Advice on next move?

[Oliver Hall]

Hi everyone,

I've recently moved into freelance content writing and after having a successful stint writing tennis articles and producing match reports for a sports website over the past few months I am looking to broaden my horizons into more diverse business areas.

My skills and knowledge lie in sports, health and fitness but I'm concerned these areas may be saturated and am therefore looking for advice on next steps to target other industries.

Would the recommendation be to offer to write free articles via the popular freelance sites to improve the depth and variation in my portfolio? Or to target a particular niche in sports, health and fitness?

Many thanks for any advice you can give.

Ollie

 

[toastking]

I wouldn't personally go around offering services for free, then people will completely devalue your writing and it will essentially be a rush to the bottom. Prices are much harder to raise later.

It'd take longer, but you could start targeting businesses or even bloggers who write about subjects that you either know about (as above) or are interested in getting into. You may then be able to work your way into the odd writing opportunity but on the basis of professional work for professional pay.

It'll take longer to establish a customer base, but those customers will appreciate your value more, typically cause less problems despite paying more (people who get things mega cheap tend to also expect the world) and whatever you do, try not to give things away for free unless you have a really good reason to. By that I mean helping a long term friend, doing something for charity, but no not because a prospect doesn't value your work enough to pay for it! Find a better customer!

 

[Oliver Hall]

Thanks for the reply toastking. It makes sense to target businesses in the industries I know about to look for immediate paid work who can trust my portfolio based on the writing I've already done in that sector.

Sound advice - thanks again!

 

[stevebrownlie]

Yeah stay away from the freelance sites except to fill 'dead time' then you can pound out a few low paid articles on textbroker, copify or whomever you choose just to make 'something' from your time.

The other thing to look for is marketing, SEO etc agencies (like mine, although I'm fully hired up at the moment) as we're heavy users of freelance writers as clients need a lot of content and it comes up in a huge variety of niches.

Many have jobs pages up, if they're bigger agencies, that are constantly hiring writers, but even smaller agencies are worth a quick reach out so they can put you on file for when your expertise matches a client request.

 

[HazelC]

You have to ask yourself if your content and time is worth money - if the answer is yes (it probably is / definitely should be) then Hell Yes, you definitely should be charging.

 

[beasty]

I would suggest you write for Head Tennis company about rackets, do a test, blog about them, sell them and review them, write about energy drinks, compare them rate them, sell them,

there are many ways you can go beyond, writing something and hoping to be paid

 

[AlanGuidry]

My skills and knowledge lie in sports, health and fitness but I'm concerned these areas may be saturated

I'm not sure they are. Of course there's competition but if you know the Industry then it may make sense to look for a niche within this market. Writing about what you know is more likely to produce better writing and articles. And always charge!

 

[Oliver Hall]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I'm more than happy steering clear of the low paid freelance sites after hearing countless horror stories from people who have used them!

The great motivator for me is the constant positivity towards the availability of paid work through many channels.

I was wondering how much emphasis SEO/marketing agencies or even bloggers put on relevant qualifications and experience before taking a writer on board? Or do most simply go on the strength of the content given to them regardless of these factors?

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

was wondering how much emphasis SEO/marketing agencies or even bloggers put on relevant qualifications and experience before taking a writer on board? Or do most simply go on the strength of the content given to them regardless of these factors?

Ultimately it's the strength of the content that matters. You can have a PhD in the subject you're writing on but unless it's well written, readable and engaging, then it's not going to be any good is it?

That said, if you're writing on a specialist subject, a relevant qualification (or experience) can help you get clients in that sector.

 

[seeingISbelieving]

Hi Ollie,

Personally, I would seek to partner with a person or business that requires quality content supplied permanently . . . even if it means buying into a venture. There are many opportunities I can think of.

Far better to have something you can build upon and promote that's your own, as opposed to constantly seeking work in the saturated and underpaid world of today's writing markets - where every man and his dog thinks they can write.

 

[The Byre]

Far better to have something you can build upon and promote that's your own, as opposed to constantly seeking work in the saturated and underpaid world of today's writing markets - where every man and his dog thinks they can write.

That's the problem with those skills we all use every day. We all know how to use a camera, but try finding a good camera person! We all speak, but try finding a good speaker! We all have ears, but finding a good listener is close to impossible!

There are very few people who can write in an engaging, witty and readable manner. It is a very rare skill indeed.

The only way to learn how to write is to first read your favourite authors and columnists and then write, write and write some more. Also, try pitching your material with trade mags and trade websites.

 

[rhys_td]

Use freelance websites to try and bring in work, offer a competitive price and get a nice amount of work behind you for a portfolio. Not only is the portfolio going to help you in terms of showing your writing skills in a wider range of markets, it'll also allow you to gain experience in writing in sometimes extremely boring or "niche" industries.