Content Magician, Freelance web content writers

Archive for the ‘Working at home’ Category

written by Chris Malta

If you’re starting or running your own home-based online business and you’re confused and frustrated, and don’t know which way to turn for real answers, you’re not alone. There’s so much information coming at you from so many directions! Product choices, store platforms, social marketing, merchant accounts, search engine optimization… where does it all end? How do you make sense of it all?

Well, the first thing you need to know is that it’s normal. If you’re not confused, you’re not an Entrepreneur. Confusion is the natural state of a small business owner. The second thing you need to know is how to get through it.

I’ve started and run many businesses in my 35 year Entrepreneurial career. Yes, it gets much easier along the way, but there is always an element of confusion when you venture into a new field. You can’t help it; that’s just the way it is. Nobody’s born knowing this stuff.

The most important thing you can do for yourself and your business is to take things one step at a time. An online business is made up of four basic things:

• Get Legal
• Find a Product to Sell
• Pick a Storefront
• Market the Business

Of course, within and in between those simple sounding steps are hundreds of little things that need to be done and learned. Meeting and working with people who are already running online businesses is critical to your success. I know a lot of people who have done really well online and made lots of money. None of them did it in a hurry, and all of them sought help from trusted, experienced people in the business community.

Working by yourself in a vacuum is the hardest way to do this, and the quickest way to get confused, frustrated, and end up wasting your time and effort. In most cases, your friends won’t understand what you’re trying to do, and your family will worry about what you’re trying to do.

The first time I left a high-paying job behind to strike out on my own in a business that I started, I didn’t hear the end of it until my business started making more money than my job had! Trying to do this alone is also the best way to get caught up in the thousands of online scams out there. Professional scammers are predators, and they just love to find their prey separated from the safety of the flock!

So slow down, take things one step at a time, concentrate on one part of your business at a time, and seek out someone who can help you.

*** *** ***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author - Chris Malta has been an Entrepreneur for 35 years. He’s the Founder and CEO of WorldwideBrands.com, an EBiz Radio Talk Show Host, a published EBiz Author, Contributing Editor to eBay Radio, and the creator of dozens of instructional EBiz videos and free EBooks. His company is recognized as the best in it’s field by businesses including eBay, Yahoo, Amazon, Intuit, UPS and many others. Chris Malta personally Trains and Mentors new EBiz owners through his Personal EBiz Workshops at http://www.ChrisMalta.com/Workshops. Chris is a well-known crusader against internet business scams. Save yourself a tremendous amount of money in your online business - get Chris Malta’s FREE EBiz Scam Report now at http://www.ChrisMalta.com.

I’ve received many messages from my friends and visitors of both my blog and websites asking me for advice on how to get started as a freelance writer. One of them asked me, point-blank, no-holds-barred, ‘How to get clients ah?’

The internet is a vast space for you to explore your options. In the same way that it is a vast space with an abundance of opportunities, it’s also filled with competitors….with sharp nails…and fangs. They will not hesitate to sink their fangs and nails into your flesh. Especially now that the economy is nose-diving into a pit of possible oblivion, competition is even tougher.

But it’s not impossible to thrive as a freelance writer today and here’s how you’re going to get started.

Write write write and then write some more

No matter how tedious you think this is going to be, I’ll hit you with it. There’s no escaping this. If you want to start building your career as a freelance writer, you’ve got to write, write, write and write some more. Write till it becomes very natural to you. In an ironic way, this is how you’re going to pay for your tuition fees….through experience.

Write for free, write to publicize yourself, write to promote your services, write for peanuts, write and get criticized….this is the first task right there at the top of your to-do list.

Publish articles for free

This is a small part of article marketing. If you’re not familiar, here’s how it works. You write for free, you post it up on an article directory, other website owners go in in search of articles to post in their own website or blog, they find yours, publish it and link it to your own website or profile page.

Essentially, you’re saying, ‘Hey, take this and publish it. It’s free…no, really, it’s free. It’s really….here, try me….please?’ The only condition about publishing your article(s) for free is for them to include your byline (this is where the publicity stunt is, folks) and a link (if you have) back to where you want your potential clients to find you.

