To answer the question of who a freelancer is, let's turn to the universal source of knowledge Wikipedia. Freelancer (English freelancer - free spear-bearer, mercenary; in a figurative meaning - a free artist) - a person who performs work without concluding a long-term contract with an employer, hired only to perform a certain list of work (freelance worker). Also, a freelancer is an employee invited to perform work in the course of outstaffing. Being outside the permanent staff of any company, a freelancer can simultaneously fulfill orders for different clients. The term freelancer was first used by Walter Scott in Ivanhoe to describe a "medieval mercenary warrior."
The work of a modern freelancer, no matter what field of activity he chooses for himself, is to search for client orders, fulfill them on time in accordance with the requirements and, of course, receive appropriate remuneration for his work. The most difficult stage today seems to be the stage of finding a one-time job for yourself. In our time of digital technology, this seems to be a simple matter. To receive information about orders, it is enough to register on the largest Russian sites for freelancers (such as, for example, free-lance.ru). Customers place their ads here, naming the requirements, terms and the preliminary cost of the work. The problem is that these ads need to be monitored almost constantly, since within a few minutes after publication there are up to 10, and sometimes up to several dozen, people who want to fulfill an order. This is where the flip side of the coin appears - tough competition in virtual business. At the forefront of the work are such qualities as punctuality, reduced requirements for payment and, of course, professionalism. The latter is, among other things, in the ability to work with clients, to understand and fulfill their requirements and wishes.
Basically, two types of work are required from the writing fraternity on the Internet, which are usually called in the English-speaking manner. Namely, rewriting (rewriting other people's articles in other words) and copywriting (writing your own, so-called unique articles). More traditional work may also be caught - advertising texts for brochures, coming up with slogans and names. We'll talk more about what regiting and copywriting is next time. Now we are interested in a slightly different question.
What kind of work can a freelance journalist be ordered? Let's turn to the same site free-lance.ru and take a look at a few recent announcements.
1. Search and rewrite news on information security. It is necessary to constantly engage in filling the news feed of the information security portal. The way of receiving news at your discretion: rewriting news from thematic sites, translation from foreign sources, etc. At the same time, the customer is quite demanding. He needs: unique news from the point of view of search engines, adherence to the topic, news that is relatively fresh, relevant, mostly general news, and not about specific products. About 5 news items are needed per day. At the same time, the cost of such work is not named. It is logical to assume that the employer will choose the one who asks the least.
If you are an active journalist or are close to journalism, think and figure for yourself - how long would it take you for such a job, how much money could you get for it?
When responding to such announcements, it is important to be able to correctly teach yourself. Already at the time of this writing, four applicants for this job have responded to the employer's announcement. All of them, one way or another, drew attention to the fact that they have a good command of the topic and will be able to competently choose news for the site, expressed their willingness to send samples of work. They also named the price for their work, offering to evaluate the work by the number of characters - an average of 30 rubles per 1000 characters. This method of evaluating work is indeed accepted among both editorial journalists and freelancers. However, in this situation, it is necessary to take into account the interest of the customer - he does not care about the number of signs in the news, it is inconvenient to count them every time. It is much more profitable in this case to offer several payment methods, including not knowingly, but in a week of work, to clarify the schedule (with or without days off), etc. I am sure the employer will like this approach more than the need to calculate and control the signs himself.
In addition, one of the applicants made a completely inappropriate grammatical mistake, showing already at the first stage his lack of professionalism.
I will be happy to do the job. I write very well, I am familiar with the subject. Cost - 30 rubles / c.
Write to me in icq: ******, if this is not possible, then write to the project. I will answer both there and there.
Here you have both the inability to inflect words in an elementary way (in personal correspondence), and illiteracy in the choice of designs (write to the project). Having managed to avoid such mistakes, you can surely be able to bypass competitors and get an order.
2. Literary editor for a series of travel guides. The work consists in literary editing of the text (analysis and evaluation of the manuscript, correction of various kinds of errors: grammatical, stylistic, compositional and others). In addition, it is required to check the sources of the material and agree on the text after literary editing with the author and editor-in-chief. Here we see a work adjacent to the journalistic profession - the work of a literary editor. That is why it is so important at the stage of teaching journalism to pay great attention to such a subject as stylistics and literary editing. However, a competent, well-trained journalist can do this job quite well. Moreover, today virtual dictionaries and spell checking programs are helping us.
This vacancy is notable in that the requirements for the candidate are announced. Namely - the presence of a higher education (yes, and on the Internet without it anywhere), excellent command of the Russian language and experience of similar work. In addition, it is important to have a good command of a PC and text editors (Microsoft Word).
