Free Guide to Copywriting Part 1

Starting out a career as a copywriter can be a little daunting. There’s a lot to take on board, skills to master and learning to deal with clients you may never meet and who probably live on the other side of the world.

There are certain things and strategies that need to be learnt especially if you plan on providing copy for Internet marketers. Setting yourself up to work from home is relatively easy and inexpensive, but you need to be able to win projects so you can pay the bills and the only way you can do this is by building up fantastic feedback and reviews on sites you choose to work on!

Get your Free Guide to Copywriting Part 1 Here!

This guide to copywriting provides lots of tips, things to avoid and advice on how to set up your copywriting business so that you earn the kind of income you need to survive in a competitive world.

Remember, working from home is great, but it has its drawbacks too. You need to be very disciplined and you have to want to succeed without cutting any corners or lowering your standards to do so.

The key to being a successful copywriter is to be consistent, take your time when you craft an article for a client and be proud to have your name attributed to copy you write!

Part One is all about the basics, the things you need to know and where to look for work. But it’s also about the sort of mindset you need to be a successful copywriter!

Happy reading!

 

Get your Free Guide to Copywriting Part 1 Here!

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Where to Find Copywriting Jobs Online

Finding copywriting work online can be a real headache, not only are well paid jobs hard to come across, but the competition is rife too. It can be pretty frustrating which results in many freelancers having to take on part-time work to make ends meet.

The good news is there’s a choice of freelancer job sites out there which are all  platforms where people can post projects and look for work, but the bad news is some are not as professionally run as others. These include the following sites which I’ve listed based on personal preference rather than anything else.

Peopleperhour

• Easy to navigate and as professional as you will get these days
• Free to register
• Rates are not that exhorbitant
• Receiving payment from the site is fast and efficient
• Disputes are dealt with fairly and in a timely fashion
• Site admin is sometimes very efficient other times you tend to get robotic replies which can be frustrating
• Community was one that could be trusted, but more and more fake identities are appearing on the scene which is a real shame for members who opt to be more transparent

Guru

• Quite hard to navigate which makes looking for relevant and interesting projects to bid on a time consuming exercise
• Free to register
• Rates are just about acceptable
• Receiving payment from the site could be made a little easier
• Disputes are dealt with in a strange and long winded manner
• Site admin appears to be efficient, but it’s often hard to get across just what is wrong – again you often get robotic replies back for any queries you may have
• Community is a mixed batch of employers who want to pay peanuts for top quality work and members who are willing to provide the work which tends to lower the standards of the site. Quite a few fake identities which makes it hard to know who you are working for or who is actually providing the copy if you are an employer

Elance

• Another hard site to navigate which means it is time consuming to find work or post a job on the site
• Free to register but you have to buy credits in order to work on the site
• Rates are just about acceptable
• Receiving payment from the site is not the easiest in the world!
• Disputes are dealt with pretty efficiently, but tend to always favour employers
• Site admin – hard to deal with if there is a problem due to robotic and automated responses which can be very frustrating
• Community is a mixed batch of amateurs, semi-professionals and professionals, but jobs tend to be very poorly paid. Again lots of fake identities which makes working on this platform pretty hard

Freelancer

• A site that was at one time a pretty nice platform to work on, but sadly as it got bigger it became one of the worst around which is a shame
• Free to register
• Rates are quite high these days which makes it harder to find well paid work
• Receiving payment from the site is a real pain and often takes far too long which is unacceptable in this digital world
• Disputes are dealt with in an okay manner although they always tend to lean towards project creators which is another big minus for the site
• Admin is robotic and not really available to settle any disputes or answer queries in a professional manner which can be frustrating
• Community is a complete shambles with many, many fake identities having been allowed to “rule” the roost which makes it a very hard platform to work on

Alternative Ways to Find Work

There are alternative ways to find work, which includes setting up your own website, but this needs to be done in a very professional manner. You can use Craiglist, but again I’ve heard of many copywriters who’ve encountered many problems getting their invoices paid.

