The Secret to Becoming a Better Freelance Writer is…

Posted on April 19, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

The secret to becoming a better freelance writer is no secret.

It’s not hidden in some cryptic text nor is only known to a select people.

You can become a better freelance writer by doing 3 things: reading, writing, and networking.

If someone has come up to you and tries to sell you something that will help you become a really good freelance writer, no matter how great the speech is or convincing the “evidence” are, do not fall for it.

The answer you’ve been looking for is not found in some course or guide.

You’ll find it within you.

Reading

Reading will allow you to learn new things. As a writer, it is your job to continuously obtain information. You have to read a lot—newspapers, magazines, blogs, forums, etc.

These are awesome places to get new information on your niche. Not only will you get new facts, you will also be able to adapt new writing styles from people who are really good in writing.

I have always kept an open mind about my writing style. I make sure that I know how to modify the tone I use when writing different stuff. I believe this is going to help in churning out persuasive articles, blogs, even news articles. When you know how to adapt a particular writing tone and style, you will be able to easily establish a connection with your readers.

You will be able to write a lot more effectively when you know a lot of things.

You’ll learn a lot of things by reading.

Writing

Practice makes perfect. We’ve all been taught this at an early age.

If you want to be a really good writer, you have to continually hone your skills. Try to search for resources that will teach you tips on the proper use of grammar, how articles need to be formatted for specific article submission sites, the proper structure of facts when writing press releases and news, etc.

Once you know how to structure certain types of written materials are, you should practice.

You won’t get it right the first time, so you’ll need to do it over and over until you it comes to you effortlessly.

This should not be too daunting for you since writing is (and should be) a passion of yours.

Networking

All freelance writers need to network to get a steady flow of projects. You need the help of other people to get clients. This is why a lot of freelancers comment on blogs, participate in forums, and create accounts in social networking sites.

The power of networking is so huge it can keep you busy for the years to come. Don’t expect projects to come land on your doorstep. Unless you are a tremendously popular writer, clients will not ask you to do something for them.

You have to seek them out.

Networking will help you do that.

These 3 things should be enough to help you improve your writing skills, add something to the stuff you already know, and connect with the right people to get writing projects that will keep your freelance writing business alive.

What about you? Do you have a certain formula that makes you a better freelance writer? Feel free to share it with the rest of us.

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Ways to Create Compelling Content from Copyblogger

Posted on April 12, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

One of the worst things a writer can experience is not having an idea what to write about. It’s hard to produce content when the well is dry.

When you find yourself having difficulties coming up with ideas for your posts, consider these tips I saw in Copyblogger.

22 Ways to Create Compelling Content - Infographic
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

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Tips on How to Find Writing Projects

Posted on April 5, 2012 by TheCouchWriter
Find writing projects

Photo credit: David Castillo Dominici

Having troubles finding projects?

There are several freelance writers who, despite the availability of different writing projects, still find it hard to get a client. This is despite having their resumes stored in different job boards. For someone who has been trying to snag a client, constant rejection can lead to desperation.

It can even lead to feelings of self doubt. This is not something you should ever entertain in your mind.

There could be other things that are causing your difficulties in finding a writing job.

After pondering on my previous experiences and the stuff I’ve read in various blogs, I’ve listed some tips that can help you find writing projects that pay well.

Don’t depend too much on job boards

Sites like Odesk and Freelancer.com are great to find tons of writing projects. These are sites I used to go when I was starting out because you can quickly find clients. The only downside is most of the projects you can find here (based on my experience) pay peanuts.

Most buyers (again, based on my experience) offer very low rates. For example, a 350-word article typically sells for $1 to $1.50. Considering how much other writers are making for every article, these are unbelievably low.

After being in Odesk for a long time, I was able to get a couple of projects where I was able to charge $5 for a 350-word article. That is still low if you compare it to what most freelancers are getting, but that’s an improvement.

I don’t recommend you to depend on these sites largely because you will end up working for very low rates. I’ve been reading various blogs and forums and most writers there don’t advise people to look for reasonable rates here.

