Virtual Internet Office

The Internet continues to grow with over a million new users going online and tens of thousands of new websites going up every week. The Net is experimenting with audio and video presentations, which continue to grow, but the overwhelming majority of communication is through the written word.

Writers are needed to generate the content and communications for the Net. It’s a huge amount of work involving thousands of writers. A great deal of money changes hands. Rapid growth creates huge freelance writing opportunities. Business is booming – freelance writers wanted!

Most writing online is done on a contract or freelance basis. There are many websites like elance.com where buyers place contract needs and definitions and writers make offers and negotiate contracts. It’s a freelancers’ paradise!

You almost never meet your customers face-to-face. Almost all contact is via the Internet. Payment is made by check sent by mail, or, most likely, by deposit made directly into your PayPal account. Typical contracts call for a deposit up front, the balance on delivery, subject to quality approval.

There are escrow arrangements that can be made, to guarantee that the buyer can pay. There are arbitration arrangements that can be made in the case of disputes. Positive and/or negative feedback on writers and buyers can be posted online for references. Writing portfolios are sent by e-mail attachments.

Generally speaking, buyers are looking for acceptable quality, fast. The market for literary works or best-sellers is very thin. Webmasters want to fill up web pages with readable content. They need material that is interesting, readable, will hold the reader’s attention and impart useful information.

No special literary skills are needed. If you can write in clear, simple English, at the 5th to 9th grade level, then you can make money writing on the Internet! When they say, “Freelance writers wanted”, they mean people like YOU!

There no commuting, no waiting in traffic, no need to change from your pajamas. All you need is a PayPal account, a computer and an Internet connection and you are set to go. No need to quit your day job. You can take on writing contracts that you can handle at night, on weekends, or whenever you have spare time…

You can try out the freelance writing opportunities, and, if you like the work, you can take on more contracts and write full-time.

Just like for any other kind of work, you need to know the rules and how the work environment operates before jumping in. Helps you maximize income and avoid costly mistakes…

For more info on ‘freelance writers wanted’ situations and freelance writing opportunities, follow the links below…
About the Author:

Freelance writer jobs are made for those of you that have ideas in your mind that continually tumble around, simply waiting for a fresh piece of paper to be written on. If you are the kind of person that loves a good story, and you happen to have many of them in your head or on paper already, then this type of job is for you.

One version of the freelance writer jobs is writing stories for books. These book producers offer freelance writer jobs for people to send in their stories, either long or short, for publication as a whole. The jobs for the most part, of this kind, pay by the each job contracted. Sometimes some publishing companies are searching for ghost writers, and they offer freelance writer jobs in the hopes of finding a good writer to do a biography or other kind of book or novel. These ghost writers doing the freelance writer jobs are still their own bosses, and work their own hours the same as any other freelance jobs. There are also jobs for article writers and content producers for magazines and websites, which will require more non-fiction and informative work.

Freelance writer jobs can include any kind of material, from fiction to nature, and sports to pets. The number of companies offering these types of jobs is almost unbelievable; however the freelance writer jobs are not always clear on the content desired. If you are searching for good freelance writer jobs, and find some that look promising or fit a certain guideline for you, try to check into the background of the company offering the jobs. There will be some information if you look in the right places. With the scam artists and dishonest people online today, sometimes trying to find freelance writer jobs can lead to a negative ending if you happen to come into contact with a fake or disreputable company. The better way to find freelance writer jobs online is to bid for them at a freelancing website where you bid by contract. Some providers have long-time jobs available.

Those freelance writer jobs that are genuine are ones that you have no trouble contacting the company, and they are very up front about their intended amount of compensation, and the terms surrounding the freelance writer jobs they are offering. There are also web sites online that offer assistance for checking into companies that are offering freelance writer jobs and other ones as well. These web sites aid the consumer or prospective employee in finding the company’s background, and whether or not there are trustworthy.

