Where Good Money and an Endless Stream of Assignments Await
In the olden days before the internet, if you wanted to make a lot of money as a writer, you had three main options: Write a best-selling novel, write a blockbuster screenplay, or become a direct-response sales letter copywriter.
Fortunately for us Barefoot Writers, that’s all changed. The Internet has literally blown the doors wide open for people who enjoy writing, and want to make a living doing what they love.
These days, people who never thought they’d be in a position to call themselves “professional writers,” are now bringing in six-figure incomes working from anywhere in the world they choose to be.
And, it’s all thanks to the ever-increasing number of writing opportunities the Web makes available, and the thousands of business owners who are willing to pay writers a lot of money to do this writing for them.
Why so many Barefoot Writers are turning to the Web …
In just a minute, I’m going to give you the inside scoop on the best paying writing projects for web writers. But first, let’s take a look at all the other reasons why you may want to consider writing for the Web …
First, there’s the big demand for your services …
E-Marketer predicts e-commerce will grow 13.7% this year and estimates that total U.S. e-commerce sales will reach $269.8 billion by 2015.
And, it’s a growing opportunity …
According to Netcraft, as of November 2011, there are a total of 525 million websites on the Internet — with 22 million new sites being added in October alone.
New businesses are putting up websites every day. And, existing websites continually need to be updated. They are constantly being added to, changed, and improved. Plus, companies are constantly developing new products that need to be added to their website and marketed online. One client can mean an ongoing number of projects.
You can specialize in an area you enjoy …
One of the real joys of web writing is that you can specialize in an area that genuinely interests you. For instance, if you enjoy investing in stocks, you can write for all the financial publishers that are desperate for good writers who understand investing.
If you have interest in alternative health and well-being, you can choose to write for the alternative health market. Love animals? You could write for the pet industry. Concerned about the environment? Become a “green” web writer. Your options are almost unlimited.
You’ll have a wide variety of writing assignments to choose from …
From blog posts and emails to home pages to e-newsletters, there’s a wide variety of copy needed by online businesses. If you’re fond of writing, you should have no problem finding projects that suit your personality and fit the writing style you enjoy the most.
You’ll never be bored …
Because of the wide variety of assignments, you’ll find you’re never bored. It’s a career where you’re always learning and writing about new things. One day you could be writing an email about something you read in the news, and the next you could be writing a video script for an online video to sell your client’s latest product.
And, you can get started relatively quickly!
We’re about to go over all the types of web-writing projects you could write. But with web writing, you don’t have to know them all before getting started. In fact, only knowing one type of web writing will suffice, and it’s quite possible to get your business up and running and start making money within just few weeks.
When it comes to web writing, there’s no shortage of projects to choose from. The challenge usually comes with choosing which one to start with!
Take a look at the wide range of projects available …
Home Pages
It’s the first page you visit when you type a company’s website into your Internet browser, and therefore, it’s the most important page. It has to quickly grab the reader’s attention and give them assurance that they’ve reached the right spot. And as you can imagine, clients are more than willing to pay a lot to make sure it’s written well.
Product and Service Sales Pages
Just like the home page, these pages have a very specific task: to sell a particular product or service. So once again, clients are willing to pay a lot to have them written.
A day in the life of a web writer …
On Monday, you start writing a small website. Five to six pages tops, and it’s nothing fancy. It may take you a couple of days, and your client has happily agreed to pay you $2,000 to do it.
Then mid-week, you begin writing a single landing page project, which you normally charge $1,000 to write. But, then you suggest to your client that she also let you write some online ads to drive people to that page, as well as the follow-up emails that will be sent to the people who respond to your ads.
What was originally a $1,000 project has turned into $3,000 … just for spending a couple more days writing a few ads and emails.
It’s only been a week, and you’ve already made $5,000! Take Friday off!
But, don’t worry if writing sales copy isn’t your thing …
As a web writer, there are many projects where you won’t need to sell — EVER!
Information Pages
In addition to pages that sell, websites are typically made up of many pages that provide information. They may include information about the company, Frequently Asked Questions, information on a topic in the company’s industry, etc. Your job isn’t to sell here, but rather simply to inform.
Landing Pages
A landing page is a web page where you intentionally direct people, because you want them to see a specific message about a particular topic, rather than a home page that may include copy about any number of topics. The most common type of landing page offers the reader something in exchange for an action, like entering your email address. They’re easy to write once you get the hang of what works, and extremely valuable to the client, which makes this opportunity very profitable for you.
Emails
Email is still one of the biggest moneymakers available to online businesses, since they’re inexpensive, and allow the company to put new sales messages in front of their customers again and again with little effort. Web writers get paid anywhere from $100 to $500 per email, and once they get good at it, only have to spend a couple of hours writing.
Blog Posts
Companies use blogs to communicate, engage, and create strong bonds with their prospects and customers. Oftentimes, they don’t always have the time, manpower, or the know-how to write their own blog posts. And that spells easy money for a web writer.
E-newsletters
Another way companies build relationships with their prospects and customers is by sending out a regular e-newsletter. And, if you’re looking for a regular paycheck every month, these are the perfect gigs to land since often a client will want you to write them regularly.
Video scripts
According to Google and MSN, online videos can boost sales a whopping 72%! It’s no wonder there’s a big and growing demand for web writers who can write effective and compelling video scripts.
See what I mean when I say there’s no shortage of projects? And, these aren’t even all of the opportunities available for web writers! So, if you’re looking for variety, writing for the Web may be the best writing path for you.
Of course, that’s only one of the benefits …
An endless stream of assignments …
Companies love testing new copy on the Web. It’s cheap. Plus, they can read the results almost instantly.
That’s why they test lots of different copy approaches as often as they possibly can.
And, get this …
As a web writer, this means you have the potential for getting one assignment after another … all from the same client! Land just two or three clients, and you could be booked solid for months at a time.
Plus, clients don’t just hire you to write one of the projects discussed earlier. More often than not, a client who needs a landing page also needs a series of emails, additional information pages, and e-newsletter copy written. So, what starts as one small project, often turns into a much larger group of projects … followed by more.
Which leads me to the final big benefit …
The money is good … REALLY good.
Now, as with all writing opportunities, the amount of money you can make depends on your ability, as well as how effectively you can market yourself. But, even someone who’s new to this world and doesn’t have a whole lot of experience marketing their services to potential clients can easily make $30K, $40K, $50K a year.
But, if you’re willing to put the effort in, and really work, it’s possible to hit six-figures by the end of the first year. It’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about this writing opportunity. How much you make is completely up to you. And, don’t worry if you’re not a “technical person” …
Technical know-how isn’t required.
Over time, you’ll end up picking up bits and pieces, simply because you’ll be around it. But, you don’t have to have any previous experience, or be able to do any of the technical work yourself.
You’ll be hired to write the copy. Your job will be to come up with the words. And the technical people will take care of the rest.
Of course, if you like the technical side of things, you can always offer to do the work and get paid even more for additional services. But, it’s not necessary.
How do you get started?
The key is to choose one opportunity, learn how to write it, and start working for clients. Then if you’d like, start learning another skill, while you’re getting paid for the first. When you’re done learning the new skill, let your clients know, and start making money at it … and repeat the cycle again, as often as you’d like.
Right now, companies across America are pumping BILLIONS (over $36 billion by 2012, to be more precise) into online advertising. And, they need words — your words — to set them apart from their competition. For their home pages … their landing pages … email campaigns … e- newsletters … blogs … sales pages … and more.
Become a web writer today, and start filling that demand!
