Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post by Will Eifert. Please read more about Will in the footer bio.

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

Almost every hopeful writer gets the same advice: “You just have to get your foot in the door.”  I used to wonder what that meant until I did it almost by accident.  I’d like to share it with you, along with some tips to getting your proverbial foot in the door of the writing business.

My first “assignment” wasn’t the result of the sweat of self-marketing brochures or cold calling.  I wanted to fly.  Unfortunately, trying to take flight lessons while earning an EMT salary was laughable.  But I wanted to fly so badly that I conjured up every possible angle on lessening the financial burden.  Then it hit me.  My local airport had no website.

I took a chance, figuring that a small local business would want a website but without spending big money.  The owner of the company was fond of the idea, and I “sold” my writing for the first time—for flight lessons.

As I’ve begun my search for other assignments, a few strategies have stood out:

 ________

 1. Don’t expect a big payout at first.

Face it, if you don’t have a lot of full-time experience in commercial writing, odds are you aren’t necessarily going to get much attention from large corporations right out of the gate.  That shouldn’t be your goal.  You need to generate samples and experience that will get you work from those companies in the future.  Your first few “jobs” may be for little or no monetary compensation, considering the sources that may be most promising.

2. Find small businesses and local organizations.

Starting local is a great route towards getting a few samples in different forms of writing under your belt.  For me, this was a small aircraft sales and maintenance company in small-town Oklahoma.  Seek out local businesses that may be in need of advertising and marketing.  Since more often than not you will be dealing with the business owner, marketing yourself can have a personal nature that will be to your advantage.

3. Blog

Find a topic that you are truly interested in and create a personal yet professional blog about it.  Make the effort to post a couple of paragraphs once or twice a week. A blog gets your voice out there so that people can get to know you and, more importantly, your style of writing.  Don’t underestimate the impact. I have been given staff position interviews simply because the employer was intrigued by my blog.

4. Under-promise and Over-Deliver

This piece of advice is fairly common in the writing world, but I have found that it applies even more important in the early stages.  You may set out writing web copy for a small business only to discover that the business is in need of some direct-mail advertising or ad brochures.  This is your chance to broaden your skills and have samples for potential jobs later on.

 ________

 Don’t get me wrong—your writing is valuable, and you shouldn’t make it a career habit to settle for chicken feed.  Commercial writing can earn you a tidy sum.  You may even make a living on it someday.  However, you have to start somewhere in order to make a name for yourself and have a strong portfolio to present to the clients that will shell out thousands of dollars for your work.

Lastly, don’t cave in to fear when this seems like a daunting task.  Your writing career can’t be built in a day.  Keep your nose to the grindstone and you will see results.

Once you find good clients, the goal is to keep them. This seems obvious, but sometimes by raising your rates, you may lose even your best clients. But you can’t stay at the same rate forever if you want to maintain a freelance writing career. How do you raise your rates without scaring off your clients?

When just starting out, many freelance writers set their rates too low. I know I did. It could be fear or lack of confidence or just not knowing what to charge. After a while, you realize you are just not getting ahead and most of you spend most of your day writing with little in return for your time. No matter who you are, your time is valuable. Life is short. And quality writing takes time.

You may be more comfortable sticking with your current rates than telling your clients that your prices are going up. Again, fear and lack of self-confidence can rear its head again.  If they value your writing, a small increase should not scare your clients. But take these tips into consideration when you decide to break the news.

1. Be Honest!

It is amazing how the truth is the most impressive reason for raising your rates. Tell your client that since you began your career, you have developed as a writer. Mention that you are getting more clients and it is time to focus on the jobs that provide the most effective use of your time. Maybe you are more established in the market now, or have learned additional skills you can bring to the table. Your clients will appreciate your honesty. This is a business, not personal, and there really is no need to apologize for increasing your prices.

2. Give Current Clients Plenty Of Notice

When you plan to raise your rates, give your current clients a heads up so they are not caught by surprise. Send out an email and let them know you will be raising your rates in the near future.  Give them an opportunity to place an order before the increase using a “Buy Now” offer at your lower rate.