Blog about everything, show off what you’ve got

For me, the internet and the blogging platform is the next best thing to an orgasm. You’re running your own tabloid, no editor breathing down your throat and you’re a columnist overnight – use it and use it wisely. Now, although blogs were meant to be online journals IN THE BEGINNING, I believe that they have evolved to an extent that everyone’s got one and if you don’t have one and want to have an online career, you’ll have better chances of making it where the zebras live.

So, start a blog and start displaying your talent.

Bid for projects through freelance websites

In order to reap the rewards of your hard work, experience and skills set, you’ve first got to learn how to grovel. Eat dirt. Getafreelancer (there are many others, so, do your homework) is a haven for grovelers because employers know that most green horns get their starts here and you’re going to have to do the same. In Getafreelancer, an employer posts a project, an army of people bid for the project at less-than-self-respectful prices and then the employer picks one. Most of the time, you’d have to go down really low to get a hold of the project but hey, this is where you start.

The main purpose is for you to get the experience and also build your portfolio.

Somewhere down the road, when you’ve successfully marketed yourself as a freelance writer, people want to see a portfolio. Since you’ve groveled, kissed shoes, begged and worked for peanuts so much, you’ve probably got a tidy bundle of portfolio to show off.

That, my friends, is when your groveling pays off.

Good luck to you!

It’s a matter of habit, really. However, the fact remains that where I sit down, yield the pen (or rather, the keyboard) to write the stuff that I churn out for my freelance writing clients is extremely important to me. This has, partly, to do with discipline. I’ve disciplined myself to tune into my work and come in sync with the topics that I have to write about only when I am sitting in my little ‘office’, a little room that I guard with my life.

Hence, whether I own an iPhone or a laptop is completely irrelevant to me. Of course, there ARE other freelance writers who can sit down and write whatever it is that is required of them whenever or wherever. But that’s just not me. I would rather associate a place that I feel comfortable with doning the ‘thinking cap’ instead of writing on my bed or in the living hall. The feelings just don’t flow.

And besides, I’ve two kids. Which means that I need to train them so that they don’t interupt me whenever I am working on something. Ever since they were young, I’ve taught them that mommy works from home, she writes and whenever she writes, she’s in THAT room over there. And when she’s in THAT room over there, unless it’s really urgent and requires immediate attention, they would have to wait.

But it’s a two way street, of course. For every article that I finish, I would stop, give myself a break and go out and hangout with them for a while. This is the only way I can balance my freelance writing career and my family life.

I envy those who can do their freelance work everywhere because this simply means that they can literally travel without any problems at all and STILL continue to deliver top-notch stuff to their clients. In time, I would have to learnt how to do the same thing. But for now, I think for a lot of people, in order to write well, you need to be in the right frame of mind. And the atmosphere and environment is crucial to how efficient the freelance writer is whenever she/he is behind the keyboard.

The more natural you are at making friends without asking for something back in return, the better your business will be. I’ve figured this out all on my own…imagine that! HA HA HA HA HA!

Anyway, this advice is for all those aspiring web content writers out there who have been sending me emails and asking me for advice on how to become a web content writer on the internet and free themselves from the need to look for employment so that they can lead a more fulfilling life, etc.

Well, let me clear something up here. Even when you’re a freelance web content writer, there’s no GUARANTEE that you’ll live a more fulfilling life.

But the chances are higher compared to when you’re employed, of course.

Today’s advice about being a freelance web content writer is this…make friends freely, often and be genuine. Everywhere you go, online and offline, be nice. When you’re nice to people, they like you and when they do, they ask what you do (cue: tell them that you’re a freelance web content writer), and they’ll remember.

Out of the one-hundred people you tell about your freelance web content writer business, ten will probably remember you. Two of them might have immediate business for you, three are thinking about it. There you have five people thinking about hiring you as their freelance web content writer.

The other five have your name written at the back of their minds…they probably remember you more for your nice behavior and friendliness than your catchy phrases about being a writer…but it’s there.