3. Write text for a brochure about the restaurant. Any journalist who has been working in the profession for a long time has had to deal with advertising articles in one way or another. Therefore, such work may seem, as they say, a trifling matter. Moreover, the employer gives all the initial data and asks to add any water. What is remarkable in this example is only that one of the candidates offered his services for 500 rubles.
On freelance sites, the length of your life in the profession plays a big role. On many sites, there are assessment methods such as the assignment of titles (based on feedback from employers and the number of work performed). It is important to correctly compile your portfolio - business card pages with examples of your work, career dynamics in the profession. And, of course, most You can get information about the peculiarities of the profession not from educational articles like this one, but directly on the sites themselves - carefully studying the activities of your colleagues (they are competitors).
Another layer of journalistic work on the Internet is the so-called article exchanges. They differ from sites for freelancers in that here you are more independent in choosing a topic for an article - you offer the buyer your product - a unique article on a specific topic. And the customer directly, having considered all the parameters of your article, makes a purchase decision. The advantages of such exchanges, in addition to the ability to write on a close and understandable topic, are that you do not have to worry about payment - the exchange takes over the sale and purchase issue, the money for the article, if it is sold, you get in any case, without cheating. However, for the opportunity to find a customer and for the service of the transaction, the exchange takes 10% of the money received from each article. You can learn more about the principles of exchanges using textsale.ru as an example.
If we talk in general about the complexity or ease of journalistic earnings on the Internet, then we can confidently note that as such there is no difference in the work of a journalist and a copywriter. The Internet requires as much (and sometimes more) time than editorial work. Moreover, the competition is tougher here. Breaking through and making a name for yourself, finding your own circle of customers and keeping them, is more difficult. On the other hand, the Internet provides great freedom in the work schedule (write at least at night), as well as independence from financial situation a separate edition (we have tight money, the salary will be next month ... probably). This is especially true for the regional press, which is much more financially vulnerable compared to the metropolitan editions. The recipe for success in both cases is the same (on the Internet, this mechanism is even more honest, since it does not depend on the whims of editors) - punctuality, accuracy, diligence, professionalism and a certain amount of creative approach to the topic and talent in its disclosure.
Here is the section Pros and cons of freelancing from Wikipedia (you can agree with almost everything listed here)
* there is no transport problem - the freelancer works from home, he does not need to get to a certain place every day;
* favorable atmosphere - you can arrange workplace to your liking;
* inability to terminate a permanent employment contract;
* responsibility only for their actions;
* freedom in choosing a work assignment;
* doing only your own work - no one will ask you to "change".
* all costs are borne by the freelancer himself
* there is not always a guarantee of receiving remuneration for work
* volatility of income
* lack of social package
* no paid days off and holidays
* the need to conduct accounting and pay taxes yourself
* there are not always suitable offers
* additional costs for the workplace
* complexity of the organization teamwork and receiving large orders
* limited market offers by type of orders
I wish you success, whichever of the two sides of the same profession - online or offline - you choose for yourself!
Successful freelancers: journalists, copywriters and other sharks of the pen - cause envy - they at least do not need to get up early in the morning, and bewilderment - how do they find customers and provide themselves with work? There are many assumptions, but only competent people can answer the question. So, get acquainted.
Lilia Skopintseva, freelance journalist
I have been working as a freelancer for several years after I quit my office job. Before that, there were also remote side jobs. First of all, orders appear thanks to old acquaintances and ex-colleagues. Social networks follow (the most effective, for example, for me personally, is Facebook). In terms of sites - oddly enough, several interesting orders came thanks to the posting of a resume on Avito, but at the same time there you need to filter out about 80% of uninteresting "penny" offers and network marketing invitations.
The agreement is more often drawn up, especially when it comes to long-term (not one-time) cooperation. Sometimes it is possible to agree with the customer about some prepayment with a transfer to the phone or Yandex money, but this is not often.
In general, there are fewer orders now compared to last year, so I am thinking: either try to find more orders, or still give up on a "permanent" basis.
Anna Lyutenko, freelance copywriter
I have been working as a freelancer for 7 years. But only a year ago I completely left the office and started to “float freely”. There are advantages to such freedom: it saves in difficult situations, for example, when you are sick and sick for a long time and there can be no talk of any work in the office. It only allows you to choose interesting projects(well, to some extent). This mode of work allowed me to leave my daughter in family education. Until 12 noon, I teach my daughter, after that I work.
There are also disadvantages. In hiring, you do not need to regularly look for an employer and work. Found it once and work. A freelancer should spend some of the time promoting and negotiating. There is a seasonality. For example, now I am already thinking how to load myself in November - December in order to survive the "dead" January.
