Few tips for those starting out

I get PM's now and then asking about how to gain larger clients, how to market yourself, how do you get started, etc. Just thought I would pop a few pointers down here that might help.

This is far from an exhaustive list, so please keep that in mind.

If you are new to writing and want to get started
This is a tricky one because there is no right or wrong way to get started. However, you need to know how you are doing and one of the best ways of doing this is by submitting to article websites or even forums like this asking for some critique. Without feedback, you will never really know what level you are writing at.

And remember, you never stop learning. Never think that because you have been writing for a few months or years that you can't learn something else.

One good way is to offer to write for those looking for blog articles. Remember that as a new writer, you need to build up your reputation. Write for free until you get a feel for what you are doing or just offer your services out at a nominal fee. This should be viewed as training for you, so don't expect much in return at the start.

Are there any training courses for writing?
Absolutely! Just about every college will run courses in writing at different levels. You have to decide where to start. Some will offer to take a sample of your work and tell you where is a good place to start. You may also wish to ask for recommendations for books or online courses, although I will not endorse or point you to any of those myself. ask around though, there will be plenty.

What types of writing can I do?
Press Releases, SEO Content, Sales Pages, News Articles, Technical Documents, Management Reports, Feasibility Studies, Reviews, Re-Writes... It is pretty much an endless list. Where you see content, someone has written this. These are just a few examples.

What can I charge?
This is very much down to yourself and your competency levels. Are you genuinely able to write a document, charge $20 for it and know it is good value for money? Do you understand the different writing styles, the target audience and most importantly, do you understand how to research correctly?

Some start out at charging just a few cents up to those at a professional level who charge up to $150+ per article.

Of course, there are many factors to be taken into account here. You wouldn't charge someone $10 for a 6 page review. Be realistic and understand where you fit, but never try to undersell yourself. if you do, you dig a hole that it is hard to get out of. At the same time, be flexible and if someone offers you on-going work, strike a deal and give them a discount to keep them coming back.

How do I market my services?
Get creative! Forums such as DP are a good place to look, but you are missing a world of opportunities if you limit yourself. A few other ideas are the likes of a website dedicated to this topic - write 20 articles on a chosen subject and get them included in Google news - offer to write a series of posts for a blog for free - submit your profile to some of the freelance writers websites - write a series of news articles for your local paper as a feature... There are so many ways to do this, it just takes a little bit of thinking outside of the box.

I hope that helps a little but if you have other questions, please feel free to post here or drop me a PM. I will try and help where I can.

Regards,

Andy

 

Hey Andy,

It looks like you put up a decent amount of effort in offering these valuable tips... Thanks a ton. Though I am quite an experienced writers on this forum, still I feel I will be able to benefit from your tips.

Good job mate!

 

As long as there is some benefit then all is good

 

I see some people selling articles at ten cents apiece. *facepalm*

 

Great points you made Andy!

You made two, so basic but so rarely used. There is no way to get rich quick writing. You learn and adapt, or you stagnate. Creativity means taking something already done, adding a twist, and making it better.

I have a classic book, “The Science of Getting Rich.”, anyone can request (FREE). With reformatting, I made the book, for you to make one simple change. The header on each page will then read, “Compliments of company, website, email ” Inside you add a link or ad to your services.

You let your client give all his customers/clients a free copy. For those understanding opt-in email, this is a free gift he puts on his website. The client loves you, and you gain business from your link inside. Nothing brilliant, just an example of a creative idea.

I will be previewing within a week, for inspection and comments for help and suggestions, a quality article directory. Creative in that is designed to benefit writers and leads business readers to use DP members services.

There are many members here that share, thanks Andy. You are right, just one and it makes it feel worthwhile.

To juliespaulding1, I can give 20,000 articles (all subjects) for free ---seriously. These are called PLR articles, only worthwhile more making free giveaway Ebooks to get customers.