Linda Jenkinson Web Content Design

Becoming actively involved is one of the best ways of promoting a business. Brick and mortar business people build strong business networks through their involvement in their local Chambers of Commerce, their churches, schools, service clubs, and volunteer organizations, but how can you use online activity to promote your freelance business?

1. Remember, every time you write a sentence online, it may be read by a prospective client. As a freelance writer, the first thing you need to do before you start promoting your freelance business is to make sure that your mechanics—i.e. grammar, spelling, and punctuation—are up to par. Although I could use this space to list a pile of resources, SitePoint Forums has an excellent grammar resources thread.
2. Put together a good portfolio that spotlights your skills. Developing your own domain serves as an example of your skills. Although prospective clients may want to see sold work rather than sample work, a web site or blog serves a couple of purposes in addition to promoting your writing skills.
   1. It gets you writing on a topic and developing ideas for the public.
   2. Practice does make perfect. The more you write, the better at writing you will become.
3. Use a freelance site to build your portfolio. Although the pay may not be terrific, look at projects you win at freelance sites as in investment in your business.
4. Become an active member of a few social bookmarking sites to discreetly promote your business. To paraphrase an old cliche, “It takes contacts to make contact.” Fill out your profiles as completely as you can and interact with those you follow and those who follow you. I use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and of course, my favorite site—SitePoint Forums.
5. Join online projects such as Wikipedia, the Gutenburg Project, and About Us where you can use your skills to make a contribution to your workplace, the World Wide Web.
6. When you see a product, service, or blog post you like, be quick to either review it or make a detailed comment. If you use a product or service, send a testimonial for it. If you have reviewed it, include your review and/or the link to it. Make sure that your review or testimonial includes the information that you are a freelance writer.