I mainly promote through Facebook. I made myself a landing page, I leave a link to it in the ads. In November, I'm thinking of making a group and promoting posts. I also keep in touch with my friends. Two of my former colleagues have started their own company. I help them with texts. With a former boss, we are making an encyclopedia of email marketing.
In general, freelancing is a drive, there are many, many opportunities for rapid professional development, but at the same time there is a lot of anxiety.
Anna Tyurina, freelance journalist
I have an official job in a project that was frozen due to the crisis. Therefore, I had to freelance in anticipation of returning to my previous position. There are no difficulties in finding - I have a lot of acquaintances in this area, and hack always turns up.
In freelancing, there are two typical moments that confuse me: the lack of a stable income and a job. It seems that I am one of those people who need get-togethers with colleagues at lunchtime and shopping on the 5th of every month. Although 2 years without an office showed me that you can work productively without all this. One has only to do self-discipline.
Another point: my husband is freelancing for GQ magazine today. Like Svetlana, the teacher high school, get in his place to earn some money? I'll listen.
Irina Klimakina, freelancer - copywriter, editor, proofreader
Freelancing means freedom - from harmful bosses, from the strict framework of working days, from the brain-blowing alarm clock in the morning. And it attracts. But the main thing is missing - stability, so the search for customers, especially permanent ones - the main task for a freelancer. Especially difficult for beginners. The first years you work for your reputation, for your rating, for creating a positive image. But then the image works for you.
And if at first you yourself are looking for customers, then after a few years, customers are already looking for you: they contact you on the recommendation of other customers, choose from the catalog (the higher the rating, the easier it is to find you). But despite this, downtime does sometimes happen. I usually use them for relaxation, taking them as a sign: it's time to relax and take care of yourself.
Many freelancers are sure that there is only one recipe for downtime: you shouldn't keep eggs in one basket, that is, you don't need to rely on one website, but look for customers wherever possible. I am conservative and from the very beginning I have been conducting the main freelance work on one site - fl.ru. I found my niche - I write on topics related to medicine and health. And my customers find me.
Julia Kozhukhova, freelance copywriter
I have been professionally engaged in copywriting since 2007, I started, so to speak, at the dawn of freelancing. Initially, there were some difficulties in finding customers, since not everyone knew about the existence of remote work exchanges. It's easier now. Both regular and new clients turn to me through the freelance.ru service and on recommendations.
They say that freelancing is going to die soon. I disagree with this, because the need to create websites, promote them, write unique content is always relevant. Especially now when modern man uses the Internet everywhere.
Freelance journalists are perhaps one of the most controversial professionals out there. Among them there are both real talents and bright representatives of this creative profession, capable of producing real masterpieces, and unscrupulous freelancers, who, however, can boast of higher education. That is why the search for a suitable freelance specialist should be carried out only through specialized sites, and YouDo is one of them.
Freelance journalism is a fairly versatile profession. As a freelancer, he should be able to:
In fact, a freelance journalist is a very broad profile, and not everyone who calls himself a freelance journalist is able to do all of the above.
Today, it is quite difficult to find a good freelance journalist on the Internet, therefore YouDo offers the modern customer the most profitable terms... You get the opportunity:
Work with journalists and other freelancers through YouDo!
Until relatively recently it was simply impossible to imagine the work of a journalist at home on a computer. Now more and more specialists in this field are establishing remote cooperation with both small editorial offices and large media outlets. How find on the internet freelance offers in the journalism category and establish a permanent job?
In order to become a full-time journalist in a publication, it is almost mandatory to get a specialized education, and acquire sufficient experience before counting on an invitation to a reputable media outlet. On the Internet, everything is completely different - here a freelance specialist can do journalism simply because this area seems attractive and interesting to him. Freelance exchanges do not require confirmation of your qualifications or special education in the category of journalism - if you are sure that you can do the job, then you can safely take on it.
However, of course, journalism on the Internet still has its own nuances. Freelance specialist must have certain skills, because the requirements for the work of journalists are often quite high.
One of the main skills is to be able to quickly understand the topic and find the necessary information on the Internet. The second skill is to write unique articles, since the exclusivity of each news in the media is valued on the Internet. And the third special skill for a freelance journalist is the accuracy of all information. If the articles of copywriters can "slip" errors, then for a journalist this is unacceptable, since each edition values its reputation.
Online journalism is a specific activity that has a number of its own characteristics. The main duty of a journalist on the web is to write news for online publications.... The amount of news can be different - in some publications the author requires up to 10 texts a day to write, in others it is enough to write a couple of notes, however, more detailed and voluminous. News is usually written based on articles from the larger media outlets available on the web.
