100 Day Challenge: Fab Freelance Writing Ezine

by angela.booth on August 30, 2010

in writing

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I've mentioned our new "100 Day Challenge" in the past couple of ezine messages, and have received lots of questions.

Here's the gist.

* The 100 Day Challenge starts in September, and ends on January 1, 2011;

* I'll tell you more about it, and how to join the Challenge, in the ezine. So subscribe if you're not already subscribed;

* The Challenge is completely free;

* Your objectives. By then end of the 100 Day Challenge you'll be making at least $200 a day more from your writing than you're making now, and you'll be well on the way to making at least $70 an hour from your writing.

What do you need to join?

You need the determination to commit to the process, and also the desire to devote an hour a day to it. You'll also need to be willing to have FUN with this. :-)

Who's the Challenge for?

It's for both new and established writers who want to achieve the goals they set for themselves in 2010. If you didn't set any goals, you'll get the opportunity to set goals during the Challenge.

In a nutshell: we'll have fun, and you'll discover how to build a great writing career.

I look forward to writing with you. :-)

Posted via email from Angela Booth’s Life Stream

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Ready to kickstart a fantastic copywriting career? Stop wasting time. Imagine starting and running your own highly successful copywriting services business, under the guidance of a top copywriter...Take this online copywriting training course to become a pro copywriter, FAST.

Are you building a Web copywriting services business? There’s never been a better time. As more and more companies develop an online marketing channel, there are more copywriting jobs available than writers to fill them.

I’ve been running my own copywriting business for many years, and this year, something has changed. My students report this change too. For the first time, companies are focusing on the Web as a primary marketing channel. This is because their customers are online, and in tough economic times, Web advertising provides a great return on investment.

Let’s look at four essential strategies to help you to build your copywriting business.

1. Develop the Web Copywriting Services Your Clients Want and Need

What Web copywriting services will you offer? Talk to your clients, and ask them what they want their website to do for them. This gives you a guide. If they tell you they want prominence in local search results for example, you can create a service which will achieve this for them.

2. Develop a Way to Combine Client Education With Your Promotions

The Web is unexplored territory for most of your clients. This means that you’ll need to educate them in what the Web can do for their business.

Of course, you’ll need to get up to speed too, if you’re not an experienced Web marketer. Take courses in search engine marketing, paid marketing, and other skills.

Then combine your own marketing promotions with education for your clients: offer free reports and other material to help your clients.

3. Create a Marketing Funnel Which Works for You

Every business requires marketing leads, so spend a little time creating a marketing funnel which will work for you. Your own website should be working as a 24×7 salesperson for you: attracting prospects, and encouraging them to download your materials and contact you.

4. Create a Plan to Manage Your Customer Relationships

Few businesses manage their customer relationships as well as they could, and this applies to copywriters too. If you haven’t done so already, create a customer mailing list today, and keep it updated. Your current and past customers will provide on-going projects for you, if you’re diligent in contacting them.

So there you have it: four essentials for building your Web copywriting services business. Once you have these in place, your business will be a roaring success.

New: Develop Your Own Copywriting Services Business in Just Seven Days


Angela Booth’s copywriting guide, Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success, has been turning writers into copywriters for eight years.

It’s now been revised and updated for 2010. This comprehensive guide helps you to build your own copywriting business in just seven days. It’s a complete program, with everything you need. Each day you have objectives and tasks. Just complete the tasks, to build your business. (Of course, coaching is included.)

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7dayscopywriting200x253.jpg

Top copywriter and writing teacher Angela Booth has just announced the release of the 2010 edition of her bestselling copywriting guide: “Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success”. She says that this year, she’s emphasizing the importance of Web copywriting to her students.

The economic downturn means that more businesses are focusing on the Web as a primary sales channel.

Angela says: “This means that they need content, and copywriters to write it. Therefore, there are many more Web copywriting jobs available. Both new and established copywriters are booked solid.”

The first edition of “Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success” was published in 2002. In those days, Angela says, copywriters focused their efforts on their local area, getting jobs from agencies, as well as from businesses.

In 2010, she still recommends that her students start their careers by writing copy for local businesses. “It’s easier,” she says. “Most of their local businesses have never been approached by a copywriter before. This means that there’s little competition, and they can get jobs right away, even as new copywriters.”

Angela says that while local businesses still need basic copywriting services like marketing collateral and advertising, the demand for Web content and Web marketing material has grown in the past 12 months. “The landscape has completely changed since 2009″, she says. “Businesses are becoming more Web savvy. Their competitors are online, or they fear that they may be, so they’re very interested in getting a website, or developing their site if they already have one.”

Angela says that her “Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success” guide is designed for new copywriters, as well as established copywriters who want to extend their skills into writing for the Web.

