What am I doing wrong?

[WorkingMom227]

Originally Posted by anng

I think one of the bigger issues right now is that you're competing with so many more people. When my employer first had me look for writers back in June/July, before sites like MC, Populis, Wikio, DS, WG, etc., either shut down or work dried up, I had 60 applicants for the five positions. When I had to put in a new ad in October/November, the number of applicants who sent me emails or messages quadrupled before I even considered tapping into Craigslist or other job boards. With so many writers competing for positions, it's harder to land jobs.

And, as I discovered, it's also really hard to respond to everyone, though I tried my best. Thankfully, I'm paid hourly when looking for new writers, but for a company that isn't making money responding to every email, I can see where some simply never respond. And with PM's through WAHM, you can only send so many per minute before it's telling you to wait before sending the next batch of responses. I always get discouraged when I hear absolutely nothing, but now that I've been on the other end of it, I can see why so many companies just don't ever respond. It's not personal, it's just so hard to keep up with every response you get.

That is so true. I have definitely noticed that things have gotten a bit competitive, with all of the different content mills shutting down. It's definitely been rough. But, I try to keep in mind that there will always be the need for writing online.. whether it is for websites or something else.. so I know there are people out there that need work. It just means searching for them and not waiting around for them to find me.

[MarcelinaWrites]

Hey Amy!

When you have free time, start writing articles and getting them published with your byline. That way, you can say that you have articles published here, here and here. It gives you much more credibility.

You can also do this by guest posting on blogs. Many will accept a great article written by you so you wouldn't have a problem and it would really boost your resume.

What do you like to write on? Seek websites on that topic - ask to write for free and paid ones might follow.

But yes, it's the nature of the business. You can be scrambling and then starving... just take a break when you're starving and do writing for yourself. It will all come together again.

Love that website by the way... ;-) LOL

[msuggitt]

First off, my hat is off to you girl, you rule, I have a good feeling that you;ll be fine in the writing field. here's a couple tips I can add for you to try:
a. 1st part of the year is a good time to clean house in your home office getting all the needed chores done along with cleaning out the clutter and sprucing up and updating to allow new opportunities flow. I actually found a pretty significant check once while doing this so I know 1st hand how productive this can be!

b Have you tried ProBlogger? Last I looked there were a few good columnist positions offered for some large commercial blogs. Along with a lot of average work you could cash in on while you're finding something perm.

[copydiva]

Originally Posted by msuggitt

First off, my hat is off to you girl, you rule, I have a good feeling that you;ll be fine in the writing field. here's a couple tips I can add for you to try:
a. 1st part of the year is a good time to clean house in your home office getting all the needed chores done along with cleaning out the clutter and sprucing up and updating to allow new opportunities flow. I actually found a pretty significant check once while doing this so I know 1st hand how productive this can be!

.

I completely agree, getting yourself out of any chaos or negative issues with your space can make a huge difference on your mood and help the productivity flow.