Fab Freelance Writing Ezine - Issue 20: Copywriting Success - If You Can Write A Letter, You Can Write Copy



Publisher: Angela Booth.

Copyright 2007 Angela Booth

All rights reserved.

Blog:
http://www.fabfreelancewriting.com/blog/

Site:
http://www.fabfreelancewriting.com


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* Issue # 20

* Date: February 28, 2007

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Includes:

* Editorial: The Ezine's All Grown Up, With A New Site

* Freelance Writing Tip Of The Week: Don't Get Caught In The "Hourly Rate" Trap

* Article: Copywriting Success - If You Can Write A Letter, You Can Write Copy

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** Get Copywriting Clients In Seven Days **

My ebook/ course "Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success" has been taking the mystery out of copywriting for new copywriters for five years.

I love it when writers call me and say "I got a client!" or "I'm booked solid for three months" - I expect that, so it's very amusing.

The fact is - if you can write copy, you can write your own ticket. You WILL get clients, you WILL make as much money as you want to make. Copywriting is a necessity for every business. In just a week, your life can change.

"Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success" is your key to financial freedom and security for you and your family:

http:////Copywriting/copywriting.html


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[Editorial] The Ezine's All Grown Up, With A New Site



Hi - I hope you're having a great writing week, and making lots of money with your talent.

We're at Issue #20 already, and the ezine is growing fast. This week I had to make a decision about the ezine's archives - host them in a sub-domain of this site, or get a new domain name for the ezine, so that it get its very own site. I decided that I'd get a new domain, so I can better organize the archives, and make the resources a unique library that you can visit again and again as you build your writing skills.

So watch for the Fab Writers' Ezine site launching soon - the ezine's name won't change, but the location will.

This week's article is about copywriting, my favourite way of making money as a freelancer. Many professional writers write copy - it's easy, it's fast, you get paid half up front, and there's more work that you can handle, so what's not to like? Novelists write copy, article writers write copy, and of course nonfiction book writers write copy. Your skills at copywriting add another string to your writing bow - so that if you need some quick cash, you can write a brochure, or the copy for a Web site, and your bank account thanks you.

While some writers are hesitant about writing copy, I assure you that if you can write a letter, you can write copy.

I've revised and updated my copywriting manual "Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success" for 2007 - it first launched in 2002, and since then many writers have kicked off their own copywriting services business using the ebook as a guide -

http:////Copywriting/copywriting.html

There's an excerpt available, to give you the flavor of the ebook.

Writing For The Web - Yes, It's Copywriting, But It's Much More, Too



I've had a couple of questions about "Writing For The Web" at
http:////Web_Write/Web_write.html

While "Writing For The Web" is a companion ebook to "Seven Days To Easy Money: Copywriting Success", it's not a replacement. It doesn't cover the same material. As the name says, it covers Web writing.

Keep writing!

Affectionately,

Angela

P.S. Writing for the Web has become an entirely new field of freelance writing, so I've created a new blog for it - Fab Web Writer at

http://www.//

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** Struggling To Find Writing Gigs? **

Freelance writers just don't realize how much money there is to be made by writing for the Web: many writers use the Web as a research tool, they don't see the Web as a mass of millions of markets. They don't realize that Web sites are STARVED for good writers.

Want to get paid REAL money to write? How does upwards of $120 an hour sound to you? Discover "Writing For The Web" at:

http://www.//Web_Write/Web_write.html

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* Freelance Writing Tip Of The Week: Don't Get Caught In The "Hourly Rate" Trap



Many writers get caught in the Hourly Rate Trap. It's easily avoided, if you know the trap exists. Let's see the trap in operation.

You're hired to write a brochure. Easy peasy, right? The client asks your hourly rate, and you tell him that it's $75, and that it should take you five hours to complete. That's $375, and it's not bad. Not great, but not totally bad.

That deep clunking sound you hear behind you is the Hourly Rate Trap slamming shut.

You're now on the hook for $375.