Use social networking sites

Today, the power of social media is enormous and getting connected to the right people can bring in great business. Social networking sites are effective in marketing yourself as a writer. By being active in these sites, it’s easier for you to find clients that can give you really good projects.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are just some of the most popular social networking sites.

Create a blog and make it good

As a freelance writer, it would seem weird if you don’t have a blog. Blogging, actually, can help you market your services well. You can use this as a way to let people know how awesome you write. This will also showcase your expertise on a certain niche.

By making sure your blog is relevant, informative, and beneficial, you’ll be able to gather a huge following. You can use your blog as a portfolio whenever you’re applying for a certain job or this can pave the way for clients to propose a job to you.

Hand out business cards or flyers

This is one of the traditional means of marketing services. It may be old school but it’s certainly not outdated. This can still be very effective.

Get a really good graphic artist and have him design a cool business card. Then hand it out to every potential client you meet. Social gatherings and seminars are great places to hand out business cards and flyers. Or you can leave them in various establishments, like hotels you’ve been to or fledgling restaurants. Who knows, they might need a writer for some of their advertising campaigns.

Knock on your (potential) clients’ doors

Nothing beats using the direct method. If you come across someone who you think is a potential client, let’s say a manager of some company at some event, you can always ask them if they need the services of a writer. It may be a long shot and not everyone you ask may actually need a writer, but there is always a possibility they’ll remember you when the need arises.

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9 Writing Projects for Freelance Writers

Posted on March 28, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

Photo credit: Stuart Miles

For sure you have read a lot of blogs and articles, even forum threads, which talk about the different ways you can make money online.

This post is going to be similar to those things.

But why read this when it’s only going to talk about the same stuff being talked about by other bloggers?

Maybe because these are things that helped me make real money by writing for the web. A lot of friends have asked me tips on how they can make money through the web. Fortunately, I have obtained enough experience to give them some advice.

This list, I hope, is going to be extremely helpful to newbies.

Web content

This is the most common writing project I get. Most of the people I worked for had me create content for their websites.

This is challenging because you have to make sure that you write something impressive and persuasive. It has to be something that will interpret the vision of the company and convey the right message the client wants to tell its target market.

Web content can be any of the following:

-       About Us

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Want to Start Freelance Writing? Read this First

Posted on March 26, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

Photo credit: jscreationzs

If you have finally decided to start freelance writing, then you should read this first.

Taking off from a previous post, the first thing you need to think about is if you are getting into freelance writing for the right reasons. Nothing is more terrible than doing something that you are not really interested in. That would often lead to disaster.

You know how annoying I get when people think of freelance writing as something that would make them work less. They have this misconception that it offers an easy way out of their corporate woes. So if you want to become a freelance writer, I suggest you consider these things first:

It’s not going to make you work less hours

Other people are amazed at how much time freelance writers seem to have to do the things they like. As a result, they want to do this too, thinking that they do not have to work long hours.

This is false.

As a freelance writer, you will need to clock in as much hours as you would any job. The only difference is there are projects that get finished quickly. Don’t think that being a freelance writer means you can spend most of the day for leisure. As a matter of fact, you will be clocking in more hours especially  when the projects start pouring in.

Just bear this in mind: the amount of time you work directly affects how much you get

So if you want to get into this because you want to work for only 2 hours a day, then don’t expect to make a lot of money.

You will not make a tons of money at the beginning

There are lots of successful freelance writers who are earning huge profits. If you think this is going to happen to you right away, you are delusional. You have to invest a lot of time and effort and establish a name for yourself before asking for a huge asking price.

It’s not that you have to settle with cheap projects. You don’t have to work for peanuts, but since you are still new, there is not much chances for you to get huge projects.

You cannot just take off and wander to different places

A lot of freelance writers, those who have been doing it for a long time already, can take vacations whenever they want. This is because they have already streamlined their work schedule. Don’t think that just because they can go to any place they want, they don’t get to do any work. It’s just a matter of time management.

