Getting Into Writing (Question)

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StrictlyBiznez

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Prior to university, I had a good IM experience, had a website or two up plus I used to do a bit of graphic and web design which would make me good money back then.

These days, due to the time and lack of passion for it, I'm not too interested in the design aspect of things anymore. And in order to really be good at design, you need to be up on your game with the latest styles which is something I lack interest in these days.

However, one thing I've always been good at is writing, and I feel like I could write good articles and copies as a freelancer. The reason I'm looking to get into it, is writing comes pretty naturally to me, plus I have long commutes which could give me ample time to write a couple articles a day.

Now, I've done a bit of reading on BHW and other sites, and I know the best thing to do would be to launch my own blog/website however I don't think I really have the time to maintain and market that at the moment, but it's definitely something to start again in the coming months.

In the mean time, what is the best way to get into writing freelance as a complete newb? I've joined the likes of Freelancer and iWriter but the availability of jobs is surprisingly low.
 
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Writing is
is not the best nowadays. Oversaturation of low cost and low-quality Indians.
 
Dotte said:
Writing is
is not the best nowadays. Oversaturation of low cost and low-quality Indians.
Click to expand...

Well, if you think about it, there is an "oversaturation" of low cost and low-quality everything - not just writing. Like cars. And yet people still buy Bentleys and Toyotas, don't they? What about the clients who are looking for good quality?

Now @OP, I wouldn't say having a blog is the BEST way to get into the writing business. Just a website with a few sample articles and testimonials should be enough; nothing too fancy. That's how I started writing (I HATE writing, but turns out I'm pretty good at it). Then you need to put yourself out there. Maybe a sales thread on BHW/WF? Or "hunting" for clients in the Hire a Freelancer section of this forum and others. Once you get the ball rolling, it's going to get easier. Clients will make multiple orders. They will refer you to their friends. You'll barely need to do active work to find new customers.

I've never joined freelancing websites.
 
muscleteen said:
Well, if you think about it, there is an "oversaturation" of low cost and low-quality everything - not just writing. Like cars. And yet people still buy Bentleys and Toyotas, don't they? What about the clients who are looking for good quality?

Now @OP, I wouldn't say having a blog is the BEST way to get into the writing business. Just a website with a few sample articles and testimonials should be enough; nothing too fancy. That's how I started writing (I HATE writing, but turns out I'm pretty good at it). Then you need to put yourself out there. Maybe a sales thread on BHW/WF? Or "hunting" for clients in the Hire a Freelancer section of this forum and others. Once you get the ball rolling, it's going to get easier. Clients will make multiple orders. They will refer you to their friends. You'll barely need to do active work to find new customers.

I've never joined freelancing websites.
Click to expand...
well how did people find your website? did you have to advertise it?
 
Dotte said:
well how did people find your website? did you have to advertise it?
Click to expand...

Linked to the website in my sales thread. And that's what I show to the people posting writing gigs in the Hire a Freelancer section. It's so much better than just saying "Hi. I'm interested in the job." haha
 
muscleteen said:
Linked to the website in my sales thread. And that's what I show to the people posting writing gigs in the Hire a Freelancer section. It's so much better than just saying "Hi. I'm interested in the job." haha
Click to expand...
smart. How much do you charge per 1000 words?
 
I just looked at the marketplace. it's a bunch of Indians charging two bucks per 1000 words.

Lol!
 
Dotte said:
smart. How much do you charge per 1000 words?
Click to expand...

Depends on the gig really. For "normal" articles, it should be around $2 per 100 words (so $20, to answer your question). Can cost MUCH more or a little bit less depending on the complexity of the gig.
 
Dotte said:
I just looked at the marketplace. it's a bunch of Indians charging two bucks per 1000 words.

Lol!
Click to expand...

Can you even read? This was my starter price for the first few customers so that I get the initial reviews to put on my website. Go to the end of the thread to see my special pricing for BHW members. It's now $1.90 per 100 words. Oh, and I'm not Indian.

P.S. @OP. This is how you get the initial reviews btw. You can offer articles for free, but reviews of paid services are worth much more. Just bring your price down for the first few customers.

Edit: He wasn't talking about me. Sorry for being a d*ck Dotte :(
 
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muscleteen said:
Linked to the website in my sales thread. And that's what I show to the people posting writing gigs in the Hire a Freelancer section. It's so much better than just saying "Hi. I'm interested in the job." haha
Click to expand...

But as you are not a JrVip your sales thread isn't valid nor should you be touting for business, as it is against the rules and not fair on those who have paid to have a sales thread open.
 
MisterF said:
But as you are not a JrVip your sales thread isn't valid nor should you be touting for business, as it is against the rules and not fair on those who have paid to have a sales thread open.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to say that you're wrong. The "rules" that you are referring to says that you need to have Jr. VIP to POST the thread. Nowhere does it say that you need to maintain your Jr. VIP membership to keep the thread running. It's just that you need to have the membership at the time of posting.

Guidelines for Posting and Receiving Approval
For Your Marketplace Thread:
  1. You must have Jr. VIP status.
And back in 2010, it wasn't a rule anyway.

If it becomes illegal to carry guns in the US, you can't really arrest people who used to own one LEGALLY before the law was implemented, can you? New rules are applicable from the time of implementation.

Are you really saying that my thread who Pofecker approved isn't valid? (May he rest in peace; he was a great guy). Who are YOU?

Oh and you are also wrong about this part: "nor should you be touting for business"

Anyone can offer to take on someone's gig in the Hire a Freelancer section. You don't have to be a Jr. VIP for it.
 