3. Have Confidence In Your Writing Skills

As I prepare for book, Calling All Freelance Writers, I have learned that the biggest thing that holds people back from charging more is the lack of confidence in their skills. The key is to find customers that understand the value of quality writing. This is even more true with Google chasing down all the content mills and poor quality websites. If you believe you are worth more than $15 an article, than don’t be afraid to ask.

4. Be Aware that you May Lose Clients and That it’s Okay. 

The good news is that many of your clients will understand and if you have proven yourself, they will stay with you even after you raise your rates. There will probably be a few who just can’t afford it. Don’t stress! Remember, even if you’re only raising your rates by a couple of cents per word, it still means earning the same amount of money for less work. You can afford to lose a few clients if you are charging more for your writing. In the end, you want the clients who can afford to pay.

As long as you communicate with your customers, are honest with them upfront, they can afford to pay for content, and they like your work, increasing your prices should not be an issue. If you are hesitating to send over that email to your clients: don’t! Remember, most will see the value in your work and continue to work with you.

Related articles

• Five Valid Reasons Freelance Writers Need a Website (inspiredtowrite.com)
• 3 Tips to Gain and Maintain Your Clients’ Confidence (inspiredtowrite.com)
• Give Yourself a Raise in 2012 (freelanceswitch.com)

Are you writing to make money? Do you consider yourself a professional writer? Then you need an online presence. Having a website is the most logical way a freelance writer can obtain a presence online.  One of the most effective business tools in your arsenal may be your website.

Your website can be as simple and as elaborate as you want to make it. But there is no doubt about it – we live in a digital age. Even if you have been a professional writer since Microsoft was just a spark in a young guy’s imagination, a website is just a part of the world we live in.

You may be asking, can I be successful without a website? Sure you can, but if you are a brand new freelance writer, that may be tough. And it will certainly require a lot of marketing and mailing of samples.

A website makes life easier. Why?

1. Customers Search Online

When you are looking for information, I bet you turn to the web to do your research. The same holds true for finding and researching services or products. Even if you have a product in mind, you will still turn to the web to read more about that product. The Internet is not going away. Why not be a part of it?

There is a good chance your customers will do a web search to find a professional writer for their content requirements. Potential customers will likely do some of their research online. Unless they know of a writer personally, the prospect will look online to find one.  (Who looks at Yellow Pages anymore? And how many freelance writers list in the Yellow Pages anyhow?)

2. The Website Displays Your Portfolio

Potential clients may want to see your writing portfolio before they hire you. Your website offers a perfect place to post your samples and clips.

Not only can you post your portfolio on your website, but all of your blog posts and pages are available as writing samples. Remember, you never know who is looking at your website, so every piece of writing should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

3. Establishes Credibility and Authority

Credibility and authority are significant buying triggers. Since everyone else wants to create a website for their business, content is in high demand. A website shows your prospects that you have the ability to write online. This helps establish your credibility as a writer. A website says that you take your writing serious and have no plans to skip town as soon as the client makes a payment.

There are also places on your website you can display the professional organizations you belong to. Consider publishing recognitions and awards you have received for your writing.

Your portfolio always demonstrates your professionalism. Testimonials are a huge display of credibility. A website allows you to compile all your accomplishments and put them out there for the world to see.

4. Establishes Your Brand

I started Tiffany Dow’s “Branding Challenge” Course a few weeks ago. The goal behind this challenge is to establish a brand, a personality and positive reputation everyone recognizes and trusts. As a small business owner, your brand is an important element. Customers connect with and want to buy from a brand they recognize. Likeability is a primary buying trigger. If your visitors like you, there is a better chance they are going to hire you. A website established this brand.

The writing on your website will help you connect and communicate with your readers. This is where your personality, ethics, and business style will peek through. Clients and customers will see this as well. This only further enhances your brand to your prospects, which will help sell your writing services.

5. More Effective & Efficient

Finally, your website simply means less work for you in the long run. Instead of mailing samples, marketing full throttle, and answering dozens of emails, having a website is a more effective and efficient may to run your freelance business.

Placing a FAQ page, your policies, an order form or shopping cart, your portfolio, and an About page on your website means all you have to do is send people your website address if they want to know more. This makes life easier for you and your prospects. This helps potential clients do their own research before they hire you.

