How to Land Freelance Content Writing Jobs

Finding content writing jobs can be easy. In fact, with a little leg work, you’ll be able to land freelance content jobs with ease. Here’s how I landed two within a week.

Seth Kingdon is a freelance content writer with 6+ years of digital marketing experience. View his portfolio or contact him today to see what he can do for you.

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Why You’re Having Trouble Landing Freelance Clients

There could be multiple reasons why you’re not landing freelance clients. Here are just a few from my experience:

Your pitch is too long. Email pitches that are more than 200 characters are usually deleted or not read.
Your pitch doesn’t solve a problem. If you’re asking for business, you won’t get it. You need to answer a problem for the client.
Your call to action isn’t clear. What is the call to action? Is it clearly stated at the end of the email?
You don’t respond quickly enough. Quickness to be top of mind is key!
You’re looking in the wrong place. Job sites sometimes have good opportunities, but usually, the organic ones are better.

H2: What I Did to Land 2 Clients in a Week

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what I did to land two clients within a week.

1. Find Potential Clients

This is the easy part. How? Google Maps! I searched “Digital Marketing” over a larger city (like Raleigh, NC) and got a list of results. I clicked to view the websites of all the locations related to “Digital Marketing.”

2. Locate Email Addresses

After opening their websites, I searched for email addresses. Sometimes it would be in the header or footer. If not there, then I would look at the “Contact” page. If no email address is offered but there was a contact form, I would use this (although, reluctantly because these usually don’t return an investment).

BONUS TIP:

I would also use hunter.io to help find email addresses. This is also a great plugin for Google Chrome!

3. Craft an Email Pitch

This is the hardest part. Your short message may be deleted or left in an email inbox to die. But no fear! I believe I’ve drafted such a short email that it’s impossible to avoid. You’re welcome to use my variation below:

Subject: Content writing for X.com

“Hello! I saw your website, X.com, and I like what you offer. Are you in need of blog content? I write professionally. Email back and I will send over info and samples. Best to you.”

4. Email or Schedule the Email for the Right Time

Once the email is drafted, and if it’s during the workday, send it on! If it’s in the evening or on the weekend, schedule it (I used Gmail for this) for the next workday morning at 8:00am.

5. Wait for a Response

If they are interested in your services, they will usually respond right away. Otherwise, give it a day or so.

BONUS TIP:

I followed up the next day after seeing that they opened the email I sent (also a hunter.io function), but I think I didn’t allow enough time to pass. I’d recommend following up three days later.

6. Receive a Response and Create a Unique Presentation

You got a response! Wow! What a great feeling! Now what? At this point, I would create a unique presentation for them and their business. I would mention their name and include a picture of them I found on LinkedIn, include a few things about me and my experience, and tell them specifically how I could help their business. I outline the keyword “digital marketing” in relation to their website. Check out how I did this:

H3: 7. Send the Unique Presentation

Now that the video was created, send it via a shareable link for them to view at their convenience. I included this in the email:

Great to hear from you. I put together a 3-minute unique presentation for you and x.com. You can view it here: LINK

I have availability this afternoon and tomorrow if you’d like to chat.

8. Give a Clear Call to Action

As you will notice, the last line in the email is the call to action: “I have availability this afternoon and tomorrow if you’d like to chat.”

This is important! You want to keep the conversation moving as well as be available for a call immediately. This is a place where people have problems. You have to be ready at a moment’s notice to schedule a call.

Why it’s Important to Talk Face-to-Face

In this time of working remotely, it’s important to hear another person’s voice because it communicates that you mean business. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to always talk via phone or Zoom. In fact, email is sometimes better. But the initial live phone call is important to establish.

Why Website Content is Important

All websites need content. In fact, I’d go as far to say that websites need lots of content if you want to be seen on Google organically. The Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) is a hardball place to be. Websites are constantly being kicked around from second to fifth or seventh to twelfth, all within a few days. New and engaging content needs to be written in order to stay at the top of the list for specific keywords.

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