You need to be 100% committed

This is very important. To make a decent living out of freelance writing, you will need to be committed to it 100%. If you are committed to your job, then everything else will follow.

You are going to make a lot of sacrifices

Freelance writing is just like any other job–it requires a lot of sacrifices. For you to become good at it, you will need to give up a few liberties like going out with friends on a certain day, watching a lot of T.V., etc. In the end, you’ll see that these things will pay off.

Just like every other job, with dedication and hard work, you can become successful in writing

This is the most important thing you have to bear in mind. The only way to start freelance writing and become extremely successful, you need to be committed and work hard.

I advise you to take a few minutes to think about these things. Freelance writing is an awesome career but the road is not always smooth. However, it does not matter what challenges may come along if you have prepared yourself well.

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I Hate It when People Ask Me to Teach Them How to Become a Freelance Writer

Posted on March 22, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

Photo credit: imagerymajestic

You know what annoys me a lot? It’s when friends or people I used to go to school with ask me to teach them how to become a freelance writer.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t want to share the stuff I know, it’s just the attitude these people have. If you have been a freelance writer for quite some time now, then you would be familiar with this scenario:

You see old friends or old people you know and end up talking about work. They ask you where you go to work and you tell them you work at home as a freelance writer. They ask how that works and you explain it to them. After realizing how awesome it would be to work at home because of the freedom it gives you, they pop the question: can you teach me how to do that?

This is what really irks me.

You know why?

Most of the time, these people ask me to teach them how to write not because they want to make a career out of writing but only because they do not want to go through the daily grind.

They do not like their boss.

They do not want to commute to work.

They are not satisfied with their salary.

They want to work from 9 to 5.

They want to choose when and where they do work.

They are not doing it for the right reasons. This sounds familiar?

Most people think that being a freelance writer is the coolest and easiest job in the world. It is if you’re truly passionate about it and if you’ve invested a lot of effort in becoming good at it.

Don’t get into this if you simply want to have a more flexible working schedule or you do not want to be under the supervision of a strict boss.

Do this only if you are passionate about writing.

If they said they’ve always wanted to become a writer but never had the opportunity, then I would be more than willing to help them out, even hook them up with some clients. But no, out of everyone who’s asked me how this whole thing works, only a few people have managed to last despite the challenges because they really love writing.

The rest simply thinks it’s a job that does not require you to do a lot of work. That’s disrespectful of the craft and that’s what really annoys me.

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The Importance of Keeping Your Blogs Updated

Posted on March 15, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

Take it from me, although you know the ways on how to make sure your blog constantly gets traffic and is crawled by search engines, you’d still find yourself scratching your head a lot of times. Why? It’s because no one is going to your blog.

If you are someone like me, who’s juggling a full-time client and some side projects, you’d definitely find yourself trying to squeeze in more hours during the day to maintain your blog just so you can meet all your deadlines. Though it’s easy to just not accept more work, if you’re a struggling freelancer, you’d grab on every opportunity to write for money.

Unfortunately at certain times, this means your blog gets sacrificed.

And since your time is consumed by these projects, you will have very little time to focus on your blog. That’s what happened to me. And when I think about it, I am disappointed with all the time wasted. Months passed and the blog is still where I left it: in the unknown recesses of readers’ minds.

I look at Analytics and get dismayed by the amount of traffic that goes to the site each month. If I want to make something out of this blog, then I have to start getting some traffic!

But how will it get traffic when it has nothing new to offer the few people that read it?

It is very important that we keep our blogs updated all the time.

New, fresh content that is uploaded in blogs is going to help drive more traffic. It can even make search engines start to take notice. Remember that search engines love fresh content, since you want to get to the top of search engines, give them what they want.

Start writing more regularly on your blog.

Now, you might think that this is easier said than done, especially when you have a full-time job. But if you really want it to work, you will find a way. Besides, how hard is it to write a 350-word post in a day? or a week?

