Note from Jennifer: I love hearing about the crazy ways freelance writers connect with clients, because it’s not always what you think. Today’s guest post is by Zina Kumok, a personal finance writer who recently scored a new client through an unusual channel. Her story shows why writers should basically be marketing themselves all the time – because you never know where your next client might come from! Check out Zina’s website and follow her on Twitter. 

By Zina Kumok

When you’re a freelance writer, one of the biggest struggles is finding new clients. Job boards are full of low-paying clients and content mills are only good for beginners. I get most of my clients from a conference I attend every year, but in between conferences, I look for new ways to get work.

So where does a qualified freelance writer find new work? Usually the answer is networking, either in-person or online, but recently I discovered a new way: HARO.

What is HARO?

HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out. It’s a website where journalists and writers send in questions for articles they’re writing. It’s also great for bloggers and subject matter experts to contribute to stories to get links back to their own sites. HARO is free to use for everyone and emails go out three times a day on weekdays.

As a blogger and writer, I use HARO to answer questions from other writers and submit my own. HARO is how I’ve been featured in US News, The Simple Dollar and more. Recently, I started using HARO to find new clients.

I’m a personal finance writer by trade so I’ll look through the Business and Finance section of HARO for companies and businesses that seem to match my skill set. From there, I’ll look them up on LinkedIn to find their marketing manager or I’ll message the person who wrote the HARO request. I send in my standard LOI and try to customize it as much as possible for the company in question.

How to Find Clients Through HARO

A few months ago, I was scrolling through HARO when I noticed a pitch about loans. I write about loans frequently so I sent a note to the writer who submitted the request. He told me to contact his boss, the content director for the site.

I sent him a detailed LOI, complete with links to other articles I’ve written. He said that he normally doesn’t answer emails like mine, but that my email didn’t seem like the typical impersonal form letter he normally gets.

We set up a time to talk and after a paid test piece, we started working together regularly. In one year, that HARO email provided $18,000 worth of work. I mostly do high-level research articles which pay well and are simple to complete.

Since then, I still scroll through HARO every day looking for more clients. I rarely find something. Most companies are ones I’ve already contacted or ones that don’t use freelancers. But I never stop trying. It doesn’t take more than five minutes to scroll through the email and it’s an easy way to find new companies to contact.

Finding a client through HARO is probably the most unique way I’ve landed work, but it’s something I recommend to all writers. You never know what you’ll find and it only requires a few minutes a day. Plus, while you’re browsing you might stumble across a story that sparks an interesting idea. As writers, we have to be open to inspiration everywhere, whether that’s networking or writing.

Have you ever gotten a client through an unlikely source like HARO? What’s the most unusual way you’ve connected with a new client?