Welcome to THE WELL-FED E-PUB!
The companion monthly ezine to the quadruple-award-winning how-to guide,
“The Well-Fed Writer.” Serving up food for thought and tasty tips for the
prospering FLCW*. Come on in, sit anywhere and bring your appetite!
*FLCW, peppered throughout the ezine, stands for “Freelance Commercial
Writer”—anyone who freelances for businesses (vs. writing magazine
articles, short stories, poetry, etc.), typically earns $50-125+ an
hour, and is the sole focus of this e-newsletter.
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VOLUME 17, ISSUE 9 – SEPTEMBER 2018
Publishing the first Tuesday of every month since May 2002
Read it online HERE.
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READY TO PULL AWAY FROM THE ARTICLE/BLOG-POST-WRITING CROWD?
“Well-Fed Craft” offers step-by-step guidance on writing the most requested and
high-paying marketing-copywriting projects. Give your copywriting skills a serious
upgrade. Details, testimonials and FREE SAMPLE HERE.
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GOT A BOOK IN YOU? CHECK OUT “THE WELL-FED SELF-PUBLISHER”!
This TRIPLE award-winner comes in various book AND ebook (multiple
formats!) products/bundles HERE!
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ARE YOU PARTNERING WITH DESIGNERS? IF NOT, YOU’RE MI$$ING OUT…
Get the real-world scoop on a low-effort flow of writing jobs HERE! And email ME
to get a 25%-Off code (limited to the first 5 emailers!
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NEW 1-ON-1 COACHING PROGRAMS: SAMPLE/SITE REVIEW & “SIDECAR”!
Low-cost peace of mind and guidance. Details HERE.
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THE WELL-FED WRITER BLOG! Weigh in on, “Good Clients Will Pay
Handsomely for This (Often-Elusive) Outcome”; “Four Client-Repelling
Mistakes, & What I Learned to Do Instead" (Guest Post); "Successful
Copywriters (Or ANY Craftspeople) Don’t Focus on Success; They Focus
on This”; and more!
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THIS MONTH’S MENU:
I. APPETIZER: BETTER MARKETING-WRITING CHOPS = BETTER RATES
New Prospect Shares His Struggle to Find Writers Who “Get” Marketing Writing!
II. “FIELD” GREENS: 5 REASONS NOT TO DISCOUNT YOUR SERVICES
NC FLCW’s Hard-Won Experience for Keeping Your Rates and Self-Respect High!
III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: TAPPING THE TRADE-JOURNAL GOLDMINE
NM FLCW Discovers Trade-Journal Gigs Are the Gateway to FAR More!
IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
MS FLCW Shares a GOOD Bidding Service & the Power of Being Bold!
TIP: Free PDF Compression Utility Makes It Easy to Email Big Samples!
V. COFFEE, MINTS AND TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
- I NEED ALL COURSES FOR THE WELL-FED-E-PUB! PLEASE SHARE!
- The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register HERE, Get Bonus CD!
- How Can My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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I. APPETIZER: BETTER MARKETING-WRITING CHOPS = BETTER RATES
New Prospect Shares His Struggle to Find Writers Who “Get” Marketing Writing!
Had an interesting phone call with a prospective client a few weeks
back. He was the director of corporate communications for a technology
firm in the southwest US, and had found my web site through an organic
Google search.
(FYI, I’m no SEO guru, and I don’t regularly update my site’s content
or tweak my title and description tag copy to attract the Google gods.
And yet, people still find me through Google. Take the time to do some
basic SEO on your site, even if you don’t plan on constantly updating
it. If your experience is like mine, it might just keep delivering for
years to come…)
His story was an all-too-common one I hear from smaller companies:
We’re growing quickly…We’re all wearing many hats…Our demand for new
content is growing faster than we can keep up with it…I’m doing most
of the writing, but I don’t have time to do everything that needs to
get done…We don’t have the internal resources to handle the workload,
but we do have a budget to hire someone to help us.
