Six tips for newbie freelancers

September 4th, 2007

Here’s the first half of a guest blog post I have on MyGlobalCareer today:

I fled the cube 15 years ago to work as a freelance writer, and I’m happy to report that I’ve yet to be evicted from my home or wind up on food stamps. As a result, I’m constantly asked to share my top tips for would-be and newbie freelancers. Here are a few of my tried and trues:

Turn down some of the gigs. Don’t automatically accept every project you’re offered. Instead, choose a handful of topics and industries to specialize in. Building a niche or three makes you far more marketable. Besides, some jobs are so downright miserable that you’d be better off eating Ramen for a few days than tying up your schedule with them.

Hit up your ex-boss for work. There’s no better freelance lead than someone who already knows and loves you. (For the sake of argument, I’m assuming you left your day job on good terms.) Managers live to hire freelancers who are already familiar with their SOPs and corporate culture. And we freelancers love knowing in advance who we’re really getting into bed with.

Give it away for free. We all know that doing a few freebies is the best way to gain experience in a niche when you have none. But don’t just give it away to anyone. Shoot for high-profile gigs that pay in prestige and visibility, like helping with a sizable charity fundraiser or contributing to a well-read but shallow-pocketed magazine. Often these projects will lead to bigger and better.

To read the rest of this post, check out MyGlobalCareer.

Entry Filed under: This freelance life