It may not be for every freelance writer, but if you’re a copywriter or selling anything on your own sites (including your services), you may want to check out this free e-book for writers: The Netwriting Masters Course.
If nothing else, perhaps it will help you drum up some additional business in 2008.
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Krysha Thayer
Brie Wallace
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Lucy Smith
All Freelance Writing | 12 Days of Christmas - 2007
Thanks to you, some other blogs and my own searches, I have a LARGE folder of “TO READ” material with e-books, etc. in it for a SLOW day/night, which I have a feeling will not come soon! :)
Thanks Jenn!!
I’ve been looking into copy writing for a while but feel a little intimidated by the idea. Maybe this ebook can give me the tools to get started in the field. I’ll definitively take a look at it.
@ DIANA — Why intimidated by the area Diana? You are a profilic writer, just writing a bit differently for specialized crowds (dependent on the niche/topic of the site you’re writing). Copywriting is fun!!
I don’t know why. I really, really don’t know how to even get started, who to contact, where to look for jobs. I probably would need to learn how to even write this type of material first, as I don’t have any experience with it.
The thing with copywriting is that being a solid writer isn’t enough. You have to understand marketing and the psychology behind people’s actions (why they buy, why they fill out a form, why they subscribe to something, etc.). If it’s something you want to get into, start there. Even before reading books on copywriting itself, pick up a book on the principles of marketing or something on persuasion. It’ll be worth it. :)
That’s what I figured, yeah. Taking up copy writing feels like starting brand new. I don’t have any experience on it, so I’d probably be considered a “new” writer in the industry. Could be something to look into for the long run. Just start to build experience and clips on the industry so I can eventually land higher-paying assignments.
Well honestly with your other prolific efforts, I have no doubt you will excel in cw too ;)
That’s my problem too. I really want to get into copywriting but really don’t know anything about marketing. I think brochures and press releases, etc would be enjoyable to write. I just need to learn how to sell.
I think next week I will go buy a bunch of 3-ring binders and print all the e-books I have accumulated. There is so much information in them but I tend to forget I have them when they are stored on my computer.
I also tend to read more (or absorb more) when I have the book in my hand. Guess I am old-fashioned. :)
very very smart idea Kathleen :) Make a resource book for yourself.
Press releases aren’t actually copywriting, and are definitely not about selling. ;) You’ll need to learn about public relations / media relations and how to determine target audiences / stakeholders, and craft messages in that sense (not from a marketing standpoint). With PR being my own specialty, I have a lot written about it at http://www.FreePressReleaseWriting.com and a few of my other sites that may give you a starting point with learning about them.
well, thank you, Jessica :) I do write in a variety of topics and formats. Honestly, though, I’m not sure I WANT to learn about copy writing. It seems like there’s so much to go over. Jenn just totally confused me with her last post. I have NO IDEA what she’s talking about. Maybe I can take it easy and make it my 2008 goal to learn about this area.
lol Sorry for confusing you. You mentioned press releases while we were talking about copywriting, and (being a PR professional) I wanted to point out that press releases aren’t in fact copywriting. They fall under the blanket of “PR writing” (which includes pitch letters, Op-eds, press releases, media advisories, etc.). It’s very commonly (although incorrectly) lumped into general copywriting, which is just one of several reasons many new press release writers keep spamming journalists and distribution sites with sales-oriented crap rather than real news. They don’t know the difference. Many copywriters can’t cut it in PR writing. Many PR writers can’t cut it in copywriting. They’re two different areas. :) I personally do both because I have background in both PR and marketing, but I really don’t enjoy the copywriting side.
So true Jenn, I also have a degree in pr & journalism –and once hired out a PR because i was swapped and got something completely WRONG back — so yes, I agree that better understanding needs to be made.
Is there room for writers without a PR background, then? I know nothing at all about the topic and would have to start from scratch, while people who have a degree (!) already understand the basics of marketing, customer satisfaction and advertising. I’m at a complete loss. If I have to start from zero, that would mean a very big investment when it comes to time. I could probably do better focusing on querying higher-paying markets.
