Prospective freelancers often wonder where they would ever find a steady flow of work and any established freelancer worth their salt always has one eye open for any good new opportunities. For any freelance newbies I thought I would run through some of my early successes and failures on the work-finding front and hopefully some experienced freelancers will weigh in with their tips too.
Advertised roles
Unlike many employed roles, freelancing isn’t quite as simple as seeing what’s advertised and applying for it. For better or for worse you have to do a great deal more ferreting around to find regular work. Also, when freelance work is advertised there is often a lot of competition. It is still worth keeping an eye out though – I’ve got a couple of good freelance jobs from advertised roles. And as for the competition – well, someone’s got to get it, why not you?
Freelance bidding sites
When I first started out I did a little experiment to see if the freelance bidding sites such as Elance were worth it as a viable way to find good work. That’s about a week of my life I won’t get back! In my experience, the answer was a resounding no but I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who does use them successfully. For me, the time I spent searching for roles and knocking up applications far outweighed what I got in return, which was er…nothing. The sites seem to be dominated by freelancers offering to take on freelance projects for just a few pounds. I couldn’t compete with that and even if there were some gems of projects to be found in there, the time it would have taken me to weed them out would have made it financially unviable. These are sites not the right way for me to find work but if you successfully use freelance bidding sites, please do share your experiences on the thread for this blog.
Shy bairns get nowt
One of the things which has surprised me the most about finding freelance work is the luck I have had with speculative applications. I have built up at least half of my work through sending introductory emails offering my services – I was fairly convinced I wouldn’t get anything to start with. I would almost certainly chicken out of cold calling a company by phone but I know people that do with some success. For now I will stick to hiding behind my keyboard I think…
In the early days when I had few clients I tried to send out at least ten speculative emails per week. I don’t send as many now but for those who have been wary before, I would really advise a few well-written and tailored speculative emails – go on, don’t be shy!
People power
Don’t forget to work your contacts and network. When you’re starting out as a freelancer it can help to have some contacts in the industry, for example previous people you’ve worked for. Whether you have this or not, getting out and meeting people will expand your source of potential clients and raise awareness of your business. Attend networking events, courses, training events and conferences. Or stay in and ‘meet’ people by networking online.
Face-to-face networking isn’t something I have made a lot of time for so far, mainly because it scares me to be honest! However, having dipped my toe into the waters recently, I do think it is well worth it. And hey, real-life networking gives us a chance to get out of our round-the-house gear and away from the computer if nothing else.
Let them come to you
Finally, don’t forget that you don’t have to do all the running. Often clients will recommend you to other contacts if you do a good job. Signing up to directories and having a website can bring work in as well. Personally I thought my website or directory listing would be too much of a drop in the ocean of other freelancers to ever generate any work. I did it anyway in the spirit of being a freelance goody two-shoes and trying everything I could. I received two unprovoked queries about commissions recently. I was really surprised but it has confirmed my highly scientific and studied view that the internet works in mysterious ways. Get yourself out there!
Although you have to work hard sometimes to keep freelance work flowing, what’s good is there are so many different ways to find work and there’s always something new to try. What are your tips on keeping your freelance work schedule booked up?
Jan 28, 2009
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