If you want to make writing your career, and have an ambition to work from home, then unless you've got the great American novel ready and prepared you have got to set your sights elsewhere.
Copywriting would be a good place to start, as a lot of companies are finding it is cheaper to outsource their work to copywriting service companies, rather than keep an in-house team.
Another great advantage of using freelance copywriters is that their creativity is usually more varied than that of writers who've worked for the same company three years.
A successful copywriter will always be in demand, and if you are working freelance you have the option to pick and choose the assignments you want, once you have established yourself in the market.
The skill of a copywriter is to be able to write advertising copy, whether it is an article or just a few lines in an advertisement, that immediately grabs the reader's attention.
When somebody is looking through a newspaper, or a magazine, they are not looking for specific advertisements, they are looking for interesting articles, so the wording that you use has to entice the reader to stop and pay attention to what you have written.
However, the job of a copywriter is not only to write advertising copy, a lot of freelance writers just write articles.
The articles they write are generic, but based on a certain type of product or service, as requested by the company, who has hired the writer.
These articles are then placed near an advertisement selling the type of product discussed in the article.
This will get the reader interested in the subject matter, and also pay more attention to the product being advertised.
You will probably get the assignment to write the advert as well.
The articles that are written could be placed in newspapers, magazines, or even on-line.
A lot of companies are going for webbased articles as they are available for a lot longer than their printed equivalents.
Newspapers and magazines are thrown away when they have been read, and the advertisement is never seen again; however, web-based copy is there until it is removed by the publisher.
The writing of on-line copy incorporates another skill.
Writing advertisements for use online needs more than just the ability to use words that attract readers, you will also have to understand search engine optimization, (SEO).
The use of SEO techniques is to ensure that the major search engines can find your advertising copy whenever people type certain phrases related to the products you are trying to sell.
The better the article is optimized relates to how high your article is listed on the search engines results page.
A good freelance copywriter will have an understanding of the type of audience that is being targeted, and use the words or phrases that they might use whilst trying to find what they are looking for.
If you can master SEO, then you will be well on the way to an extremely successful freelance writing career.
The biggest problem you will have is at the very start of your career.
Unless you advertise your own services, nobody will know you exist.
These advertisements have also got to be of a very high standard so that your potential clients can see what you are capable of producing.
If they believe you are suitable for the assignment that they have on offer, it shows that your copywriting skills have passed the first test.
You will also see jobs advertised on the freelancing job sites that can be found all over the Internet.
With these, you will find that you have to bid for the job, and that the pay is not very high, but you should not let that put you off.
The reason for this is that every job you complete successfully can be added to your portfolio to help you get more lucrative assignments.
This also means the same amount of effort should be put into a job that you are being paid $10 for, as one that you are being paid $100 for, as your reputation is on-the-line with every piece of copy you write.
Companies will always need copywriters, as they will always need clients and your articles can be the very ones that attract them.
The higher the quality of your writing, the more chance you have of being in demand.
As a freelance copywriter you should be able to make a substantial living, combined with the benefits of being able to work from home.
Copywriting would be a good place to start, as a lot of companies are finding it is cheaper to outsource their work to copywriting service companies, rather than keep an in-house team.
Another great advantage of using freelance copywriters is that their creativity is usually more varied than that of writers who've worked for the same company three years.
A successful copywriter will always be in demand, and if you are working freelance you have the option to pick and choose the assignments you want, once you have established yourself in the market.
The skill of a copywriter is to be able to write advertising copy, whether it is an article or just a few lines in an advertisement, that immediately grabs the reader's attention.
When somebody is looking through a newspaper, or a magazine, they are not looking for specific advertisements, they are looking for interesting articles, so the wording that you use has to entice the reader to stop and pay attention to what you have written.
However, the job of a copywriter is not only to write advertising copy, a lot of freelance writers just write articles.
The articles they write are generic, but based on a certain type of product or service, as requested by the company, who has hired the writer.
These articles are then placed near an advertisement selling the type of product discussed in the article.
This will get the reader interested in the subject matter, and also pay more attention to the product being advertised.
You will probably get the assignment to write the advert as well.
The articles that are written could be placed in newspapers, magazines, or even on-line.
A lot of companies are going for webbased articles as they are available for a lot longer than their printed equivalents.
Newspapers and magazines are thrown away when they have been read, and the advertisement is never seen again; however, web-based copy is there until it is removed by the publisher.
The writing of on-line copy incorporates another skill.
Writing advertisements for use online needs more than just the ability to use words that attract readers, you will also have to understand search engine optimization, (SEO).
The use of SEO techniques is to ensure that the major search engines can find your advertising copy whenever people type certain phrases related to the products you are trying to sell.
The better the article is optimized relates to how high your article is listed on the search engines results page.
A good freelance copywriter will have an understanding of the type of audience that is being targeted, and use the words or phrases that they might use whilst trying to find what they are looking for.
If you can master SEO, then you will be well on the way to an extremely successful freelance writing career.
The biggest problem you will have is at the very start of your career.
Unless you advertise your own services, nobody will know you exist.
These advertisements have also got to be of a very high standard so that your potential clients can see what you are capable of producing.
If they believe you are suitable for the assignment that they have on offer, it shows that your copywriting skills have passed the first test.
You will also see jobs advertised on the freelancing job sites that can be found all over the Internet.
With these, you will find that you have to bid for the job, and that the pay is not very high, but you should not let that put you off.
The reason for this is that every job you complete successfully can be added to your portfolio to help you get more lucrative assignments.
This also means the same amount of effort should be put into a job that you are being paid $10 for, as one that you are being paid $100 for, as your reputation is on-the-line with every piece of copy you write.
Companies will always need copywriters, as they will always need clients and your articles can be the very ones that attract them.
The higher the quality of your writing, the more chance you have of being in demand.
As a freelance copywriter you should be able to make a substantial living, combined with the benefits of being able to work from home.
Source...