When you regularly update your blog…

  • You show your followers that you care about them by continuously providing them with information that they can use.
  • You increase your blog and make it an authority site
  • You establish yourself as an expert on your chosen niche
  • Search engines will give you a better ranking because of fresh content
  • You’ll generate more traffic

How about you? Did you like the post? Share your inputs, opinion, suggestion or experiences with blogging by leaving a comment below.

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The Death of SOPA

Posted on January 20, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

Well, everyone has something to smile about because the main sponsor of the bill, Lamar Smith, has pulled the plug on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

After the pull out of support by some congressmen and protests from big websites (Wikipedia, Reddit, etc.) several days ago, it seemed like there is some hope for the bill to not push through despite Smith’s earlier statements of “moving forward” with the bill.

Fortunately for a lot of people, the congressman has changed his mind after considering the feedback of critics.

It’s a huge relief to individuals who depend largely on the Internet for making a living like bloggers, affiliate marketers, and freelance writers. Even users who want to find information easily online will benefit from this.

Smith says that he has considered the feedback from critics and decided to pull the bill “until there is a wide agreement on the solution.”

Read more about this by clicking this link.

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SOPA’s Effects on Freelance Writers – Why You Need to be Very Worried

Posted on January 19, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

The SOPA (or Stop Online Piracy Act) is currently getting a lot of attention because of the huge impact it may have on Internet usage. To put it briefly, a lot of people believe that passing the bill will hinder free Internet use. It can have tremendous negative effects on every person who owns a website.

I think this will also affect freelance writers in a huge way.

Read what the entire bill in this link: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3261:

What is the bill all about?

I have done quite some reading about it and based from those, here are the things I’ve learned:

(Disclaimer: I am not very good in interpreting legal and technical stuff. I may not fully understand the issue completely, but I do read a lot to ensure I have a good idea of what I am talking about.)

SOPA is designed to prevent copyright infringement by preventing websites from providing pirated content like movies. This will affect websites operated by U.S. citizens and foreign individuals. If approved, this will allow the U.S. government to take actions against websites that may open the possibility for copyright infringement.

Based on the bill, a website that has the potential to infringe copyright is basically anything that will have a comment box where people can type in or post anything, including videos, photos, etc. that can included copyrighted materials.

If your website is found guilty, the government can take several actions, even if you are not a U.S. resident. It can do any of the following:

  • Make the search engines disable links to your site.
  • Block access to your website, so when people type in your URL, nothing comes up.
  • Make the attorney general to require credit card processors to stop making payments to your site. It will also stop advertising networks from putting ads on your site or transferring them to another compliant site.
  • Take legal action against the website owner that hosts pirated materials. This can also include the companies who own copyright to the materials used.

What harm can it do?

The bill means well, from my point of view. Who does not want to stop online piracy? It has been a huge problem for all countries. It has stolen billions of dollars to companies who work hard in creating content. It has affected millions of people and disrespected copyright owners.

The only problem is, which is also what a lot of people believe, that the bill is so broad it can make even innocent website owners liable and get thrown in jail for something they did not want to do.

Why?

One of the sections state how websites operated by foreigners can be subjected to legal actions if they are found guilty of infringing copyright–even if it’s not the fault of the site owner. Take blogs that allow user comments as an example. Blog owners do not have control of what the users post in the comments section. And in case someone posts a copyrighted material there, you, being the owner, is going to be liable.

This is what scares a lot of people (like me).

The bill can help content owners target websites that unknowingly hosts pirated content, like social networking sites that rely heavily on user-posted content.

What worries a lot of people, even those like Mark Zuckerberg, is it can affect the free use of Internet. It can keep people from accessing and disseminating information online. It will affect the way people use the web.

Even cybersecurity experts say that this can pave the way for hackers to wreak havoc.

How does this affect freelance writers?

I strongly believe that it affects everyone of us. This is why so many people, especially on Facebook, are strongly opposed to the bill.

Freelance writers are among those who are going to suffer a lot if and when this bill passes. Why?

There are two types of freelance writers: those who make money only by writing for certain clients and those who also have their own websites where they promote their services and other products.