Well then maybe I am more interested in PR writing. Both sound very interesting. I guess I have a lot to learn.
Maybe I should stick to writing for the web. I already have that down pat! :)
@Diana – A lot of people without a true PR background jump into press release writing (such as those with degrees in English, Marketing, Journalism, etc.). I get a lot of releases to edit, and I can usually tell right off the bat what kind of background the writer had (for example, journalists tend to write too much of a “story” instead of presenting the facts to spark multiple stories, marketing folks tend to load them with hype and sales copy, and those with an English degree often write very well but lack persuasion – of course there are the occasional exceptions to the rule).
So can you do it? Yes… especially since everyone and their brother is calling themselves a press release writer these days, because online distribution doesn’t rely heavily on quality (editorial processes at distribution sites are a joke). Will you be able to charge what firms charge (several hundred per release)? No. Definitely not in the beginning at least. That doesn’t mean you can’t do well with it. A good release is around 300-400 words. If you write a 350 word release and charge even just $50, that’s $.14 / word. If it’s an improvement for you, it’s something to look into. Or maybe you want to charge $100. There’s a market for it all. You just have to get into it and prove yourself by the coverage you bring your clients.
Yeah, that’s my feeling too. Learning about new markets sounds like a good idea, but I don’t want to stray too much about what is my main source of income. I just can’t afford to do that!
My answer was actually for Kathleen. I hadn’t refreshed the page, so I didn’t see yours, Jenn. $.14 / word is about what I make in many articles, but with the difference that I already know how to write an article (no learning curve there). I’ll probably better off sticking to what I know for now.
WOW 14 CENTS A WORD — WHERE ARE THESE GIGS? I’ve had a few at or abov ethat rate but most are 6-9 cents that I do.
My two steady markets are 20 and 23 cents a word, respectively, so the gigs are definitively out there. I think I mentioned this before somewhere, but I tend to answer to every writing job I see advertised, even if I don’t think it’s possible for me to get it. Sometimes editors surprise me. That’s how I got the 20 cents one.
I do answer a lot too and something you’re surprised when you ask for a certain payrate that they will pay it — I had a few 20-30 cent gigs — and a $1/word gig once —- I actually still pull a good hourly with my work though and that’s all I was worried about — if it’s worth me sitting here or should I get a in-house job…… but my rates have risen (I will be posting about this on my blog on friday — http://www.jmwriting.blogspot.com) — and the results of the survey I had people do.
Yeah, I’ve gotten more courageous when it comes to asking for money. Recently I was asked for a quote to ghostwrite an e-book and I gave a high number in the hopes we could negotiate it to something acceptable. To my (complete) surprise, the guy just agreed, no questions asked. It makes me wonder how many times I could’ve asked for more but didn’t because I was being too shy or conservative.
That’s why marketing is for — when I send tons of emails out, I take a chance when quoting a lot of them because I figure what can it hurt — they say no — :)
Yeah, that’s the big advantage of e-mail queries and applications. Not sure I would have dared to do that when I used paper queries. Now I don’t even think about it anymore.
Definitely I agree — I take a gamble often — and it’s paid off (as I look at my end of the year earnings). I still think if I was more aggressive I would have made at least 50% more.
I was just thinking that this would be one of my goals in 2008: to ask for higher rates or better agreements. I do it once in a while, but not often enough.
Definitely should be a yearly goal — to increase your rate of pay and to always have sound agreements for your own protection.
Yeah, my goals this year are more about money than they were last year, when I was mostly looking to establish a steady income, not matter the amount. That done, I’m now shooting for a fixed amount every day/month.
@ Jenn – I know you posted a link to ChrisBlogging in more than one occasion and I wanted to comment something about that. For those who don’t know, Chris keeps a monthly tally of his income. While the information is not very detailed (we get to read about the number of projects and the total money earned, but don’t know exactly what the projects entailed), it is certainly inspiring. That, along with a recent posting about the “$100/day writer” inspired me to my own challenge, so I’ll be starting a blog about this and sharing how easy (or hard) it is to earn $100/day in this profession.