Entries Tagged 'Writing Advice' ↓
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?
In this age of instant connectivity and social media, there really isn’t a good reason for freelance writers or other web workers to become isolated. Truly.
Still, it happens. You can become so involved in your work, in producing the content you need to produce, in dealing with clients, paying bills, hiring writers and everything else involved in the business that you wind up spending a majority of time on your own.
Is this isolation a bad thing?
Experts tell us it is. Depression is one of the most common conditions affecting web workers, according to studies. As a freelance writer, you can easily go a full day without hearing a single other person’s voice, and that can become a problem.
I’m at one of those places right now. Business is, well, busy. I’ve got lots of irons in the fire. I’ve got projects left and right. I’m pounding pavement constantly to find new clients as the economic downturn claims old clients as victims. The business is humming along fine, but it’s taking more hours to produce the same results.
What that means is I spend no time on Twitter. I comment less and less on other blogs. I log out of Google Chat, knowing that it’s all too easy to become unfocused and distracted.
Distracted, that is, by social interaction. You know, that stuff that makes life worth living. The stuff freelance writers need to keep from going loopy.
Now, I consider myself lucky. I’ve got a family that I can socialize with in the evenings, and I’ve got friends I can enjoy as well. That’s enough, for now, to keep my minimum social needs met.
In the long run, though, I think we all need that interaction that comes from interacting with our peers. At some point, we need that give and take. Not only does it keep us sane; it also helps us sharpen our skills.
You see, the more you interact with other writers, the more likely it is for you to become a better writer. We freelancers tend to be “as steel that sharpens steel.”
So, how do you address the problem? In concrete terms, on a personal level? Well, here’s my approach:
Pick a certain amount of time – maybe 15 minutes, 3 times a day – that you’ll get outside of your work and outside of your head, and connect with other freelancers.
Pick a medium. Whether it’s Twitter, chat, blog commenting or whatever method you usually use to interact with your peers, get going with it.
Don’t stress about missed opportunities. Do you have unanswered emails sitting in your inbox where you’ve dropped out in the middle of a conversation? Pick up on them if you want, but don’t beat yourself up. We all do it, and anyone else in the business will understand.
Be ready to explain. The minute you go active again, you’ll have folks who’ve missed you call you out. “Where you been? Are you hiding from me? Are you alive?” that sort of thing. You don’t have to go into detail. You can just say, “been horribly busy” and send them a link to this post. They’ll figure it out.
So, what about you? Have you had this sort of thing happen to you?
(On a side note, this post was inspired, in part, by Losing Your Sense of Self Because of Your Business over at Men with Pens. Thanks James, for making me think!)
For a couple of weeks now, the discussion has been going back and forth between Men with Pens and Freelance Parent about the costs of starting up a freelance writing business. One side argues that you can start up a freelance writing business on the cheap, with a couple hundred dollars or less. The other side argues that a freelance writing business has the same kinds of startup costs that any other small business has – and that you’re going to put out ten times that amount or more.
I’d encourage you to follow those debate threads. Each side makes some good points, to be sure. If you pin me down and force me to offer my opinion, I’ll say that any small business, whether they’re freelance writing, plumbing or basket-weaving, can benefit from a significant cash investment in the beginning.
Now, for my part, I started out with no investment. I fell into the freelance writing business quite by accident. I put nothing but time into the business in the beginning, and I did just fine.
(Of course, that’s part of it, isn’t it? If you don’t have cash, you need to have time. Ideally, you’ll have both.)
However, it wasn’t until later on in my freelance writing business, when I was able to invest some money in some tools of the trade, some new office equipment and some marketing that my business really took off. It also helped that I found a mentor who’d been where I had been who could teach me a thing or two.
If I were to start my freelance business today, I’d spend some money. I’d make sure I had the right computer and the right work environment. I’d hire a writing coach for at least three months, and I’d buy Freelance Rockstar Freelancer and Write for the Web. I’d spend some money on marketing. If I wanted to make money blogging, I’d get into Blog Mastermind. I’d probably even hire a Virtual Assistant to help me keep organized.
So, what are the real costs of starting a freelance writing business? I can honestly say I’d put them somewhere between $0 and $20,000. Am I trying to play both sides of the fence here? I suppose I am.