For copywriters who want more coaching, she also offers a ten-week copywriting course.

For more information on the guide, visit Angela Booth’s “Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success” website.

Angela Booth is a top copywriter, and writing teacher. She offers many guides for writers to enhance their skills, and provides inspiration and motivation for writers on her writing blogs. Angela has been writing successfully since the late 1970s, and was online in the 1980s, long before the birth of the Web. Her business writing books have been widely published.

Once-only price for 2010 to celebrate the latest version

Check out the great offer; it ends on August 31.

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If you’re a new copywriter, you’re wondering how much you should charge. There’s a simple answer: charge according to what your time is currently worth, and according to the client’s budget. In this article, we’ll look at how to make fee-setting for your copywriting business simple.

My own copywriting career began over 30 years ago. When I started, I was writing copy for other small business people. They were friends, and I knew they’d repay the favor somewhere along the line, so I charged them friends’ rates.

As I built up my client list, I charged more for certain kinds of projects: those which required extensive research, and rush jobs, which took time away from my business and other writing, for example.

I’m sure that you’re thinking that this is all very well, but how do you charge for a project when you’re not sure how long the project will take?

There’s no simple answer. You can charge your client an hourly rate, or you can charge a fee for the project, and guess how long it will take. If you underestimate the time the project requires, that’s not the end of the world. You may have under-charged, but you’ll have gained a client, and his goodwill.

Although you put a certain value on your time and skills, what if the client just can’t afford you?

Here’s a big tip: ask your client what his budget is for the project immediately, before you deliver a formal proposal. Explain to your client that creating scopes and proposals takes time, if he says he doesn’t know what his budget will be, or isn’t sure.

You should also explain that you charge a fee for creating a detailed proposal. Here’s why: some businesses have no intention of hiring a competent copywriter. They merely want some free research. If your prospective client won’t pay for two or three hours of your time so you can create a proposal, he’s not serious about hiring you.

As your copywriting skills and experience develop, setting fees becomes much easier, and you’ll be more relaxed about it. Until then, base your fees on what your time is worth.

Copywriting is a great home business

Developing a copywriting services business makes sense if you want to write from home.

How does $300 an hour sound to you? Copywriters are in high demand.

There’s no limitations on who can write copy. Neither age nor education is a bar: your clients don’t care.

So whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a retiree, or just want to moonlight at your current job, copywriting is the most lucrative (and the most fun, if you love to write) occupation you can try.

My Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success gets you started.

Create the perfect write from home business – it’s easy.

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Ready to kickstart a fantastic copywriting career? Stop wasting time. Imagine starting and running your own highly successful copywriting services business, under the guidance of a top copywriter...Take this online copywriting training course to become a pro copywriter, FAST.

Want to launch a successful copywriting business? It’s easier than you imagine. The key is to keep it simple. Focus on clients, and on writing copy for them: allow your operation to grow and evolve, organically.

I’ve been running a copywriting business for 20 years, and teach others how to start up their own enterprises. Here are three tips which will help you.

1. Get Clients: Nothing Happens Until You Have Money Coming In

Your first step is getting clients. I’ll bet you thought that your first step would be “Get a business license” or “create a business plan”.

Wrong. You need money coming in. Once you have money coming in, you can worry about a business plan (which is Step 2), and other details, because you know that your new venture will be viable.

I’ve seen many people waiting to start their operation “until…” Five years later, they were still waiting. They thought they needed to get all the minor details sorted out — but without clients, they had no business, and no prospects — just a dream.

So if you want to launch a successful business, get clients first, and once you have clients, get an accountant.

2. Create a Short and Simple Business Plan

Your next step is to create a business plan. This plan should be simple: I like to keep my own plans under three pages. I can review three pages quickly, and this means that I’ll actually do it, rather than procrastinating. If you create a lengthy 20-page plan, you’ll never look at it again. So keep it simple, and short, and revise it regularly, as conditions change.

Your plan should include: a description of your operation, what services you’ll provide, a market analysis (who will hire you, and why), your strategy, marketing ideas, and financial analysis (estimated profits, and cash flow.)

3. Time Equals Money: Create a Schedule Based on Your Business Plan

Every business trades: your copywriting trading includes finding clients, writing their materials, and getting paid.

You achieve this by following the strategy which you’ve laid out in your business plan. This strategy determines your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, which will all be entered in your calendar program.

So there you have it: you now know how to launch a successful copywriting business, with the operative word being “successful.” Follow these three tips, they’re important, and they’ll help.

Learn Copywriting With A Top Copywriter – Earn While You Learn: Create Your Own Lucrative Copywriting Services Business In Weeks!

copywritingclass

If you want to build the foundations of a great writing career, copywriting is for you. Now you can learn copywriting with top copywriter Angela Booth. Get know-how, get skills, and get clients, with Angela at your side.

