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Finding Great Clients to Write For

October 10, 2011 Leave a Comment

If you’re in the writing business or considering going into the writing business, you need clients. Of course you want to have a lot of clients. However, if they’re all difficult then it can be frustrating. No one wants to work for rude or unappreciative clients.

On the other hand, a line-up of dream clients can be ideal. Finding dream clients isn’t always easy, but here are a few ideas to help you find clients you’ll enjoy working with.

Network, Network, Network  (Online and Offline)

Networking builds businesses. Do it correctly and you can build a Rolodex full of great clients. Online networking involves connecting in a number of ways. Social networking is a great place to start. You’re likely already using social networks to connect with friends and family. Why not use it to connect with potential clients? Join groups that represent your writing interests. For example, if you write for the pet industry then connect with pet related groups. Participate in the group, comment on posts and get involved.

Commenting on blogs and participating in industry chat rooms and forums is another way to network online.

Offline, you can join local groups and associations. For example, join your local chamber of commerce and small business administration. Join community groups, participate in get-togethers or you can even host meetings and teach a class.

Ask for Referrals

Ask your favorite clients for referrals. Consider offering them a discount or a credit for each new client they send you. Clients that come from referrals tend to be good clients. If you’re uncomfortable asking for referrals consider creating a referral program. Your clients can join it if they are interested.

Visit Job Boards

Job boards may not always be the best starting point, but they can provide you with the opportunity to thoroughly research a client and project before you apply for the job. This extra information can help you weed out the clients you’re not interested in working with.

Finally, before you begin searching for great clients, consider taking some time to define exactly what a great client is for you. Is it a person who pays well? Is it someone who is easy to work with? Is it someone who is easy to communicate with? What are your priorities? Write them down and then start searching for clients who fit the bill.

Once you have a number of great clients, go above and beyond the call of duty. Give them extras and offer discounts. Always strive to deliver quality products and services. Make sure your clients know you appreciate them. They’ll not only stick with you longer, they’ll refer you to others. It’s a very rewarding way to build a business.

Have patience when seeking ideal clients. It takes a little time and effort, but it definitely pays off in the long run.

To your success!

Filed Under writing, Writing Business Tagged With freelance writing, writing, writing for pay

Being an Online Writer

May 24, 2011 Leave a Comment

I was cleaning out the back-end of my blog and discovered that this never posted when it was scheduled. It should have been posted six months ago. Oops! I thought I’d share it now. :)

 

Many people aspire to live the writer lifestyle. It’s easy to understand why. You can control your work hours, take on clients and projects that you want and take a vacation or a day off when you need to. There’s a lot of freedom when you’re an online writer. Once your business is established and you’ve planned ahead so your finances are in order, it’s a great way to make a living.

However, the same people who aspire to become online writers are unsure if they can. The honest truth is that if you have a desire and a commitment to make a living as an online writer, you can do it. Here’s why:

You don’t need formal writing education to be a successful online writer.

Online writing is different than many other forms of writing and many of them are not taught in school. For example, blogging was never taught in school. It may be now, but you still don’t need a degree to blog. Additionally, your clients have a variety of purposes for their content. They may want to entertain. They may want to inform. They may want to attract search engines or sell products. A formal education may help you learn how to help your clients reach their goals. However, you can learn the same thing online or by reading a book from the library.

Everything you need to learn about being an online writer can be learned online. So if you have a desire to learn about becoming an online writer, you can do it.

Most of the content found online is conversational.

Conversational content is content that is written as if you’re talking to someone. You use words like “you” and “you’re” when you’re writing. Other common forms of online content include lists, tip sheets, fact sheets, reviews, comparisons and how to articles. If you can talk and format a list, then you can write online content.

Do you have a desire to own a successful business?

One of the most important aspects of being a successful online writer isn’t necessarily your writing skills. They do matter of course, but equally important is your professionalism. This includes your ability to meet a deadline, to provide the content your client is asking for and to be a clear and effective communicator. If you have the desire and passion to offer the best writing service possible, then you can be an online writer.

