The demand for SEO journalists is on the rise as businesses are now turning towards digital space and are constantly on the lookout for those who can create compelling content about their products and services.
If you want to enter this field that is high in demand, you should start making a portfolio right away. Here are 5 tips you can follow to increase your chances of being hired as an SEO journalist:
1. Create a LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is now considered important and is greatly considered as a means of seeing the education, skill set and accomplishments of prospective employees. You shouldn’t wait to create a profile on LinkedIn; mention your education, age, companies you’ve worked with offline, any accomplishments you’ve achieved so far etc.
Don’t be surprised when one of the requirements asked by a company for hiring an SEO journalist is a profile on this platform. Particularly for SEO journalists, a LinkedIn profile is now more important than ever.
2. Be Present On Other Channels
Apart from LinkedIn, there is Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Chime.in, Scoop.it and other social media channels. Start building your presence on these platforms as well. Initially, you may not have anything to show, but it’s still possible for you to communicate and engage, building a following in the process.
You can do this by commenting, contributing and pitching ideas in communities. There’s a possibility that your next employer may be present on these channels as well. It’s easy to stay connected to social media profiles, so make sure you’re connected in all the ways that matter, and consider investing in a reliable wireless internet connection, because this could make all the difference.
3. Start Blogging
You should start blogging if you’re serious about progressing in SEO journalism. Search engine traffic is what you should be targeting through a blog, and when you have one, you can start branding it on the social media platforms mentioned above. There are several social media widgets available that easily allow your profiles to sync with your blog.
Blogging will also allow you to make connections with others in your industry. You can start guest posting, building forward and backward links and commenting on other blogs. The efforts you make will increase the rankings of your blog in search engines, increasing the chances of companies finding you. Your blog post may even go viral, and who knows you’re ‘the buzz’ everyone wants to know about one day.
4. Seek Out Opportunities
While you build your blog and social media presence, seek out opportunities along the way as well. There are several websites that you can check for job opportunities such as Freelance Switch, Problogger job board and other similar websites.
Don’t hesitate to send your CV to employers even if you don’t have prior work experience in this filed. You do need to start from somewhere. If you have a good social media presence and good content on your blog, use those as a reference.
5. Set A Reasonable Hourly Rate
If you’re new to SEO journalism, don’t keep high expectations. Set a reasonable hourly rate, which may become the reason why a company hires you.
With time as you develop experience and skills, you can increase your set rate. This is how you’re going to progress. There is no limit to how much you can charge in this field; some popular SEO journalist charge up to $3000 for creating a web content copy.
These 5 tips will help you along the way as you look to make a mark in SEO Journalism.
Blog contribution by Rebecca Wilcox – Contact