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Headlines: Too Big to Cover in an Article

by angela.booth on August 21, 2010

in writing

Headlines. 

You read them every day, and whatever you're writing, you write headlines every day.

Headlines are also called "titles," of course.

Headlines are all-important. If you can't get people (editors, buyers of your writing, readers) to read your headlines, and read further, your writing is dead.

I've been trying to think of some form of writing which doesn't require a headline, and can't think of anything, except personal notes, or personal snail mail letters… Even email messages have headlines: the subject lines are headlines. 

So, enough waffling from me on headlines. 

Please download my latest report, "Super Simple Headlines That Sell", and discover how to write GREAT headlines.

Posted via email from Angela Booth’s Life Stream

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Ready to kickstart a fantastic copywriting career? Stop wasting time. Imagine starting and running your own highly successful copywriting services business, under the guidance of a top copywriter...Take this online copywriting training course to become a pro copywriter, FAST.

Freelance Writing: On The Road with Philip Gegan

by angela.booth on August 19, 2010

in marketing

Clients are the lifeblood of your writing business. Last week, in Fab Freelance Writing Ezine, we discussed getting writing jobs in the online world, and while that’s great, most writers forget that three’s a whole world of writing clients offline.

Over the years, especially with my copywriting students, I’ve recommended that you get clients locally, because it’s relatively easy. You’ll usually be the only writer who’s ever approached your local businesses.

Philip Gegan is a Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) member. He’s building his client list by focusing on local businesses, and he’s sharing his journey with us.

Here’s Philip’s first article for us; look for more articles from him in the months to come.

Freelance Writing: On The Road

by Philip Gegan

Like many new writers, I was finding it difficult to get clients to write for. I knew the work was out there, so I decided to go out “on the road” and ask for it.

This post is an account of how I started.

It was going to be difficult to sell a writing service to business owners who didn’t know me. Then I realized – they don’t think “writing”, but they do think “marketing”. I would “market” myself – as someone who could increase their profits for them. This, of course, was perfectly true.

I would therefore introduce my prospects to the idea of increasing their profits by using blogs and the social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to relate to their prospects and customers. Once they accepted that was a good idea, so my reasoning went, they would realize they needed my writing services, even if only to handle short blog and Facebook postings (to start with).

The first step, then, was to prepare a Guide in PDF format, downloadable from my web site via an aweber form. This wasn’t too long – 7 or 8 pages – but explained concisely how I could help them use the new social media sites to increase their business.

The first sector I chose was beauty salons. These have the following characteristics – their clients are private individuals who need beauty treatment regularly, they are naturally seeking new clients all the time, and they price their services very highly. They therefore, generally, both need and can afford my writing services.

I researched my local beauty salons and made a list of them, including whether they had a web site or blog, and if they did then whether it was a good site or a poor one. I noted the address and phone number, and if I could find it, the name of the owner or manageress. I avoided very small salons, as they would be less likely to be able to afford a monthly fee to a writer.

This research was easy online. I went to Yell.com and typed in the kind of business I was looking for, and the name of my locality, and got a list, with links to the web site, if there was one, and a location map.

Alternatively I could have gone to Google.com and typed in the type of business and the area name, and obtained a similar list.

I didn’t want to pay for expensive business cards, so I drafted an A4 flyer, printed on yellow paper to leave with each business person I visited. This is big and noticeable enough not to get lost easily. Not too many words – just a headline that hit between the eyes, and a few bullet points that punched home the benefits I could deliver to them.

My first headline was, “Make The Next 12 Months The Most Profitable You’ve Ever Had”. When that proved not to be particularly successful I changed it to, “100 New Customers Each Month”, which seems to be doing better. Then just my logo, website URL and contact details.

When I started visiting businesses, I would simply say who I was and that I believed I could help them with increasing their profits. I would hand them my flyer and explain, indicating the URL, that they could download a free Guide that went into more detail. Then I would say I would ring them or call back in person in a week.

That approach was not successful. Business people are very busy and have to guard against time wasters. I would telephone them after a week, or call back in person, and find the owner had not even looked at the flyer. A different approach had to be found.

With the second version of my flyer, I would hand it to the owner and ask, “How would you like to get 100 new customers a month any time you wanted?” I would then say that I knew they were busy, but they really must download my free Guide which shows them how to do just that.

A week later, I would telephone them. This isn’t always easy, especially for me as I hate telephoning people, but it has to be done. I would then remind them of my visit and, rather than asking them if they had read my Guide yet (usually they hadn’t), told them that I had prepared a really useful CD-ROM full of business information that was invaluable for business people in the area, and that I would like to call in the next day, if convenient, and give them one.

