If you can write well, you can be successful Web freelancing
Fri Aug 28, 2009, 7:38 am | Leave Comment
Many folks have been laid off in a variety of industries including media and advertising companies. It’s a bad time to get a job in any discipline. However, there is one source of writing projects that is actually growing. Hundreds of online sites, especially bogs, are popping up every week. Many of them are created by people who don’t know how to write well. What’s more, these start-up sites often don’t have the budget to hire full-time writers. So, they turn to online communities to find writers who work freelance.
How much does it pay?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2007 the mean annual wage for technical writers was $62,780. That means half were making more and half were making less.
How do you qualify?
The most important experience required is a demonstrated passion for writing, with the sample articles, or clips, to back it up. If you design and write your own website, you can show to clients that you understand the medium. With your own website or blog, you look more credible and professional.
Another useful skill is experience with writing in a way that will draw search engines like Google to your work – so-called search engine optimization. If you are going to target websites, knowledge of SEO can be one of the best things to advertise about yourself.
Setting up your schedule
To make more than the mean sum, you have to be disciplined, take your work seriously, and be able to motivate yourself to work.
How do you get started?
Once you have clips and a website to show you are serious, there are many online venues where you can advertise. Check out Freelance Daily – a site that combines job postings for freelancers from a variety of sources.
You can also check out these websites:
Elance.com
Guru.com
2009 Writer’s Market
In a Nutshell
The best strategy for dealing with competitors might be to do your best work. That will make you stand out.
What do you think?
