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The other day I had an interesting discussion with several of my Twitter friends. During the course of the discussion one of them made a comment that Twitter was not sending enough work their way.
Afterwards, I thought about the comment and realized that some writers may not really understand how to find work through social media. Yet, I know from personal experience that social networking is effective for finding writing projects. What’s the disconnect?
In this post, I’ll discuss some reasons why social media may not be yielding leads for writing jobs.
My Real-Life Examples
I thought it would be helpful to start out with some real-life examples of how I’ve found work on the Internet. Here are my examples:
- Joe Smith–I first encountered Joe Smith four years ago on a social media tool called MyBlogLog. Joe quickly became a regular commenter on this blog (and I left regular comments on his blog). In that time, we came to respect each other’s abilities. After about a year, we agreed to refer some of our overload writing work to each other. I’ve sent several projects Joe’s way and I grossed several thousand dollars from one of the projects Joe referred to me. Over time, we’ve kept in touch with each other using at least three different social media tools as well as through email and our blogs.
- Sally Jones–Sally was one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog posts. Sally’s comments were always insightful and detailed. She made a point to connect with me on multiple social media tools, which we used to have real conversations about some of our mutual interests several times a month. After three years of staying in touch like this, Sally found herself in charge of several very large writing projects and needed to hire subcontractors. Naturally, I was one of the freelancers Sally contacted.
- Mike Williams–Mike read one of my blog posts here and sent me an email with some questions. I sent a very detailed answer back. Mike was surprised at the detail in my answer and offered a small writing project to me right away. He was satisfied with my work on the small project, and has offered me many writing projects since. Mike and I continue to stay in touch, mostly through Twitter direct messaging, and he continues to offer me work and encouragement.
(Please note that I’ve changed the names in my examples to protect my friends from getting a flood of emails from writers looking for work.)
Of course, these are just three examples of how I’ve connected with others online and how those connections eventually turned into paying gigs. I could name at least a dozen other similar examples.
You’re Making Friends and Work is Just a Side-Effect
One reason that some writers don’t find work through social networks is because they skip the crucial step of building a relationship. They target an individual, or share their job hunt in a general fashion, but they never connect with anyone on a personal level.
To really succeed at networking a relationship is vital. From the relationship comes trust and sometimes that trust leads to work. Your main goal should be to make friends and the work will most likely follow.
I should also mention that, while I seek out and connect with those who have similar interests, I don’t push anyone to hire me. In fact, most of the time I’m not really sure if the person I’m connecting with will ever have work for me.
Some online connections never lead to work–and that’s okay. I still find those online friendships to be invaluable. It’s great to have a trusted colleague to discuss things with and learn from. My online relationships have encouraged me more than I can say.
However, I should also share that I don’t connect with those who I don’t have anything in common with. For example, I have very little interest in following celebrities, nor could I ever see myself as a celebrity blogger. So, even though social media is filled with those who love to chat about celebrities, I don’t involve myself in those discussions.
The Tool Doesn’t Matter
In light of what I just shared with you above, I’d like to go one step further and say that the tool that you use to connect with others doesn’t really matter. In fact, connections don’t even have to be made through social media as long as you are connecting with someone. You could use your phone or email just as well.
Personally, I like to use Twitter for several reasons:
- It’s convenient. It’s easy to use and there are not a lot of complicated features to learn.
- It’s popular. Twitter has a large number of users who discuss areas that are of interest to me.
- It’s instant. The direct messaging feature is a quick way to communicate directly with someone.
However, if you are more comfortable connecting through another tool–by all means, use that tool instead. It’s not the tool that matters, but the quality of the relationships that you build.
Patience Is a Virtue, Especially in Networking
The final reason that some writers don’t find work through social media is because they aren’t patient. I chose the examples above for a specific reason. I wanted to show that, athough sometimes people hit it off quickly, in most cases it can take years to build a working relationship online.
In fact, the instance I gave above where I connected quickly with a colleague/client has been the exception.
What’s Your Take?
What’s your experience on social media networking? Is it a waste of time, or a great way to make connections that can sometimes lead to paying work?
