Starting a Career in Writing with These Networking Tips

Writing is a lucrative niche that requires minimal investment and no prior experience. The prospect of writing attracts many people, only to throw in the towel after a rough entry.

As is often the case for beginners, stiff competition makes it hard for an entry-level writer to land regular gigs. Networking is thus an effective way to showcase your skillset and identify opportunities that help establish your authority.

It would help if you thus leveraged your connections with established professionals for job leads and improvement opportunities. Read on to discover the networking tips to succeed in your writing career.

Why is networking necessary for writers?

No man is an island. Unfortunately, many writers tend to think of writing as a competition and their counterparts as their rivals.

Although this concept may be true in some niches, clients searching for writing support are a dime a dozen, allowing each writer to enjoy a slice of the cake. A network helps you tap into more opportunities and escape the limitations of content mills.

Equivalently, networking with editors helps you buff up your writing skills, increasing your appeal to your readers. As such, networking should rank top on the list of how to work your way up in your career writing.  

If you’re confused about how to start a writing career, here are some networking tips to get your foot in the door.  

Identify a workable networking approach

Thanks to the paradigm shift of business operations in the 21st century, online platforms provide easier access to opportunities than the traditional setup. With sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, and Facebook, you can connect with peers, network writing jobs, and acquire tips to get you started.

To make a positive impact, you should have a personal summary highlighting your skills, a professional picture, and, where possible, feedback from clients. With these, you can quickly make an impact on your clients and easily sell your services.

Also, remember to regularly update your profile with the relevant skills in your niche and find methods to optimize it for search engines.

Offer to help

When enrolling in a freelance writing jobs network, you should liaise with industry-specific connections and those who offer services related to your field. If you are looking to venture into copywriting, you could connect with web designers and video editors.

These connections may, in turn, help in networking jobs, making it easier to land projects. Initially, you may assist your newly-earned contacts with research or editing their scripts to showcase your writing skills.

Note: You should establish rapport with people before asking for help. When you show that you are interested in maintaining your relationship, they may be more comfortable to give you a helping hand.

Join a skills group

The demands for online content regularly change depending on the web crawlers and your audience. It is thus great to stay abreast with recent developments, thus, retaining your marketability.

For this, you should join platforms that highlight various skills and engage other writers seeking assistance. This helps you diversify your network and exposes you to clients that are searching for various soft skills.

Create a personal blog

A blog ranks among the best tools to showcase your skills while enhancing your portfolio. When managing your blog, you may interact with multiple professionals and, in turn, initiate meaningful connections.

A blog gives you a chance to share content from your contacts, in turn getting mentions and links from their sites. This exposes you to a wider audience, helping you establish authority in your domain and monetize your website.

Participate in webinars

You can liaise the power of webinars by sharing your links to gain more traffic and following up with leads on their social media platforms. Joining webinars also helps you identify the best strategies for starting a writing career and avoiding various challenges.  

Final Take

Whether you are looking to find opportunities, stay abreast with the industry or make like-minded friends, there are multiple benefits to gain from networking. These tips should help you develop your networking strategy as you scale your way up in your writing career.