If you are a writer, a website is simply a must. It really will help you grow and streamline your business.

Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Melissa Cameron.  Melissa, who lives in Texas next to her elderly parents, is married with 2 children. She lives a productive life in Austin, freelancing from home, which allows her to spend more time with her family. She enjoys writing about parenting, history, and how to live a life on a budget.

I am first and foremost a mom, of two lovely kids. However, I also wanted to contribute to the household income to take the pressure off my entire family. After a significant amount of soul-searching, I decided to give it a try. I loved to write, and thought I could easily do this from home. Well, I was wrong about the ‘easy’ part of it.

In addition to all the challenges I had read about, such as the distractions from the family, pets, and neighbors, there were more that I hadn’t considered.

Working from Home (Image by Fabio Bruna @ Flickr)

While I was excited that my new career seemed to be taking off, it was disheartening to find myself with back aches, a sleepiness that I was not accustomed to, and my jeans not fitting quite the same.

I guess it was inevitable when I sat a desk all day, and had a full kitchen within my reach, that my back would hurt more, and my jeans might fit less. But, I wasn’t going to just accept it. So, I decided to do something about it, and not let it get out of control.

When meals and grocery shopping aren’t planned out, they tend to become less and less healthy. Making a meal at the last minute, without a game plan in place often leads to quickly throwing processed ingredients together, rather than those that are more healthy and nutritious.

Then, let’s factor in the sedate lifestyle that sitting at a desk all day brings on. My mom always told me ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’. Well, she wasn’t referring to losing weight. If I sit all day and don’t use the body that I was given, I’m going to lose IT, not the weight.

Beating the Battle of the Work-at-Home-Bulge

First I needed to conquer the nutrition, or lack of actually. After investigating various websites and articles on eating healthy, I decided that planning ahead was the key. So, I now plan out my weekly menu, and grocery list. Knowing what you are going to shop for, and cook, ahead of time really helps you adhere to healthier eating habits.

I also use the slow cooker as much as possible. This not only lets me get the meals started early, but it frees up some of my valuable time, to spend with the kids. There are several websites and cookbooks with fabulous slow cooker recipes. Keep in mind, any recipe can be altered to a healthier state.

Even though healthy eating tends to cost more than unhealthy ‘junk’ eating, it doesn’t have to. In addition to being a writer, I’m also a frugal woman, and proud of it. Finding great coupons goes a long way in keeping the cost down on healthier choices.

Finally, I knew I needed to exercise, because eating healthy wouldn’t be enough to keep me at my healthiest. After searching for options, I found the Bowflex Selectech Dumbbells were something that could easily fit into my schedule, as well as my limited space.

All of the above is something that my entire family can benefit from, so it became our lifestyle, not a diet.

Morphing into a Healthy Lifestyle

• Plan ahead. Planning your grocery lists and menus ahead of time will help substantially in obtaining, and maintaining, a healthy way of life.
• Use the slow cooker. Free up your time to spend more quality time with the family, which was my original goal.
• Cut Coupons. Saving money will keep you on track, and it’s a fun challenge.
• Exercise. I found a great program for the entire family through a P90X program review.

Using the above advice won’t guarantee success, but it will allow your best chance for it. I could have chosen to fall into the trap that I found myself facing, but I didn’t. It has worked out well for our family. Hopefully you will find it helpful in reaching your goals as well.

Are you ready to make some serious money as a writer?

With all the information out there about copywriting, I will not attempt to cover it all in one post.  One of my regular contributors, Chris Hoole, has written dozens of posts on copywriting.  Today, I am going to address those who are just starting out, and want to know where to begin.

Just as with any new venture, you will experience the crawl, walk, and run stages.  I don’t know where you are in that journey, but this post is designed to help those who are in the crawl stages.  If you are a copywriting sprinter, you can probably run off now.

Quick Plug for a Copywriting Book

I want to begin by recommending a book I have read and found extremely helpful. The Copywriter’s Handbook is something everyone interested in copywriting should have in their library. This book, written by copywriting guru, Robert Bly, covers the whole spectrum for copywriting.  Many of his tips can really apply to writing as a whole.  You can get the Kindle version for $10 or a paperback for $12.  Get it today.