Another option is to submit a request through websites like the Writer’s Job Board .  It’s just one of the platforms around that allows you to apply for copywriting jobs that cover many different niches. Another plus in going down this route being that most of the jobs posted also provide submission guidelines which makes it easier for copywriters to work to. Finally, and as a real bonus these jobs tend to be very well paid  as compared to those posted on freelancer websites.

There are other sites offering a similar ‘job board’ service and I will publish these in future posts which hopefully will make it that much easier for copywriters to find work and earn a respectable living to boot!

Author: Honey Wood

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Are Your Bids Getting Ignored?

It can be really frustrating when you place a load of bids on various projects only to find they get ignored. Worse still, glancing over the profile of the person who won the job, makes it even harder to fathom. Don’t despair, every writer goes through it and the one thing you should never do is take it personally!

There’s no “proper way” of putting across a proposal for a project advertised on a freelance job website and if anyone tells you there is, chances are they are newbies to the game. Every client is different, they are looking for different things and most are hoping or planning to spend as little money as possible whenever they can.

I say “most” because there are some clients out there who know the value of great copy and content. They set themselves realistic budgets that copywriters can easily work to.

Things to Consider Before You Place a Bid

The most important part of putting a bid together starts way before you press the send button and includes the following:

• Read the brief and then read it again
• Check out where the client is based
• Check clarification boards to see what questions other people are asking

Making Sure You Understand the Brief

Reading a brief at least twice is essential because you are more likely to fully understand project requirements. If you don’t you could end up sending in a bid that really isn’t relevant to the project. Result? Your proposal gets ignored.

Check Where the Client is Based

Checking where a client is actually based is also an essential pre-bidding strategy. If English is not their native tongue, be prepared for a longer haul in the “getting to grips” with project requirements department.

Not fully understanding project requirements due to a language barrier can be disastrous. Result? Your bid gets put to the bottom of the pile and ignored which is probably the best thing that could happen!

Check Clarification Boards

It’s really important to check clarification boards because these can tell you a lot about the project and the client too! If they can’t be bothered to answer questions other people have asked, will they bother to look at your proposal? Answer – probably not. Result? Your proposal doesn’t make it past the starting post, might be worth saving the bid for another more worthwhile project.

Questions you need to ask yourself – not the client!

• Is the subject matter something you feel comfortable writing about?
• Has the client set a realistic deadline?
• Is the budget one you can work to (not forgetting to deduct any fees)?
• Is the client asking for way too much for the money they’re offering?
• Does the client come across as far too demanding maybe even curt?
• Is their English good, fair, bad, diabolical?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself because at the end of the day, do you really want to work for someone who ticks all the boxes listed above? Times may be hard and money tight, but you need to respect your own values as a copywriter.

Avoid Temptation

It’s important to work through a third party website until you’ve built up a loyal and reliable client-base of your own. Don’t be tempted to give out private contact details even when you’ve been awarded a project. Keep things professional.

Giving out a private email or Skype address makes it too personal. There are a lot of rather unscrupulous people out there who will think nothing of taking advantage of a situation if given the chance. Working through a third party keeps things simple and way more professional on all levels.

Lastly Don’t Take it Personally

If you find the majority of your bids just simply vanish into thin virtual air and you don’t even get a “sorry, we chose another writer” message – don’t take it personally. There are a lot of rude clients out there in the virtual world. The good news is there are a lot of polite ones too which means perseverance is definitely the order of the day.

Happy bidding!

Author: Honey Wood

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How to Cope with Career Transitions

It goes without saying that for most people a change in career can be a daunting experience. Whether you’re leaving a successful career to start your own business, or just simply moving to a new company, the decision to take the leap is often full of uncertainties and fear.

Some people cope better than others, although it would be fair to say the majority don’t, which is why it’s important to appreciate that it’s perfectly normal to go through phases of fear, then uncertainty before embracing what the future may bring.