Those who write for clients may lose their jobs because their clients are most definitely website owners who could be among those who are affected by the bill. Since their clients no longer have blogs or websites that generate revenue, they will have no need for content writers.

They will no longer have use for you.

Those who maintain their own websites are going to suffer the same way. They will no longer earn money from advertising and the products they are promoting. What’s worse is that they can get thrown to jail or labeled a felon because of the stuff their users can post on their websites.

To sum it up, SOPA means well, at least that’s what I think, but the specifications (or lack thereof) about certain provisions can be very alarming to a lot of people. If it can cause loss of millions of jobs and throw people in jail for things they did not do, then I don’t think it’s something that is going to benefit anyone. It can make things worse.

More importantly, if it hinders the freedom of speech and freedom to information, then it should not be supported.

Surely there is a better way to protect intellectual property rights and stop online piracy, right?

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Land More Freelance Writing Projects with these Marketing Tips

Posted on January 15, 2012 by TheCouchWriter

When I first started out in freelance writing, I thought that this is the perfect job because you do not get to do anything else. You just have to write all the time.

You don’t have to spend hours coding a site, editing photos, or obtaining leads through cold calling and other techniques. That, however, changed when I realized that I wanted to make a lifelong career.

I realized that a successful freelance writer is not just skilled in composing and structuring coherent sentences. One has to continually market his services to stay in the game.

If you do not take the time to learn how to market your services, you will soon find yourself in the “famine phase” quicker than you think. Even if you have mad writing skills and impressed a previous client, without the right marketing techniques, you will not land jobs in the future.

The competition is very stiff. If you don’t let people know you are offering your services, your career could end as quickly as it began.

Here are some tips that I have learned on how you can effectively market yourself as a freelance writer:

Always send a “Thank You” email to your latest client

Each time you complete a project, it would be a nice gesture to send your client an email thanking them of the opportunity. In my experience, this helps bring more writing projects because the client will see that you are professional and sincere. Clients like freelancers who are both.

When you thank them, they’ll know that you value the experience more than the money you’d earn. This will leave a good impression on them. And when they need some more work done, they are most likely to contact you. They can even refer you to their friends who may need help.

I keep it a point to email clients each time a project is done. I don’t only thank them in the message. I let them know that I’ve enjoyed writing the articles and that I would love to write more for them in the future. It’s as simple as that.

Update your resumes online

You may have uploaded your resumes on different job databases before. Don’t forget to update them constantly. Add the work experiences you have been getting. There will always be employers looking for freelance writers. If they chance upon your profile and see that you have extensive writing experience, they are most certainly going to consider you.

To this day, I continually update my resume in one of the many databases I’ve submitted to before and I still get job offers occasionally. This can give you additional income.

Join groups in Facebook or LinkedIn

Effective marketing can be achieved by connecting with other people. This is why Facebook and LinkedIn are great tools for marketing yourself as a freelance writer. Join the different groups related to freelancing and always browse the page. There will always be people asking for help on an article, sales copy, or press release.

I am a member of a couple of freelancing groups on Facebook and I have already landed a writing project. The good thing about this is you do not have to actively seek out projects.

Read a lot of blogs and comment

Always read blogs on freelancing. These will not only teach you a lot of things. You will get a very good opportunity to connect with others and market your services. Comment on posts that you find informative. Your comments will be read by hundreds of other people and, as a result, will help get your name out there.

Put a link to your website or any profile when you leave comments. That should make it easy for other blog readers to reach you.

Team up with other freelancers

Collaboration is a great way to market your services. When you work with other freelancers, there is a big possibility that they refer you to other people they know. You can get more writing projects by word-of-mouth advertising. It will not cost you money or effort. It will also help you make new friends.

I have collaborated (several times) with friends who are also freelancers and have been referred to some people already. It’s a really great way to advertise your services.

It’s great to be able to write for a living. But make sure that you do not fall into a rut because you no longer get writing jobs. Always make it a point to learn something about branding and marketing yourself as a freelancer. It will help you stay employed for a longer time.

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