An insight into securing new clients
And some New Year bargains to be had
For the past two weeks over at FFJ HQ we have been knee-deep in marking. As part of our diverse portfolio we teach freelance journalism at Derby University.
For their assessments the students have been writing pitches and reflecting on how they brand themselves and build networks. It has been fantastic to see so many students already reaching out to reporters and editors to pick up regular shifts and sell story ideas. This isn't necessarily cold pitching, but chatting to other journalists at football matches or keeping in contact with someone after interviewing them for a story.
Something we always bang on about at FFJ is that every interaction is a work opportunity. Even if you are not always speaking to commissioning editors, chances are you know someone, who knows someone, who knows the right person to speak to.
In the past year FFJ co-director Lily Canter has picked up several new regular clients, in a bid to make sure she is never reliant on just a handful of publishers. Here we explain how these connections were made and how networking isn't always about attending events and handing out business cards (although it can be).
This was a straight forward cold pitch. Having subscribed to the magazine since the start of the pandemic Lily studied the content and format of the publication and pitched a story she felt was in keeping with their style. She sent it to the editor who commissioned it. She then had a follow-up email conversation with the editor about how often to pitch. She has gone on to write two more pieces for them, with more in the pipeline.
Top tip: Buy a copy of the printed magazine and study the layout in detail before pitching
The company behind this dog accessory website run several e-commerce businesses. Lily had previously written about two of these businesses after connecting with the company directors in the Lightbulb Facebook group when looking for case studies. In November Lily's story about one of these businesses was published on lovemoney.com so she dropped the directors an email with the link. She also casually (but deliberately) mentioned that she just got a puppy, knowing that they run a dog e-commerce site. A few days later the directors asked her if she would be interested in writing content for the website. A meeting was set up and now Lily's puppy Zippy is the official product tester for the website.
Top tip: Remember that story sources can be potential clients as well
Lily spotted a request on the No.1 Freelance Media Women Facebook group asking for a running coach to comment on an article. She emailed the reporter straight away since she is an England Athletics qualified coach. After she helped the reporter with the article she asked if the website took freelance commissions and who she should speak to. The reporter gave her the editor's email and Lily contacted her straight away, mentioning that she had just helped out with a story. The editor then explained the commissioning process and within a week Lily had her first commission.
Top tip: Be helpful to other reporters and use this as a stepping stone to the editor
Before its closure in March 2020, Lily wrote regularly for Moneywise magazine. At the Headlinemoney Awards in 2021 she made a conscious effort to seek out and speak to the former Moneywise editor, who had gone on to become deputy editor at the Mail on Sunday personal finance section. During this catch up the editor asked Lily to pitch to her and so this is exactly what she did.
Top tip: Always keep track of editors when they move on from a publication
Which?
Journalists can gain free access to LinkedIn Premium which enables them to see who has been viewing their profile (and other snazzy functions). Lily recently got her premium account authorised and the first thing she did was see who had been looking her up. An editor at one of the Which? publications had recently viewed her profile and via LinkedIn she was able to get his email address. She dropped him an email to say she had noticed him looking at her profile and would it be possible to have a virtual coffee to talk about potential commissions. The editor replied and this conversation is now ongoing.
Top tip: Get set up with LinkedIn Premium
What’s new?
A downloadable version of our webinar on How to launch a successful podcast is now on our Payhip site and there is a 30% New Year Sale on this and all our Quick Guides so if you’re interested hurry!
You can now book a place for our four-week online course run in conjunction with Journalism.co.uk on How to become a successful freelance journalist. It starts on 7th March and is completely flexible and can be done entirely in your own time. It’s designed to be very practical and you get lots of feedback from Lily and Emma. Many previous delegates have got commissions off the back of the course. Get in touch if you have any questions. More details can be found at the link below.
As if that all wasn’t enough there is also a sale on our book with 20% off. Published by Routledge as part of their Media Skills series, this complete guide to freelance journalism is aimed at journalism students and recent graduates but would be relevant for any journalist wanting to find out more about working for themselves.
Triumph of the week
Getting a lot of busy and stressed doctors to speak for an article with a very tight deadline.
That feeling when
You’re very happy that so many people are willing to chat but you can’t get off the phone long enough to actually write the article.
We love to hear your feedback on everything we do, so feel free to drop us an email anytime at freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com
Bye for now!
