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View Full Version : Where should a new copywriter be looking for business?



isleworth
12-28-2014, 02:05 PM
One thing that has never ceased to amaze me is how few people can actually write good English grammar to a consistently high standard, even in the world of business. There is clearly a market for copy and content writers but I would be interested to know where more experienced forum users feel I should be looking to offer my services?

I have looked at sites such as Freelancer but it would appear I am up against non-English speakers who are prepared to write keyword-laced garbage for a dollar a time, and I really am not interested in competing within that market.

Any information or advice gratefully received. Many thanks.

Harold Mansfield
12-28-2014, 02:12 PM
You need to set yourself apart from the discount market and expand your reach to attract people nation and worldwide. You can't do that handshake by handshake, so the first thing you'll need is a decent website that targets your market, and then learn how to make yourself found by them.

CreativeSolutionsTogether
12-31-2014, 01:16 PM
It is sadly a difficult market for the good quality copywriters of the world. I have watched this occur for years. In the last few years, it has gotten even worse. I believe Freelancer is not the best place to sell your services because I think it is owned by the market of cheap and non-native English speakers.

Out of the websites that post jobs needing copywriting, Elance is a better bet for you. They charge a much cheaper rate for copywriters when they do jobs in addition to not being "sold out" as much as Freelancer. I have experienced for clients (and myself) alot of scammers and liars on Freelancer and People Per Hour. These individuals have been on the freelancer and client side of these websites. They claim to know more than they do, claim to do the work themselves but use software, and are offering rates that I hope some day Small Business Owners see as a sign of bad quality do not hire me ever.

I occasionally post our services to Small Business Owners needing major assistance on Elance and they will chose a much cheaper alternative to hiring an Administrative Consultant. Everytime it shocks me, as I know from first hand these clients are not going to get what they want. To make it even worse, alot of these individuals charge hours to more than one client at the same time using multiple computers and phones. This is what I call a scam artist but they do not see it that way and are obvious about doing it to the client.

I wish you luck, Be true in your job proposals when you post them. Try different ways of starting out the job proposal, like something with humor. A sentence that grabs the attention of the client posting the job and is different than any of the other job proposals (at least with the first few sentences). Do not lower your prices and work for nothing. It is sad to see when this happens. Lowering your service is not worth the time and effort as if you are an experts in your field, your results should match your price. I believe having it done with quality is worth the money. Why hire multiple people to get a job done when you could hire someone who can do it right the first time and will be there when you need them in the future.

In addition, try advertising your services on places like ThumbTack, Craigslist, and others. If you market yourself enough, you will get a flow of individuals and business owners who use you every time they need a good copywriter. Do you have a website? If not, put together a simple one page website using Word Press to talk about your expertise and ways to get a hold of you.

Good luck!

"We are the Secret Weapon to the Small Business Owners Success"

isleworth
01-01-2015, 12:54 PM
Anybody who uses software for copywriting really is operating at the bargain basement end of the market. This stuff has been available for many years but is still far from capable of turning out intelligible material in proper English. Customers who use copy from this source in order to save a few pennies deserve what they get.

MattAmbrose
01-07-2015, 03:34 AM
I'd sidestep the race to the bottom on freelance sites and get networking in the real world as much as possible. Attend local Chamber of Commerce events, Meetups and send a letter (not an email) to web design, PR and marketing agencies in your city. Offer to pay for coffee and explain how you offer added value beyond content alone e.g. email marketing, content marketing, content strategy, white hat SEO etc. People will pay a premium for a copywriter they can work with in person, instead of taking the risk of finding one online.

smallbizfinancier
01-07-2015, 08:16 PM
A great place for a new copywriter to start is www.elance.com or to a limited extent fiverr. Have you heard of those sites? On elance, search copyrighter or article writer. You'll notice that SMB owners are looking for freelancers for content writing: blogs, testimonials, website pages, etc. You can work with each project that peaks your interest. If the price seems reasonable, go for it! I bet you'll have great luck.

Best,

tommorder
01-22-2015, 01:13 PM
isleworth, I would start a blog because that gives you a chance to highlight your writing skills. I would also think about guest blogging, because that would make your writing skills visible to an already established blog's audience. To be a guest blogger, just ask bloggers if you could write a guest post on their blog, sometimes bloggers are even looking for guest bloggers so just search for writers looking for guest bloggers. Some of these bloggers may even be willing to compensate you if you are a regular contributor to their blog.