I am sure there are other great books, but I read this one myself.  Moving on. . .

Basic Copywriting 101

You probably have heard that copywriting can be a profitable career, for those who are good.  Some of the best copywriters make six figures a year, even on a part-time basis.

Why? Great copywriters are in demand.  Businesses are willing to pay top dollar for a great copywriter who brings in a ton of money for their product or service.

This is my definition:

Copywriting is a form of advertising, words written with the intention of bringing in buyers, leads, prospects, or customers.  Persuasive writing.

It is not for everyone.

Copywriting is not about fancy words or creative writing. Although good writing skills are important, how you use those words are even more essential.   Grammar is not critical.  Bringing in sales is.

If you can bring in hundreds of sales with one memorable catch phrase, you win.  You are a salesperson more than a writer. Again, it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

If you DO Want to Be a Copywriter. . .

Here are the first steps.

Step One: Get Educated

I don’t mean a formal degree.  While a marketing or business degree couldn’t hurt, it is not required to be a successful copywriter.  What I mean by education is the self-taught kind.  Start by getting your hands on Bly’s book, or another known copywriter’s book.  Read blogs or take a copywriting course.  If you can’t afford to buy books, you can borrow them from your local library.

Besides books and blogs, there are a whole host of top notch online articles and forums where you can learn about every type of copywriting available.   Find a mentor that can teach you the right skills and advice. Many successful copywriters have created an abundance of courses, reports, and articles about the skill of copywriting.  Dan Kennedy, Joe Vitale, and John Carlton come to mind.  Find someone with a “style” that fits you.

Step Two: Specialize

I know it can be hard to narrow in on a niche, but it can help you promote and market yourself better.  Specialization makes it easier to find decent clients willing to pay reasonable fees. Choose a specialty that you enjoy writing about.  If you are going to sell something, you better have a passion for it.  Otherwise, the writing will be painful.  It also helps if you have strong knowledge about the topic.

You don’t need to narrow it down to a small niche, but a few hot topics is a good idea. I prefer to write about travel and health related topics.  It doesn’t mean I am closed off to other topics, but these two areas I have passion for and experience with.

Consider specializing in copywriting formats as well.  However, be careful not to close too many doors.  In the beginning, you may not know where the demand is or where your writing interests are.

Here are a few specialties.

• Direct mail
• Email/autoresponders
• Brochures
• Newsletters
• Landing pages
• Social networking pages

Spend time researching your options. Once you choose a niche, with practice, you will start to become more comfortable writing about it.

Step Three: Take Action

Set up shop.   This is the step most people trip up on.  I do it as well.  It is scary to get out there, but you will not make $1.oo if you do not take action.

What does that mean?

First set up a website with samples and a portfolio.  If you don’t have anything yet, it’s okay.  Create your website anyhow. Spend some time on the copy for your website. This will be your opportunity to make a first great impression; you don’t want to screw that up.

If you don’t have any clients for you portfolio, create mock up samples.  To get the ball rolling, contact non-profits or offer free samples to drum up business.   Yes, you may have to complete a few initial projects that make you little or no money. Remember that this is a short phase, but it gives your potential customers a sample of your work.  Make your copy irresistible!

Step Four: Socialize

Once you have your website and portfolio online, let the marketing begin!    Put the word out there.  Get involved with networking groups or forums. Discuss sales copy. Find social groups or networks to market your work and services.

Connect with people in your chosen topic.  Consider creating a mailing list to stay in touch with customers.  Try article marketing, which can be not only an effective online marketing strategy, but a way to showcase your work.  If it is in your budget, submit a press release.  If you write it yourself, you can submit it for free on i-Newswire.com.

Make your services known.

With a little work and some initiative, you will have customers knocking on your door in no time.

When I find good clients, I obviously do not want to lose their business. As an ethical small business owner and freelance writer, I take pride in all of my work, and it is important for me to maintain that confidence in all of my clients.