If you’d like to live the writer’s life and make a living as an online writer, you can do it. The dream is within your reach. Learn all you can about building a business. Consider choosing a specialty, brush up on your writing skills and get started.

Filed Under writing, writing tips Tagged With online writing, writing, writing online

Kick-Off to NaNoWriMo

October 31, 2010 1 Comment

At midnight the kick-off for NaNoWriMo 2010 begins! Are you ready? I’m not, and several of my writing friends have completely changed all their ideas and the story they’ll be working on this year. I guess there are times when even planners and plotters go in as pantsters. LOL

Anyway, I wish you all the best of luck. Remember it’s not really about a word count, it’s about sitting down as a daily routine and writing. Even if you do make the word count for NaNo, you will still have months of edits and rewrites and possibly need another 20-30k words for a publishable novel.

But the idea is to have fun…so HAVE FUN!

Happy Writing!

Stafford Scribe

Filed Under writing Tagged With fiction writing, NaNoWriMo, novel writing, writing

10 Workspace Management Tips that Encourage Efficiency

October 1, 2010 1 Comment

Guest post by James Adams

Your workspace should spur creativity, innovation and productivity. When you step into your office, you should want to do your work. You should have the desire to go above and beyond rather than scraping by with the bare minimum. Here are some ways you can make your workspace more conducive to productivity.

1. Keep your office clutter-free – Workspaces collect clutter. You might have the reports that you used for a weeks-ago presentation. There may be that folder that you used when you were first hired. Put the important clutter back to its place. Throw away any clutter that is no longer useful. You do not want to spend your time thinking, “I should move that,” rather than working on your latest assignment.

2. Rearrange the furniture – Rearrange the furniture so it provides the best view and the best environment with which to work. If you want to be looking out the window, look out the window. If you enjoy being somewhat claustrophobic, move your desk setup into the closet. If you have to work with other people, see if you can move your desk or change the position of your computer.

3. Comfortable chairs – Nobody wants a chair that is uncomfortable. Some chairs are great for the short term, others for the long term. There is a lot more leeway in the short term chairs. Your workspace chair should be like being in heaven when you first rest upon it and remain comfortable for at least an hour. It should be adjustable in height and you should be able to place your feet solidly on the floor.

[Read more...]

Filed Under Guest Blogger, Headline, Writing Business Tagged With productive writer, productivity, writing

4 Things a Blogger Can Easily Outsource

August 4, 2010 Leave a Comment

Blogging is a great way to get started making money online – BUT – it’s work. (All good things come with some effort, right?)

The absolute worst thing a new blogger can do is to do nothing. Yet, that’s what happens to many bloggers when they’re first getting started. While waiting to get their blog just perfect, they do nothing and, instead, spin their wheels – stuck in one place.

Meanwhile, they get frustrated, their dreams fade, and they end up giving up before they even had a fighting chance. It’s sad, especially since many of them are talented writers, are passionate about their topic, and have a lot to share with the world.

So, what can a new blogger do to avoid this from happening?

Simple. Outsource.

But, what, exactly is “Outsourcing“?

Outsourcing is just a fancy word for getting someone qualified to quickly and efficiently do a job for you that you

1. don’t have time for,

2. don’t want to do, or

3. don’t have the skills to do.

But what can you outsource, and how? And, can you afford to?

All great questions. Here are 4 tasks you can immediately outsource for a modest price (and boost your blogging efforts at the same time).

1. Blog Installation and Optimization.

If you’re planning to blog, the one thing you’ll need is a web host. Why not choose a multipurpose web host that will also install your blog for you?  Both MomWebs.com and ReliableWebs.com will install your WordPress blog for you. Why would they jump through these hoops? They want you to succeed so that you become a customer for many years.  As part of their service, both web hosts will also recommend and install plugins for you for a reasonable fee.

There’s no point in getting paralysis by analysis. This is an easy decision to get over your first hurdle – actually getting your WordPress blog online and ready to roll.

