05 Mar 11 How to Begin Your Freelance Writing Career
The growth of the Internet has translated into increase in demand for content producer, which means a lot of demand for writers. If you are a writer than you are born in the right time, as there is no dearth of writing assignment and you do not need to write a book or a play to live off your writing talent. And if you have not started yet then this article will help you start out, so start your journey.
Master the art of writing for web
Writing for web is remarkably different than writing for print, as the attention span of people on the web is pretty short. You need to write using bullet points, headings, subheadings, images, etc.
Master the art of writing headline
A headline is very important in increasing the open rate of your content. You may get the best ranking for all the keywords, but if you do not have an attractive headline, your article will not get read. You should know how to write killer headlines.
Learn a bit about keywords and SEO
A little knowledge of SEO and keywords is required for all online writers, as keywords are the basis on which the entire web is organized. You should educate yourself on these two.
Prepare a portfolio
Writing is an art, and you are an artist. And an artist who does not have anything to show cannot support his claim of producing a fantastic piece of art. You should, therefore, prepare a portfolio keeping everything that I talked above. This will be your asset that you will need to show your clients.
Write a cover letter
A cover letter is like a direct sales letter. It either persuades your prospective clients to see your portfolio, or it can bore them to death. Many a freelancing assignments are made or broken at this level only. So spend good deal of time in creating a killer cover letter that can literally pull your clients with hands and make them read your sample articles.
You should follow the above given suggestions to start a freelance career. You can add some more items to your preparation, but you should not remove any. Each one of them is important. Very important!
Tags: Attention Span, Attractive Headline, Bullet Points, Content Producer, Cover Letter, Dearth, Entire Web, Freelance Career, Freelance Writing Career, Freelancing, Headings, Journey, Killer Headlines, Little Knowledge, Master The Art, People On The Web, Prospective Clients, Right Time, Sample Articles, Web Writing
16 Sep 10 Freelance Writing – Confused about samples?
The worst part of a freelance writing career is uncertainty. A freelance writer, unlike a staff writer, has to search for gigs every now and then, and each time he needs to show some samples in order to get the work. And this is where problem starts, and contrary to common perception, the more experienced you are, the more jitter the idea of showing samples give.
What samples to show and what not to show, and how many to show? These questions often haunt a freelance writer, more so because there is no one right answer to this. Every client is different so is there demand, and so is the solution to that.
The question is then how to decide what to show and what not to show? As said, there is not any definite answer to this question, but I can tell you about what I do when it comes to hunting writing gigs. That will help you devise your plan of action.
How to decide which sample to show
What clients want?
The first step in the process is to see what client is asking for, as sending relevant samples is what you should do. Sending a sample of how-to article to a client who wants a sales page will do no good. Similarly sending a sample of an article to one who is asking for a press release will also not get you the job.
Have you written on the topic?
If you have written on the topic related to project advertise then send that sample, but while doing so do keep the following tip in mind.
When did you write that one?
This is very important. We all grow one article at a time, so sending a sample that you wrote 2 or 3 years back will do more harm than good, as it will not demonstrate you current style. Do not mistake in thinking that writing style is static; rather nothing is more organic than writing style. The more you write the better you become. You should, therefore, send the samples that you wrote in last month, or last to last month. Do not send any sample that you wrote more than 6 months back.
How many
As many as required to get the work. This is a judgment call you have to take. If the work advertised is going to last long than I provide more samples and if it is a small project then I do not send too many samples, or too many types of samples. It also depends on what a client is asking for.
This is how I decide on what samples to send and how many to send. I hope this will help you decide as well.
Tags: 3 Years, Definite Answer, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing Career, Hunting, Job, Mistake, Organic Style, Perception, Press Release, Relevant Samples, Staff Writer, Uncertainty, Writing Samples, Writing Style
07 Aug 10 What’s Stopping You from Being a Successful Freelance Writer?
Have you ever asked this question? And if you did what was the answer? Was it related to your skills, or your attitude, or your perception?
I am asking this question because these are the things that stop most of the people from making it big in the freelance writing career. Let’s examine each one of them so that we can get idea about what to avoid, and make it big as a freelance writer.
Do not know enough
This is a classic trap that engulfs everyone who has self doubt about one’s quality. It makes you believe that you are not qualified enough for the job. You should, therefore, stay clear of the job, and should never even try to get closer.
I have this to tell you about “the skill” problem: no one is too qualified or too less qualified for the freelance writing job, or for any other job. We all, indeed, have shortcomings, but those are mere matter of proper training, and some research, which is easier these days than it ever was in the history of mankind.
I have no time
This is another classic excuse. People always complain about lack of time for following their dream. They say they are too busy working in the offices, managing their families, and securing better life for kids and spouses. Sure they are very important, but these things could not be a reason for your “I do not have time” mindset. What is behind this “no time” mentality is the lack of organization and schedule. Make a schedule for writing, and stick to it. When I say make a schedule, I do not mean to suggest making a schedule for writing daily. It could be for weekends as wells.
There is no future in it
This is a very short sighted reply I have heard from the freelance writing quitters. They say why join freelance writing. There is no future in it. I will suggest them to look outside the window, take binoculars if needed, and see how the media is operating — online as well as real world. They all source content, and a large portion of content is sourced from freelance writers. They is future in it, dude.
What else is stopping you from taking a freelance writing career? Waiting to hear from you.
Tags: Asking This Question, Attitude, Better Life, Binoculars, Conte, Excuse, Freelance Job, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing Career, History Of Mankind, Lack Of Time, Large Portion, Mentality, Mindset, Perception, Real World, Reply, Self Doubt, Shortcomings, Source Content
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