The real cost of starting a freelance writing business is this: It is the amount of capital you can raise, spent in the most efficient way possible. For every dollar you can’t spend, you have to make it up in blood, sweat and tears.
Starting capital doesn’t guarantee your success, just like the lack of capital doesn’t guarantee your failure. But having some startup cash for your freelance writing business does increase your odds of success.
Follow The Journey: Other Posts In This Series
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Introduction
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Education
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Honing Your Craft
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Planning
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Building Your Portfolio
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Finding Work
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: A Jump-Start
How to Start Your Freelance Writing Business: The Costs
photo credit: (UB) Sean R
We’ll pick back up on this series later in the week, folks.
In the meantime, I want to tell you about a great way to get your business off the ground. The guys over at Men with Pens are running a contest with a top prize of almost $12,000 in writing business resources, including a month of coaching from yours truly.
Go Enter The Men with Pens Sticky Business Contest today!
(Incidentally, it’s Harry, James and Charlie at Men with Pens who are responsible for my new theme today, as well. If you like it as much as I do, get over there and have them design your site.)
Follow The Journey: Other Posts In This Series
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Introduction
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Education
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Honing Your Craft
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Planning
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Building Your Portfolio
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Finding Work
Now, I won’t pretend to know it all when it comes to landing freelance writing work. After all, my first gig was one that the client approached me about, rather than the other way around. In fact, some of my more successful long-term client relationships have been that sort: people who sought me out because they believed I could meet their needs.
Still, you can’t build a business by expecting people to show up on your doorstep. I’ve said before that opportunities aren’t made, they’re painstakingly crafted. To be successful, you’ve got to get out there and make some sales.
Freelance bidding sites
You know these sites. Elance, Guru, Scriptlance and so on. These sites offer a place for clients to post a project and freelancers to bid on those projects. I’ve had some success over time with this kind of activity, and my work on these sites has led to at least a couple of long-term clients.
I could (and probably will, one day) write a series on these sites. There are so many different elements that it’s hard to know where to begin. Rather than trying to do that here, let me just offer four of the most important things I’ve learned about bidding sites:
- Ignore the abysmally low bids. Just because someone else is working for $2 an article doesn’t mean you have to. It just means you have to demonstrate added value to get those higher rates.
- Customize every bid. Yes, it takes time. But you really need to engage the potential client if you’re going to capture her interest. Speak directly to her needs, both written and unwritten, in your bids.
- Showcase your best work, and plenty of it. Include links to your freelance writing portfolio, and attach a relevant sample to your bid. In my case, a link to this blog increases sales by a significant factor.
- There are plenty of different styles of work at these sites, from copywriting to SEO articles to blogging. Pick one and focus on it to maximize your success.
Freelance job sites
There are a number of these out there, but many of them have the same info every day. Two of the ones I check regularly are John Hewitt’s PoeWar and Deb and Jodee at Freelance Writing Jobs. These sites have plenty of potential, but they’re also more competitive. Whereas you might find a dozen gigs a day with eight or ten competitors at Elance, you’re going to find 20 gigs a day with 200 or 300 competitors at these sites.
Beyond that, though, these sites offer a different type of work that what you’ll find at the bidding sites. Here you’ll find a higher concentration of blogging gigs, for example. You’ll also find more long-term assignments and actual “jobs,” if that’s the thing you’re looking for.
Cold calls
I’ve done cold calling, to be sure. If there’s a niche that you’re an expert in, or perhaps have a special knowledge of, it’s all right to contact webmasters of those sites and offer your services. Your rate of success with cold calls is going to be lower than it is with the other methods, but it’s something to try. You may find that you have a knack for this type of sales (I don’t) and make a killing.
Networking
If bidding sites have provided me with some of my long-term clients, networking has provided me with the rest. Whether it’s using social media to connect with other freelancer writers who are looking to outsource, or whether it’s a client’s recommendation to a colleague, word of mouth is still one of the best ways to land clients.
Networking is a bit tricky, though. You can spend all day networking and never land a client. You can network with someone in your field just for fun and wind up forming a long-term partnership. For me, it’s hard to know early on what kind of fruit networking will bear. While you can’t rely solely on networking to get you writing gigs, don’t count it out altogether.
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So, what about you? Where do you find your freelance writing clients?
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Introduction
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Education
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Honing Your Craft
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Planning
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Building Your Portfolio
How To Start Your Freelance Writing Business: Finding Work
