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Freelance Writing Opportunities
Freelance writing opportunities are everywhere, and freelance writers are wanted for them. You may just need someone to point you in the right direction!
Whether you are just beginning your writing career or are a seasoned professional, you can always find new freelance writing opportunities that you may not have thought of before.
If you are just getting started as a freelance writer, your first goal is to get samples of your work. You don't need a lot of them, but it's a good idea to have at least five.
Hidden Markets
When I refer to the "hidden market" I don't mean that no one knows about them or that they are easy assignments to get. What I mean is that there are a large range of assignments, mostly local, that you can begin with while making a name for yourself. Those are the freelance writing opportunities you want to look for when you are beginning your writing career.
These markets do not include:
Fiction
Poetry
Magazines
Movies
Plays
We are focusing on another type of market here. We are talking about business writing, also called commercial writing.
Yes, I know. You write fiction. Me too, but I like to have a life. You know, paying my bills, having a roof over my head, eating...
Now I am not saying you should stop pursuing your creative endeavors. Not at all! But business writing can keep you working as a writer while you continue writing your novel. These freelance writing opportunities are a great place to start.
Key Assignments
So, you want to know how to become a writer...I mean, a commercial writer?
As you go through the list, keep track of the ones you are interested in doing at some point, the ones that you can do now, and the assignments that you'd like to learn to do. Most of these are really good freelance writing opportunities for beginners and excellent sources of freelance writing work.
Brochures - Let's face it; every business needs a brochure, so this is a really great place to start. Brochures are usually two fold or three fold and are mostly used to inform about a company or product.
Flyers - these are used in many businesses but mostly in real estate and retail. They are one page and are used to make an announcement of some kind.
Sales letters - Companies use these for their direct mail campaigns. They are persuasive in nature but are sometimes used to inform as well. Some businesses have customized letters that focus on different products or services.
Promotions - Posters, flyers, ads, brochures that all focus on an event, usually in the retail industry. a bulk of freelance writing work for writers.
Web site content - Web sites are big business. Everyone wants one, but not too many business owners want to spend the time to build a good one. and what good is having one if it stinks? Take a look at websites of businesses in your area and see how you would make it better. Get yourself an appointment and tell them just one or two ideas. Don't give away the whole store or they won't need you!
Newsletters - Organizations use these little gems to stay in contact with customers and employees. They are used to inform and are anywhere from one page to ten pages or more. They go out regularly so they can be a great source of steady work.
Ads - ads are everywhere! newspaper ads, magazine ads, billboards. They are short and to the point and must make an impact.
E-books - e-books provide one of the quickest ways for someone new to internet marketing to turn a substantial profit is by writing and selling information in the form of an ebook.
Writing E-books for Fun and Profit
explains how to get ideas for your e-book as well as how to write and publish an e-book step by step.
In a supportive and encouraging tone, it gives clear step by step information on writing and producing e-books, offers writing advice and checklists to assist the reader to stay on task when creating their own e-book. Links to writing, publishing and book promotion websites are included. * Highly Recommended!Check out a FREE excerpt here.
Personalized Calendars - businesses use a variety of ways to market their business. Calendars can be a nice gig if you have desktop publishing experience as well.
Articles - A good way to get some name recognition and samples but the pay...not good. If you like to write articles try to maximize you profits by submitting various re-written versions to additional publications.
Instruction Manual - If you can write clear, easy to follow instructions, you may have found your niche. Technical writers are in high demand and can charge at an hourly rate of $35 to $95 per hour or $400 per day. Not bad if you enjoy it. Technical writing jobs are a little more difficult to come by.
Speeches - Corporate communications managers and PR firms hire freelance writers to write speeches for executives for conferences, meetings and other events. The writer is usually required to do some hefty research on the subject matter along with the materials that would be provided by the company.
Advertorial - this is an advertising supplement that looks like an article but is actually an advertisement.
Power Point Presentations - computer based presentations that use short snappy communication to inform, persuade, educate or motivate.
Annual Report - This is not a freelance writing opportunity for beginners, it's much too involved. - that said, the annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested persons information about the company's activities and financial performance. This is a high paying market, but not an easy one to break into.
Case Histories - a problem/solution format of a company's experience with a service, new technology, product or process. It's similar to an article but its focus is to show how one company used the product/service of another company.
Resumes - Writing a good resume is not very difficult and you can find
resume writing examples to help.
Plus, there are some great
resume software programs
out there to help you perfect the art of writing resumes. The pay isn't bad either.
Resumes are great freelance writing opportunities, especially in this job market!
http://www.job-opportunity-and-free-resume-bank.com
offers free job listing and free job search for employers and job seekers
respectively. Resources include a job bank dedicated to freelance writing jobs where employers can
post freelance writing jobs and freelance writers can find jobs free.
Business Plans - Specializing in writing business plans can give you a good foundation for business writing. The pay is pretty good too. If you get an assignment writing a business plan, it's a good idea to
buy one of the software programs
that are used to help businesses and writers create business plans on their computers. You will not only save time, but you will produce a much better quality business plan for your client. I like Business Plan Pro Premier 15th Anniversary Edition
because it is top of the line and if you plan on doing a few of these or specializing in business plan writing, it is well worth it!
Although these freelance writing opportunities may not have been your dream as you thought about being a writer, remember, you don't have to give up the dream.
You do want to be able to have a life while you pursue it though, right? Well, commercial writing is the way!
Take a good look at these freelance writing opportunities, you probably already have experience doing some of them!
A great book that I read and re-read is called The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman. If this copywriting work sounds good to you, this book will tell you how to get started and be a financially self-sufficient writer in six months or less - really!
because it is top of the line and if you plan on doing a few of these or specializing in business plan writing, it is well worth it!
