Hey there, advice for a newbie?

[workfromhome_cmps]

Hi, I am a newly single mother who stays at home looking after my son. I have been writing for a long long time but never thought to do something serious with it. I would like to try freelance copywriting, but don't know the first thing about it. How can I get started? Can anyone help me? I love writing and I could really really use the extra cash- raising a young child alone really hits the wallet pocket. I appreciate any replies, and hope that I may be able to help in return sometime soon. Thanks very much ppls x

[vgal]

jhmattern (here on DP) has some great sites to help you out. Another place I like, and I subscribe to is www.chrisblogging.com There are dozens of great writing forums as well! :)

[rayaan]

Check out Deb Ng's site - Freelance Writing Gigs (www.freelancewritinggigs.com). She has job leads posted everyday too.

About Freelance Writing (www.aboutfreelancewriting.com) also has job leads on alternate days, although you'll find many of them on Craigslist too.

Here at the DP Forums, pay rates are getting lower by the day, but if you look regularly, you'll find a few gems here and there!:D

[HelpAlways]

Hi, I am a newly single mother who stays at home looking after my son. I have been writing for a long long time but never thought to do something serious with it. I would like to try freelance copywriting, but don't know the first thing about it. How can I get started? Can anyone help me? I love writing and I could really really use the extra cash- raising a young child alone really hits the wallet pocket. I appreciate any replies, and hope that I may be able to help in return sometime soon. Thanks very much ppls x

there are no doubt lots of sites for freelance writing ...however a word of caution - dont give any money to any site

[workfromhome_cmps]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it and hope that I may be able to return the favour soon :)

[jedediahd]

write up some samples, and try and find a niche to start. My niche was poker, however I have branched out and now am writing content that ranges from product reviews, to business and finance content, to just about anything really.

[Perry Rose]

Some people have a knack for writing, while others don't. Before anything, write a few articles, and then have them critiqued by family, friends, message board members...

If you have what it takes, then move to the next step.

[d0ggy]

i suggest that first you put a few out there for the masses to react to, get involved in forums (like this one, so good start!), then join groups on facebook, myspace, etc.

first step is to get your name out there, then build a core group of happy customers, then use their experience as your testimonials... just like any business, you just need to get started and build, build build

[Peterbndrs]

You can find plenty of copywriting jobs on freelance sites. Get reliable freelance site details from Jennies blog, my signature link.

[godsofchaos]

Firstly accept my greetings senorita! *...takes a bow...*

If you want my personal opinion, writing wont pay you enough at first... you have to do more than that if you want to earn extra cash... Here in DP there are several ways to do that...

Firstly,

Try to be active here and post regularly, so that when you post count goes up you can sell your signature link to people right here in DP. You can sell your avatar, sig links, RSS feed place, even the place of your location. This whole thing is totally free and should give you extra cash without any thing/investment right?

Secondly,

Check out here under Content Creation (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=102) and bookmark this for your own use. Here you can directly buy/sell content or in other words you can offer your writing to be published elsewhere for cash.

Thirdly,

Always check out the Freebies (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=105) section. There are always some good offers constantly rotating through which can help you earn some extra cash with little effort.

Fourth,

If you have time, start your own blog at blogspot or wordpress (my fav!) and try to get some traffic. You can always sell adspace there directly to advertisers.

Fifth,

Always keep an eye at Contests (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=94) here in DP. Frequently there are such competition for best writing and all that.

Sixth,

Always just PM anyone you feel comfortable with and dont ever hesitate to ask for help, any kind of help! People here in DP are very friendly (most of em including moi).

Seventh,

If you are hired by someone for a service of writing, always, I mean always, take the payment first! Scammers are everywhere!

Lastly,

Tell your son not to be afraid of anything, cause her mother is the best!!! ;)

Cheerios mademoiselle... and remember, help is always a PM away from me! Take care and keep in touch! Godspeed!

[GameOver]

Firstly accept my greetings senorita! *...takes a bow...*

If you want my personal opinion, writing wont pay you enough at first... you have to do more than that if you want to earn extra cash... Here in DP there are several ways to do that...

Firstly,

Try to be active here and post regularly, so that when you post count goes up you can sell your signature link to people right here in DP. You can sell your avatar, sig links, RSS feed place, even the place of your location. This whole thing is totally free and should give you extra cash without any thing/investment right?

Secondly,

Check out here under Content Creation (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=102) and bookmark this for your own use. Here you can directly buy/sell content or in other words you can offer your writing to be published elsewhere for cash.

Thirdly,

Always check out the Freebies (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=105) section. There are always some good offers constantly rotating through which can help you earn some extra cash with little effort.

Fourth,

If you have time, start your own blog at blogspot or wordpress (my fav!) and try to get some traffic. You can always sell adspace there directly to advertisers.

Fifth,

Always keep an eye at Contests (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=94) here in DP. Frequently there are such competition for best writing and all that.

Sixth,

Always just PM anyone you feel comfortable with and dont ever hesitate to ask for help, any kind of help! People here in DP are very friendly (most of em including moi).

Seventh,

If you are hired by someone for a service of writing, always, I mean always, take the payment first! Scammers are everywhere!

Lastly,

Tell your son not to be afraid of anything, cause her mother is the best!!! ;)

Cheerios mademoiselle... and remember, help is always a PM away from me! Take care and keep in touch! Godspeed!

thats some great advice, its really inspired me to start this kind of work.

[iWrite]

Do not write for anyone for less than $0.01/word, its an insult to yourself and writers everywhere.

[abotcaya]

I'm a newbie. Although I've been freelancing for a while. I have written for only $2 for a 500- 700 word article. I didn't know that $0.01/word is the standard. sorry for that.

