Many Hubbers on HubPages hope to use their work as an online portfolio that attracts potential clients who would either like to purchase an article or two or hire them for specific work. Some are very new to the game, others have been freelance writers for years.

How does one receive inquiries from potential clients? What is the process of freelance writing or selling articles like? We’d like to give you an inside view as often as we can, and as spartucusjones recently sold one of his Hubs to Polo Club Magazine, we can give you a peek at the process. Check out the Q&A below to get a feel of what it’s like to be serendipitously discovered by interested clients.

I understand that you just sold one of your Hubs for the first time. What was the Hub about?

The Hub was on The History of Music Festivals.

How did you hear from the party making the purchase?

One day I received an email from the marketing director of Empire Polo Club Magazine. She was doing a Google search for articles on Music Festivals, because Empire Polo Club is the venue for two major music festivals (Coachella Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival). My Hub already featured info on Coachella.

She mentioned that my Hub was the kind of info the magazine was looking for. So I was asked if I would be willing to rework the article to include more info about Coachella and to add info about Stagecoach. We came to terms on the price and I sold the reworking of the Hub.

Also the marketing director has expressed an interest in me composing future articles for them. So if in the future you see me publish a Hub related to Polo or the luxury lifestyle it was probably based on a print article I wrote for Empire Polo Magazine.

I understand that you also compose online business guides for various websites. Do you engage in freelance writing more related to the types of Hubs you write on HubPages, or is this the first time you have been paid for work that you first created recreationally?

I do have some experience with online content writing for different websites. Generally the content is very specific to the need of the client. For example, in the past I got a lot a work through a web developer who had a major client who build and sold hot dog carts. In that instance I would specifically compose content that would relate to the purchasing and operating of hot dog carts.

There have been Hubs that I composed that were revamped from content that I composed for online business guides, but up to this point it hasn’t been the other way around.

What are your personal and professional goals with HubPages in general?

On a personal level, part of what drew me to HubPages is that I have the opportunity to write about subjects that I didn’t have the opportunity to write about with other content writing. For example when I first started on HubPages I wrote exclusively about music because that is a passion of mine. Since then I have broaden out on the topics that I write about, but I still make sure I compose at least a couple of music hubs a month. It also happens that it was a music hub that I sold, so that makes me really happy!

As far as professional goals in connection with HubPages, I want to continue to build my online portfolio. Over the past few months my traffic and earnings have continue to grow, so I am hoping to keep that momentum going.

Also with HubPages I have benefited from being in the Apprenticeship program. I have two months to go. My goal isn’t just to complete the next two months, but I want to continue to apply the lessons that I learnt.

What advice would you give to those who would also like to receive inquiries from those interested in purchasing or using their work?

In my case I wasn’t anticipating it. It just happened that my article was discovered from a Google search. So if I was to give any advice it would be do your research and select search engine friendly titles.

[Thanks for sharing the process with us, spartucusjones!]

If you work as a freelance writer and use your HubPages portfolio to showcase your work or attract clients, we’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line at simone (dot) smith (at) HubPages.com.