This is definitely a better method, as the CD-ROM, which is basically just an auto-loading web page with links to local and global sites of use to businesses (plus three prominent links to my site), makes for building trust and interest.

Yes, going “on the road” is a hard way of getting business in that it means getting out of the house, meeting strangers and trying to develop a relationship with them that can lead to writing work. And of course it’s 90 per cent disappointment, like most of life (or am I just being pessimistic here?).

It also takes time. It can easily take a month from the first visit to the time when the business owner commissions your first task, and that is more likely to be the setting up of a blog or a Facebook profile rather than any real writing. But all the same it’s something that only has to be done once for each new client, of which you probably only need a dozen or so to keep you fully occupied and well paid.

Try it. All you need to do in preparation is

* draft an A4 flyer

* put together a PDF guide explaining how businesses can use blogs, Facebook and Twitter to get new customers all the time, and make this downloadable from your web site via an aweber form

* prepare a local business resource on CD such as that described here.

Then go to Yell.com or Google and start your journey.

Become a Copywriting Master Fast

Copywriting is writing for business: promotional writing. Copywriters write material like advertisements and compared to most writers, they’re VERY highly paid.

The explosion of the influence of the Web means that copywriters are flooded with offers of work. Even new copywriters find it easy to get copywriting gigs and to build their copywriting services business.

If copywriting intrigues you, join me in my Copywriting Master Class. I’ll take you from copywriting novice to pro.

“Copywriting Master Class – Ten Weeks to Copywriting Genius” gives you a comprehensive copywriting course, as it helps you to set up your copywriting services business.

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Show up As a Writer and You’ll Achieve Success

by angela.booth on August 17, 2010

in writing

If you're not achieving the success you want as a writer, chances are you're just not showing up.

This seems to be a very common challenge; writers run out of steam and enthusiasm not only for a project, but also for their careers.

Apropos of showing up, here's what I wrote on a forum this morning.

Just show up, do what you do. As Woody Allen said: "Eighty percent of success is showing up."

If you feel resistance to DOING, there's always a reason. Brainstorm and do some free writing until you discover what that reason is. Chances are, the reason is important.

Also, leave time for thinking.

Clear your mind, and just sit and think. "Muse" or "wonder" might be better terms for "thinking"; most people don't do enough of just sitting and thinking. If you muse on whatever your current challenge is, chances are you'll come up with a solution… a surprising one. :-)

Re musing, I've noticed that the "musing habit", to coin a term, leads to inspiration and creativity — and more showing up.

What are you showing up for?

I'm thrilled that my latest product has helped more writers kickstart their careers at the outsourcing sites — by showing up.

Here's one writer's results with this material. Four days after her purchase of Instant Income For Writers: Ace the Outsourcing Sites, Christi said:

"I followed the 7 day plan and put in applications on 3 different days. I got one job that is possibly long term, that pays hourly. Then today I logged into my email and had another contract waiting for me. I was just totally thrilled, I have been trying so hard to find work that I could do from home."

Christi showed up: you can too.

Posted via email from Angela Booth’s Life Stream

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Free Report: Super-Simple Article Marketing Plan

by angela.booth on August 14, 2010

in writing

Article marketing is a powerful advertising strategy, and it's deceptively simple.

It looks so easy: write a batch of articles, collect cash.

However, although it's easy, it's far from simple, if you don't know how to make it work. 

Read my new report, and make article marketing work for you.

Tip for writers: if you know how to make article marketing work, this is a powerful writing service you can offer to your clients.

Download the free report.

Posted via email from Angela Booth’s Life Stream

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How to “Make Yourself Write”

by angela.booth on August 11, 2010

in get motivated

makewrite.jpg

Here’s a funny search which I see in this blog’s search statistics at least once a week:

“how do you do make yourself write”

Occasionally it’s phrased as:

“how do I make myself write”

OK, now it’s over to you. I have my own ideas on how you can prod yourself to write, but I’m curious to hear what you think.

Please share your thoughts on making yourself write… :-)

The Write A Book Collection — the ultimate toolbox for writing and selling your books

These days it’s crazy to spend years writing a book, without having any idea as to whether or not you can make money from it. If you want to write, you can – you have a global market, which is hungry for information and entertainment. And YOU can provide it… even if you’re a brand new author.

As you may know, I write and sell many writing guides. I also sell information products in many other areas than writing.

I want to show you how you can do the same, if you wish. Your dreams of writing a book can be the spark which changes your life.

I’ve collected everything I know about writing and selling your books into my brand new Write A Book Collection: it’s the ultimate toolbox for anyone who wants to write and sell books in 2010 and beyond.

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