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How to Become a Freelance Web Writer

It's harder to become a freelance web writer than it is to actually be a web writer. While it can be difficult to get started in the website writing business, you don't have to be the world's greatest writer to do well.

There are plenty of websites that offer writing tips for those who wish to become freelance web writers in the future. I won't rehash what's already been written. Instead, I'd like to use this article to offer you some non-writing tips to becoming a professional web writer — and succeeding with it.

You Must Find a Web Niche

It's hard to become an "all topics" web writer and thrive at it. But it's much easier to become a successful niche writer for a certain industry or audience. When you focus on a particular group, you can build up your credentials much faster and pitch yourself as an expert in that field.

For example, I do a lot of freelance web writing for real estate websites, so I have an entirely separate website that promotes me as an expert real estate writer. "When you think of real estate content think of Brandon." That sort of thing. It's something worth considering when you first start out, and it will help you attract more clients over time.

The Freelance Writer Wears Many Hats

You do not need to be the world's greatest writer in order to be a successful freelance copywriter online. On the contrary, you can do well with decent writing skills (including proper spelling and grammar). But you will need to wear other hats as well. To sustain your own operation, you need to alternate between a marketing hat, a customer service hat, a business owner's hat, and several others as well. It's important to realize this early on.

Growing Your Web Presence

Let's start with the obvious. If you don't already have a business website you will need to get one. How can you promote yourself as a freelance web writer if you don't even have a website? So while you're working on becoming a freelance web writer, you should also be working on your web presence. At a minimum, your website should offer writing samples, your bio (that also explains your specialty / niche), testimonials from clients, and your contact information.

Once you have a basic website up and running, you might want to look into creating a blog as well. It's a great way to expand your web presence in order to pick up more search engine traffic, and it also shows off your web writing and technological skills. In fact, you can become a freelance web writer who specializes in blog content by practicing on your own blog.

Speaking of search engine traffic, you should learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) while you're at it. This is the act of improving your website for better search engine position. For example, if you become a freelance web writer who specializes in the healthcare industry, you would want your site to come up in a Google search for "healthcare writers" and similar phrases. You can get a lot of business this way!

Promoting Yourself as a Web Writer

Many writers are humble and modest about their skills. Humility is certainly a virtue. But if you want to be successful as a freelance web writer you need to toot your own horn, at the right time and place. Potential clients will read your website to see what you're all about. They'll look for testimonials, credentials, and other insight into your skill. So you need to provide these things.

If you have a hard time singing your own praises, have somebody else write your credentials page for you, in the third person: "John has written hundreds of press releases for dozens of clients, and he has a knack for getting the media to take notice..." You get the idea.

Believe it or not, most clients won't spend much time reading through your samples. They will only view them as part of the bigger picture, perhaps only scanning the first paragraph of a few articles. They want to feel good about entrusting their project to you, and they will seek that comfort by perusing your work, reviewing your credentials, reading through your testimonials, etc. So toot your own horn, wherever it's appropriate to do so.

Become a Problem Solver

People will pay you to write web content in some form or fashion. That's what a freelance web writer does. But if you can increase your value to clients by offering related skills, you will have an easier time promoting yourself and attracting business.

For example, I know how to create web pages and edit HTML (website) code. So I can offer more value to my clients by being able to write the content, format it for the web, and then integrate it onto their existing website. Other freelance writers cannot offer all of this, so I use it to my advantage: "Why hire a writer and a web developer when I can do it all for you?" This also increases revenues, as I can charge once for the writing and once for the web maintenance.

About the Author: Brandon Cornett is a freelance copywriter and Internet marketing consultant in Austin, Texas. If you would like to learn more about the Internet side of running your business, check out the author's informative website at http://www.austinseoguy.com

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