One of the main duties of a journalist is to promptly follow the news in other publications. Your site should not lag too far, and news tends to become outdated, therefore efficiency is highly valued when writing them.
Also, the duties of a journalist include preparation of analytical articles... Unlike "dry" news, such notes should contain some of the author's thoughts, but their presentation must necessarily be based on knowledge of the topic. And one more important responsibility that often falls on the shoulders of a journalist on the Internet is interviewing... You are asked to contact someone and make an article based on a conversation with a specific person on a given topic.
The most popular job search option is to register on major freelance exchanges. Stay tuned for new vacancies and you will definitely find a job. Typically, a customer needs a journalist to write 5-8 articles a day for an information portal - for example, real estate, electronics or show business news.
Watch the video - Who can a journalist work on the Internet?
We recommend the course on making money on the Internet: Find out more than 50 ways to make money online, including ways to make money from freelancingThe second option for job search is direct communication with editions of publications. Find a news portal in which you would like to work, and contact the editor, offering him your services as a journalist.
In general, online journalism is a rather interesting field that allows you not only to make good money, but also to be aware of latest news and events. However, in order to find a job, you will need to acquire certain news writing skills and register with a major freelance exchange.
Despite the fact that you can work for yourself without being tied to an office in almost any field of activity, most of all freelancers are representatives of creative professions - designers, architects, PR specialists and journalists.
At the moment, the labor market in the field of mass media is in crisis. The demand is many times greater than the supply. Every year, journalism departments across the country graduate thousands of young journalists. And these are only the highest schools... Also, now there are many different courses, schools and workshops, from where "specialists" also come out with documentary evidence of their skills. To this you can add those who believe that journalism is their vocation. The media doesn't need as many staff members. Therefore, there is a need for self-realization in some other form.
The popularity of freelancing among journalists (and representatives of other professions) lies in the number of advantages that such work provides.
First, the financial factor is important for young people and beginners. If the payment for materials of young authors is not too high, then it pays off with a large number of orders and the amount of effort spent. Freelancing has a simple principle - the more you work, the more you get. In addition, there are no additional costs associated with such work.
Firstly, there is no need to rent a room, because you can work from home, from a cafe (if there is wi-fi there, you will not even have to pay for the Internet), from a park, etc. Secondly, there is no need to spend money on transport to the place of work and back, on some related costs.
Freelancing is also relevant for young women. A young mother can work while her child is sleeping. She is constantly at home, which allows her to keep up with the housework. A minus may also be associated with this, which is that there is no change of scenery, but be that as it may, there is no need to spend money on a nanny or impose on relatives and neighbors.
A freelance journalist can try himself in a new capacity, developing and bringing his material to the end with his own efforts. It will be entirely his work, which will not be fundamentally changed by other participants in the traditional journalistic process (with the exception of the contracting editor, of course). For example, Sergei Dovlatov said that in journalism everyone is allowed to do one thing. A freelancer is fully responsible for all stages of creating his material, unless of course he wants to create in a team.
Like freelancers from other activities, a journalist must perform a number of tasks if working in a freelance mode:
Despite the apparent lightness virtual work, getting a decent order sometimes turns out to be difficult. After all, dozens of responses immediately come to an understandable, convenient and well-paid order. And in order to get a job, you need to prove yourself well from the very beginning. For example, describe your abilities and skills in the profile on the sites for freelancers. But remember that you have to prove everything in practice. In addition, freelance journalism often requires higher education... For example, when it comes to working as a literary editor.
The services of rewriters and copywriters are in the greatest demand now. Despite the apparent similarity, they have the main difference: rewriters rewrite someone else's text in their own words, and copywriters come up with their own unique text.
Also, for a journalist, an important role is played by the fact that freelancing allows you to choose. This is not an editorial assignment that can create cognitive dissonance in a journalist. Here, a creative person has the right to choose exactly the topic on which he is interested in writing. True, there is a deadline for freelancers as well. But its framework is still somewhat softer than for staff members of editorial offices, especially newsrooms.
Freelancing is especially widespread in regional journalism. As a rule, editions of publications are located in large cities, and even in capitals. And in order to minimize the costs of a correspondent office in a remote region of the country, editorial offices use the services of freelancers. At the same time, such a journalist is not officially assigned to the media and can freely work for several customers at once.
But despite the large number of positive aspects, freelancing in journalism also has disadvantages. For example, unstable earnings. Freelancers get good fees for their work (if we are talking about experienced professionals, and not about budding journalists), but at the same time, their earnings are not constant. Also, there can be no question of getting into the state (unless in the case of a unique talent of a journalist) and an employment contract. A freelancer has no benefits, no vacation, because he is his own boss, sick leave, etc.
