Do you want to be a successful freelance writer? Then you need to be paid well for your work.
I’m a strong advocate of freelance writers earning what they’re worth, but sometimes you should give it away for free.
Why? Because giving it away for free has several potential benefits…
Gets Attention from Potential Clients
An article by you in the right place at the right time — and with the right byline — can gain the attention of decision makers in your target niche.
Gets A Clip for Your Writing Portfolio
If you’re just starting out, you need samples for your freelance writer portfolio. Writing for free can get you that clip and allow you to demonstrate that you have professional skills.
Gets Links to Your Writer Website
The more links you have to your website, the higher you may rise in search rankings — and that can lead to more clients. Some freelance writers choose to do guest posts on other blogs in large part to boost SEO rankings.
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Gets You Subscribers to Your Blog
If you are also a blogger, giving away a free report is a great way to entice people to sign up for your blog updates. For example, I give away an extensive report that many people have found crucial for increasing their productivity and income: “27 Ways to Boost Your Writing Willpower.” (See the box in the right column to subscribe and get your copy, if you haven’t already done so.)
Gets Publicity for Your Work
As some of you know, besides being a long-time freelance writer, I’m also the author of two hiking guidebooks on Northern California. I was recently approached by the editor of a color magazine that’s available in many tourist/visitor locations. The editor found my photo of Black Butte near Mount Shasta and asked if she could use it in the publication gratis. I agreed, with the stipulation that I get a photo credit and a mention of my website.
It was only 10 minutes of my time to send her the high-res photo, and it may easily pay me back in increased book sales and subscribers to my hiking blog.
In a similar vein, I’ve let several publications print individual hike descriptions from my books, always, of course, with attribution that includes my website and mention of my books.
Gets Good Karma
You can use your writing skills to help out a nonprofit or a friend in need. Sure, you don’t get paid, but you’re helping others, and that’s an important part of being a good person. Remember, people have helped you in the past, and they will also help you in the future.
An Important Caveat
Be careful about giving it away for free. Do it wisely and sparingly. I see too many beginning freelance writers who spend way to much time and energy writing for zero compensation. Your main goal is to make money — lots of it.
Your Take
What are your rules about giving it away for free? Tell us in the comments below.
John, I agree. I occasionally write for free for good Karma mostly… but I don’t ever let it interfere with my paid work, ever.
Anne, I completely agree that free work should not interfere with paid work.
I was not paid for my article in Forbes, but “How to Write a Captivating Bio” is definitely paying off now. I get at least four requests for bios every month. And I know when someone has read the article when I get a purchase notification from Smashwords.
Also, Karma is a beautiful thing. I wrote a bio for a “seasoned” author who has no website. I truly believe that bio business picked up because of that service. Now, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do believe that what goes around comes around, and I’m reaping what I’ve sown.
Marcie, your free Forbes piece really shows how writing for free can pay off. Good for you!
John, I don’t often write for free, but once in a while it’s helpful. But it’s even better if it’s fun to do the writing. Since one of the things I do is write marketing copy, I read some industry voices like MarketingProfs. Because I love Mark Twain, I wrote a guest post for them a few years ago on Mark Twain’s marketing tips, and with their broad exposure, it got me a couple of copywriting gigs.
I just wrote a parody of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” for MarketingProfs (titled “The (Marketing) Maven”) that took me a while to write, because I was mimicking the meter of Poe’s classic, but using a bunch of marketing buzzwords. But it was fun! They are going to publish it in the next couple of weeks, and there’s a fair chance I’ll get some client attention from that. So, exposure in some circles good; exposure in same while the writing is fun—even better.
Great way to use free writing to land clients, Tom. And it was fun!
It’s never really FREE if it’s time well spent with a clear strategy. For example: Writing an article for a publication that helps you break into a market you’ve been wanting to play with is smart business. Not only do you get exposure to the readers, you get exposure to the advertisers, and your article gives you a reason to further the connection, showcase your talents and add another clip to your portfolio.
Write on!~
Lisa
Great examples, Lisa!
I think writing free for your own blog is good. As you are promoting your own content through blog and will help you monetize your blog in future.
Sometimes i write guest post for outside blog for generating good backlinks for my blog. But nowadays quality of content on some of the famous blog are going down. The main reason is content is not relevant and nicely written.
I would say if you are getting good exposure for your blog or website. I would always opt for writing free.
Thanks for the good article.