Hiring a writer can cause a little bit of anxiety, especially for  small business owners.  When they are paying you to write for them, they expect a quality product in return.  With online clients, they will most likely never meet you or even talk to to you on the phone.  Sending over money to someone they have never met can be a nerve-racking experience for business owners.

As a freelance writer, there are a few things you can do to make your client feel more at ease with the process. This can inspire and hold their level of confidence.

1. Be Transparent

Don’t try to be secretive and hold back samples or your writing rates.  Publish your samples, clips, testimonials, and policies online.  There are a variety of reasons some freelance writers choose not to publish their rates.  Whether you choose to publish your rates or not, when you are asked what you charge, be upfront.  I am aware that some projects take more time than others and your rates will reflect that.  Just inform your client of that when he asks.

By being forthright, your prospective client knows what to expect from working with you.  This also portrays that you are a professional and run your business in an ethical manner.  It is important that clients see you take your business serious, instead of a hobby.

Consider a FAQ page on your website, a testimonial page, or blog posts reflecting why customers should hire you as a writer.

2.  Be Knowledgeable

Just like any business, you have to stay on top of the latest industry news and information.  Strive to continuously improve your skills, learn about your niche, know your target audience and writing styles. The more you know, the more information you can share and help your customers. Sharing this knowledge and staying on top of the industry will help boost that confidence in your prospective or current clients.

It is easy to share this information through blog posts or through email or face to face communication. For example, if you learn about a new product in a certain niche through a press release, pass that on to clients in that particular niche.

3. Set You Rates Higher

This may sound like unusual advice because it sounds counter-intuitive. However, when you set your rates too low, your clients may have low expectations or not take you as a serious professional.  When you set your rates at a reasonable, yet competitive rate, customers get the impression that you are a professional who is making a living as a professional writer.  Obviously,  you must back up those rates with quality writing, customer service, and a solid knowledge of the industry.

These three tips can apply to any job in which you produce a service or product.  However, in the online community, it is even more important since the face to face interaction is missing.

How you communicate, your response to a customer’s needs, making reasonable changes, and being dependable and reliable are all additional ways to inspire and maintain your client’s confidence.

The more confidence you gain in your prospects and current clients, the easier it will be to build a solid writing business that aligns with your professional goals.

Fiverr.com (Image via CrunchBase)

Getting new clients for your freelance writing business is a never-ending task; you have to constantly market yourself.  As you become an established freelance writer, new clients will find you via word of mouth.  However, in the beginning, you may have to use your creative skills and tap into different marketing sources.  Sometimes, this means, you will have to lower your rates.

I know it seems to be a contradiction in my last blog post about writing for slave wages.  However, if you are strategic in your methods and your name is attached to your writing, writing for less money is not a bad option.  This is especially true for those writers with a short client list.

One of the ways to do this is with Fiverr.com.  What?  Write an article for $5?!?  I know this seems like slave wage, but if you do it the right way, you may make a little extra cash, establish yourself as a writer, and pick up a few clients.  Freelance Writer, Jennn Fusion did this exact thing.  She is not the only one.  Other freelance writers make $1000-$2000 month doing gigs on Fiverr.  If you write on a topic that doesn’t require a lot of research, this won’t be a difficult job.

Offer Just Enough for a Taste of Your Writing

I am not suggesting that you use Fiverr as your only source for finding clients.  Truthfully, most of the users of Fiverr.com don’t have a large budget, which is why they are shopping on Fiverr.  However, other people may go there as a way to “test the waters” before they hire a freelance writer.  You never know who is lurking around Fiverr, so always put in your best effort.  I have landed a few clients from Fiverr.com by placing a few select gigs on the site.

Be clear in your gig.  If you will only write up to 300 words, state that. If you want them to contact you ahead of time to review the article topic first – put that in your gig.

By setting up an easy gig with a lower word count, you can give buyers a taste of your writing.  After you complete a gig, include a small note telling them about your “premium services.”  Fiverr does not allow you to provide contact information.  To get around this, be sure and have a link to your freelance website in your bio.  If they really like your services, they will find you.

Do you work for less than minimum wage as a writer?  I still can’t believe how cheap people will work for writing.  iWriter is the newest slave labor writing website.   This is my rant of the quarter.  I don’t rant often and try to be inspiring, but COME ON!

