Locking yourself in a room full of cuttings is no good for your freelance writing career.
ARE you an expert networker or does the thought of promoting yourself in person make your heart sink? You’re a decent writer, why bother?
Well, like it or not, getting out there and pressing the flesh can make or break a freelance career – so you’d better get over your reservations, fast.
‘What goes around, comes around’ is a key principle behind networking – you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
Over the last year, I’ve been contacted by national newspapers and radio stations looking for interviewees thanks to my blog, I’ve been recommended for jobs by contacts made on an online forum and directly offered work by editors.
For Joanne Mallon, freelance journalist and media coach, ‘networking’ is obligatory – and not just about standing round drinking warm wine and making small talk.
She says: “It doesn’t matter how good you are if an editor won’t open your emails or take your calls. For those of us still developing our careers, networking can work wonders – the more people that know, trust or like you, the better.
“People dismiss others as 'shameless networkers', as if it’s something to feel ashamed of, but it's about building relationships.
“You should talk to people all the time and, more importantly, listen to what they have to say. Don’t just keep in touch when you’re after a story, be genuinely interested in what they’re doing all the time. You never know where a conversation may lead.
“If you write for an editor but have never met them, make a point of inviting them for coffee or dropping by to see them. If you live outside London you might have to take a day out to do this, but it’s worth it. You learn things in face to face meetings that you can’t pick up any other way.”
Joining professional associations relevant to your specialism can also help. Go to their events and keep in touch with fellow members.
Social networking websites are opening up more opportunities and you can use your own blog to forge contacts, putting you in front of people who didn’t previously know you existed.
Helen Grant, a freelance feature writer who started her own ‘networking newsletter' says:“Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and H-ezine,enable you to connect with likeminded people.”
“You can promote yourself and find new contacts in forums, building good relationships by offering your help and skills.”
“My newsletter mailing list grew by word of mouth and internet networking. I started it as a way of reaching a bigger audience, and getting more commissions, but it became more about connecting people. The H newsletter now has more than 2,000 readers.”
You also have to beware of what can happen if you don’t network. A recent interviewee told me he’d looked for me on LinkedIn – and hadn’t found me there.
His conclusion was to wonder if I really existed.
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Posted by: career help | January 07, 2008 at 06:01 AM