Writing With Purpose

As freelance writers today, we are up against a lot of competition. When I started 4 years ago, there wasn’t that many of us out there, and it was a lot easier to find work. On the downside, help to get started was in short supply.

When I first started as a copywriter, my only claim to fame was the ability to write. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.

I was fortunate in finding clients that were willing to let me learn, and they had a lot to teach me. But, I still felt all alone, sitting in my living room, with no co-workers or colleagues to share ideas with or ask questions.

In January of 2010, my colleague started the Copywriters Business Network. In just two short months, she now has almost 100 members and still growing. Before she started as a copywriter, she came from a business background and it definitely shows.

As a copywriter, she knows how difficult it can be to get help, get known, and really make it as a successful freelance writer. So, she has provided some amazing perks for becoming a member, and it is all FREE!

As a member, you can:

Have you own page to use as desired

Post articles to create backlinks

Advertise your services on your page

Contribute to forums and help other writers

Find other writers to help complete a project

Contribute to worthy causes

So much more

You really should see for yourself. Think of what it can do to help you grow your business. Talk to other copywriters and find out their secrets to success.

I am a member. Will you become one? All you have to do is click here.

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Wow! I have been so busy! Yet, I can’t believe I have neglected the blog for a week! I was so faithful about adding something every day. I must apologize. I need to get a calendar set up, so I don’t forget what is important.

But, during the past week, I have been working in the back end of freelance writing and learning how to change and add to a WordPress blog. It is something different. I think the knowledge will help me in the future. I’m even thinking about taking some programming classes.

Can you imagine being able to tell future clients: I can build your website; then, I can populate it with good, solid content, before I use my marketing skills to advertise it all over the Web?

Seriously, if you really want to make it in this business, you will need to diversify. I have said it before, and I will say it again: the competition is getting tougher out there, because more people are turning to the Internet as a source of income-you and me included!

So, now you know what has been keeping me busy. But you need to know about the great new advertising tools I have found. Of course, as usual, I am looking for the freebies.

I found a site that will help you create banners for FREE. In addition, it will give you the html code to plug it into your site, or wherever, so you can benefit from it immediately. http://www.snacktools.com/ It is great fun!

I made this banner for advertising on another site in just a matter of minutes. As you can see, you can also create banners for your own site, to make a point or catch the readers eye. Although the full size will not embed into this post, check out the right side of my blog and you will see a simple flash banner that will lead you to Living with Cerebral Palsy.

You can also make banners to insert into emails, to send a personalized greeting card to someone. You don’t necessarily need a website of your own.

So, forgive me for neglecting my blog, and have fun with this new tool I have found to ramp up your advertising campaign.

Do you have any cool advertising tools that you prefer?

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For those of you that have used the Internet a lot, you have probably already figured out the value of social networking sites. It is a great way to get your name out there and provide links to your work blog-like this one-or your online portfolio.

Unfortunately, some of them are starting to get greedy. It is not enough for advertisers to purchase ads and place them

on their site anymore. It is not enough to endorse big businesses and get affiliate money, when visitors click on an ad to make a purchase.

Today, I found out that Facebook is going to start charging $4 a month, in order to use Facebook. Personally, I think it is a great venue for meeting up with friends and promoting my blogs. But, why pay when there are other sites that will let you sell yourself and your freelancing experience for free?

The cost of living is going up, and it is hard enough to make a full-time living at freelancing, without adding unnecessary expenses. I say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I will continue to use Facebook and other social networking sites. But, unless I can see how it really pays me back in clients and readers, I am going to keep the money in my wallet-Thank you!

What about you? Are you going to pay? I am going to check out the other social networking and business sites that I know about, and make sure they are still free. I will let you know!

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My goodness! How time flies, even if you aren’t exactly having fun! I can’t believe I have neglected my blog for a week! But, during my regular freelancing work-the kind the pays-I came across blogs that looked exactly like mine. Darn! I want something that is new and fresh and doesn’t look like the same old thing. Unfortunately, I spent an hour I didn’t have time for looking at hundreds, if not thousands of themes. Which begs the question: how do you choose the best theme for your copywriting/freelance writing business?

It may seem like an inconsequential question. But, think about it. First impressions mean a lot. If you are going to help your fellow freelancers with your blog information, or if you are going to use the blog to represent your business and garner new clients, you need to have a professional look. You need to look as good as you write.

Therefore, it is probably not good to have a site that is too:

cutesy

hard to read

too artsy

too cluttered

Well, I think you get my drift. You want something that is clean and clear. Unfortunately, as I was looking for a change in my blog design, I must admit I am sorely disappointed in the fact that 90% of everything is gray. Now, professional is one thing. Downright Drab is another. You also want something that catches the eye of the reader, so they will want to stay and see what you have to say.

Those are my thoughts on the subject. How about you? When you read someone’s blog, and you expect them to be knowledgeable in their field, what do you look for in an attractive website?