2. Design.

One thing I outsource gladly is graphics. When I try to do my own, they look unprofessional and, downright tacky. When I pay a more talented professional to create my graphics, they look awesome! You can find a professional designer at Shelancers.com who can make your blog look snazzy – just look around. Of course, you can also search places like eLance.com, but I’d suggest that you ask for a recommendation from a friend (or even on Twitter) before going with someone totally untested.

3. Content Management.

Keeping your blog active with fresh content can be a feat in itself. BUT – there is a big secret that bloggers use to make their lives much easier. It’s called PLR content and it’s something that I’ve also used in the past.

What is PLR content? Basically, PLR articles are written by ghostwriters and sold at a very affordable price (usually around $1-2 per article) to multiple bloggers and website owners. So, as a blogger, you can purchase these articles, and stick them on your blog. Or, as I recommend, you edit them a bit before posting them to your blog. While PLR is not totally hands-free – it can help you to get over the hurdle of having to write all of the content for your blog all by yourself.

By the way, the place I recommend you look for PLR Articles is EasyPLR.com .

Of course, you can save even more time by hiring a Virtual Assistant to add the PLR that you purchase to your blog for you so that it’s waiting in there the next time you face writer’s block (as we all do).

4. Community.

Do you ever hear the sound of crickets when you go to your blog? How do some bloggers get such a conversation going while others seem to be talking to themselves?  The answer may not be what you think. Another big secret of top bloggers is that they sometimes “seed” conversations with their own assistants and friends. Yes, they have commenters who are paid to come by and leave comments to keep the conversation going. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

While you don’t have to go quite that far, it doesn’t hurt to be “comment buddies” with some friends and help keep each others blogs active with conversation.

What Next?

Learn More about Outsourcing at my Recommended Resource. Outsourcing can be a big scary thing if you’re trying to figure it out on your own. So, if you’d like to learn more about how to Outsource in your Online Business, I recommend this course: www.OutsourceWeekly.com (You’ll see a free series of lessons on the top of that page.)

Courtesy: Nicole Dean, EasyPLR

Filed Under Headline, writing Tagged With outsourcing, plr, writing

Freelance Friday

July 2, 2010 1 Comment

We will be adding some new features here at the Stafford Scribe. One of them being Freelance Friday where we will cover many topics in the world of freelance writing. At times we will even showcase some of the most talented freelance writers on the web.

Other features will be announced soon. Look for The Scribe’s Scope in an upcoming post.

If you feel you have something to contribute to our Freelance Friday section, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.

Be sure to check out the Guest Blogging guidelines. Don’t worry, they are really easy.

Happy Writing!

Filed Under Fiction Friday, Headline, Writing Sprints Tagged With freelance writers, freelance writing, writing

Where Has Language as We Knew It, Gone?

March 11, 2010 2 Comments

TextingI’m as open to change as the next person; in fact, I know that life is transient and the only thing that is permanent is change itself. But if there’s one thing I can never get used to or bring myself to use is what we now term “text lingo” – the fashionable language that allows you to delete the vowels from words to shorten them and mix them with numbers that sound that parts of words to form totally unrecognizable words, all of which are fully accepted by anyone who uses a cellphone or is familiar with instant messaging. Apparently, if you frown at this usage, if you’re so focused on grammar and spellings, you’re not current or living in the present.

But, even at the risk of sounding like an old fuddy-duddy, I beg to differ from this point of view. While I think it’s each to their own when sending personal messages on your cellphone or when chatting online, when it comes to email and writing for websites, there are certain rules that need to be followed, even if you think they’re not “hip” and “relevant” to the times. No one likes to read emails that are grammatically incorrect and riddled with spelling mistakes. And believe me, if you’re getting away with the same kind of usage on your blog, it’s only because you haven’t noticed the drop in your readership.

You may think that language is a form of communication and that as long as you’ve included all the relevant information and facts in your missive (be it a letter, a blog post or a website page), it doesn’t matter that it’s peppered with grammatical and spelling errors. But what you don’t realize is that even a simple mistake like the misplacement of a comma or the transposition of words can change the meaning of whatever you’re trying to say. So because your knowledge of the language is poor, you may end up misleading your readers.

