Website: www.writershairclp.blogspot.com

Specialty: Nonprofit and Business Copywriting

Rates: .50 per word

My background includes writing communications material for nonprofits and businesses. I have been published in newsletters from World Vision, Tacoma Community House and Math Science Learning program. I have a monthly column in At a Glance Magazine covering nonprofits. I also blog about businesses and business professionals I meet. For businesses, I have wrote web, newsletter and promotional content. I am a compelling igniter writer because I ignite passion in people to care about things they wouldn’t otherwise care about.

Website: www.writesyntax.com

Specialty: Web content, blog posts, ebooks, ad copy, press releases

Rates: .20 cents – 1.00 per word based on type of project.

I offer a variety of web content services, ranging from ghostblogging, ghosting ebooks and articles, to drafting press releases and sales letters for clients.

Pricing can vary based on the type of project and the estimated time invested to complete it successfully.

Further examples of my writing can be seen on BigGirlBranding.com, including several guest posts I’ve written in the past. Please note the humorous and slightly irreverent tone of the content there does not always reflect the type of content provided to my clients.

I have a very versatile “voice” and am able to adapt style of writing to suit most needs.

Examples of ebooks written can be emailed upon request, as well as past sales letters and press releases.

Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to potentially working with you in the future!

Warm regards,
Cori Padgett

Website: http://melissasouza.webs.com

Specialty: Writing

Rates: 50 per hour or project rate

Melissa Souza writes regularly for examiner.com as the L.A. Horse Examiner. She has contributed to the Nashville music scene through various press releases, written several articles for eHow.com and freelances as a copywriter. A dash of prowess, a heaping handful of zeal and a pinch of talent, Melissa composes a wide variety of materials: turning drab copy into caliber marketing material for a medley of pieces a client may need to sparkle in their industry.

Website: http://savvy-writer.com/

Specialty: Blogs and articles

Rates: .50 to 1.00 per word

Rebecca Sebek counts among her passions the arts, communication, and travel. She makes her living as a writer. She enjoys coaching and teaching others, and sharing her knowledge of writing skills.

Rebecca’s also a prolific freelance writer and blogger who posts regularly on several websites, writing on topics such as travel destination articles, general writing tips, and personal advice.

Specialty: ghost writing / article writing

Rates: .10/word

I am a freelsncer with extensive experience in research, academic writing, fiction writing, and blogging.

I promise quick turnaround times, responsible and professional work, and dependability.

I am available for any kind of writing, inlcuding articles, blogs, product reviews and descriptions, ghost writing, and profiles.

If you’re interested, email me.

writingworks@yahoo.com

Website: graymatter.weebly.com

Specialty: creative writing – article- blog- opinion

Rates: 55.0

I have written as a hobby for over ten years. Academic training – none. As a freelance writer, I am also a freelance learner allowing me to focus in particular areas.

Website: http://sharonhh.com

Specialty: web content writing, blogging

Rates: 60 per hour

When it comes to writing your content I tick all the boxes. I have 22 years of experience, I am fanatical about deadlines, a polymath who can get to grips with almost any topic quickly, an excellent researcher, and an engaging writer. In the past few years, I have written hundreds of ghostwritten articles on credit cards, loans, mortgages, insurance, banking and much more.

I can write search engine optimized (SEO) web copy with the best of them. I also do a lot of ghostwriting and ghost blogging. If you want your blog maintained and don’t have time to do it yourself, then I’m your woman.

Please visit my site for my full resume and examples of my work.

For the sake of this post, let’s consider feature articles for print publications only, such as consumer and trade magazines. Most freelance writers who I speak with really want to break into this market, but have no idea how to get started or what to do if they ever land a gig.

These five details will help you become better acquainted with feature articles and what you should be thinking about:

1. Who is the audience? When you pick up a feature article project you must first know who you are writing for. Is it a sports publication focused on basketball? A wedding magazine for brides? Finding the audience is usually as simple as picking up a back copy of the magazine or heading to the appropriate website for additional information.
2. Length. The length of the feature will be specified by the editor. While most feature articles are at least 500 words in length, the editor may decide that they need something a bit shorter due to page layout. Also, don’t be surprised if some of your features end up being 2000 words or more. The best thing you can do in this area is take advice from the editor you are working with.
3. Facts are important. In most cases, a feature article is going to be full of facts and not much opinion if any at all. For this reason, it is important to make sure all of your information is 100 percent accurate and backed up by reliable sources.
4. Interviews. Speaking of reliable sources, most feature articles that are assigned to me come with the specification of interviewing at least one authority on the subject. This is not always the case, but be ready to conduct at least one interview. Not only will this please the editor, but it will round out your piece.
5. Revisions. I cannot remember ever writing a feature article and getting it perfect the first time around. With most features you will be asked to complete at least one revision, if not more. There have been times when I worked with an editor for days on end, revision after revision, until the article was perfect. If you are going to get involved with writing feature articles you should be ready for revisions and plenty of them.

Think you’re ready for feature article writing? Then start networking with editors and preparing some pitches. And check back later today for our “Getting Started” series interview with established magazine writer Linda Formichelli.