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Every time I sit down to write a post, I try to think of something helpful, a current issue, or a topic that simply might be of interest. As you can tell, I have dropped the ball in the last couple of weeks. I got busy and the blog took the back burner. I need to be better about that. Once I get a few readers that are brave enough to make comments or ask questions, then I can write about exactly what you want to know.

For those of you that don’t know, the terms freelance writing and copywriting are basically the same thing. In most cases, you and I will be writing copy that it meant to sell someone a product, an idea, or a passion.

Today, I was reading an article by another copywriter, and the last sentence is what intrigued me the most: “Now, go sell ice cream to Eskimos”. How cool is that! (pun intended).

She had some really good advice for people that want to become better freelance writers/copywriters. I want to share parts of it with you:

Now in the 5 years I’ve been in this business I’ve read a LOT of copy and written quite a bit as well. Most of it sucks. Certain things sell plain and simple and it’s aparent a lot of people don’t know what they are. . . So how do we get that emotion and feelings involved in our copy?

To effectively bring emotion into our copy we’re typically going to lean towards using a lot more words that involve the senses. Do you know what the primary senses that most people operate by? Did you know if you speak to these senses, all of them, you’re going to connect with most people better? Here is a list of the big 3 senses that most people run through the world with:

Feeling
Audio
Visual
Take a look at those and digest them for a minute. Sure there is more senses then that but most people use these to reference the world. You’ll find certain people stronger towards one then the other. Listen to the language people use when you’re talking with them. I bet after a bit once you get and accute ear you’ll be able to pickup what someones dominant sense is. And get this did you know that men and women are different? Hhahahah of course. Here’s a short cut to get you started with what to focus one depending on what sex you’re writing for.

Most men are strong on the Visual sense. They’re going to say things like: I see what you’re talking about. I can definately picture what you’re saying. When you’re selling to men the more visual you can make your pitch in your copy the more you’re going to connect and the more emotion you’re going to bring out. On an interesting topic when it comes to something that sexually arouses someone guess what men go for? Is it the penthouse forum magazine with the emotional stories? Now of course not it’s the visual picture stimulus.

So have you guessed what drives most women? If you haven’t it’s pretty easy “Feeling”. Think heartfelt stories on lifetime movie network.

So lets take a couple of these ideas and put them into play on some short snippets of copy. We’ll start with a statement like:

“I was in so much debt I didn’t know what to do.”

This sounds pretty bland right but it’s not really touching on any sense or emotions. There’s honestly nothing to pull anyone in. But lets take this and write it for a strong visual sensing person:

“Every day I closed my eyes as I opened the door beacuse i knew I’d see the stacks of bills sitting there piling up to the ceiling.”

How about one for a strong audio sensing person:

“everytime the heard the mail slot open all i could say to myself was, I don’t want to look, because I knew exactly what was there.”

And one last one for for the feeling people:

“I used to cringe every day stewing over all those bills piling up and weighing on me.”

Pretty cool huh. Which one did you connect with the most?

The ideal copy weaves between all these senses almost like a web. The more you can hit on each of the sense types the more you’re going to connect with each type of person. If you’re going to be targeting one sex more specifically I’d highly suggest going about double on the keywords tha appeal to them.

As a teacher, I always told students to be as descriptive as possible. Do not say empty words like “things”, when you can describe what those are, with the power of your words. The same can be said for freelance writers/copywriters. You have great power in your words. Use them! Who knows who you can sell ice cream to, or anything else for that matter?

You can even sell yourself and what you do for your clients on a daily basis.

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For me, one of the hardest parts of freelance writing is pounding the virtual pavement looking for work. I do not like to have to bid for jobs. I like having nice, steady, faithful customers. Lately, bidding for jobs in freelance writing has even been more discouraging, because buyers can get someone from Asia to do an hour’s worth of work for a dollar! For those of us that do this for a full-time living, it is simply not feasible to work for those prices.

Today, while doing research for another project I came across and article with advice for bidding on freelance jobs:

Research the Client

As with any job you might be considering, find out who you might be working for first. Do they have favourable comments against their ID? Do they have a substantial profile? Do they have a company website? If a posted job doesn’t feel right when you read it, the chances are you should steer clear.
There are several giveaways you should watch out for when thinking of bidding for a writing gig:
- the poster seems confused about what it is they actually want
- they are a new poster offering a high budget
- they are a new poster with no references
- the poster has little or no information in their profile or job description
- the poster is reluctant to give up much information about himself or the job
- they are looking for work on a trial basis first
All of these instances should set alarm bells ringing in your head, telling you the job you might be about to bid for is not all that it seems.