Article marketing and content is in such demand that it drives prices down for all the new webmasters to jump on board.  I hate to say it, but the world of Internet marketing makes it seem like all you have to do to make a lot of money is put up a website, a few generic articles – and the riches will be coming in.  With all the auto-this and auto-that, it is like no one wants to work at building a real business.  It is maddening to me.

Here is how you get paid on iWriter.

Question: How much do writers get paid?
Answer: Writers get paid 81% of the price of each article. Paypal takes the rest in transaction fees, as well as Copyscape quality checks to ensure the article is unique. This leaves a profit of $1.62 for a 300 word article, $2.43 for a 500 word article and $4.05 for 700 word article for the writer. If you receive a “special request” from a requester you receive another 5% (i.e. 86%) earnings per article, which equates to $3.01 for a 500 word article.

Gee, thanks.  $3.01?  Really?  Really?  Who can possibly live off that? And that’s with a “special request”?  Even an average, no research involved, generic 500 word article takes 30 minutes to write. Or more.  Let’s do the math.

First, here is what you get per word for those who like to compare par per word rates.

 300 word article =$0.0054 a word.

500 word article – $0.006 a word.

700 word article = $0.0057 a word.

If you drone away and write 10 articles a day (no thanks!), you will (if you are “special”) make all of $30.10.  At 30 minutes an article, non stop, that is 5 hours of work.

5 hours @ $30.10 = $6 an hour!  That is less than minimum wage in the United States.  Plus, a LOT more brain power.  I can do a  mind-numbing job for more than that! Plus, get benefits.  Self-employed, or freelancers, need their OWN computer they pay for, health insurance, etc.

5 hours @ $24.30 = $4.86 an hour

Is that what your time is worth?

You are better off putting those hours into something like marketing yourself to businesses that understand the value of good content.  Or your own website.  Or selling hamburgers and french fries.

And this is assuming you could even get 10 articles a day of work – day after day.  This is assuming you work non-stop.  This is BILLABLE hours.  You don’t get paid for breaks.  A whole 5 days of this and you will pulling your hair out.

Math recap:

5 hours a day. 10 articles a day. 5 days a week.  25 hours a week.  For $121.50 – $150.50. 

And those buying these articles: either you are getting a) really poorly written articles from a non-native English speaker or b) a decent writer who have succumbed to slave labor.

There are times working for cheap, or even free, are beneficial (i.e. guest posts with a byline) or to get your foot in the door of a high traffic and highly respected publication.   But when are just churning out article after article for others to make money from, and you get zero credit and a measly $2.43!!! It is sickening to me.

This motivates me to work harder on my book, Calling All Freelance Writers.  Writers need to know that this is NO way to make a living.  Instead of spending 4-5 hours a day pumping out boring, generic articles for a whole $30, there are much better ways to make money writing, which will be a part of my book’s message.

I am done.  Soap box. Off.

I would LOVE to hear comments on this one.

Related articles

• Hiring a Writer – You Get What You Pay For (freelancewritingprofessional.com)
• Writers are Happy Getting Paid $.88 an Article! (inspiredtowrite.com)
• Getting the “Good” Writing Assignments (inspiredtowrite.com)

Image via CrunchBase

I have had a love-hate relationship with Suite 101. Since it is the first place I began my online freelance writing career back in 2008, I guess I have never completely given up on the roller coaster relationship.  I took a hiatus at the end of 2009, but that was more for personal reasons.

I have seen so many changes with the site (mostly good), that I am quite impressed with their tenacity.  After the Google Panda debacle, they made more changes.  Again.

One of the big changes is to give all writers their own subdomain.  So, for example, my profile and all my Suite 101 articles now fall under julie-mcelroy.suite101.com.  This is good and bad in my opinion.  The bad news is now writers lost that PR 7 link juice that came from the main domain.  It is like starting over to build up your online reputation in the search engines eyes.

The good news is is separates the good writers from the spam and poor writers.  This is the intent of Suite – to not punish the entire site for a few bad apples, but reward individual authors. It all gets your name out there in the search engines (which could be good or bad depending on how you feel about your name on the Internet).

