If they could earn you a bunch of clients, I would never oppose the idea of you writing free samples for every Tom, Dick, and Harry who shows the slightest ray of hope to give you work.
But, it does nothing for you. Nothing.
Except you end up writing yourself off for someone who-
- Will use your writing.
- Will not pay you for it.
- Will not sign you up for further work.
This breaks my heart. It really does.
If you already have published links and samples of the kind of content this person is asking for, avoid creating another sample "just because they tell you to".
However, if the requirements are very specific and you don't have something that matches what they need, you may write one. May.
Only after you qualify your lead.
Which brings me to this- (Sorry for the hopping)
Pick a Niche!
Oh, for crying out loud. I have always said this on my blog and will say it again, pick a niche.
Generalists do not go far with their freelance writing career. If you need reputation, a sense of belonging, money, pride, and appreciation for what you do, you will have to become a specialist.
Josh Garofalo (The SaaS Copywriter) has his entire email marketing game up and running on this one thing- Becoming a specialist from a generalist.
When you pick a niche, this happens:
- You establish authority in the industry you choose.
- You tell the world you are in a happy committed relationship with this niche.
- You develop mastery over the subject and become the real King/Queen of that niche.
- Prospects who are dead serious about their work will pick you over the generalist who has their focus spread on a ton of different stuff.
You get it. Pick a Niche. And, when you have done it, let's unwind, and get back to qualifying leads. Only spend your time on the leads who qualify what you do.
A SaaS Copywriter would not entertain a copywriting project for disinfectants- even if a lot of money is involved.
To earn steady clients, you need to show them you are the master of their space.
Market, Market, Market
As a solopreneur, you need to master the art of marketing. Because if not you, who? If not now, when?
Even if you got a steady stream of retainer clients and you got your financial goal game through the roof, you never know what happens next.
To be prepared for tomorrow, you need to market today.
Here's how-
- Build a super-influential LinkedIn profile. Seriously. This is so the key.
- Reach out to qualified leads on LinkedIn, Facebook, and any other social site you are comfortable with, or your leads are.
- Build a LinkedIn network of people who qualify as your prospects and put your best foot (Read: content) forward. Every day!
- Send Cold Emails to businesses who can potentially be your clients. Get a list of businesses from a Google search. I cold emailed to the top small-medium businesses who showed potential for outsourcing (they were listed as Top businesses on Inc. 5000 list), and I landed two great clients!
These are for starters. You may want to look at a complete post I dedicated to Marketing for Freelance Writers.
Marketing is only telling people what you do, how good you are at it, and why they should pick you- over and over again!
Network and Connect
70% of my clients have come from referrals and references. Some of my ex-clients sent business my way because I exceeded their expectations, and I kept in contact with them.
Building referral sources would be the best thing you would do for your freelance writing business. Talk about what you do- with your friends, acquaintances, and relatives.
Heck, keep it on the top of your mind- every time! This way, you will be able to spot a networking opportunity where there isn't one.
When you network and connect with people who are your prospects, or who are in contact with your prospects, you land clients- who cut out the hassle and get straight to the business.
The leads you get through references are a lot less painful to convert because they have already heard about how great you are. Then, they looked at your LinkedIn profile- and well, we took care of that too.
Then, they talked to you and you seemed confident, committed, and sincere in the work you do- besides being the best specialist for their work.
When it is your passion, it reflects.
These are the clients you want to target.
So, stop writing free samples and crossing fingers hoping they would pick you.
Go out of your way, and get the clients you know you deserve.
Happy Freelancing! :)
To decide if an email is a spam or not, several hundred rules are applied to each email that passes Google’s data centers. Each rule describes some attributes of a spam and has some numerical value associated with it, based on the likelihood that the attribute is a spam. At one time I was very helped by this article https://proofy.io/why-are-emails-going-to-spam/, maybe someone will be interested
I recently put a job posting up for freelance growth marketing writers and am asking for spec work.
If I don’t like it, I won’t pay for it, but I won’t use it either.
The writers free to use it for other clients, or on their own blog.
Generally I see no issue with that from a providers perspective considering the vast number of under qualified yet highly vocal freelance writers that flood the web.
The situation you described is different because you are not using the content after you've said it was short of what you expected, and I completely agree with writers being under qualified at times.
A recruiter needs the best and a system to check who the best one is.
But, I think what I conveyed through my post is writers need to get proactive, instead of relying on the prospects that come their way, they should market and sell themselves to the right people.