Blogging for freelance writers: how to use your blog to get writing gigs

You’re a freelance writer. You write for money. You look on writing as WORK.

So when it comes to blogging, you’re ambivalent. “What, write for free? Not in this lifetime”, you think. You’re with Samuel Johnson all the way: “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.”

You’re tossing the proverbial baby out with the bath-water: you’re missing many opportunities. Blogging is a fabulous way to get noticed as a freelance writer, and to get writing gigs.

So here are some ways to use your blog to get writing gigs:

* Show case your writing skills. Blog about your recent sales;

* Use your blog as a portfolio – if you don’t have published work yet, post writing samples;

* Blog queries and proposals. This one seems like a no-brainer to me, but I haven’t seen writers doing it. There’s no need to blog the full query, with your slant, but do post what you’re researching and your query topics. Editors browse the Web, especially when they have holes in a publication. I’ve received many gigs simply because I wrote a blog post that an editor spotted, and asked me whether I’d like to write an article;

* Want to write for a publication and they’re ignoring your queries? Blog about the publication, and your desire to write for them. Editors ego-surf, and publications take notice when people write about them, so this is an excellent way to get noticed.

What you should NEVER, ever do

Please don’t whine or complain on your blog. A blog is not a personal diary. If you’re feeling snarly or depressed, don’t blog. Your blog is a promotional tool. It’s marketing. I hate reading writers’ blogs when they complain, and amazingly, many high-profile writers do this. If you want to vent, do it in your own paper diary.

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