It’s the predictable small-business trajectory. Happens to just about any
business that’s growing, and, most importantly, that understands what they
need to do in order to keep growing. And all the familiar refrains were there.
But, it was what he said last that really caught my attention…
We’ve hired plenty of writers, but none seem to work out. We can’t
seem to find anyone who really understands marketing writing, and can
handle a variety of writing needs: case studies, sales sheets, web
copy, blog posts, and more.
Think about that: Here’s a company with TONS of pressing needs, AND
the budget to pay a good writer. And they keep coming up empty. Now,
multiply that by thousands. Seriously.
Clearly, they could find writers, just not the right kind of writer. And that’s
why if you are that kind of writer—one with the writing chops, the versatility
across different project types, and the marketing mindset—assuming you
let the world know you’re out there, you will always thrive. And that’s the
point of the above client’s lament:
A company’s marketing-writing needs just can’t be met by regular
“freelance writers.”
Folks like that client get seriously frustrated when dealing with non-marketing-
savvy freelancers. When they find themselves having to explain so much
and rewrite so much, it’s easier to just do it themselves. Which is no solution
to their time/resource crunch.
These folks are looking for someone who can do more than just write a
decent article or blog post. Thousands—heck, tens of thousands—of writers
out there can claim a similar skill set. As such, that skill set has become
“commoditized,” and rates for it are predictably low.
But show up with the skills that folks like this client are seeking, and watch
those rates rise fast. On that “learn-more-to-earn-more” note, let’s eat!
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Tired of competing with countless other “me-too” article/blog post
writers for ever-shrinking rates? Give your marketing-writing skills
the upgrade they need to deliver for clients like the one above, and
for the rates you deserve.
Check out Well-Fed Craft, my popular self-paced course on how to
actually write effective, “high-fee-worthy” versions of the most
popular marketing-writing projects we’re called on to execute in this
business. Details here.
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II. “FIELD” GREENS: 5 REASONS NOT TO DISCOUNT YOUR SERVICES
NC FLCW’s Hard-Won Experience for Keeping Your Rates and Self-Respect High!
Wonderful reminder piece from Apex, NC FLCW Michelle Hill. When business
is slow, it’s natural to want to make it easier for clients to hire you. But, good
clients (the kinds we all want more of), within reason, rarely hire on cost, but
rather, are happy to pay well for a predictable superior outcome.
Thanks, Michelle – good stuff!
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A short and sweet message to all the self-employed folks out there who
are constantly tempted to lower your prices just to get the business.
Sure, there will always be special circumstances where you make a
strategic decision to give someone a break, but make those cases the
rare exception, not the rule. And here’s why…
1) Invites the “Riff-Raff.” Also, the non-serious, the looky-loos, and
the ones who are looking for something for nothing. On a phone call,
when pricing come up, confidently state your fee and then close your
mouth. Let your prospective client tell you whether or not they can
afford your rate.
2) Clients Get Accustomed to Low Rates. When I first started, I
practically gave away my writing service; actually, sometimes I did
give away my expertise in exchange for visibility, autographed books,
and Amazon gift cards.
But, if you automatically lower your rates when a client balks at
them, you’ll train them to always expect cut-rate fees. One time back,
in the early days, I raised my fee by just $10.00 to a client I’d
given discounted fees to. He was offended and I never heard from him
again. Over $10.00! Good riddance.
3) Cheapens the Industry as a Whole. In the ghostwriting niche, I’ve
heard of people writing 200-page manuscripts for $500. Something’s
dreadfully wrong. The entire industry suffers as a result and
perceived value flies out the window.
4) Fosters Resentment Toward your Clients. When I first started
writing professionally and was still figuring out how pricing worked,
I underbid projects all the time. Then the client would have extra
demands (that I didn’t realize I should charge for!), and I’d become
resentful towards the client, and myself, for undercharging.
I used to charge according to my confidence level. Now I charge
according to my expertise. And, you know what? I love my clients
because they pay my fee in return for top-shelf service.
