4 Reasons Online Dating is A Lot Like Freelance Writing

Starting out as a freelance writer can often be nerve-wracking. The mere thought of submitting articles on which I have spent hours, days, and even weeks of writing and revising until they’re perfectly polished is enough for me to experience feelings of mild anxiety.

I’ve also had to email magazine editors and blog moderators, and negotiate with clients about my rates.

Now, along came this phenomenon — online dating, and I realized that an entire library of articles have been published out there about writing effective profiles, which sites are the best, how to keep yourself safe, etc.

As someone who has signed up for a few dating sites, I have garnered four ways online dating is similar to freelance writing:

(1.) You Need a Well-Crafted Profile

In an online dating site, a well-written profile, along with at least a couple of recently taken photos, is necessary to bait, or entice, potential dates. To illustrate, take a look at the following descriptions:

“Crafty, creative cutie who enjoys scrapbooking and knitting during her spare time is looking for laid-back fellows who love Netflix marathons, conversations over coffee, and trips to art museums.”

“I’m into fitness, American football, and four-legged creatures, but not in that order! I work from home as a telecommuter, but on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, I’m at the gym pumping iron and doing cardio. I walk my dogs almost every morning, and enjoy protein shakes and smoothies.”

These introductions provide readers with a more accurate picture of what the person is like. Starting off with a vague, generic description, like “I’m a friendly and outgoing guy,” or “I’m your typical gal — I love to go shopping and watch movies, and go on trips with friends,” barely gives anyone a clue about one’s personality, tastes, and preferences.

Now, in websites like Upwork, Freelancer, etc., the freelance writers who eventually end up getting paid competitively are those who put their expertise and skills on display prominently (e.g. Copywriting, SEO Blogging, Article Writing).

For freelance writers who manage their own blog or website, visitors can assess their qualifications through a comprehensive yet succinctly written writer’s biography. These freelancers may have narrowed down their expertise to a few specialties, like guest blogging, ghostwriting, editing, etc., or a couple of niches, like parenting, gardening, or money management.

(2.) You Do a Lot of Pitching

Freelance writing requires doing a thorough market study, regardless of whether you’d like to write for blogs, websites, magazines, corporate or church newsletters, etc. The next step is to pitch your article idea to the appropriate editor, through a letter called the query.

In online dating sites, “pitching” is equivalent to sending out messages to a number of men or women that have caught your interest, and then sitting back to wait for a reply.

And here’s what I found out: the more you pitch, the higher your chances of getting a response. Messaging potential dates is no different. Often, it really is a numbers game.

(3.) You Aim at Your Niche Market

Newbie freelance writers might act like a one-stop shop during the first few years of their careers. They may accept every writing assignment or project that come their way, just to get as much practice or experience as they can.

But, once they figure out that what they really enjoy writing about is newly opened restaurants or cafes around the metro, or the top 10 exotic destinations in Asia, or ways to travel on a budget during the summer, they may begin narrowing down their focus and quit aiming at publications that don’t cater to their interests.

Or, freelance writers may have repeatedly shown their capability by getting published by blogs or magazines that are read by working mothers, or the technologically savvy, or young professionals in their 20s.

I myself have become a resume writer and proofreader by accident, because I’ve had a couple of peers from high school seek me out because they’re vying for a promotion, or are currently in the process of changing careers.

Likewise, modern online dating sites can now claim that they attract a specific age group, or people from varying socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. And today’s singles are probably the luckiest, because there are just as many types of dating sites as there are singles.

There are sites for men and women who are divorced and are over 40, individuals with a mental health condition or disability, those belonging to religious sects, the LGBT community, or those who are practicing lifestyles like vegetarianism or yoga.

(4.) You Get to Highlight Your Credentials

Not everyone who turns into a stellar freelance writer have majored in Journalism or Creative Writing, or has once belonged to the staff of their high school or college paper. And in spite of “write what you know” being a time-honored advice, freelance writers are also encouraged to venture away from their comfort zones and explore unchartered territories.

To illustrate, I’m a single, never-married woman in my late 30s, but I was still able to win an award in Writing[dot]com, an online community for writers, for a parenting article I wrote and submitted.

Subsequently, I posted two other parenting articles, and both got favorable reviews from Writing[dot]com critics. Now, you might think, how was I able to write convincingly and authoritatively, to the point where my peers in the online writing community felt I was good enough to deserve an award, when I’ve never even been a parent?

Well, the topic I wrote about was setting reasonable limits to a child’s screen time, and I was able to glean from much of my childhood memories of having a grandmother checking up on me and my sister while my parents were working.

During weekends or months when school was out, my grandmother would make sure that while I was allowed to watch cartoons on TV, I also had other activities to keep me preoccupied, like drawing, reading storybooks, and working on my coloring books.

Furthermore, I read up on the pros and cons of watching TV and spending too much time on the computer, and considered different viewpoints from child experts as well as parents. I ended my research by drawing some of my own conclusions on how parents can find a middle ground when it comes to screen time.

So even without kids of my own to supervise, I was still able to inform and engage my readers and dish out practical advice.

Now, when it comes to filling out your profile in online dating sites, do you feel like your culinary skills or educational attainment is just so-so? Well, how about making up for it by citing that you have developed a knack for finding affordable items on a restaurant menu, or that you’re taking continuing education classes through correspondence while working full-time?

Or, you may not feel proud of your athletic ability, or the fact that you’re not “the life of every party,” or that you haven’t travelled extensively. But if you mention that you’re up for taking a date to a picnic at the park, a walk at the beach, or a cultural or musical festival, let me guarantee you that you’ll open yourself up to a world of singles out there who enjoy similar activities.

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