WritingThoughts

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As a freelance writer, you probably already know that it’s important to have a strong online presence.

A blog is one way to create an online presence, of course. But there are other ways as well.

In this post, I take a look at four places where writers can create an online profile that will strengthen their online presence.

I’ll review the following sites (in alphabetical order):

• Contently
• Ebyline
• LinkedIn
• Mediabistro Freelance Marketplace

I’ve gone through and created a profile at each site. I’ll evaluate each site in the following areas:

• Cost
• Ease of Use
• Potential Job Opportunities

In the interest of disclosure, at the time of publication I have not received compensation from any of these sites. Although, naturally I do hope to find writing work through them. Nor are any of the links in this post affiliate links.

Except for LinkedIn (where I already had a profile), I created a new profile at each of these sites. For the sites that called for clips, I entered at least eight clips (although not necessarily exactly the same ones).

Naturally, these are my experiences with the various sites. Your experience may vary.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Contently

For quite a while, I avoided Contently. My fear was that it might be a content mill or bidding site, which is the last thing that I need to get involved in. However, this recent review from Sharon Hurley Hall changed my mind and I decided to give it a try.

Here is what I learned:

• Cost. Contently is free of charge.
• Ease of Use. This site was probably the easiest to use. All I needed to was to list the publications that I wrote for and Contently found the pieces that I wrote. (Although in a few instances it did make a mistake). My part was to indicate whether I wanted to add each piece to my portfolio.
• Potential Job Opportunities. I’m unsure of the potential job opportunities available through Contently. They do have a marketplace (possibly with opportunities), but not everyone is invited. At the time of publication, I had not yet been invited into the marketplace, possibly because at least half of my writing is copywriting or technical writing. The bottom line is that I can’t tell what the opportunities are here.

Although it’s easy to create a profile on Contently, I’m still not sure if it is a good option for all freelance writers. It does create an attractive portfolio if you do a lot of bylined work. If you created the corporate training guide or if you were part of the team that wrote a software manual, you may not benefit.

One nice unique feature that Contently offers is the ability to sort your clips by the number of shares, tweets, likes, or comments. So, social proof is readily available.

Ebyline

When I first heard of Ebyline, I was also afraid that it might be a content mill or bidding site. However, Ebyline has also had some positive press, including this interview with Bill Momary by Mona Zhang on Mediabistro‘s 10,000 Words blog.

Here is what I learned:

• Cost. Ebyline is free of charge.
• Ease of Use. I found it relatively easy to create a profile and portfolio on Ebyline. Take note that you need to have in mind several areas that you cover. Also, Ebyline places an emphasis on recent clips. So, if your best clips are several years old, it might be a good idea to get some new clips before applying.
• Potential Job Opportunities. Not everyone is approved by Ebyline, so I was pleased and surprised to find out about a week after I created my profile that I was approved. This gave me access to Ebyline’s impressive set of tools, which include invoicing tools and tax forms. I also got a look at the pitch board, where I was relieved to see that most projects pay $100 or more. (The lowest pay I saw was $50.00.) I also noticed the list of over 100 publishers that Ebyline works with.

There are definitely jobs here, although the pitch board didn’t have a lot of opportunities during the time period when I reviewed it. However, I look forward to checking it regularly. While you may not be able to get an “instant” assignment here, I think it’s worth creating a profile here if you have strong clips.

Again, I’m not sure how effective this would be if your writing work doesn’t allow you to take credit.

LinkedIn

I’ve had a LinkedIn profile for several years now. While you can’t create a portfolio here, in my opinion it’s an important place for freelance writers to have an online presence because nearly every organization is represented here.

Here is what I learned:

• Cost. LinkedIn has a free version and a paid version. I have never used the paid version, so this review only covers the free version.
• Ease of Use. While it might seem easy to fill out a LinkedIn profile, it’s important to give it a lot of thought. Pay particular attention to the keywords you use in your summary.
• Potential Job Opportunities. LinkedIn does have job listings, which I regularly check. I was also once offered an opportunity based on my profile here.

In my opinion, one of the strongest features of LinkedIn is the recommendations feature. I actively encourage satisfied clients to leave a recommendation and I believe you should too.

Some freelance writers hesitate to create a LinkedIn profile since they are not actually employed by their clients. However, if you have long-term clients (at least six months), you can sometimes list those clients as long as you indicate that you were not an employee. I use the phrase “independent contractor,” but I’ve seen other freelancers use phrases like “consultant” or “contract position.”

Mediabistro Freelance Marketplace

I’ve been using the resources at Mediabistro for quite some time, so naturally I’ve also had my eye on the Freelance Marketplace there. A few weeks ago, I finally created a profile.

Here is what I learned:

• Cost. This service is not free. The current cost for a monthly listing is $21.00 a month, or $15 a month if you join AvantGarde.
• Ease of Use. This service provides room for a very detailed portfolio. It’s important to categorize your work and assign keywords. Freelancers are encouraged to share work completed within the past two years. Be sure to make your profile publicly visible or no one will be able to see it.
• Potential Job Opportunities. You don’t need to join the Freelance Marketplace to use the job board at Mediabistro. However, since Mediabistro is a prominent site in the journalism and media industry, my hope is that having a profile here will help publications to notice me.

Because this service costs money, I’ll be paying a lot of attention in the next few months to whether or not it results in writing projects.

Your Turn

Have you used any of these writer profile sites? What was your impression? Did they help you to find work?

Have I missed any writer profile sites?