Every freelancer wants to become a client’s go-to writer. To be successful in this field, you have to have some writing chops, meet deadlines and be easily accessible. With these three traits, you’ll land jobs, but if you want to become a freelancer that a company can’t live without, you’ll have to kick it up a notch. You need to wow an editor to get that kind of commitment.
How do you go about doing that, you ask? You need to put yourself in the editor’s shoes. Try to make their life easier and anticipate what they need. They’ll remember you for it.
“When you find a freelancer who you value greatly, you don’t want to let them go,” John Egan, the editor-in-chief at SpareFoot, an online marketplace for self-storage, says.
Egan’s background is rooted in journalism. He was an editor at Austin Business Journal before overseeing content for the searchable storage site. He works with a team of freelancers to keep the company brand in front of customers.
Here are six ways this experienced editor says a freelancer can wow him:
Pitch Something Unique
Coming up with ideas is time-consuming, so if you can pitch unique ideas, you’re a shoo-in, Egan says. Be sure to scour the publication or website you’re pitching ahead of time and make sure you’re pitching an idea that works. When Egan gets a generic “How to find a storage unit” pitch, he knows the freelancer didn’t make much of an effort to come up with that idea.
Dig Up Sources that are Highly Quotable
Finding a source to talk about a subject isn’t enough; you need to find a source that has the background and the quotes. You’ll get mad props for getting solid quotes from an out-of-the-box source.
Weave Interesting Details into Your Stories
There are a ton of editors out there who need riveting copy about not-so-riveting topics. Storage units, for example, might not scream must-read content, but with the right kind of details you can make seemingly boring topics come to life. For instance, rather than regurgitate storage statistics, Egan tells his freelancers to write about bizarre things that pop up in storage units.
Do More Than You’re Asked To
If an editor asks you to find one source, find two. If your copy should be 500 words, don’t end on word number 501. Exceed expectations. If you can do that with every article, there’s no reason an editor will look for another writer, Egan says.
Be Self-Sufficient
If you have questions about an assignment, by all means ask the editor. However, the less you bother an editor, the better. Freelancers who don’t need their hand held get repeat business. Editors are busy and they’ll use freelancers who can take an assignment and run with it.
Know Your Topic or Industry
Editor’s love informed freelancers. Spend some time researching the industry you’re writing about. By staying on top of trends, you can pitch better story ideas and create timely articles. Check out competitors’ blogs, read industry magazines and follow influencers on social media to stay in the loop.
Good freelancers get writing gigs. Great freelancers make a career out of writing. The best way to maintain that career is by winning over editors with superb writing skills, access to killer sources and a work ethic that goes beyond the get-it-done mentality.