Finding a freelance writer job may seem like a daunting task, but it is really quite simple to do. Visit a freelancing information page, like Telecommuting101.com for example, and follow their instructions to ensure that you don’t get burned by a non-paying buyer. Most freelancing websites will allow for safe and secure escrow payments as well, which will help you out immensely when choosing a job. Not everyone is talented to be an artist, but if you can make money doing something you love, then freelance writer jobs are just the right mix for you.
About the Author:

When I began my career as a freelance writer and content provider, I was at a loss for how to promote myself and my new business. I knew that I needed to show samples of my work, but hey, I was just starting out. How could I show work I’d done when I hadn’t gotten any actual jobs yet? I knew how to write and had been blogging and creating web content on my own for a few years, but I felt I needed to show samples of paying work if I wanted to be taken seriously.

The advice I’d give to anyone beginning in this business is something I learned along the way and it has helped me tremendously. First, hire yourself! Yep, that’s right. Treat yourself as both client and provider. Create a job, complete with requirements, delivery date and specifications. If you treat the work as a paying job, you’ll find that you are far more motivated to deliver something you’d be proud of, than if you just set out to write a sample piece. You will also discover how you work under a deadline, albeit self-imposed.

After completing the job, look at the work and write yourself a review. Keep in mind; you are both the provider and the client. Put on your client hat and jot down a quick and “objective” evaluation of the article. This can also be used in your portfolio, so long as you don’t attribute it to any fictitious person.

Now that you’ve finished your first gig, do it again. On the next one, try to come up with a different theme and set of requirements. Give the project a set of keywords to use and try fitting those into the work as naturally as you can. Keep expanding and challenging your skills with these new tasks.

Continue with these assignments until you’ve built a decent repertoire of writing samples to show off. Before you know it, you’ll have what appears to be a successfully completed set of assignments — and it will be. There’s no need for any prospective client to suppose or to question whether these are anything but well-written samples of work completed to meet a client’s need. You will have built up valuable experience at the same time you were creating your portfolio to show. Next step, promoting your talents and finding work that pays. Best of luck to you!
About the Author:

As a freelance copywriter, I am always doing research. I study other people’s copy (there are some who say I am looking for ideas to steal, and they would be right), I read books on marketing, copywriting, advertising, web design, professional rainmaking, and all sorts of stuff that only a copywriting wonk would be interested in.

But I especially like doing research that involves free food.

There is a mall near my home that has a giant food court. Also known as a trap for the weak-willed dieter.

A favorite marketing ploy for some of the restaurants is to give away free samples of their food. I know this because I walked by one place that served Cajun food about six or seven times the other day, and they kept offering me small samples of food on a toothpick. I never said I was proud.

But after I was full of the free food, I sat down and watched how much business the various places were doing. Sure enough, the restaurants offering free samples were doing well over twice as much business as those that did not.

Why does this work? Well I believe there are two reasons.

The first reason is obvious, a free sample gives the hungry customer a taste of what the rest of the meal will be like and often that small taste is enough to make an undecided shopper choose that restaurant.

But the second reason is in my mind more interesting. In Robert Cialdini’s essential book, Influence: Science and Practice, he explains a powerful persuasion technique he calls The Law of Reciprocity. Reciprocity is the social obligation we feel when someone does something for us. When this happens, we are inclined to do something good back to that person.

Cialdini cites all kinds of research by social scientists and historians as examples of the Law of Reciprocity. In one study, a college professor sent out Christmas cards to a list of total strangers. The response he received was amazing. He received many, many cards back from people who had never met him and did not even ask who he was.

Another example Cialdini cites involves the religious cult, the Hare Krishna Society. For years in the 1970s and 80s they would approach people in public places, particularly airports, begging for donations. At first their results were pretty dismal, but then they changed tactics and started giving the strangers a free gift before asking for a donation.

The free gifts worked. Their donations skyrocketed until people became wise to their methods and started avoided them and airports enacted restrictions against their activities.

Cialdini also points to a study of waiters and waitresses. The study found that when they included a candy or mint with the customer’s bill, their tips were much higher than without the gift.

Another example was President Lyndon Johnson, known for his record of getting a truly awesome amount of legislation passed during his presidency. The reason was simple. In the many years prior to becoming JFK’s Vice President, Johnson had been a master of giving favors to his congressional colleagues.