[what]

^ you don't need to be apologetic.

[SuperSkyRockets]

I am considering starting copywriting too, what I was intending to do was to build up a post count on a few other forums then do a thread about offering a few free articles to 10 individual people in exchange for a testimonial comment on the thread.

Then I was going to open a new thread a few days later (assuming all the testimonials are positive of course) offering articles (again to 10 individuals) that were: $1 for 0-500 words, $2 for 500-1000 words etc but would be 50% off if the publisher gave me a few sentences review via email. To show that I was a quality copywriter I would simply refer people to the threads full of complimentary posts.

My next step was then going to be making a free web page advertising my services including all the email testimonials I had received (as another hook I will be including a link to the publisher's site with each testimonial if they so want) and then use that as 'evidence' of my quality.

A few profiles on some freelancing sites linking to my page, some general traffic building processes and more work generated from forums and steadily rising charges and I believe I can give it a go!

Anybody have any suggestions? Is this a good way to go about things?

[Trusted Writer]

jhmattern (here on DP) has some great sites to help you out.

I have read excellent reviews on jhmattern's skills posted at both webmasters and writers forums and it must be accurate as she is a DP moderator whose reputation and post count talk by themselves http://foolstown.com/sm/web.gif

Dare to write is the attitude to tackle all of your concerns when it comes to making a living from a freelancing job http://foolstown.com/sm/mail.gif

Read a lot, write and improve on a daily basis, submit your work to articles directories or blogs to earn some exposure and keep learning every day http://foolstown.com/sm/lam.gif

I'm putting together a site with free applications tools, tips and reference for both aspiring and professional writers. If anyone find something useful in there feel fee to bookmark this link as further reference: www. trustedwriter.official.ws

P.S. Sorry about my inability to post live links yet and good luck achieving your goal workfromhome_cmps http://foolstown.com/sm/wink.gif

[rhoula]

I joined http://ehow.com and i m so happy i did. The first month i didn't make but few dollars. Then i found the secret to making more cash: have as many friends as possible and whenever you write a new article contact them all and ask them to read your articles and rate them, There are people that make as low as 3 dollras a month and other that make hundred of dollars.
The best I made so far was 11 dollars last month but i m aiming for at least 200 next month. Also try http://rentacoder.com
Good luck

[falguni1]

sorry not related to topic, just a suggestion.
you can also sell your signature in dp and earn extra cash.
many people sell their signatures here.

[Trusted Writer]

sorry not related to topic, just a suggestion.
you can also sell your signature in dp and earn extra cash.
many people sell their signatures here.
This is an interesting approach to a revenue source http://foolstown.com/sm/bird.gif

I was encouraged to join this forum to make a few quck bucks by selling my signature, avatar, location, site URL and blog feed to other DP members.
Even though you must be aware that building a reputation and posting quality threads and replies are essential in order to get the best deals http://foolstown.com/sm/umn.gif

[Seymour Cash]

You can sell your avatar, sig links, RSS feed place, even the place of your location.

And here's me just reading posts for the last 3 months .....:rolleyes:

Hello ppl:)

[Seymour Cash]

I didn't know that $0.01/word is the standard. sorry for that.

Far be it for me to tell you what you should charge, but i wouldn't get out of bed for that.

[natkay2603]

Great advice "godsofchaos"

[marigold]

Hi all,
I am new too and I'm Italian... do you think I'd be able to find any freelance jobs abroad?
Writing in Italy is a privilege given to a small élite :(
(and not only writing, I'd say...)

thanks all and have a nice weekend!

[1associate]

I locate opportunities for copywriting services (among other things PR, creative and events' production related) on the phone - business to business. I talk to people in marketing departments about anything they outsource - try to anyway! Most bigger companies (in my experience) employ someone in house to write copy - but some outsource. In smaller companies (ie those employing less than 500) you often find that the director or manager of the marketing team is tasked with writing copy - they usually like to do this, can turn out good copy themselves and wouldn't trust anyone else to do it but sometimes they find it very time consuming and would like to find someone else to do it - if only they could! Obviously it's the latter I search for on the phone. If they are in this situation they want introductions to copywriters who have knowledge of their sector, products and services or writers with proven track records of research and writing for a diverse range of products and services. If you have knowledge of a particular product or service, have you tried contacting companies that produce and provide them? PM me if you want some advice on selling your services on the phone.

I was in a similar situation to yours (about 18 years ago) so I'd like to be of assistance - this offer does not include baby-sitting!

Also, have you considered creating your own blog or website and the adsense route? You'll see there's loads of information and advice about doing this on here. If I'd found DP before I started I'd have avoided so many mistakes!

[jmccarthy1948]

You might try getting into Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Reports site / program. It is supposed to allow you create articles / ebooks and have them available to be used by many other marketers.

[smileydog]

You really want to focus on learning how to do it right, which many copywriters do by imitating good copy of others. Rewriting, copying it, learning the tricks they are using in their sales copy. You can often find great free giveaways by some online copywriting gurus, and of course there are expensive courses, but start small and within your budget.

I don't know that I agree with some of the suggestions above. Don't write for pennies. Don't sell your work on sites that have too many sellers listing their work and few buyers. You are better off going to Elance, Getafreelancer.com, and some other freelance sites. Bid on some jobs, do your best and get ratings. Don't surf the low paying webmaster posts, you'll spend a lot of time making no money. Yes you want to build a portfolio, but you can post samples of your work on a blog, to attract clients.

On my site I just posted an interview with Tiffany Dow, who started out as a ghostwriter, stay at home mom to be with her child. She's now making six figures, and has an online writing career anyone can learn from. Good luck!

SueC