niche, it is crucial to start thinking on any field with which you are conversant. Even though this can be a challenge, it is a sure way of landing great work through freelance writing sites. Your samples are your marketing point and how well you write them determines how fast you will land your first client.
As such, prioritizing your work becomes crucial because it will lay the foundation of how and when you are going to get your first client. As such, you must be ready to identify your niche and work towards becoming an authority in it. Having achieved that, the next thing is to develop innovative samples that can only be identified with you. Use these samples to pitch to different clients within this niche. Remember that these samples ought to speak for you as they speak for you.
As we have seen, you do not need to have a blog to publish your samples, but it is crucial to have these samples published. Enhancing your samples will peg on your determination to become a better freelance writer and your zeal to win clients. As such start writing those samples and get them published. You can also use freelance writing sites to search flor clients in your in your niche. Take freelance writing work seriously especially if you want to do it full-time. As you start this wonderful journey, let your samples do the marketing for your skills and clients will come your way.