Somewhere down the road, two of the remaining five might have something for you, and BING! Your name crops up.

This is one of the best ways to break it into the freelance web content writing business.

Ben, this is for you since you’re the last to ask this question.

Cheers!

Love,

Marsha M

The widardrette of words @ freelance writer by choice

I received a question like this from one of my websites? Hhhhmmm….how should I say this? OF COURSE YOU DO!!!

I would say that being a freelance writer or a contract web content writer, you don’t, TECHNICALLY, need a website that tells the world that you’re a freelance writer or a web content writer. But listen, this is something you ought to consider very seriously, indeed. It’s a big undertaking and it’s probably not going to be an overnight thing – an overnight freelance writer’s website is not going to be worth a second look, anyway, so don’t waste your time if this is what you’re aiming for.

We’re living in a digital world and freelance writers rely heavily on how digitally visible you are on the Internet. Not only do freelance writers need a website of their own but almost all types of businesses need a website of their own…at the very least, a good blog.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a journalist or a technical writer, this is going to be where you post most of your work, get the traffic in, sell yourself and your services and probably gain a lot of online presence where potential clients will can take a look at some of the samples that you’ve done in the past. Those past freelance writing gigs says a lot, for your information.

Realistically speaking, not a lot of people would invest time and money on a freelance writer who hasn’t, at least, got something to show them. At the end of the day, you’re pitching yourself against some of the cheapest (and I am not saying best or top quality) freelance writers from some of the countries where the cost of living is low and the survival rate is nothing compared to outs.

In your personal freelance writer website, you’re going to be putting up stuff that saves your potential clients time as well because they don’t need to worry about downloading files the size of the planet and don’t eat up the space on their email account. It’s annoying…and the last thing you want to do is to annoy your potential freelance writing clients.

So, yes. You ABSOLUTELY need a freelance writer website of your own.

Fine. If you don’t have the time or expertise to build a complete freelance writer website of your own, fine. Get yourself one of those free blogs….wordpress, blogger, typepad, blogspirit, bravejournal….whatever it is, get it and post your freelance writing examples, samples, portfolio in there. describe yourself as a freelance writer and convince the potential clients why they should choose YOU instead of your archenemy…archrival….

Having a website of your own can really give your freelance career a boost. Do it and do it now if you want to have an edge over your competitors (and there are tens of thousands…millions, even, of them out there waiting to take your pie out from under your nose).

Note: You are free to republish this article in your website/blog/ezine/magazine, but please include the following by line after the article WITHOUT REMOVING THE LINKS. Thank you.

*** *** ***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marsha Maung is a Malaysian-based freelance writer with two kids. She spends her time ferrying her kids around, watering her plants, writing web content, SEO stuff, ghostwriting books and also indulges in the occasional Facebook-ing. Visit her blog for more dirty details on the life and times of a mother, writer, designer, housekeeper, coffee-maker, poop-wiper, chef…and just about everything else under the sun.

When I first rolled out as a freelance writer, I was moonlighting. It’s not such a revelation because a lot of people do it….and I am sure a lot of people will continue to work on their own businesses, building their nests while holding on to a 9-5 job. While it worked out wonderfully for me, it doesn’t work for all types of businesses.

Before you start rolling out your business, try doing some research and consider very seriously if the idea is truly feasible. At this point, be brutally honest with yourself. I mean, it was possible for me because I started a freelance writing business, for crissakes, and the only mobility issue was when I had to go to the bathroom or make my fifth cup of thick, black coffee. Other than that, I could very well work on my freelance writing career without causing alarm to my bosses and colleagues.

Anyway, think about it very carefully if you’re walking this way, in this general direction, at least. I found this article here very useful and I liked the way Denise O’Berry pointed out  that some businesses are just ‘dying’ and it’s no longer feasible. Heed her advice, folks.

Basically, what I usually do on a weekend is pig out. During the week day, this freelance writer is not to drink a single drop of alcoholic concoction, limited to only one cup of coffee per day and no more than 7 ciggs. During the weekends (beginning Friday), I’ll let everything AND I MEAN EVERYTHING hang loose…which includes my kids’ homework and their Nintendo play time. I know, yikes!

