Getting Private Clients

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You know, on several of the writing boards that I frequent I see that most of the women who work at home (and some of the men) are freelance writers and most of them write for content sites like Internet Brands or The Content Authority.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  I do, too.  But for me it is a little bit different because I’m totally new to the content sites.  Before I started working for them I was completely working for private clients so to me that is easy.

But I always see the people who write for content sites asking about how to get private clients.

I’ll tell you how I do it.  And it is a lot easier than you might think so don’t get mad at me.  Here’s the secret….

Apply for jobs!

Yes, that’s it – start applying for jobs and you’ll get jobs if you have any talent at writing at all.  You can’t get the private clients though if you don’t apply and express an interest in it.

Where to find jobs?  OMG – the list could be so huge!  But I’ll share a few of my favorite places with you.

1. Freelance Job Openings - this can be a bit of a grab bag but less so than other places I’ve seen.  I recently grabbed an awesome job here that looks like it is going to be a big portion of my writing income.  And the job pays more than double what I would normally get for ghostwriting.
2. Freelance Writing Gigs – I don’t know how anyone could possibly not be aware of this one because Deb Ng has been around forever and ever I think (she swears she had a beginning and if you want to know more about it you can listen to the Freelance Writing Jobs Story).  But basically, Deb and her staff troll the net for writing job leads every Monday to Friday and put them up for anyone to see.  When I don’t have time to do a lot of searching this is where I go first.
3. About Freelance Writing – this is another job list that is put together by Anne Wayman.  She’s been around even longer than Deb I think!  Her site is the other one I visit when I don’t have time to really do much searching.  There’s a little more variety there I think and she lists “Low paying” jobs at the bottom.  This isn’t such a bad thing.  I’ve actually found some not bad leads in there.
4. Craigslist – don’t knock it.  I know – there are a lot of scammers but this is still a great place to find writing gigs.  There are writing gigs and editing/writing jobs for every city in America and Canada.  Some will have more than others.  I think my first big writing gig came from there and lasted a long time.  You don’t have to stick to your city either because many of the writing gigs are for anyone, anywhere.
5. Writing forums – in general, those in need of writing will go right to the writers at the writers forums and ask for applications.  Don’t pass this off because there are some great opportunities out there.

There are so many more places where you can find private clients but the bottom line is that you do have to spend some time looking for the jobs and you do have to apply to them.  Dedicate half an hour a day to looking for jobs and another 15 applying (use a standard writer’s resume and cover letter and tweak them as needed) and I will almost guarantee that  you’ll find your writing work increasing.

And the best part of writing for private clients?  If you do a good job they almost always come back for more!

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Tagged as: Anne Wayman, Craigslist, Deb Ng, Freelancer, Writer, Writers Resources

Article by Danielle

I'm a social media junkie and professional freelance writer living in small town Manitoba, Canada. I drink a lot of coffee and love my computer (named Garcia after Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds - the ultimate girl geek!), my kids, my husband, and my cats. In 10 years I hope to be that crazy lady travelling across Canada and the States with her three cats and her loving hubby. :) If you're interested in my professional services please visit my professional writer's site to find out more about my services or check out some testimonials from some of my clients.

has written 254 awesome articles for us at The Social Freelance Writer

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