This article on freelancer conference season is written by Becky Zimmer who is based in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. She has experience in farm, community, small business and sports reporting.
Sing it with me now: It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And by that I mean freelancer conference season, not Christmas…or back to school if you can see the Staples commercials from the early 2000s.
However, I am fairly new to this side of the job, previously sticking to my little piece of Saskatchewan before some of these important doors started opening up.
When I took my first voyage to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress back in 2022 in Denmark, I only had one goal: just make it home.
Back then I was working full time as a news editor, had three weeks of vacation time to visit some sites and meet some international farm writing colleagues and had received two bursaries to help me do so.
Budgeting was not an issue, and I had no reason to look for potential freelance opportunities beyond the three stories my company wanted for their farm website.
How to make conference season a financial success for freelancers
This year it is Switzerland on the docket for the Congress. As a full-time freelancer with a focus on the Canadian agriculture sector, I will be going for six weeks with some time to explore more of the Swiss countryside and the United Kingdom to boot.
Even with two bursaries to help pay my way, there will be no big name, or small name for that matter, media company footing the bill for a month and a half of exploring. Instead of just surviving, my goal this time is to at least financially break even.
So how do I make this a reality? Here are three ways I’m making this conference season a financial success.
Building that networking
For such a solitary job, we are not solitary people devising great content and articles from a magic transparent bubble.
The best of us have mass global networks of people that we can email, phone or randomly bump into throughout the year. These are people who want to see you succeed and people you would help at the drop of a hat.
Ask the questions, bounce ideas off of them, tell them about your plans and see if they could help you with potential contacts or recommend places to see.
Be clear on what you need and when you’d need a meeting or an email response. Be specific about what you’re working on or what you’re looking for.
And like any human interaction, be patient and respectful. Some people have the best of intentions when it comes to wanting to help, but the timing might not be right for them to give you their full attention for a few days. We are all busy, career-driven people, and the vast majority of the time, they have a darn good reason for being too busy to lend a hand.
Be gracious nonetheless. They may be able to help you at a later date, but they are only human after all.
No matter what happens, be sure to return the favour the best you can too.
Transferable skills
The great thing about media and communication jobs is that those soft skills that we have been developing for the past decade can be used over the pond.
It can be intimidating since you don’t “know” anyone there, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t try to connect with people without a formal introduction. We’re not in Bridgerton for gosh sakes, even though sometimes our brains make it feel like it.
While being introduced from one colleague to another can make things easier, can make that name on the email jump out at a person and put a face to the name, that doesn’t mean that that is the only way to build those bridges.
Take the time to look up possible connections and send them an email, the more specific the person and position the better. As an ag journalist, commodity groups exist around the world and aren’t to difficult to find.
Some websites only offer a basic info at company dot com kind of email, but even those can produce results.
Other resources at your disposal: LinkedIn and other social media platforms for both potential organizations and people, personal websites if you have some idea on specific whos’ who of who you want to speak with and even email database websites, although these are often subscriptions you have to pay for.
Focus
When we freelance, we usually keep ourselves open to new opportunities, willing to explore subject matters beyond our usual scope, and take those curiosities we have an run with them. There is very little I won’t say yes to. I know how to cold call, I do my research, and I ask both the tough and easy questions to make sure I understand the subject and the people speaking on it.
Especially as a rural and agricultural reporter, there are always challenges and issues to write about, especially when you’re able to see issues from the lens of another country.
But sometimes you need to focus your efforts.
By no means am I saying to stifle your creativity or ignore interesting leads, but create a system.
Make some choices on what you want to look into at this point in time.
Have a section of your notebook for other ideas that you want to look into later.
Talk to other organizations or clients on what they’re looking for and see if you can work that into your focus list.
No matter where you end up, whether it’s down the road or on the other side of the world, happy conference season to one and all.