Thanx for the heads up, your post is definately inspiring. I have recently become a full time writer and charge $25 minumum per post. Over the last few weeks I have understood that writing gigs are not found on job boards and very rarely on freelance bidding websites. I would like to increase my income, however I am having difficulty finding clients and was wondering if you have any tips on that front?

Short of spending time searching on google that could be spent writing do you have other suggestions? I have created an online portfolio and will work to market that once it increases.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Regards,

Antony.
Writer@timetobefree.com

So far I have been

Heh. He should get out more. In 2004, back when I was still taking for-pay blog jobs, I and other pro writers were charging around $1500 per week for five 100-word posts, and one longer article of around 600 to 800 words.

This was on a six-month contract.

At the time, I enjoyed these writing gigs, and there were many of them available. I was working with a company which was selling a heavy-duty intranet blogging application to corps, and the marketing manager was constantly hassling me to find more writers…

Jenn, I’m busy this morning, and I just glanced over your article (no time to read Kevin’s post) but I just wanted to pop in and mention that inexperienced writers judge that ALL writers are in the same boat. I was getting paid $1500 a week back in 2004, and I was far from the top earner in the field.

Writers are earning that today, and much more.

They don’t find these jobs on job boards however, nor do they frequent forums and other venues. They’re too busy writing.

I just hope your post opens the eyes of a few writers who could be more successful if they realized that there are many more opportunities than they’re aware of.

Now, back to writing for money — I’ve got two deadlines today.

The lazy ones are the ones who come to me (or others) complaining there’s nothing better out there. We tell them how to go about getting the better, unadvertised gigs. And then a few weeks or months later they come back complaining about the same thing. When we ask what they’ve done in the meantime, it’s nothing. No blog. No professional site. No activity on the forums other than advertising and complaining about the market. They usually go through the cycle more than once, expecting that one day the writers who have done the work are just going to start outsourcing or referring gigs to them or something (I’ve had more than a few people beg me to do this in the past). I can’t think of a better word for that than “lazy.”

And yes, there are certainly some that are just unaware. But there are also a lot of great writers out there telling them there are better options and how to find them. With everything so easily accessible on the Web, I don’t really think there’s a good excuse for them to be uninformed–not for long at least. Everyone should conduct some basic market research before jumping into business for themselves, including freelancers. That includes evaluating the competition, and getting an idea of what kinds of rates are charged by people with similar credentials. Perhaps more disappointing than the fact that some writers buy into the garbage blog owners spew about rates in the overall marketplace is the fact that so many freelancers don’t take the time to do that research up front. But that’s a topic worth a post of its own – maybe this week.

I’m also a blogger whose clients use the blog as a PR tool or an advocacy tool (in the case of non-profits).

None of my clients expect their blogs to make them money. They need an authority blogger because they need someone who understands their business/cause, and can communicate their message effectively. On the blogs I speak on their behalf, and you don’t get that kind of representation from a $25 per blog post.

And nope, my gigs were not advertised either. I did other types of writing projects for them, and when they decided to start blogs, it was natural that I do the work, at professional rates.

To any new bloggers out there, be careful who you’re taking advice from. You’re far better off sticking with people who have gone before you and succeeded in the industry than people who are potentially future clients. They’re not going to get anything out of it one way or the other – we don’t save money if you choose to go the cheap route, and those who are actually established aren’t worried about a little bit of increased competition out there, especially in a growing field.

I’ve seen the same thing happen for years in webmaster communities when it comes to Web writers in general. The buyers insist that a penny per word is “standard” (which any professional writer knows is bullshit), and when that’s the information new writers see when they get started, too many actually believe it. They work for slave wages because they’re lied to and told that they have to. I’m just glad there are so many pros out there setting them in a better direction (although more would certainly be better). I’ve seen a few great writers wake up to the reality of what’s possible and go on to earn more than 10 times their starting rates fairly quickly. But I still get the same questions from newbies desperate to figure out a better way. Blogging, like SEO Web content, can pay very well. It’s all up to the writer whether they listen to the lies and focus on the wrong target market or tell the cheapskates to shove it and actually respect their own work.

It also drives me nuts to see someone saying that the benefits of hiring a great writer are “minimal.” That usually means one of two things. Either they haven’t actually seen great writing, or they don’t have a clue what to do with it. Slapping it on the site and letting it sit isn’t the buyer’s only job. A writer writes. If the owner can’t promote the content effectively, it’s not the writer who screwed up on the benefit front. Authority content carries great value, well beyond the initial bottom line. (“Value” being a concept Kevin really doesn’t seem to understand based on that post – value does not simply correspond with profit made.) Thankfully, many business owners do understand that and they know how to get the most out of it.

I just find it unnerving that anyone would have the gall to tell freelancers that the budget constraints of potential buyers in the general marketplace mean they should accept lower rates, rather than understanding precisely what you do–that if the client can’t afford you, you find others who can. The low-budget blog owner is far from the only market out there. I’m always glad to hear from others who “get it” Jessie, so keep at it!