Some mistakes are just plain annoying – like the wrong placement of an apostrophe (saying you’re when you actually mean your) and the usage of I instead of me and vice versa. But there are others that could end up confusing your audience – like the placement of the world “only” in a sentence. For example, the sentences “John was only trying to help Jane” and “Only John was trying to help Jane” have totally different meanings. The first sentence is a sort of explanation for what John did because he somehow messed up while trying to help Jane, while the second praises John as the only person trying to help her. As another example, consider these two sentences – “Only children are allowed to play here” and “Children are allowed to play only here”. The first one has the word “children” as the subject and restricts the playing to children while the second has the location as the subject and restricts the location where the children are allowed to play.

So if you don’t want to end up making such mistakes when writing for your blog or website, it’s best to brush up on your language skills by including your vowels, cutting out the numerals from your words, and reading through what you’ve written to ensure that the meaning is loud and clear.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of degree online . She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com

Filed Under Headline, writing, writing tips Tagged With language, texting, writing

The Best Thing About Being a Writer

July 15, 2009 3 Comments

lovewritingI’m sure we have many reasons for being writers, but one of the best thing to me is:  I can do things simply because I want to.

  • I can change jobs every day.
  • I can have a new personality every day.
  • I can be a man today.
  • I can be a dog or cat today.
  • I can be a little girl.
  • I can be a god or goddess.
  • I can fight fires, destroy and rebuild the world.
  • I can fly, grow wings, or be a fish in the ocean.

All these things I can do in any given day and so much more.

What’s the best thing about being a writer to you?  Share the love with us!

Filed Under Discussion Tagged With why I love to write, writing, writing passion

Are You Afraid? Let us Know.

July 3, 2009 5 Comments
Do you run from your fear?

Do you run from your fear?

Do we limit ourselves as to what we can achieve?  Is it fear, inhibition or something else?  Is it self-doubt, self-worth.  Are you afraid of success or afraid of what people will think of you once you become successful? Are we limited by the company we keep? Are we afraid of change?  After all, success is change.

What if your favorite author was afraid of success?  How many books would you have missed reading?  Where would your inspiration be?  Would you have the same inspiration to be a writer?

Would your friends stop speaking to you if you could afford to move to a nicer neighborhood?  Sadly, that’s often true.  Success is sometimes a mentality and some people just can’t grasp it.  Sometimes people would rather you stay at their level too and any climb up the proverbial ladder of success would suddenly mean you thought you were better than them, or they less than you.  People can be funny creatures.  It’s often said that if you want success you need to associate with successful people.  Where would that leave your friends?  Well, a friend that wants to hold you back and keep you on a certain level isn’t really a friend, or maybe it’s a needy friend, one who needs you to have the same low esteem and aspirations as he does.  Where do you find those successful people to hang with anyway?

Are you happy where you’re at or do you want more in life?  Do you want to be a success?  If so, what do you feel is holding you back from achieving your dreams?  Are you stuck with the same low paying jobs you had when you first decided to dub yourself as “writer”?  If so, have you thought why that is?  Are you afraid to go higher or try to achieve more?

Are you afraid to finish a story of novel, or afraid you won’t finish it?  Are you writing every day?  Do you set aside (even a few minutes) each day to write something completely spontaneous or creative?

Maybe you’re afraid you can’t write the perfect story.  Don’t worry; I think Stephen King and John Grisham still fear the same thing.  Maybe you think the rough draft has to be perfect.  I’ve recently discovered this about myself.  It’s not my root fear, but I’ve forgotten to just enjoy the process of writing.  I’ve forgotten that the rough draft is just that, a rough draft.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s where edits and rewrites come in.  But it’s kept me from writing for a long time, so I’ve decided to set more time aside to just write.  I can write garbage if I want, the point is to write and break out of a shell.  I’m speaking of fiction.  It seems I’ve been writing non-fiction so long that the process of writing fiction has become alien to me.