You probably try to be as helpful as you can–responding to comments, answering emails, giving advice when asked for it, and just generally trying to help your readers.

But sometimes you just have to say no. You have to let your readers (or some of them) fend for themselves. Here are some situations where it’s probably best not to respond privately:

You Already Answered Their Question. – If you’ve written a half dozen posts about where to find article writing gigs (given the freelance writing niche as an example), then I wouldn’t bother answering that question privately. There’s a reason you blog or publish public content, and it’s archived. If someone really wants that answer, they can very easily search for it. The only exception might be if your articles are scattered on multiple sites rather than a single site or blog of your own.

The Reader is Lazy – You might be surprised at how many times people email me asking “How can I earn a lot of money writing for the Web?” and other things along those lines. Obviously, there’s no easy answer. These are the folks who expect you to give them a step-by-step on how to do what you do–they want to replicate your success without doing any of the real work of setting up their businesses for themselves. I generally don’t attempt to answer these questions anymore. All of the answers are “out there” and if people aren’t willing to help themselves first, then I’m not going to take my time to do it for them. Now I point them to my e-book if they want a thorough background on getting started.

You Can’t Afford the Time – The reality is that you’re trying to make a living, build a readership, etc. for yourself. That takes time–a lot of it. There will be times when you honestly just can’t respond to every comment, email, tweet, and such. In those cases, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being selective.

You’re Being Used as a Crutch – Once in a while a reader comes along who asks you a question. You respond. They ask you another. You respond. They ask another. You start to feel like a private (unpaid) consultant on call at their every whim, but since you’ve set the standard of trying to be helpful, you don’t have the heart to tell them to bugger off. It is OK to stop responding if you’re either being taken advantage of or if you’re simply being asked to devote more time than can be justified to one person. I’m generally OK with people asking for things like feedback on their site or blog, but when it comes to someone wanting a private step-by-step tutorial on doing something (setting up a portfolio, then finding prospective clients, then wanting help with their query letter, etc.) then it starts to get excessive.

Fortunately there’s something you can do to answer these private questions while still making good overall use of your own time – you can turn your answers into posts or articles themselves so readers with similar questions can get the answer without you having to respond repeatedly privately.

Taking time out for your readers is a good thing–and a part of the job. But managing your time effectively so you can stay productive is equally important. Where do you draw the line?

Update Old Content – Look at your website or blog statistics, and see what some of your most popular (most visited) articles or posts are. Are any of them outdated? Could you post something new on the same subject to take advantage of the popularity? You probably can.

For example, if you’re a U.S. blogger, you may have posted about how the 2008 presidential election results could effect your industry. Have any of your predictions come true? Were you, surprisingly, proven wrong about something? If so, blog about it.

Here’s another example – let’s say you’re a webmaster in the “make money online” niche. One month, you post your earnings from a specific ad network as an example to readers, and the post is wildly popular. You could turn that into a monthly series.

Look at Similar Sites – Other sites in your niche are great resources when you need to come up with article or blog post ideas. First, look through their categories or sections. Are there entire subject areas that would fit into your site that you’re currently neglecting? If so, add it. Then look at specific articles (especially if the site highlights their most popular articles).

Do not, under any circumstances, simply take the ideas or content in those articles and re-write them into your own article. Depending on where you live, that would be considered a derivative work, and be copyright infringement. Instead, take one of these routes instead:

1. Write a post of your own responding to theirs. Link to it early on in your post. If they took a stance on an issue, you may want to explore another side of it.
2. Use that article as just the first step in the research process. Look to several other sources for more information, and write your own article or blog post on the subject matter (and keep it ethical by citing your sources if you do this).

Use Keyword Suggestion Tools – Keyword suggestion tools, like the Adwords Sandbox, can give you lists of article ideas based on keywords and what people are searching for (if they’re searching for it, they want to know more about it, so it’s a good idea to write articles on those topics).

To use the tool, enter keyword phrases related to your site. For example, if you write a blog about knitting, you could just type in knitting and have it find suggestions for you. You would get a list of related keyword phrases, as well as how often those phrases are searched for and how much advertiser competition there is for each keyword phrase.

If you typed “knitting” into the Adwords Sandbox tool, for example, you would see results including:

1. “How to knit” – An average of 110,000 searches per month with very high advertiser competition
2. “Loom knitting” – An average of 22,200 searches per month and average advertiser competition
3. “History of knitting” – An average of 2400 searches per month and high advertiser competition

While these tools can be used to choose actual niches for a site or blog, they’re also effective for choosing specific articles. Here, for example, you may decide to do an article on the history of knitting, or a how-to tutorial series for beginners to knitting. (Keep in mind though that to take advantage of high search numbers, you have to rank very well in search engines, and it’s very difficult to do that for general keyword phrases – meaning longer phrases with fewer searches may actually bring you more readers over time.)

A few other article-specific ideas you’ll find in those results for the knitting niche include: “How to Knit a Beanie,” “Sock Knitting Patterns,” and “How to Knit a Blanket.”

Never assume you have nothing left to write about. Take a fresh look and see what you’re missing, what could be improved, and most importantly what your audience actually wants to read, and you’ll always be able to find new ideas.