Then when he became president, he had many lawmakers who were indebted to him and he was able to get favorable votes even from people who were philosophically opposed to his agenda.

OK, you are thinking, this is all very interesting but what does it have to do with copywriting? I’m glad you asked.

Recently I wrote an article called, Freelance Copywriter Secrets: Why 2-Step Ads Make More Sales, in which I explained that 2-step advertising produces much better results than one-shot ads in which the entire sale is attempted at one time.

The simple fact is that people like to receive free information and use it to help them make buying decisions. Just like the restaurants in the mall, the free information they receive from you is a sample of your work and demonstrates your expertise.

But also your free information product creates a connection between you and your potential customer. That connection is the Law of Reciprocity at work. Reciprocity says that, on balance, they are more likely to give their business to you than to someone else who sent them nothing.

In another recent article, Freelance Copywriter Secrets: 7 Copywriting Tips For Giving Free Information, I also showed the many ways you as a marketer can make free information products available. For example, a law firm can’t very well give would-be clients a “free sample” in the form of representing them for a free trial, or a free divorce.

But that same firm can send out a white paper to business owners on how to avoid liability, what to do if you think a dispute might turn into a lawsuit, how to preserve evidence and other matters directly relevant to business clients.

How would this firm market this white paper? Well it could put an ad in a local magazine that did not promote the firm itself as much as the free information. It could also conduct a seminar for business owners. Regardless of the means used, the point of any promotion would be the availability of the free white paper and the benefits of reading it.

Just like giving away free samples at the food court.

Now, if you’ll pardon me. I’m going back to the mall, I’m feeling hungry again.

COPYRIGHT(C)2006, Charles Brown. All rights reserved.
About the Author:

How To Get The Best From Your Freelance Writer

The information in this article is the result of my experiences as a magazine editor when I learnt a few of my fellow journalists and writers had attributes normally associated with sleazy politicians: they could be economical with the truth, liberal with deadlines, slippery in times of crisis and disappointingly unable to deliver on their big promises. Follow my guidelines and you will avoid many of the mistakes I made and find commissioning writing work a pleasurable and rewarding experience.

Ask To See Examples Of Previous Work

Don’t wait until deadline day to see just what the journalist or writer says they can do: you could be in for a nasty surprise. As an Editor, I was sent work that bore no relation to the stories I’d commissioned; stories that had been copied out of books; and stories that might have pleased third-grade teachers but which had no place in a grown-up magazine. If you don’t want to be disappointed, ask to see proof of your writer’s previous work before you contract anything. An experienced journalist/writer will have had work published and will be able to provide copies of it on demand. You’ll soon see if they really can do what they say they can.

Be Specific

Spell out exactly what you want. If you want a general article on say, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), then that is what you will get. If however what you really want is an article on the benefits of using Neuro Linguistic Programming in a sales environment then say so. The more specific you are in the beginning the more likely you are to receive the writing you want.

Set A Word Limit

If you are paying by the word then set the word count you expect to receive. If you want a 500-word article on Winning Telephone Sales Techniques then say so. Make it clear you won’t pay for extra word length.

Be Clear About Payment

How much do you want to pay for the article, web content or newsletter? State in writing how much you will pay, the length of writing you expect, and how that payment will be made. Ensure the journalist/writer has received this information and agrees with the set price.

Expert Advice

Is there someone you specifically want to be included in the article? Tell the writer who that person is and if necessary, provide their contact details. Is there an organisation that you want to be featured in the story? Do you want to have examples of businesses or people to illustrate the piece? Make sure you tell the writer these details before they begin.

What Angle Do You Want?

If you expect a certain angle in the story, make a point of telling the person writing the story what it is. Include it in your initial commissioning letter or email.

The Audience

Tell your writer or journalist who the piece will be aimed at and the tone you expect. Do you want the piece to be hilariously funny, deadly serious, highbrow or chatty? Is it aimed at beginners or experienced people in the field? Is it aimed at a general audience or a specific group?

