Write for the Web - get work with mini-proposals

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This week I received a message from a freelance writer who bought my ebook Writing For The Web. She wasn’t sure what I meant by writing proposals to get work writing for the Web.

Proposals are used by businesses to make sales, often in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP). However, the proposals that you make to businesses are mini-proposals. In essence, mini-proposals are simple letters or email messages which identify a need, and an offer of how you could meet that need.

Since the response I wrote can help other writers too, here’s some of the response below. Note - when you buy one of my reports or ebooks, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions, or there’s something that’s not clear.

My response on mini-proposals:

Essentially, your proposal is informal, it’s not a RFP (Request For
Proposals) that a company has put out, so it’s best to structure it in
the form of a letter which presents benefits to the company of working
with you - people always want to know what you can do for them, so
please keep that at the forefront of your mind. This is just a very
simple letter, introducing yourself and offering a couple of ideas.

For example, let’s say you’ve visited the Web site of a local company.
(If you’re a new writer, it’s best to aim at your local market,
because you’re familiar with local conditions, and local businesses
usually won’t have been approached by another copywriter - they may not even know what a copywriter does - so you’ve got a fertile field.)

You notice that the site doesn’t have an About Us page, and the home
page is just a large graphic. The company is missing out on making
sales, because all buyers will go to the About Us page to learn more
about the company. The home page needs text, because the search
engines index text. If the company has no text on the home page, they
won’t be found.

Just send the company an email message, addressed to the owner, or
marketing manager.

Include:

* Your name and complete contact details, as if you were writing an
ordinary postal mail message

* Your proposal (revamped About Us page, text for the home page) - “I
visited your site at www.yourparticularfictionalsite.com, and noticed that your About Us page doesn’t give complete details about your business. I also noticed that you have no text on your home page. I’m a freelance copywriter,
and …. etc”

* And close by stating that if they have any copywriting needs, now or
in the future, please keep your name and details on file - you’re
available for copywriting work. They can contact you on (your phone
number) during the hours of (your office hours.)

Create a basic email template for yourself with your contact details,
so you can shoot off a quick message to any sites that seem
appropriate.

~~~ Recommendation ~~~

If you don’t have a Web site, do that TODAY. Here’s a recent post about Google Page Creator. Use that free option so you can get a few pages of a mini-site online quickly. You MUST have a Web site for companies to see what you can do.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Angela

P.S. Re local. Get in touch with your local advertising and graphics
design agencies. Tell them you’re available for freelance work. All
local agencies need writers to meet sudden new commitments. They can
be a steady source of ongoing work for you.

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