Becoming an online marketing professional or freelancer, making a living and building a solid reputation for yourself online is quite a challenging task, especially since there are already so many personalities online. Many of whom are experienced masters of their own art. However, the web is vast and regardless of the countless websites online, there still remain niches that are untouched and with visitors who are still searching for the perfect product or community for entertainment, knowledge and inspiration.
While you ponder on some ideas for building your online presence and reputation, think about developing your personal brand through becoming a paid writer / contributor on existing popular websites that already command great influence. Therefore, leveraging their reach and exposure. Writing for websites like Mashable and the Huffington Post can gain you massive exposure and reach in a fair amount of time that would otherwise seem impossible. However, how do you land that cool blogging job opportunity? Surely they do not accept any and everybody who applies, so what will set you apart from the masses and get you noticed by the “big dogs” online?
Here are some tips that you need to start practicing.
Focus On Building One Publication
Popular prospective websites will, 99% percent of the time, ask you for links to your current online writing activities. So you will need to have some great work to show. Focus your energy on building a frequently updated, niche focused, blog and community and get good at it. Go the extra mile to produce unique, hard hitting informative blog posts. The quality of your writing should be evident and prospective “employers” will use this to help decide if you have what they want.
There’s no way they will hire you to write for them if it’s obvious that you’re no good at writing, marketing or whatever your niche of focus. Take your time, get good at it, experiment before putting yourself out there at the risk of burying opportunities.
Get Social, Build Relationships
So you have your social media profiles but are you building solid relationships online? Solid relationships meaning, offering help or some value to your followers / friends, answering questions, showing genuine interest in others through fruitful conversation, etc. Since networking is key to meeting the right people offline, the same rule applies online and you’d be surprised who you may meet online and the opportunities they bring.
Continuous communication shows that you have the potential to manage and keep the attention of an audience; this skill is useful for building online communities. I shows character and presence. Potential employers will analyze your activities online to determine if you’re a good fit.
Connect With Your Prospects
If you feel you have what it takes to contribute to a site like Mashable, then do not hesitate to start connecting and starting conversations with its writers and managers, online and off. Show your worth and let them know what you have to offer. They may start you off by allowing you to publish a guest post and from that, the relationship is formed and the doors are open.
Be On The Lookout
Subscribe to the best job boards on the web to place yourself at the bleeding edge went blogging jobs are announced. 3 of the best blogging job boards are:
Bloggingpro Job Bord
Freelance Writing Jobs
ProBlogger Job Board
oDesk
Seek Opportunities that Align With Your Passion
A blogging job that is not in alignment with what you’re truly passionate about can place a huge strain on your life and will spell disaster for your arrangement. To ensure that you truly shine, pursue blogs that discuss topics you eat, sleep and dream about. True passion can easily translate to more opportunities for earning since there are other positions online that blogging can give birth to; such as Community Managers and Editors. So let your passion drive you.
Don’t give in to random $5 writing opportunities that dilute your value and time. They’re not worth it.
More About Writing Jobs
Publishing and marketing jobs vary tremendously across the web and earnings are usually based on a per post basis or through advertising revenue share. Usually, bloggers are paid on a per post arrangement and payments start from as low as $2 per post up to $250 depending on the website and your experience. Therefore, blogging passionately and consistently can easily bring you a healthy monthly income as you further develop your presence and skills.
Conclusion
Gaining exposure through freelance writing is a great way to further launch yourself towards online success through building your personal brand. Remember it’s not solely about the money but also a way to reach and gain the trust of a global audience that will set the stage for you to benefit greatly in future ventures online and off.
Do you have an online marketing or writing job or have some unique ideas for landing the perfect one? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below, we would love to hear from you.