Build Some Leeway Into Your Deadline

Journalists can be addicted to the adrenaline rush that writing to a looming deadline brings and will leave everything to the very last possible moment. Be warned: not all of them will make the deadline. If you want to avoid the stress that this failure will inevitably cause, give your writer a deadline that is a few days or even a week ahead of the real deadline. Do not under any circumstances divulge to a writer that you have given them a faux deadline.

Specify The Format

Do you want the article or story to be sent via email, fax or by post? Do you want it to be sent on CD or floppy disc as well? Should the article be double or single-spaced? These details may seem unnecessarily fussy but trust me, when you are nearing the deadline, you will appreciate receiving copy that can be read quickly. Unless you enjoy typing, discourage anyone from sending you handwritten copy or discs that come from a bygone age. Make things easy on yourself.

Put It In Writing

Before work begins, write down exactly what you want from your journalist or writer and either email it or send it by post. This should include the word count, the specifics of the story/article, the people or organisations you want to be included in the piece, the angle you want, the tone of the article, the illustrations if any, the deadline and payment details. Follow it up. Check that they have received and understood everything in your email or letter and agree with the conditions you have set.

Get Contact Numbers

Ask for as many contact details as you can possibly get from your writer or journalist. Don’t be fobbed off. At the very least, you should ask for office, home and mobile phone numbers and home and email addresses. If you haven’t received the copy by deadline time, you will be very grateful for every possible way of contacting your writer or journalist that you have.

Progress Reports

Don’t be afraid to check on the progress of the work. Your writer or journalist won’t like you checking up on them but early intervention could save you a lot of stress later on. Find out if they are having any problems with contacting people or getting the information they need to complete the article. You may be able to help.

Revisions, Re-writes

If the article or writing does not meet the standards outlined and agreed upon in your original commissioning letter or email then you have the right to ask the journalist or writer to revise or rewrite it. If however you have changed your mind and want something different from what was originally agreed upon, then you will have to pay for the extra work that is involved.

Read The Copy Before The Deadline

If you miraculously receive the copy or a disc containing the copy before the deadline, rejoice for you are a rare individual indeed and obviously blessed with more good fortune than most other editors. When you’re done rejoicing, for goodness sake, read what you’ve been sent. Test the discs to see that they are recognised by your computer system. Can you read the documents? Does the article or story meet your criteria? Are you happy with what you’ve been sent? If yes, then continue with your rejoicing. If not, act fast. Get the journalist on the telephone as quickly as you can. Ask for a rewrite and demand to know when you will receive it. If you can’t read the disc, let the journalist know. Ask for another to be sent along with a hard copy of the article.

Gratefully Accepted

If you’re happy with the work you received then be kind and let the writer or journalist know. They will appreciate the praise. If you want to become a true hero to journalists and writers everywhere, ensure payment is swift. They will be forever grateful.
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Making a living as a freelance writer can be difficult. Especially for the beginner, where online content and article writing is the easiest place to break in, but as such they also tend to pay peanuts until you can establish yourself.

Assuming you’re in for the long haul and are serious about becoming a freelance writer, then the first thing you need to do is figure out which direction you want to go. There are some very lucrative freelance writing gigs as a professional ghost writer (especially for celebs) or as a feature writer for popular magazines, but you need a very extensive portfolio and some very good connections to consistently land that level of gigs.

Those areas also have fierce levels of competition for a limited amount of work, and if the field has several professional experts, then you’re just out of luck. For the rest of us, there are three specific types of writing that are the most consistently lucrative and accessible:

1) Business Writing

2) Copy Writing (also known as Sales Page/Sales Writing)

3) Technical Writing

These three areas consistently pay more money to rank and file writers than any other area of freelance writing. This makes sense because all three of these types of writing have you working for businesses and/or corporations, meaning you’re writing for clients with large amounts of money who need a job done, and are willing to pay to get it done right. But now more about each:

Business Writing: This can be for press releases, white papers, business reports, prepared speeches, articles, pamphlets, advertising, or any other type of needed writing. Business writers can plan on making a very good hourly rate, and even entry level freelance business writers can often charge $15-$20 an hour while building a business relationship.

Copy Writing: This is perhaps the most lucrative writing if you’re good at it. Copy writing is writing sales pages for web sites, e-books, or other products. Even moderate level copy writers can make $60,000 or more a year, and the best in the business make millions because they not only charge huge for jobs, but they also get a percentage of everything that sells.