Here’s what I’m driving at, actually. I am thinking along the lines of not touching a single document of my clients’ work on Saturday and Sunday because I would like to spend that time with my kids and my family. If you’re a freelance writer starting out in the writing game, bear this in mind….it’ll save you a whole lot of problem later on…most of them related to your health and mental stability!

You see, when you give yourself a rest and stop doing your freelance work even when you’re home and you have time available, you will be in a better position to recharge yourself. Recharging is crucial to your productivity, mind you, because if you’re not in the perfect frame of mind, what you’re going to produce is a bunch of crap which the client might hate. And you don’t want that…seriously don’t want that.

But a freelance writer like me who is also a workaholic might find refraining or keeping away from work a big ALMIGHTY challenge! It’s like the computer’s there and it’s calling you, beckoning you to finish up just ‘one more article’ before playing with your kids or reading that book. But a freelance writer’s got to do what a freelance writer’s got to do….refrain and abstain from working.

So, my advice for you beginners today would be to know your own limit and toe the boundaries. If you don’t, the line between home and work will be blurred and frankly speaking, that’s when the trouble starts!

One of the best jobs on the Internet just has to be ghostwriting. There’s a lot to like about this invisible career…no commuting, setting your own schedule, developing your own client list, developing your own creativity and getting paid for it, not having to “Dress For Success everyday.”

To some of you, this might sound like the perfect job straight from Heaven. Sometimes it is. Along with the benefits listed above, there’s a few negatives you have to deal with from time to time, like disappointed customers, clients changing the subject matter when the job is almost finished, those who will contest the payment with PayPal after you’ve submitted the finished product.

While all those glowing benefits will make you feel good and add to your bank account, the negatives can bring you down faster than a rock tossed off a cliff. Part of being a successful Ghostwriter is developing a positive mindset and good business practices based on impeccable customer service.

In the best of cases, disagreements will happen and most can be solved with a calm manner and strong customer service. Offer to rewrite the product and get a new list of requirements or improvements from your client. If a solution is not possible, the best remedy is to return the payment and cross that client off your list. Do not badmouth that ex-client on forums. Just move on to your next project.

Developing a ghostwriting mindset, however, is an entirely different thing. Without one, you will not be happy or that productive with your ghostwriting career. Sure, it is a worldwide dream of writing for customers on the computer in your bedroom and telling your boss goodbye. I had the same dream for years. (more…)

It’s painful… to have a website and be sitting there waiting for people to find you and consider the stuff you have to offer there. The process of waiting can be shortened with extensive search engine optimization done to the website. This process involves working some articles into the website, tweaking the META tags of each and every one of the pages, researching on the keywords related to your industry that you think your potential customers or clients will or might use to find your website, exchanging links with others in the industry and doing some social networking.

SEO is essential to every website on the Internet

Sounds like a lot of work? Well, I won’t kid you. It’s a lot of work and some people give up simply because it takes too long. But this is the way internet marketing works. If you’re expecting a magical climb towards the top, you’re in for a sordid find. SEO is good and it’s essential to every single website; and it’s a constant thing too. You don’t stop when you get to the top. There’s monitoring work to do, researching, and changing the pages and home page time and again to make sure it appears ‘active’. Spiders don’t like ‘dead’ things, you see. (more…)

In order to succeed, business owners realize that they have to promote their business. Often times, they need to find creative ways to accomplish this. One way that is being used more and more is blogging. It is a wonderful way to get the word out about your business without spending thousands of dollars on advertising. One of the first things that you should do before you start to blog is determine who is going to be your target audience.

The next thing to remember is that there are certain guidelines that you should follow to be sure you target the audience that your business needs.

Be as clear as possible

What you include in your blog is critical to your business. Be as clear and concise as possible. Do not clutter it with useless facts or blurbs; it will only take away form the subject. You want your readers to focus on the products and services that you provide, not on anything else. (more…)