Writing for Freelance Blogging Gigs

When a site owner is looking for a blogger to write for them they have the following criteria in mind:

1. Can they write original and interesting articles for the topic?
2. Does their style suit the property and audience?
3. Are they able to write all required types of content?
4. Will I get more value back than what I pay out?

The first three points all cover the craft of writing. If you can show ability in your writing samples then the job of getting the gig is half done. Usually though there are several other writers in the running, the last point is where the choice is really made.

If you are looking to get paid blog writing gigs you have to have a good archive of posts that you can point to plus evidence of value over and above just the writing. Here are some tips:

• Blog skills to pay the bills – Create your own blog, on your own hosting, built with WordPress. Show you can handle the software unassisted. I get criticized when I say this but it is true. Ask people who hire bloggers if they would rather take on someone who can be up and running right away or if they want to train someone how to work the blogging software (most often WordPress). You know what pages, Akismet, blogrolls, themes, series etc are and how they work.
• Vary your standard post types – You need to have a collection of newsy posts, review posts, opinion, essay and tutorials. If there is a certain blog you want to write for, try to match exactly the sort of content they publish or even rewrite one of their articles to show you can write in their style and tone of voice.
• Show you have high value skills too – If you can demonstrate basic SEO knowledge, things like linking and keywords, you will do better than just being a capable writer. Even better if you have some Flagship Content and linkbait too. This shows you are not just someone who can create “filler” but can add real value.
• Interact in communities – Show that you can handle the comment area as well as the posts. Also get known in blog communities. It could be that the blog owner asks around about you. You are better off not getting “who?” as an answer

The question to ask is “why you over some other blogger”. If you can answer that convincingly you will have no trouble getting paid blogging gigs.

Can you think of anything else that would work in a bloggers favor? Share in the comments …

Written by Chris Garrett from Chris Garrett
Posted on October 26th, 2007 and filed under Writing
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