Don’t Bid Low

Not only is it an affront to hard working writers the world over, but bidding low for projects reduces your professionalism as well as your chances of moving forward in the industry.
Too many jobs appear on these websites advertising work for a pittance but disguised as something fantastic. For example: “$500 for easy article writing” sounds like a good deal, but when you read the small print, very often you’ll find the client is looking for 500 articles a week at $1 a piece. You would be a fool to go for it, because not only is it demeaning, it also propagates the misunderstanding that writers will work for next to nothing under ridiculous demands. The Writer’s Strike in America should have warned people about this sort of thing, but while there are writers who do it, the problem will always exist. Don’t be one of them.
If you are serious about freelance writing, then do your research and stick to the going rate. Not only will people take you more seriously, but you’ll avoid getting involved with cowboys looking for a cheap deal. Remember: people will get what they pay for – $1 per article will rightly get them garbage, compared to a quality article researched and written for $100.
By all means bid strategically: if the average bid for a $100-$250 gig is sitting at $150 and this is within decent market rates for that type of work, then be competitive, but don’t lose your self-respect over it.

Watch Out For Pirates

Suppose a client accepts your bid and the ball is set rolling on a project. You await the full remit but when it arrives you discover it is for something a little bit more than previously agreed. It would be easy to return with a volley of abuse, and it might be even easier to take the work as it is and hope to impress. But don’t. A chancer is at work and he will take you for all you have. If you were to get involved in this type of situation, what’s to say you will even get paid at the end of it?
Should you find this happens, a short but polite email to the client explaining the new remit was not what you agreed, but you would be happy to discuss new terms as part of another project over and above the currently agreed one.
Do not let yourself be bowled over by slick sales talk or threats of breach of contract –stand your ground and be strong. If you lose the gig then you have lost nothing but a lot of hassle, so thank yourself for having the savvy to get out while you could.
If the client is genuinely confused then negotiate a deal for the new work, and who knows, a continuing working relationship may develop to be very fruitful for both parties.
Another popular scam is to sign up a writer, only for the client to say they would prefer you to write an amount of the project and submit it in advance, just to see if you are both compatible. Challenge them to put their money up first, stating you don’t work for free, or simply prepare to walk away. The chances are if you undertake this work you can wave goodbye to any form of payment and will never hear from them again.
Be Prudent With Payments
The main rule when handling payments is safety first. Escrow systems are normally in place to which it is recommended clients place the agreed amount of money first. This money is then held in this third party account until the job is completed and can be released; a system designed to protect both parties from intellectual and monetary theft.
Using Escrow means you are also able to leave comments for each other after a project’s completion in order to boost your profile within the community. A downside to this though, is you will normally be charged to withdraw your money to an external account, which if this is PayPal or WorldPay for example, may also take its own percentage depending on the amount.
One way around this is to bypass Escrow and simply agree with the client to take payment straight into PayPal/WorldPay. This eliminates any extra charges, but loses the protection afforded from Escrow. In this instance, ask the client to deposit a percentage of the agreed fee into PayPal (unless you have worked with him before), to ensure confidence on either side that the work will be done, and that payment is safe.

Don’t Entertain Anything Illegal

From time to time seemingly well-paid gigs arise which may be illegal in some countries. Very often jobs are posted that ask the writer to plagiarise other articles or content, write unethical reports with “guidelines” that consist merely of lies, or offer payment to provide false names or testimonials in articles for people and products that do not exist. Many of these scams are used to gain money from people over the internet under false pretences, which in most countries is an illegal practice called fraud.
It goes without saying that jobs like these should be avoided at all costs. Although you may be ghost writing the work, if the cops came looking there will always be a trail back to your computer.
All this aside, there are some very good opportunities for work in the form of one-off gigs on bidding sites. They afford the writer a chance to dip their toes into new territory without too much being at stake, and it can be a good way of filling the gaps when things get quiet.

I found this article on Daily Writing Tips. The writer has some very good advice. To deviate from these 5 tips will only come back to harm your business and your ability to become a successful copywriter in the long run.

So, what do you think? Do you have any more freelance writing tips that have served you well?

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More and more people are turning to the Internet in order to make a living or earn a little extra money in the evenings. But, freelance writing is not for everyone.

Yes, you can basically pick your own hours and work in your PJ’s. But, like any other job, it is not all fun. When I tell some people I work at home by writing, they think I have it made. But, give them one of the simplest assignments copywriters do on a daily basis, and they are stumped. Writing for a living is not for everyone.

For example, you may get a big order to write 20 or more articles for a client. But, they are all on the same topic, just a different set of keywords. After the 2nd or 3rd article on a subject as mundane as blowing your nose, what do you write about next. You have to be creative and quick. The longer it takes you to write an article, the less you make per hour.
You have to know how to say the same thing in a hundred different ways.

You also need to know how to run a business. Especially this time of year, with income tax day looming, I am even more aware of why it is vital to keep good books. Keep all of your receipts, especially if you are purchasing an item for your business.

Also, if you want to expand you ability to make money as a freelancer, check into other things besides writing articles. If you can do technical writing or write eBooks, you will probably make a lot more money than the article writer. However, you can also learn how to build websites, how to make money through affiliate marketing and more. If you want to make more money as a freelance writer, you need to think about other sources of income other than writing.

It sounds easy as I am writing this, but I have been freelancing for 4 years and I am just learning how I can make a better living working from home. So, I hope you will share how you have become successful writing and any offshoots from article writing that have made you more profitable in the last year.

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