LMAO thanks :D

And OP, you've been active recently but haven't replied to my post. Not that you have to, but if my post wasn't helpful enough maybe I can answer questions you have that I didn't cover?
 
muscleteen said:
LMAO thanks :D

And OP, you've been active recently but haven't replied to my post. Not that you have to, but if my post wasn't helpful enough maybe I can answer questions you have that I didn't cover?
Click to expand...

LOL bad habit of mine, I read your reply and found it helpful. Went on to research further, and then forgot to reply.

I'm starting from complete scratch. I've not got much of a portfolio, the posts I wrote for my old sites were god-awful click bait that I wouldn't dream of putting out now. So how do I even get my foot in the door with this?
I have also noticed that the prices certain people are offering on this forum and elsewhere, are completely ridiculous. How do they make their business even relatively profitable - do most people use programs like Dragon or type their content out the old school way?
 
So when you get 2$/100 words on average, how much can you write on a daily basis? That's the point where I struggeled with. Best Regards.
 
muscleteen said:
I'm sorry to say that you're wrong. The "rules" that you are referring to says that you need to have Jr. VIP to POST the thread. Nowhere does it say that you need to maintain your Jr. VIP membership to keep the thread running. It's just that you need to have the membership at the time of posting.

Guidelines for Posting and Receiving Approval
For Your Marketplace Thread:
  1. You must have Jr. VIP status.
And back in 2010, it wasn't a rule anyway.

If it becomes illegal to carry guns in the US, you can't really arrest people who used to own one LEGALLY before the law was implemented, can you? New rules are applicable from the time of implementation.

Are you really saying that my thread who Pofecker approved isn't valid? (May he rest in peace; he was a great guy). Who are YOU?

Oh and you are also wrong about this part: "nor should you be touting for business"

Anyone can offer to take on someone's gig in the Hire a Freelancer section. You don't have to be a Jr. VIP for it.
Click to expand...



At no time did I mention the sales thread wasn't valid, did I ?

Who am I ? I am someone who is going to help educate you - all for free.

If you are going to try to quote rules and regulations back to me, at least ensure you know what you're saying is current;

http://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/attention-all-marketplace-sellers-service-providers-please-read.775848/



Beginning on August 1st, 2015, I am going to start going through all of the threads
in our Marketplace, and if I find that certain OPs have let their Jr. VIP memberships
expire, their threads will be closed until they have re-upped their Jr. VIP status.

The rules state that you must be a Jr. VIP in order to sell in our Marketplace. It doesn't
matter if you WERE a Jr. VIP. You must MAINTAIN your Jr. VIP status to be eligible to
sell in our Marketplace.

Thank You In Advance For Your Compliance.

"Wiz"

So there you go.
 
MisterF said:
At no time did I mention the sales thread wasn't valid, did I ?
Click to expand...

That's literally what you said...

MisterF said:
your sales thread isn't valid
Click to expand...

I didn't know about the new rule, but there is nothing I can do about it - my thread was approved and is still valid until it's closed (not that I use the thread to sell anymore; you'll see that my last post on it was over a year ago). I contacted a mod about this and he said that I will be notified when/before it's closed and I will have the chance to do something about it in time.

StrictlyBiznez said:
LOL bad habit of mine, I read your reply and found it helpful. Went on to research further, and then forgot to reply.

I'm starting from complete scratch. I've not got much of a portfolio, the posts I wrote for my old sites were god-awful click bait that I wouldn't dream of putting out now. So how do I even get my foot in the door with this?
I have also noticed that the prices certain people are offering on this forum and elsewhere, are completely ridiculous. How do they make their business even relatively profitable - do most people use programs like Dragon or type their content out the old school way?
Click to expand...

Write new samples. 7-10 articles about different topics. And you don't have to compete with these people. Offer something different. Offer something that people who sell $2 articles don't (Hint: Quality). BMW doesn't compete with Maruti Suzuki, does it? :p

They make it profitable by taking in HUGE volumes of orders and having other people write it for even cheaper (and the money those writers make is enough in some countries/areas). Then even if they make $0.50 profit per article, at 100 articles a day, it's $50 a day you know.
 
muscleteen said:
That's literally what you said...



I didn't know about the new rule, but there is nothing I can do about it - my thread was approved and is still valid until it's closed (not that I use the thread to sell anymore; you'll see that my last post on it was over a year ago). I contacted a mod about this and he said that I will be notified when/before it's closed and I will have the chance to do something about it in time.



Write new samples. 7-10 articles about different topics. And you don't have to compete with these people. Offer something different. Offer something that people who sell $2 articles don't (Hint: Quality). BMW doesn't compete with Maruti Suzuki, does it? :p

They make it profitable by taking in HUGE volumes of orders and having other people write it for even cheaper (and the money those writers make is enough in some countries/areas). Then even if they make $0.50 profit per article, at 100 articles a day, it's $50 a day you know.
Click to expand...


Interesting, so write sample articles on a range of topics and use that to sell my service... sound advice bro, appreciate it. Would you say it's worth trying to rank my own writing service at this point, or would that be overkill as the first move as a writer?
I'll go down the BHW/WF route I reckon for now, but is there any other sources I'm unaware of? Exc. sites like Freelancer etc, because most people undercut with their bids, and clearly most buyers are looking for cheap content.
 
StrictlyBiznez said:
Would you say it's worth trying to rank my own writing service at this point, or would that be overkill as the first move as a writer?
Click to expand...

Ranking? For what? "Writing"? "Writing service"? "Writer"? Nope. Nope. I think you'd have a better chance with billboard advertising lol. There is no real "long tail keyword" that people use to find writers. They either come to forums like this one, or go on Fiverr, ODesk etc, or if they google it, they will just look for the terms I used above, and good luck ranking for that! Even if you DO, how much would you need to charge per article to justify the cost of the SEO for it?

And nope. I've only used forums and maybe some Fiverr in the beginning.
 
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