You might not realize it, but Internet writing is a lot like earning a PhD in History. Now, I know that grad school isn’t the first thing you think about when you think about Internet writing, but bear with me for a little while.
The best way to explain to you what I’m talking about is to tell you a story about my friend, Phil. Phil is a nurse in the real world, but in his spare time he likes to study history. He’s what you’d call an “armchair historian.” He reads books on history, watches the history channel, and is, in many ways, very knowledgeable about a great number of historical subjects.
Because I have a graduate degree in History, Phil likes to ask me questions. For example, just a few weeks back he posed this one:
“Do you think the economic devastation in Germany after World War I helped to create the environment that allowed Hitler to come to power?”
To which I answered, “I really have no idea. I’ve never given it much thought.”
“But you’re a historian!” Phil replied. “You’ve got the degree and everything. You write a history blog. You’ve even got a bumper sticker on your laptop that says ‘Everyone remain calm… I’m a historian.’ How can you not have any idea?”
This part is always a little difficult to explain to folks. “My area of study is pretty narrow, Phil. I’m into 19th-century U.S. History. Specifically, my research has been in Antebellum Southern intellectual and social history.”
To which, as usual, I received a puzzled look. I continued: “You’re a nurse, right Phil? You work in the Infant ICU. I bet you can tell that a preemie is in distress almost before the machines tell you. But do you think you could do the same with a geriatric patient?”
“Well, yeah,” came the answer. “I mean, it might take me a couple of weeks in that unit to get the hang of it, but yeah.”
“And it might take me some time studying German history between the World Wars to answer your question.”
———
In the world of Internet writing, there are countless opportunities. There is web copy, keyword articles, blogging, sales page writing and white papers just to name a few. In my business, I’ve done each of these types of writing. Some I enjoy more than others. Some pay better than others. Some I’m better at than others.
At some point, however, you have to pick a specialty. What will your bread and butter be when it comes to your Internet writing? Michael Stelzner knows his specialty: it’s writing White Papers. That’s even the name of his site. James Chartrand knows, too. He writes about the writing business, whether he’s doing it at Men with Pens or whether he’s doing it at one of the many other sites he writes for. When the Pen Men ran a contest last year, it even focused on business. That’s James’ Internet writing specialty. Sure, Michael and James do other writing and they do it well, but you can tell where their passion lies.
For me, it’s blog writing. It’s writing content for people that is conversational, authoritative and still packs a punch. Yes, I do a lot of other writing, but that’s where my passion is and where my greatest talents lie. When I get an order in, that’s the writing I keep for myself rather than passing along to my writing minions.
So, what about you? What’s your Internet writing specialty?
As I’ve taken on writing coaching clients these past few months, it’s been really interesting to talk with aspiring writers, and watch as they try to wrap their heads around the business of writing. I’ve found that most folks only need a very little help when it comes to the technical side of writing. Most of my coaching clients wind up learning a lot in two specific areas.
How the Writing Business Works
I recall, before I started writing for money, how I had this very distinct image of the professional writer. Like most people, I thought of the novelist. I pictured a cabin in the woods, overlooking a crystal clear lake, with a dedicated artist furiously banging away on her keyboard, creating the next bestseller.
It’s funny, because that image really isn’t what most writers’ lives are like. Oh, sure, there are some successful novelists who live that way. But most of the people who make their living from writing do it in a home office, at their kitchen table, or at a local coffee shop. In my case, it’s all three.
So, one of the things that happens in my coaching is that the illusory wall comes down. My clients get a chance to look behind the scenes, to see what the writing life is really like. I’ll walk them through a particular project, from start to finish. And more often than not, their reaction is one of surprise as they see that the writing business is a lot like many other small businesses.
The Characteristics of a Successful Writer
The other thing my clients often experience first-hand is a realization of what it takes to be a successful writer. They learn things about themselves, about what it would really take to make their living by writing. While working on a project together, one of my coaching clients described it this way:
Before this project, I would sit and write as my schedule allowed, and if I did not feel like producing much, I did not. This project made me realize that when there is time, there must be productivity. For me, transitioning from working a “day job” to being a productive writer is about being able to “turn on” the switch when I have the time to sit at the computer, focus on results, and produce.
And that, truly, is one of the first lessons you learn when you begin writing professionally. Back when I worked as a Network Administrator, I could blow off a Friday afternoon if I wanted to, usually with very little consequence. Today, if I blow off work time it has to be made up, and sooner rather than later. While it’s true I have more flexibility working for myself than I did when I worked for someone else, I also have to take things more seriously.
As many of you know, I’m a big fan of the folks over at Men with Pens. One third of that dynamic trio,James Chartrand, is one of the hottest name in the freelance writing business right now. He’s featured regularly on Copyblogger, and is also a regular contributor at a number of other sites.
One of those sites is Freelance Folder, where I’ve also been a regular contributor. Freelance Folder is for us one of the hottest sources for advice and information for the freelancer, whether you’re just starting out or whether you’ve been around the block.
