Have you set up your writing portfolio site? (internal link) And are you blogging on it? If so, you should be able to sell your blogging skills to other web site owners. I’m currently blogging for three companies, but through my Vancouver employer. This post talks about going after such work independently. Let’s talk about WordPress sites.
WP sites are fairly easy to recognize. There’s usually identifying marks in the upper left hand corner or down at the bottom of the page. There are also a plethora of sites that will tell you if WP is running. This is one:
http://www.isitwp.com (external link)
A blog is the easiest way to keep a website from going stale. Your local veterinarian, eye doctor, or plumber may all have websites but are they current? Is there anyone adding fresh content to appeal to customers and to search engines? I’d advise soliciting local businesses because you would be nearby to photograph their work or interview their employees, all good material for posts.
My pitch to a small business owner would be to write a 350 to 500 word post once a week for $25 a post. I’d rewrite a recent news story that pertains to their business and I’d supply an image. I would not approach the owner with a custom sample story because your rejection rate will be so high. (Offer to write a sample in your pitch, just don’t write it unless requested.) Spend a half hour or less identifying each prospect and writing up each proposal.
As with sending off unsolicited resumes, you will probably get few responses. Never-the-less, this is an approach you can do on your own. It goes beyond checking Craigslist and freelance sites like Flexjobs (internal link) for writing gigs. You are now in charge, actively working on boosting your freelance work, rather than waiting for something to show up on a job board.