Two weeks later, you realize that you've already spent fifteen hours on the project, and there's no end in sight. How did it happen? Here's how:

* A visit to the client - one hour, plus two hours driving time, equals three hours;

* Calls to the client for information, and time spent searching for the information yourself, equals two hours;

* Writing time - five hours;

* Discussions with the designer, who wants a minimalist theme. So you try to condense 600 words into 200 - two hours;

* Calls from the client, the client's office manager, the designer, the printer - two hours;

* Trip to the printer to check on client's new logo - one hour.

FIFTEEN HOURS.

That's the Hourly Rate Trap in operation. How to avoid it? Since you now know it exists, it's easy to avoid. Just add a rider to your writing agreement that this is an estimate. All time spend working for the client on the project will be itemized, and will be payable on invoice. Then make sure you invoice at least once a week, no matter how long the project takes.

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** Discover Pro Blogging And Increase Your Freelance Income **

What's pro blogging? Pro blogging is a fantastic way to make BIG money as a freelance writer. Find out how to pro blog with the blogging best-seller "Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want". It's my complete blogging ebook package, with free coaching/ consultations as well. Pro bloggers are making $1000 to $1500 a week for just a couple of hours of work each weekday.

Find out more at:

http://www.//Blog/blogging.html


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* Article: Copywriting Success: If You Can Write A Letter, You Can Write Copy



(c) 2007. Angela Booth. All Rights Reserved.


Writing copy is the easiest and fastest way to make a great income as a writer. With other forms of writing like novels, non-fiction books, articles and screenplays, it's a buyers' market, and you're at the whim of editors. But when you write copy, you're in demand and it's a seller's market: when the word gets out that you write copy, you'll be booked solid for weeks and months ahead.

So becoming a copywriter is the way to go if you want to make a consistently high income writing.

Copywriting Basics - What Do Copywriters Write?



Copywriters write "copy". Copy is usually marketing-related material of some kind, like brochures, flyers, Web site content, advertisements, and so on. Essentially, it's business writing. Copywriting commissions can also be for longer material, like books and manuals, as well as audio-visual material, like scripts for TV, radio and video.

How Do You Get Copywriting Commissions?



You start by creating some samples for your portfolio. The people who buy your services want to see what you can do. So write a couple of advertisements, a review or two (pick products for review which you already own), and you're done. Until you get some "real" commissions, these samples are your portfolio.

Once you've created a few samples, you've got many options for promoting your new copywriting business - and yes, copywriters are in business, just like the companies for which they write copy. It's important that you create a business mindset: you have a skill, that skill is worth money, and your aim is to be paid well for that skill.

The easiest option is simply to create a small Web site, and promote the site. You can also visit some of the many out-sourcing sites online, and bid on the projects. The main point to remember here is: don't bid too low. While it's tempting to do so, you're likely to get more work if you set an appropriate rate for your services.

There you have it - you'll find it's true: if you can write a letter, you can write copy. You've been exposed to copy your entire life, so writing it comes naturally to writers. I wish you much copywriting success: it's a skill that can keep bringing in the dollars for your entire writing career.

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** Sell Everything You Write - Yes, You Can **

Have you ever wondered why some writers sell everything they write, from short articles, to books and screenplays?

No, they're not better writers than you are. In fact, they may be barely competent as writers. Nevertheless, their income and fame grows, while your hard drive is stuffed with material you can't sell.

Discover how to sell everything you write, with my ebook "You CAN Sell Your Writing Now: Marketing Skills For Writers":

http:////Market-writing/sell-writing.html

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Get the latest freelance blogging news on Blogging For Dollars at:

http://www.dollars2blog.com/blog/

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** Write It Once And Sell It Forever - **

Get A Constant Flow Of Cash By Writing And Selling Ebooks... It's Much, Much Easier Than You Think

Ebooks are BIG online. Most ebooks contain from five to 100 pages, and sell anywhere from $10 to $100 dollars, and over, depending on the information. Clever writers are realizing that there's gold in ebooks, and that they're well-placed to mine that gold...

Discover how you can self-publish online, and make a great income, writing and selling ebooks with "Write and Sell an eBook: Every Writer's Quick-Action Guide To Writing Ebooks":

http:////ebooks/write-ebooks.html



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