After searching around the World Wide Web about freelance
journalism, I came across an article written by Matthew Stibbe about how to
become a freelance journalist. The now CEO of Articulate Marketing and Turbine,
editor of Golf Hotel Whiskey and writer
of the Forbes Aviator column previously worked for five years as a freelancer,
publishing for various UK business magazines, Wired and Popular Science. While
the article is slightly out of date and does not take into account the use of
social media, it still provided many useful tips on how to become a successful
freelance journalist. I have narrowed the article down to the three most
important points:
Firstly, you need to have the journalistic skills in order
to write for a publication. To gain these skills, Matthew recommends reading
and writing LOTS. By reading a large range of magazines, newspapers and
websites you can get an idea of publications you may like to target in the
future, the style and tone in which articles are written and you may even find
an idea for a story of your own. And of course the best way to improve your
writing skills is to keep on practicing!
Secondly, find one or two subjects that you feel confident
in writing about. “You’ll do better as a freelance journalist if you specialise,”
Matthew says. I had a think about what subjects I would write about, and I have
come down to food (I love cooking and trying new recipes) and travel (I have
done quite a bit of travelling and am always interesting in going somewhere
new). It’s always going to be easier to write an article about something you
know about and are interested in!
Finally, you need to be able to market yourself and your
work! Just as Matthew says, in order to have your stories read you need to be
able to market them appropriately. Before approaching a publication, research
the style and tone of their publication and the types of stories that they have
recently published. When you have a better understanding of what they are
looking for, you will be able to make a better pitch. Build relationships with
a smaller group of editors rather than a large group, as they are more likely
to remember you when you submit work. Matthew suggests creating a website to
showcase your work and establish yourself in the online community.
Of course, now that social media is becoming more prevalent
in the journalism community, it is important to establish yourself using various
platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. However, these tips are helpful as a
starting point when it comes to freelance journalism. By having a large
portfolio of published articles and clearly demonstrating your networking
skills, you become increasingly appealing to future employees. So I had better
start writing!
