by Rachel Smith
21 February 2014
Confession: networking has always been at the bottom of my priority list.
That may sound weird, because I bang on a lot about putting yourself out there. And I do it, of course, because when you’re freelance, there’s really no choice. However, I realised how important it is for me to change my mindset around networking when I’ve been asked to present at industry conferences – including the AGHA Home And Giving Fair.
I talked about blogging, social media, your online presence and dealing with negativity online. It was amazing to see the seats fill up and the small business owners taking notes. The RL team had a lot of people come up to us afterwards to chat. We offered members a special job posting deal, and organised some meetings with SMEs who wanted to know more. I also landed a commission from a lovely editor I met at the Fair for the first time.
The whole experience made me see that what we think is scary and put-offable, really isn’t. And with more and more online content appearing, piecemeal jobs are becoming more lucrative and important to harness. Waiting at home for an editor to ring or the emails to come in isn’t how it works these days – and it’s more necessary than ever to do this kind of thing: meet new people, make new connections and foster new income streams. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Universities. Hit up the open days and chat to the heads of department to see if they ever have a need to outsource.
Reunions. You’d be surprised how many of your old high school buddies are now working in careers that could have some synergy with yours.
Meetup.com Browse the groups, find those that interest you – be it in digital content or small business owners – and go! It’s a great way to foster connections.
Conferences. Many have themed nights or drinks specifically set aside for networking.
Trade shows. The Fair I attended was brilliant – not only did I buy an awesome coffee table on the last day but I got to chat to heaps of potential clients who have no clue about blogging (and might need me!).
Volunteer work. If you are interested in giving back to your community or a charity in need, this is a fantastic way to meet new people and share common values. You never know who you’ll meet!
Chambers of Commerce. Google one near you, find out how it operates and research its members. See if you can attend events as a non-member or give a talk on a topic of interest to members.
Online Groups. Networking has taken off in the digital world. Just take a look at the thriving online communities: Rachel’s List Gold Community and Freelance Jungle over on Facebook.
Of course, this list could go on forever! Feel free to share if you’ve found any of these types of events helpful in landing new clients or have other ideas we could all benefit from.
Photo by Kelsey Chance on Unsplash
Thanks for the tips. It’s so true – you never know where you’ll find work. One of my great regular writing gigs came about from meeting someone at a 1st birthday party!
How cool Megan! Networking over the fairy bread … that’s a new one 🙂
I’d also add volunteer and pro bono work. I often find when I work for free in an industry I’m interested in, I’m often the only media professional there. The other volunteers (from a range of other roles themselves) start saying things like ‘actually, our company needs a writer to do that kind of stuff’…
Great advice Adeline, thanks.
Great tips, thanks. I agree with volunteer work for things you are passionate about. Although no paid work has come from that (that is not my primary reason to do it) it has provided sources and case studies, as does any networking.
Thanks Noelene!