We want to hear from you.  Have you decided if you’re afraid, what it is you fear and how you’re overcoming the situation?

Filed Under Feature Tagged With fear of failure, fear of success, writing, writing fear

Are You Passionate and Excited Enough to Handle Rejection?

May 12, 2009 3 Comments

So you’ve decided to become a writer.  Welcome to the hardest “easy” job on the planet.  Or you’ve written a book and you’re ready to start submitting your work of art to publishers.  Are you ready for rejection?  It’s a sad reality we all must face and in the beginning of your writing career it can be very heart breaking. But, you will get rejected.  Expect it.  According to some of the greatest and most well known authors on the planet, if you’re lucky, you’ll get hundreds of rejections.

Why would getting that many rejections be good?  Because it means you’re writing consistently and getting your manuscript or article in front of editors and publishers; it means you haven’t given up, you have passion.  You will need that passion and that excitement to stay the course.  If you don’t have it now, you might as well give up on being a writer or just hang out with your blog until you do get it.

Stephen King, one of the greatest writers of all time, and whether you like his work or not, you have to admit he is the master, received hundreds of rejections and was even told to give up writing.  Did he?  Well obviously not or he wouldn’t be so well known.  If you’ve never read his book, “On Writing“, you need to.  I was under the impression (once upon a time) that writers like Stephen never had a rejection in their life.  Turns out, the greats have  had more rejections than anyone because they kept writing and sending out submissions.

Do you have the passion it will take to get those rejections?  It’s not easy and it can hurt your ego, but if you’ve got the passion to ride it out and keep at it, great things can happen.  You will go through periods that you want to quit- it’s understandable, but you’ll never get published if you quit.  Find a support group if you need to, but don’t stop working on your dream and passion.

Even if you want to strictly write online as a freelancer, don’t give up.  Sometimes a hiatus is necessary, but you need to keep writing during your down time.

What’s your tips for staying focused and keeping the passion alive through rejection?


Filed Under Discussion, writing tips Tagged With freelance writing, rejection, writing, writing tips

Strategies for Planning Your Writing

March 20, 2009 Leave a Comment

Sometimes it helps to create order before you begin writing.  You should decide a few things before you begin:
1.  Who are your readers?  What are your readers looking for?  What do they know or want to know?  What opinions do they have?

2.  What is your purpose of writing?  What do you wish to accomplish in your writing?  Are you writing an article, a story, a novel, a college paper?  Do you want your readers to smile, think or agree with you?  Do you want them to understand something?

3.  How can you narrow your focus?  Which slant would best fit your purpose for writing?  What points would most appeal to your readers?  What details would engage or persuade them?

Most effective writing is centered or unified around a main point.  All your sub-points and details should be relevant to that point.  Even if you are writing books for pleasure, your story will have one central theme or point and all the details or scenarios that your characters will go through should lead up to that one main point or conclusion.

Some writers have the ability to sit down and begin writing without a plan.  Most of us require some sort of structure.  Having a plan can help you write better material by helping you focus on the main point.  It helps you stay on topic.

Patti Stafford

Filed Under writing tips Tagged With patti stafford, planned writing, writing, writing content, writing tips

The Pain of Rejection

March 17, 2009 Leave a Comment

If you’ve been writing very long you know about rejection.  It really doesn’t matter how you’ve been writing either–you’re going to get rejections.  One of the most painful parts of rejections happens when they come in waves.  I’ve received more than my share lately.  It’s reminded me that Stephen King received an ungodly amount of rejections before his big break, and it also reminded me of a post that Angela Swanlund did recently.

But even knowing all of this, the sting of rejection still takes a little bit of soul away, or it seems like it does.

Enjoy Angela’s article:
Dealing With Rejection

Happy Writing!
Patti Stafford

Filed Under Feature Tagged With Angela Swanlund, Freelance, freelance writers, online freelance writers, patti stafford, rejection, writing

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