26 responses so far ↓
1 Twitter Trackbacks for Why Your Social Media Accounts Aren’t Getting You Writing Work : WritingThoughts [writingthoughts.com] on Topsy.com // Jan 19, 2011 at
[…] Why Your Social Media Accounts Aren’t Getting You Writing Work : WritingThoughts writingthoughts.com/?p=1003 – view page – cached Freelance writing – what you need to know about good writing and more. […]
2 Lindy Asimus // Jan 19, 2011 at
Nicely laid out. It really does take time to build relationship – while not every connection will turn into a relationship no matter how long we take. That’s just the nature of the beast and that’s okay. As you say, patience is virtue worth cultivating if using social media.
This is a great contrast to what so many think is networking online – sending unsolicited links and worse – begging online. Endless appeals to “vote for me in this competition” is a way to be disconnected from followers, not build relationship, yet it happens quite often.
3 Twitter Trackbacks for Why Your Social Media Accounts Aren’t Getting You Writing Work : WritingThoughts [writingthoughts.com] on Topsy.com // Jan 19, 2011 at
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4 Laura Spencer // Jan 19, 2011 at
Thanks Lindy!
I think that there is a misunderstanding about how to use social media for your writing business. Ultimately, business is about relationships. Social media is just a tool to help you build more relationships.
5 Sharon Hurley Hall // Jan 19, 2011 at
I’ve had a similar experience using social media, Laura. I’ve built some great relationships which I value, and a few of those have led to work. I’m happy with that balance.
6 Laura Spencer // Jan 19, 2011 at
Thanks for the affirmation Sharon!
The relationships really do come first. 🙂
7 Leslie A. Joy // Jan 19, 2011 at
Absolutely Laura! Great post!
I started freelancing a year ago with not one contact-nevermind a client. The first thing I did was start a Twitter account. It took quite a bit of time and effort, but I’ve been able to make freelancing friends, talk to some top people in the industry, AND find a few clients-all through Twitter.
I think people forget that social media isn’t “set it and forget it.” You have to regularly be active-answering questions, asking questions, sharing links (both others and your own), etc.
In addition to that, I’m always surprised by how many people either haven’t completely filled in their profile OR have inadequately filled it in. Doing that alone can increase your chances of finding work.
8 Laura Spencer // Jan 19, 2011 at
Thanks Leslie!
I love your comment “social media isn’t “set it and forget it.” That is so true, but sadly I think that’s what some people expect.
9 Leslie A. Joy // Jan 19, 2011 at
Thanks Laura. I think you’re right about that. But explaining it to people-especially clients can be tough. It can be a bit hard to explain to someone “umm, yea, but you’re going to have to pay me for like a month of hard work before you really see any results.”
10 Taqiyyah Shakirah Dawud // Jan 20, 2011 at
Hi, Laura,
This is some great encouragement for all of us, as long as we engage properly. And I think we should remember it does take time and patience–as you described, it wasn’t until after you’d built a relationship that either of you felt comfortable doing and exchanging business.
11 Leslie Charles // Jan 20, 2011 at
Laura,
What a great article on a very important topic. I am very new to Twitter but in other ways, I have received work from connections I made months to years ago. Patiece is hard sometimes, particularly when you’re starting a new business or when business is slow. I guess we learn to stay the course and keep on connecting!
Great Advice!
Leslie
12 Julia Wasson // Jan 20, 2011 at
Hi Laura.
Thanks for this post. I have been a faithful Facebook user and sometime Twitterer for a couple of years now, but hadn’t used either to market myself as a freelancer until recently. I do, however, market my web magazine through those channels. When I decided it was time to build my editorial clientele, I posted on Facebook, asking if any of my contacts needed a writer/editor. Just from that casual post, I have already received two jobs that will have regular assignments. I’m stoked! I plan to use your tips to build more professional relationships and — with luck — build more business.
Julia
13 Marla Markman // Jan 20, 2011 at
Great post, Laura. I have found wonderful work and colleagues through Twitter. But, like you said, it took me quite a while before I got any business from Twitter. It does take time, but it’s definitely worth the investment.
14 Laura Spencer // Jan 20, 2011 at
Wow! Thanks for the great discussion on this post. 🙂
Leslie A. Joy–I can only imagine what it must be like to be a social media specialist.