5) Creates Negative Branding. You want to be known as the “cheap
writer?” If you want your brand to be associated with a five-and-dime
market segment by prospective clients, then go for it. If you want to
brand yourself as a top-tier professional, charge commensurate rates.
There you have it. Lessons learned...by me. If you’re just starting
out, hopefully these five reasons can save you some headache and
heartache. Know that your expertise is valuable! You know what others
don’t; that’s why they need what you do. Don’t price yourself out of
the market, but do your homework and charge what you’re worth.
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III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: TAPPING THE TRADE-JOURNAL GOLDMINE
NM FLCW Discovers Trade-Journal Gigs Are the Gateway to FAR More!
Got this wonderful “sure-to-get-the-wheels-turning” piece from Los
Lunas, NM FLCW Liz Farr about her swift FLCW success thanks to a
strategy she admits she just fell into. Got years of targeted experience
in a particular industry? Read and heed. Congrats, Liz and thanks!
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Do you like two-for-one deals? I’ve found a strategy for my FLCW
business that gets me much more than that. A strategy that works so
well that I’m nearly at capacity in my first year as a full-time FLCW,
despite doing almost no marketing.
I’m a CPA, and after spending 15 years doing tax and accounting, I
switched to writing. This makes me an oddball—an accountant who
writes??
For the last two years, I’ve been writing articles for the Journal of
Accountancy, the flagship publication of the American Institute of CPAs
(AICPA). I also write for AccountingWEB, an online news source for
accountants and bookkeepers, and for Intuit’s Firm of the Future blog.
All of these articles—paying gigs, not guest blogs—carry my byline,
and get spread to an audience of my prospects through newsletters and
social media by the publishers themselves.
I don’t need to lift a finger to get my name—and my samples—spread far
and wide. Influencers in the accounting world regularly contact me to
help them with their writing needs.
And when a prospect asks for a sample of my writing, I just send links
to a few articles. My byline connected to these articles means instant
credibility.
As I’ve discovered, many industry trade journals and online publications
need a steady source of fresh content to remain relevant with their
readers. So, if you have industry expertise or professional experience—
as I do as a CPA—publications like these are looking for you.
I stumbled on this by accident. An article in one of the AICPA
e-newsletters caught my eye, so I clicked on the link to send a
response to the editor. At the end of my email, almost as an
afterthought, I added that I was a CPA and a freelance writer, and
perhaps it would make sense for us to connect.
Little did I know the editor was actively looking for writers like me.
A few emails and a phone call later, I was the newest member of the
Journal of Accountancy’s team of freelance writers. Initially, I accepted
assignments because I was looking for paid writing gigs, but I soon
saw there were benefits beyond a nice paycheck.
By following connections from my first article, I landed a well-paying
contract writing for Intuit. Another article led me to working with a
well-known thought leader among accountants, writing lengthy articles
and case studies for a software company.
And those are only two examples of the success I’m having. As my
editor at Intuit told me, “There’s plenty of work out there. The
question is, how busy do you want to be?”
How can you replicate what I did?
If you already write for a particular industry niche or have professional
experience, you probably subscribe to the most important publications
for that industry. Simply introducing yourself to the editors with a link
to something you’ve written might be enough.
Most trade publications prefer you pitch ideas to them. Read past
issues and keep up with current trends to get ideas. War stories from
your professional experience are often a big hit, especially if you
can couch them as “lessons learned.”
A tactic I borrowed from fellow FLCW Steve Slaunwhite is to have two
ideas when you’re ready to pitch to an editor. Share your favorite one
and keep one in your back pocket. If the editor doesn’t like your
first idea, you’ve got a second idea ready to go.
Sound intriguing? Give it a try, and you may get a whole lot more than
just a single paid article.
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PB: Liz sent me this cool addendum the other day: I was in Boston
recently for an accounting conference, and had dinner with two
bookkeepers. They initially had sort of a pitying attitude, imagining
me as a starving writer sacrificing a well-paying job as a CPA, for my
art. Then I told them how much I was making, and their jaws dropped.