Well, I’m excited to let you all know that James Chartrand and Mason Hipp, the current brains behind Freelance Folder, have joined forces to put together an indispensable book. If you want to:
Overcome your limits as a freelancer
Discover your true freelancer potential
Grow your business
Land more clients
Add value to your services
Then this book is for you.
I’ll be offering a review of this book within the coming days, but I wanted to get it out there right now so you can have quick access to this awesome book. If you enjoyed Write for the Web, you’re going to absolutely LOVE The Unlimited Freelancer.
Happy new year to my freelance writing friends, old and new. I trust the holidays have found you well, and wish you success in 2009.
I have to say, I’m excited about what the new year is going to bring. If 2008 was any indication, 2009 is going to be the best year for my freelancing business yet. While there may be some tough economic times in the world, there’s no business I’d rather be in.
Why am I so optimistic? There are a bunch of reasons, but I get the most encouragement by looking back over the last year. In the past 12 months, here are some of the amazing things that have happened for me:
I started this blog, which has grown my freelance writing client base by leaps and bounds. It’s also allowed me to meet so many interesting people, network with other writers and given me the opportunity to help other writers achieve their own dreams.
I began my coaching program, which has allowed me to help a great group of writers get their start in the business.
I’ve grown the business to the point where I’m regularly outsourcing work, allowing me more time to focus on the business itself.
I’ve increased my business revenue, as well as my personal revenue, by a significant factor.
Ive been able to work together with my wife, bringing her in as a partner behind the scenes of the business.
There’s plenty more, too, but those are just the things that come to mind.
2009 promises to see all sorts of new and exciting things. While I’m still in the process of refining my business (a process that truly never ends) I am thrilled to think about some of the irons I’ve got in the fire, and some of the projects that are yet to come.
I also want to take a minute to thank everyone who has regularly read this blog, and helped me reach each milestone. As of today, I’m happy to have just shy of 1,000 RSS and email subscribers, and I’m happy that you’ve joined me on this journey.
Here’s to hoping we all have a very bright future in 2009:
There’s money in SEO writing. If you can do it right, you can make a killing. Understanding the inner workings of search engines, knowing the right keywords to pick and being able to insert them into your writing is a valued skill.
If you write on the Internet at all, chances are you do at least some SEO. If you surf the Internet at all (who doesn’t) you’ve seen perfectly-optimized SEO pages.
You’ve probably also noticed that, in many cases, perfectly-optimized SEO pages suck. The writing is contrived, sentence structure is awkward and those keywords - usually in various formats - are repeated ad nauseum. In other words, good SEO is often terrible writing.
Now, this isn’t always the case. You can optimize a page without having to make the SEO so in-your-face noticeable. (If you want to know more, go to SEO School. Naomi will tell you all there is to know about good SEO.)
What happens, though, when your client wants the SEO to be so thick you can cut it with a knife?
You have two choices: take the gig or don’t.
If you take the gig, you’re going to have to get pretty damn creative. Chances are you’re still going to wind up with a piece of work that’s less than stellar, at least in terms of its readability. But, hey, you’re not an artist, right? You run a business, and businesses need to make money. Besides, if you don’t write it, someone else will.
If you don’t take the gig, you can go on with your own writing integrity. You can take satisfaction in the fact that you’re not contributing to the wealth of crappy writing on the Internet. By keeping your high standards, you help raise the overall quality of information on the Internet.
A few months ago, I took a gig that had some very specific SEO requirements. The keyword density was very high, so much so that I’m pretty sure Google won’t catch the page on those keywords (although MSN or Yahoo search might). I went along my merry way, wrote the article, and sent it to the client.
The client loved the article. Unfortunately, I hadn’t hit the SEO requirements, so the client bounced it back to me for a revision.
I realized, as I began writing the revision, just how intense these SEO requirements were. The client wanted specific word pairings that just didn’t work linguistically. (A similar example would be the keyword, “Tobacco Virginia.”)
At this point, though, I didn’t have much of a choice. I reworked the article, trying to preserve the quality as best I could. The result wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great either.
After finishing the work, it occurred to me: there was a third option I’d missed. I could have challenged the client’s requirements from the start. I could have pointed out the difficulty of the awkward word pairings, and offer other suggestions. Maybe the client would have taken the suggestions and let me do the work, maybe not.
I’m not an ar-teest, not by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do believe that great writing matters online. Just because we web writers don’t have the kind of editorial gatekeepers that print writers have doesn’t mean we can just let quality go. There has to be some kind of middle ground between using the tools we need (like SEO) and creating something that’s readable, clear and correctly uses the language.
Today, I’m hesitant to work gigs with more than just basic SEO.
What do you think? Am I being a snob here? Am I being unrealistic? Or is it sometimes worth it to sacrifice a sale in favor of the quality writing principle?
You might not realize it, but Internet writing is a lot like earning a PhD in History. Now, I know that grad school isn’t the first thing you think about when you think about Internet writing, but bear with me for a little while.
As I’ve taken on 