Technical Writing: This is another area that can end up paying $20 an hour, and when you prove yourself, the hourly wage can even jump as high as $40-50 an hour. Technical writing is often working closely with a corporation. Ever have a 90 page instruction booklet on an entertainment system that didn’t seem to make sense? That’s a technical writing job opportunity. It’s not fun writing, and there’s a lot of long hours and revising, but you get paid what you’re worth.

These three areas continue to look for new talent, and wages for good freelance writers will go up. Freelancers have an advantage in that companies don’t have to pay half of their Social Security tax, provide insurance and benefits, or feed into a 401-K, meaning that freelance writers can often charge more because of the savings that the companies get off the top.

So start training and jump in! Companies are always looking for good freelance writers, and some are even willing to hire freelance writers on full time to ensure good work. I know, that’s how I became lucky enough to land my full time gig! Best of luck in writing, and if you’re looking for the accessible lucrative writing areas, these are your best bets.
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Once, I commissioned freelances. Then, in a Smeagol-to-Gollum style transformation, I got made redundant and had to scrape together a living in the hand-to-mouth, twilight scavenger world of the freelance copywriter. I could have been a contender. But more to the point, here are the top ten things I’ve learned in five years as a wandering content-ronin.

1. Believe in abundance. If you’re short of work, it’s easy to fall into anxiety. Instead of focusing on scarcity, switch your attention to the many opportunities around – online, in your local area, around the world. If local competitors spring up, that’s great – it means there’s work around! We get what we expect in life, so start expecting that opportunities – and cash money – will be coming your way.

2. Hold on tightly, let go lightly. In other words, focus on the copywriting jobs you get, not the ones you don’t. It doesn’t matter why your quote wasn’t chosen, or why that client stopped using you. What matters is serving the clients you have today.

3. Accept blame. In fact, actively seek out blame. If things go wrong, claim responsibility, even if it’s not your mistake. Failures of communication, missed deadlines – whatever. Blame rarely sticks to those outside an organisation, but your contact or client will be flattered at the implication that they’ve done nothing wrong.

4. Pricing is a game without rules. I don’t mean ‘rip off your clients’. I mean that people’s expectations on price vary so wildly that it’s almost impossible to find a consistent approach. Get used to pricing job by job. If the client proposes a price, be thankful you don’t have to. Love clients who will negotiate instead of never contacting you again if your price doesn’t stack up.

5. Networking takes time. With social media, anyone can rustle up a big network in weeks. Unfortunately, its power to deliver freelance copywriting work will be limited. What actually works is referrals from friend to friend, and they happen when your contacts’ contacts realise they need a copywriter – which can take years. But as long as you keep meeting expectations, referrals will come.

6. Learn to listen. Forget impressing the client. Learn to listen, not speak. First and foremost, you’ll do better work because you’ll learn more. On a human level, people love the chance to chat with an impartial outsider – so give them it. It’s a big part of the value you offer.

7. Cultivate detachment. I’ve found I can handle freelance copywriting much better if I’m not emotionally involved. I try not to get excited about new opportunities so I’m not disappointed when they don’t pan out. I don’t pat myself on the back for a good month, in case the next one is awful. Becoming a company is a good way to create distance between you and your work, and worthwhile for this reason alone.

8. Don’t flatter yourself. Clients do not spend that much time thinking about you and your copywriting, so don’t waste time and effort over-thinking about what they might want, or what a particular reaction (or lack of reaction) might mean. They have a job that needs doing, and you’re a tool to get it done – end of story.

9. Under-promise and over-deliver. Tell the client the worst-case timescale, then beat it by four or five days. Maybe even reduce your price because you did the work quickly. Sounds like a cheap trick? Believe me, your customers will have dealt with too many flaky suppliers to feel that way. They will absolutely love it.

10. Be in the moment. Because the future is always uncertain for the freelance copywriter, some worry is always present. Try to let go of it and enjoy the work you’ve got today. Remember, no-one really has any security in today’s working world, so let tomorrow take care of itself.
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If there’s anyone who needs to master time management it’s the full-time freelance writer. Here are some time management tips from seasoned pros. Follow these tips and start earning more money now!