Tackling the uncertainty of making a career change is not something that should be taken lightly. It takes a certain amount of courage and self belief, but it also means knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses. The three stages that follow such an important decision can prove debilitating which is why it’s so important to appreciate just what it all entails so you can then deal with everything in a positive manner.

The First Stage

The first stage is a completely natural fear of the uncertainty that lays ahead. Acceptance of this being a perfectly normal emotion to experience  is a positive step forward. Coming to terms with fear is knowing how to root out the causes. The next step is to jot them down in question form before answering each one of them in turn. An example would be “How will I cope financially?” and then answering the question by noting down all available options.

The Second Stage

The second stage is to overcome all and any uncertainties. Many “in the know” believe that writing down uncertainties in question form and then answering each of them helps restore confidence. More often than not it is a fear of not being able to earn enough money that instils uncertainty, but there’s always a solution which includes taking on a role as a consultant, as a freelancer, cutting down on a few unnecessary expenses and so on.

Then of course, there’s the all-important networking and the best way to build up a business network is to meet people face-to-face by attending organised events in industries of interest. The people you meet at these events could well become future clients or employers.

The Third Stage

The third stage is to embrace fear and uncertainty and turn them into strong assets. This is achieved by simply having an appreciation of just what you might be afraid of, by overcoming any uncertainties which then means all that’s left to do is take action. Treating life as an experiment is the route to go down because not every decision has to be the perfect one. Life is about “trial and error” and taking a few risks, making mistakes is par for the course.

Taking life a little less seriously helps ensure the ups and downs can be embraced and even enjoyed which in the end means a much happier existence. However, it’s also important to define success in your own personal way and not base this on how others may perceive it. This can only be done by defining the trade-offs you may have to make when changing careers.

Author: Honey Wood

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Freelancer Job Websites – Good and Bad

I signed up with lots of freelancer job websites when I first started out penning marketing articles for internet clients and over time whittled these down to an amazing ‘one’ site that seemed to be worthwhile and not a total waste of time and effort.

 

I say worthwhile because it’s the only one that’s not only easy enough to navigate but it’s a more serious working platform to work on too. With this said, there are still certain factors which could be improved, but there’s no pleasing everyone. The main problem, however, seems to be an eternal issue, namely how to protect ‘project creators’ and then how to protect ‘freelance providers’.

 

Protection

 

Now, when I say protect, I mean ensure projects are genuine, making sure writers actually get paid when they’ve completed the work and making certain “disputes” are dealt with fairly taking a close look at both sides which includes examining their profiles, feedback, reliability, loyalty to the site etc.

 

It is easy enough to create a website where people can post jobs and a few of them claim to have won awards. It’s also easy enough to take member’s fees but what about backup? What about the need to support members which after all, is the mainstay of a respected and therefore, successful business.

 

 

This is where many freelancing websites fall down and much  like any other business whether it’s an online or offline affair. success means growth and if management doesn’t remain on the ball, they lose touch with the people who put them in business in the first place, namely “the client”.

 

Now we need to ask ourselves ‘who are these clients’? Well, the answer is simple because it is everyone who pays them a commission for the service they provide, namely both project creators and providers.

 

Where I feel these sites fall short is they appear to favour project creators when a dispute is raised. The unfortunate thing being there is bound to be a percentage of projects that go wrong and it is usually the writers who have to bear the brunt of not getting rewarded for their hard labours. In the majority of cases (but not all), admin will back the employer because they are the ones paying out the dosh!

 

In this virtual world where transparency is paramount to success, I have often wondered just how a writer can pursue someone they encountered through a freelancer site when that person refuses to contact them if things go wrong. The conclusion is they cannot, and it’s as simple as that.

 

There is no recourse for a writer who doesn’t get paid and they won’t receive much help from the site either. Their Terms and Conditions ensures they won’t get caught up in the melée because they only promise to introduce the two parties – that’s where their responsibility ends. An employer may well deposit a Milestone/Escrow or whatever the site likes to call a deposit account, but the sad fact is this offers no guarantee of payment should a dispute arise.

 

Author: Honey Wood

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