Taqiyyah Shakirah Dawud, That’s right. I’ve found that a lot of business is relationship based.
Leslie Charles–It sounds like you’ve stuck with it and are now starting to reap the benefits. Keep on connecting!
Julia Wasson, Wow! Those results are awesome. Congratulations. 🙂 I’m thinking that because you were using those platforms to market your web magazine already there was a certain degree of trust built up.
Marla Markman–Thanks for the affirmation. You definitely have to keep at it in order to see results.
15 Stephen Tiano // Jan 20, 2011 at
Excellent post, Laura! Stuff I took the long way around to learn. My initial social media exposure was LinkedIn. I used to say I found it lacking, that it was frequented by H.R. types looking to fill out their rolodexes. To some extent, I still think that’s true. But I’ve also seen some people come along who’ve started relevant groups on LinkedIn and instigated some really good discussions.
Twitter, meantime, far from being the time-sink I’d avoided–till I took the plunge about two-and-a-half years ago–worried that all I’d get out of it was learning people’s lunch choices, has been a gift. The key there has been to make the effort to find people into the things I’m about: freelancing, book design, page comp. And what started as conversations turned into paying projects that made 2010 my busiest and most profitable year yet.
And that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of how good its been to become friendly with people in the 24/7 world. Those nights when I’m working late in an otherwise dark and quiet house, there’s nothing like the feeling that I’m hanging with other night owls or just those awake in other time zones. And the key to it all is to just engage with people.
16 Laura Spencer // Jan 22, 2011 at
Thanks Stephen–It sounds like your experience with Twitter has been similar to my own. 🙂 I like Twitter, but I do recognize that it’s just a tool. For some writers, there may be a better or different tool.
17 Carole Chrvala // Jan 25, 2011 at
Laura,
Thank you for providing a great snapshot of the benefits of social media. Of course, one of the primary benefits is business development but I am glad to see your mention of networking, staying in contact with colleagues, using social media to post and respond to questions, and social support. Thank you for a well-written analysis. Social media (for me) is NOT all about getting another client and you provide a great summary of the other benefits associated with social media.
18 Laura Spencer // Jan 25, 2011 at
Thanks Carole! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. So many freelance writers misunderstand social media that I thought the post might help.
19 Ruth Berson // Jan 26, 2011 at
Thank you for this good advice. I took a class at my community college on using social media to advertise your business, and it was all about building an e-mail list, not about building relationships. I didn’t really see how it was going to work for me. Your way sounds much better.
20 Laura Spencer // Jan 26, 2011 at
Ruth–Glad it helped! 🙂
21 What is the Best Social Media Tool for Freelance Writers? : WritingThoughts // Feb 8, 2011 at
[…] What is the Best Social Media Tool for Freelance Writers? A few weeks ago, we discussed how to get the most out of social media and why it may not be working for you. […]
22 Louellen Coker // Feb 17, 2011 at
Laura, This post is so true! Social media platforms are a way of having a conversation with someone, you getting to know them, them getting to know you. Being present and active in the conversation, beyond “selling your wares,” is where I’ve seen my business and my clients’ businesses reap true rewards. One thing I try to explain to my clients is that social media is a place where people watch you, and while you may offer incentives, specials, and other things to get immediate return on your investment, many times more long-term and/or profitable ROI will come from the relationship rather the offer. I encourage them to relax, settle in, and be authentic.
23 Laura Spencer // Feb 18, 2011 at
Thanks Louellen!
Most people make the mistake of trying to jump right into a sales pitch, which naturally doesn’t work.
24 Social Marketing // May 2, 2011 at
Social media is fast impacting all aspects of our life but keeping, new contacts, business contacts and personal contacts can be a juggling act at times.
25 Laura Spencer // May 10, 2011 at
Thanks Social Marketing! It IS a juggling act. That’s why I always recommending scheduling time to be involved. If you don’t schedule it, it may not get done.
26 5 Ways to Find a Freelance Writing Job : WritingThoughts // May 10, 2011 at
[…] active in social networking. As I wrote here, social networking works! Not immediately, but in the long-term. But, you have to do it with intent […]