Freelance Writing: the Plum Writing Jobs You’re Ignoring, Part Two

Have you read Part One of this article? If you haven’t, please read that first.

Now let’s discuss the easiest writing jobs you’ll ever get.

1. Write Local: Local Businesses and Associations Need YOU

The Web is a huge market for your freelance writing services, no question. There are endless opportunities.

However, it’s also highly competitive. If you’re a new writer, the only Web writing jobs which are easy for you to get are with the Web content factories. I have nothing against these companies, they’re useful for new writers — but only to learn how to interact online. It’s impossible for you to develop a great career writing for these venues.

It’s a thousand times easier to write for local businesses and associations, no matter what country you’re in. By “local”, I mean your nearest large city, or your state. In 99 per cent of cases, your local businesses have never been approached by a writer before. Indeed, many are unaware that they can hire writers.

Almost any local business with ten employees or more needs the services of a writer. Half of them don’t have websites, and they feel guilty about this. They know that they need some kind of online presence, but don’t know how to get started. This is a huge opportunity for you.

Start thinking about what writing services you could offer to local businesses and associations.

Make a list of writing services you could provide now.

2. Start: Prepare Your Templates

Next, prepare some templates. You need templates for: a letter of introduction, your writing services agreement, as well as templates for your services, invoices and statements.

3. Print up Some Business Cards and Flyers

You need business cards and flyers to distribute. It’s simple to create these in your word processing program, and print them out. They don’t need to be glitzy. Keep it simple. Remember to include your name, your phone number, and your email address, as well as your website address.

Distribute your business cards to all your friends, and relatives. Give each person a bundle of 20 cards, and ask them to pass them to their colleagues.

Print up 100 flyers, and take a walk around your local business district, and distribute them.

4. Develop Your USP and the Benefits You Provide: Get Clear in Your Own Mind

You need to know your own Unique Sales Proposition (USP): what benefits do businesses get through working with you?

Do some free writing, to get some ideas. It’s important to be clear in your own mind about what your USP is. For local businesses your USP can be very simple: you’re the person they call when they need to get something — anything — written. It could be a newsletter for their customers, a promotional mailing, a website, an advertisement for the local paper, a speech…

5. It’s a Numbers Game: Tell Everyone, and Keep Telling Them

Local businesses are easy to work with. Your initial challenge is to spread the word about what you provide. Hand your business cards out wherever you go. Talk to people. You’ll find that it will take you a couple of weeks to get your first client, but from then on, you’ll get a steady stream of clients.

Here’s the best part. You’ll find that your local businesses will love you — they consider writing to be “magic”, because they can’t do it.

So there you go — start getting all the plum writing jobs you’ve been ignoring. Your writing career will take off, I promise you.

Write more – become a pro writer

Yes, you can write more and become an expert writer – even if you’re a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them – they’re not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you’re struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you’ll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.