1) Don’t take on too many small writing projects that pay peanuts. Many beginning writers take on a slew of jobs, like writing daily blog entries for companies that pay $7.00 per post, or short articles that pay only about $20.00 for a 400-500 word piece. These kinds of projects SOUND like a good idea. They can be finished quickly, and, if a writer can manage to acquire enough of these types of jobs, he/she can generate a steady income of cash. But the problem is, these small projects tend to eat up more time than you think, leaving you with less time to do the projects that will bring in substantial income.

Instead of taking on a bunch of these tiny jobs, try this. Plan out how much money you’d like to make from writing each month. Then, get to work finding a few jobs that will produce that amount of income. An article for a glossy magazine might pay $1.00 a word. If you manage to get an assigned article of 1,000 words, then you’ve got $1,000 of income from that one project alone.

Once you get good at cranking out quality articles and have established relationships with several magazine editors who will give you regular assignments, you could even write two to three magazine pieces a month, earning between $2,000 and $3,000 just for those articles.

True, it will take time to build relationships with magazine editors, but wouldn’t you rather be working on developing those relationships through thoughtful queries and articles rather than writing for peanuts all day, knowing you’ll NEVER earn more from that type of work?

2) Find multiple uses for many (if not most) of the things you write. For example, turn one of your blog posts into an article for an article directory. Later, combine several of these articles to make a free e-book to give away at your site when subscribers join your mailing list (and all writers need a mailing list). Also, reslant and rewrite each of your articles for submission to more than one market.

3) Phone calls can really cut into your writing time. If you’re researching an article and need to make phone calls to contact expert sources for this piece, plan to make all the calls in a single day. Then, once you’ve made the calls, you’ll have all the resource material you need to start writing the article.

If you don’t make all the calls in a single day you could be on and off the phone for days, working on ONLY this one article. Also, to make the most of your phone time, email editors ahead of time to arrange a time for your call. That way, you’ll know for certain that your source can talk to you at the time you call (so you won’t have call-backs to make because the source wasn’t in the office when you phoned).

4) Develop a weekly marketing plan to keep the work flowing in week after week. Freelance writers need to be writing (on assignment) or looking for writing work (assignments ) all the time, so it’s important to create a weekly marketing plan in addition to working on assigned pieces.

5) You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with every nonfiction article you write. Look at the types of articles in major magazines these days. The titles for many of these pieces include a number like, “The Top Ten Ways to Save Money on Your Phone Bill,” or “A Dozen Ways to Cut Costs and Still Have the Wedding of Your Dreams,” and the article is simply a list of information. Create articles using a “list” type format like these. Not only are they quick and easy to write, but editors love this sort of thing.

6) Make use of your prime time. If you write best in the morning, before the phone starts to ring and you have other distractions and begin to get tired, do your most important writing at that time of day. Leave the afternoons for invoicing clients, returning phone calls, etc.

7) If you’re working on a fiction or nonfiction book, just write 2 pages a day. After you’ve written the 2 pages for the day, you can continue writing more pages, or move on to something else that day. If you manage to write more than 2 pages in a day, you’ll know you had a super productive day. Yet, if all you manage to write is 2 pages a day, you’ll still feel successful.

For nonfiction – get good at chunking out the work before you actually start writing. Come up with a catchy title, a great lead, then an outline. Do all that ahead of time and the article will be much faster to write by the time you do start writing it.

9) Plan a writing session with another writer. You don’t have to actually meet and write together. Just set a time frame – say from 9:00 to 11:00 tomorrow morning – when you will both plan to write. At 11:00, email or call each other to report your writing progress.

10) Allow yourself a specific amount of time for online activities like checking email, posting to your blog, playing computer games, and stick to ONLY those times. You’ll get more work done during the day, plus you won’t feel guilty once you do get online to check your email, play solitaire, etc.

Follow these ten tips and it won’t be long before you have plenty of time during the day to get your writing done, plus you should be making more money than ever!
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