Michelle Goodman gives some great tips on what it takes to become a full-time freelance writer, in the Personal Branding Blog. Considered taking the plunge yourself? Her tips include becoming a a time management ninja and learning to run a business, because that’s what you’re doing.
Her “3-5 tips do you have for someone just starting out in the freelance world” are:
- Set up a website touting your experience, work samples, and so on. Send an email and social media blast to everyone you know announcing that you’ve just opened your doors for business. Media layoffs are pretty much the norm these days, which means there’s more competition than ever before. To ensure you’re as employable as possible, cultivate a couple of specialties and work to diversify your skills and client base. [snip]
- Look for freelance job leads on sites like Sologig.com, FreelanceSwitch.com, and RatRaceRebellion.com. [snip]
- Meet and learn from other indie professionals using social networks such as Biznik, LinkedIn, and the industry-specific mediabistro. [snip]
- If you don’t know the first thing about running a business, it’s time you picked up a book on the topic (ahem) or took a class. [snip]
- If you still have a day job, take advantage of all it has to offer [snip].
Also covered in the article are the importance of choosing your byline and how she got started. Definitely worth a read.