Many people on Suite 101 are claiming their Page Views and income has gone up since this subdomain change occurred.  I have not seen this yet, I think it is too early to tell.  However, I have seen a slight increase in my revenue since pre-Panda.  But that is also due to that fact that on September 1st, I became a Feature Writer, which includes a revenue bonus.

Overall, I have seen that Suite 101 is starting to slowing creep back up in traffic, but mainly in the last month.

It is too early to say what is going to happen. However, Suite has been around since 1997 and I don’t see them throwing in the towel anytime soon, despite what Matt Cutts thinks about them.

Should You Write for Suite 101?

Well, that depends on your goals.  I would say, don’t use it as your only place for writing.  If you want to take your career as a freelance writer to a more professional level, seek out other options.  If you don’t care about making a lot of money and just want to publish online, Suite 101 is one of the better options.  The community is helpful and they are more partiuclar than some sites I see.

In Google’s eyes, it is a “content farm,” but I disagree.  First of all, not anyone can write for Suite.  You have to apply with a sample of your writing. Not everyone gets accepted, so I don’t consider it a place for spammers.  Back in 2008, I was accepted as a writer there.  I imagine now, they are even more particular in who they accept.

They also have editors and now topic editors.  I guarantee any spammy, overly promotional, affiliate link filled article will get rejected.  So while it does have a lot of content from various niches, the content is regulated to keep the spam out.

Overall, there are possibilities at least to get your foot in the door as a writer.  But don’t expect riches or even enough for a car payment for quite awhile.  It is a way to get clips and exposure as long as your articles are of high quality and helpful to online readers.  You first have to get past the application process.

Some writers would argue that you should not get your start with a content farm, but I guess it depends on your definition. I happen to disagree with Google.  But, that is just me.

Editor’s Note:  This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book “Power Queries.”

Ever since I began my “Drive Thru Coaching Program,” (Note: this program has been discontinued), I’ve received a steady flow of freelancers who need just a little nudge in the right direction concerning their career. As I’ve spoken with these incredible folks, I’ve noticed a bit of a trend and thought I’d address the most pressing issues here.

For starters, most questions revolve around websites. To give you a leg up on the competition, here are the answers to the top five questions I’ve received so far:

1. Keep your website “clean.” Eliminate clutter. Create a logical flow to your information. Ditch silly graphics/animations that don’t propel your message forward. Choose readable, dark, fonts on a white or cream background. No red print/black background color scheme. Keep it simple… and profitable.

2. The number one rule in selling is to focus on your customer, not your product. Don’t talk about yourself either. Count the number of time you use the word “we/I” versus the word “you.” If “we/I” outnumbers “you” you’re talking about yourself too much. So, what do you write about? Talk about what you can do for your customer.

3. Next rule: people purchase products for emotional reasons, not logical. This means your writing needs to strike an emotion chord with your reader. Help them imagine a better life because of their affiliation with you. Show them how your product will improve their day. Logic is only used to justify that emotional decision, and your web pages needs to reflect this.

4. Features versus benefits. Here’s an example from a candle-maker site: “Our candles are highly scented and guaranteed to stink up your home in minutes.” This is a feature. It tells me what the candles do. But what’s in it for me, the potential purchaser? Why do I want my house “stunk” up? The candle maker knows the reason for that answer, but I (as a reader) may not know this.

Turn this feature into a benefit. Try this: Our candles are highly scented and guaranteed to stink up your home in minutes. This means that… (fill in blank)… so that… (end sentence).

5. Finally, make sure your website is online. This means you’re using a reliable hosting company. If someone, a prospective customer, heads to your site only to receive an error message, you’ve lost a customer despite the hard work of constructing your site.

Final word: If your site can be interchanged with any other freelancer, then your site will never rise above the teeming crowd. Make it a reflection of you. Go completely overboard doing this and you’ll probably be close to the mark. Remember that the very fact that you are in charge of your business makes it unique. You need to pinpoint that uniqueness and capitalize on it every chance you get.

Oh and all these tips apply to every piece of sales materials you distribute, including labels, brochures, etc.