work

Social media for journalists: Part three – Getting work, getting paid and wasting time

September 20, 2011 Joanne Mallon 4

And now the end of my presentation is near. How did I ever hope to cram this lot into 30 minutes and take questions as well? Daftoid. At least you know when you book me you get your money's worth.

Anyway, make sure you read part one of social media for journalists, which is an introduction to Twitter. And part two is all about LinkedIn and Facebook and some cool forums that'll help you get writing work.

Here in part three we're looking at what kind of social media work is available for journalists, what you might expect to get paid and how not to let all this stuff suck up more time than it's worth.

Social media work for journalists

  • This could be tweeting or blogging on behalf of a client
    Essentially, it's the new copywriting, and much more dynamic than the old stuff. Could be worth suggesting to clients you've already written web copy for.
  • Charge for time rather than per word
    Per word, the rates start to look pretty poor, so when quoting think in terms of what the client wants and how long that'll take you. Also take into consideration how much regular work can be guaranteed – £50 per 350 word blog post isn't great, but if you can finish it in under an hour and do 10 a week, it all adds up.
  • An hour a day can add up to a lot more
    Typically, you might be asked to look after a Twitter feed for an hour a day, but any job which extends across the week will inevitably take up more mental space than that. Be realistic about what you commit to, and how that fits in with the other work you're doing.
  • Other journos are charging from £300/day, or from £25/hour for social media work
    I did a mini survey and these figures were mentioned most commonly. So as a guide, you're thinking in terms of your copywriting daily rate.
  • Clients may wish to pay a lot less!
    This is a brand new area of work, so the 'going rate' is still under negotiation. There will be clients who do not recognise that this is a skilled job for a writer and will expect to pay you in buttons. Whether or not you take those buttons is up to you, but remember that part of progressing as a writer is, on occasion, turning work down.