My old boss at the CPA firm keeps offering me the opportunity to make
a little extra money with a temp tax-season job. Last time I told him
I would lose money on the deal. More importantly, I just don’t have
time for that nonsense anymore!
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IV. DESSERT: SWEET SUCCESS STORIES & TIPS
MS FLCW Shares a GOOD Bidding Service & the Power of Being Bold!
TIP: Free PDF Compression Utility Makes It Easy to Email Big Samples!
Cool success story from Oxford, MS FLCW Amanda Brandon about a
promising avenue for well-paying writing work on LinkedIn. Not to mention,
the power of NOT following instructions. Great job, Amanda!
After that, a nifty resource for quickly reducing big, graphics-laden PDF
samples to a size easily email-able to clients.
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Commercial freelance writers are often warned about the dangers of
bidding sites. Low pay, weird communication requirements, and a cut of
your fee. I used them when I was getting started as a freelancer, but
I quickly went with networking and responding to ads for writing work.
The pay was better and I like speaking with my clients on the phone
much more than going through a third-party messaging service.
However, sometimes you find an exception. LinkedIn's Profinder service
is top-notch. If you're not familiar with it, get familiar with it.It's a great
source of lucrative work for a small advertising fee. You get 10 proposals
in your trial of the service.
LinkedIn matches you with proposals within 250 miles of your location.
I landed my first gig by going rogue on the structured proposal form.
The client gives you a description of their project and you send a
proposal through their messaging system.
But what's great is you get to offer a free 15-minute phone consult.
You can send your personal contact info, which is a step above the
other players.
I deviated from the norm in my first response to a proposal—submitting
it despite the client saying they only wanted to work with someone in
person. I also took the focus off me and asked a number of questions
about the manual the client was requesting.
These questions led to me writing a full marketing package as well as
editing the manual at a better rate than you'll ever find on a typical
bidding site. Be bold and win the day!
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A really smart way to stay in touch with clients/prospects—beyond just
the typical “Got any work for me?” request, is to send them samples of
your recent work that mirrors some of their ongoing needs. Sort of a
“See?-I-can-do-what-you-need-done” thing.
But, if those samples are big, multi-page, produced pieces, they tend
to be these ginormous 7, 8, or 10 MG+ files that can be tough to email
(or at the very least, forces you to email one sample at a time).
Sure, sometimes you can compress files on your own computer, but in my
(technically-challenged) experience, more often than not, you end up
with a TOO-small file where the images and text are unreadably blurry.
If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat, there are any number of free
utilities out there for compressing those files.
ILovePDF.com is a great option, offering a choice of three levels of
compression. The middle one is generally ideal, dropping the file size
by ~75%, which still keeps things readable, while making the files
small enough to allow you to email several at once. Check it out!
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V. COFFEE, MINTS AND TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
- I NEED ALL COURSES FOR THE WELL-FED-E-PUB! PLEASE SHARE!
- The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register HERE, Get Bonus CD!
- How Can My Mentoring Service Serve You?
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MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
That’s not hype. It’s how my business has worked for the better part
of 18 years, thanks to some juicy partnerships with graphic designers.
The result? 1-2 jobs virtually every month with little or no effort on
my part. And I put all the how-to details down on paper. Details HERE.
And email ME to get a 25%-Off code (limited to the first 5 emailers!)
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I’M STILL SERIOUSLY LOW ON ALL WELL-FED E-PUB COURSES!
Got a great strategy, approach or specific expertise you’re willing to
share? Turn it into a Feature (MAIN COURSE; 500-600 words; query first).
ALSO, send your “GREENS” (300-400 words), TIPS (100-300) and
SUCCESS STORIES (200-400) to ME. Archived issues HERE.
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AWAI COPYWRITING (& OTHER) COURSES: Register HERE, Get Your
Choice of Bonus CD Program! Six-Figure Copywriting, Graphic Design,
Internet Writing, Fundraising, Health Market and more!
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HOW CAN MY MULTIPLE MENTORING PROGRAMS SERVE YOU?
For details and testimonials, visit HERE.
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