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I Want Your Stories of Social Contacts Leading to Paying Work…

In Chapter 11 of The Well-Fed Writer, entitled “The Well-Networked Writer,” I share a pile of stories from commercial freelancers everywhere, about landing writing work through unplanned, largely serendipitous social contacts.

The moral: You never know where your next project might come from, so let the world know (in a low-key way, of course) what you’re up to.


The newly-reworked chapter (for the updated edition, now in process…) starts with this story:

12 of us were enjoying a lovely spring evening on the lake on a friend’s boat. I started chatting with a woman I’d known socially for years. “What do you do, Peter?” It was a question we’d never asked each other. When I told her, she replied, “Interesting.” Like she meant it—not just being polite.

Turns out she was the communications director for the Atlanta chapter of a large global charity. And, which needed to create an annual report, some web content, a direct mail campaign, and several brochures. Roughly $7K of work (and much more than that in time). Guess who got it? Guess who should have had that conversation a lot sooner?


Got a Good Story?
Surely, many of you have had similar happy occurrences, where, totally unplanned, you picked up commercial-writing work (and often, a LOT of work) from a social contact.

And speaking of the new edition of TWFW, if you DO have a good (and brief) story like the one above, that you’d like to see included in the new edition, I’d love to see it.

While I love the existing stories in the book (and will happily use them if I don’t get enough stories), it’d be nice to have newer, fresher material for the next edition. And, per my “brief” mention noted, I’m looking for short little accounts (100 words, max, and less is even better) of landing well-paying commercial-writing work (sorry, not just articles).

Please send to me by February 20, 2019, and include your name, city and state (or city/country, if outside the U.S.). If I decide to include your piece in the new edition, you’ll be the first to know.

Please post your submissions here, AND send to me at peter@wellfedwriter.com.

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Ever Had Freelance Moments Like This?

(Apologies for the LONG hiatus from the blog. Been up to my neck in selling my home of 26 years, shedding tons of stuff, packing, moving to a much smaller place (very liberating…), and getting settled in. So, to ease back in, I thought I’d keep it light…).

So, a few weeks back, a dear friend and fellow commercial writer out in the Midwest, shared a snapshot moment of “singledom” that was truly laugh-out-loud funny. She wrote:

Occasionally, I get a startling mental snapshot of my life as a single person as I go about my day. This morning, the one I took was of breakfast, at 12:15 p.m., consisting of coffee with last-resort powdered skim milk and farmer’s market croutons (big and hard!) dipped in foie gras mousse, followed by morning meds washed down with the wine left in the glass from last night.

Time to buy some real groceries…

I couldn’t help but think this hilarious account could just as easily have come from a freelancer, working out of their home, and living that more…unstructured existence that in my mind anyway, is one of the biggest pluses (and yes, one of the most formidable challenges) of the life of a freelance commercial writer.

Anyway, it got me thinking… We’ve all no doubt had those moments that epitomize the freelance life—moments that make us laugh or cause us to be grateful, or happy, or fulfilled, or serene, or giddy, or yes, frustrated.

For me, one of them is that transcendently contented feeling of waking up and hearing people outside get in their cars and drive to work, knowing it’s nothing I’ll ever have to make a habit of.

It’s the immensely gratifying feeling of being able to take good care of my health, through regular, non-rushed meals I make, and the time to exercise.

It’s knowing, workload permitting, that I make the decisions about when I take time off, and for how long.

What experiences have you had as a freelancer that spawn any of the reactions above?

What do you love most about this life?

If you’re not living the life yet, what do you most look forward to?

NOTE: If you get notifications of new posts to TWFW Blog, by email, through Feedburner, and are having trouble viewing the post in those emails (or even if you’re not), please unsubscribe from the Feedburner feed, and re-subscribe to Feedblitz on the subscribe link in the right sidebar of the blog. Details HERE.

Want to be a guest blogger on TWFW Blog? I welcome your contribution to the Well-Fed writing community! Check out the guidelines here.

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“Well-Fed Writer Blog” Subscribers: PLEASE UN-Subscribe and RE-Subscribe

As many of you might know, I recently updated my blog to a new theme. In the wake of it, some subscribers reported having trouble viewing the email feeds.

I’ve since switched from Feedburner (the feed mechanism through which virtually all of you who get email notifications of new posts get those notifications) to Feedblitz. Feedburner has basically become an unsupported platform. SO…

To continue enjoying The Well-Fed Writer Blog, please UN-subscribe from the Feedburner feed (there should be a mechanism for doing so somewhere on the email notification page you received of THIS post).

Then, once unsubscribed, just re-subscribe in the subscribe box in the right-hand-side column of the blog’s main page or any post’s page for that matter (and you’ll now be subscribing via the FeedBlitz platform).

Thanks for your patience, understanding and collaboration during this transition!

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This Fallacy Trips Up a Lot of Writers (and Limits Their Income…)

I got this email recently from a newly-minted commercial freelancer:

I recently quoted a tri-fold brochure and three cover letters for a local university. I gave a range of $650 to $735 for the project, but my proposal was turned down because of budget. Could you offer any advice about pricing writing jobs that fit with the going rates in a particular area (we’re a smaller market than Atlanta).

Okay, several points worth making here:

I don’t think she can come to any conclusions about the opportunity, try to imagine “what I could’ve done differently,” or alter her pricing strategy, based on ONE possible gig. If anything, $700-ish for that scope of work seems on the low side to me.

She (or anyone starting out) needs dozens of situations like this to gather any useful knowledge. One is meaningless, except as a single brick in your wall of experience as a commercial writer. One has to make a TON of contacts to get to critical mass and have things start happening.

But for today’s discussion, here’s the most important point…

There’s no such thing as some set copywriting pricing for all copywriting clients; that implies all clients are reading off some “standard price sheet,” and of course, they aren’t.

Yes, it’s good to have some idea of ballparks when quoting rates in a particular market, but know there are different tiers of freelance commercial writing clients, all with different fee thresholds. Our not-easy job is to find those willing to pay the good rates (and that’s more likely to be in business than academia).

The discussion of “going rates” in any given area is related to my last blog post, “There IS No Copywriting Industry.” I’d planned to include this with that post, but felt it deserved its own dedicated post.

I routinely get asked about “going rates” in the commercial writing field. If there’s a “Copywriting Industry,” then there’s some “going rates” for that industry, right? Sure, what a commercial writer can command in NYC is likely more than they’ll get in Peoria, but the longer I’m in the business, the more subjective I believe rates to be.

Add in a wired world that invites us to prospect anywhere, and it makes the idea of “going rates” even more irrelevant.

Most importantly (see the sidebar, “Debunking the Myth of “Standard” Writers Rates…” on p. 171 of The Well-Fed Writer for the fleshed-out version of this idea):

Following some “industry pricing guide” or the anecdotal advice of other commercial copywriters (even those in your area) will give you, at best, only a partial view of the rates-picture in your area.

Just because a copywriter or guide says you can “expect” to make $ ___ per hour—given a certain experience level or geographic are—while useful as a ballpark guide, does that mean that’s all a copywriter can hope to earn at those levels, and in that locale?

Absolutely not. ALL it means is that some copywriters are making those rates, and some clients are unwilling to pay more. Sure, many clients think $50 an hour is too much to pay even a pro, but there are also plenty who won’t flinch at $125 an hour. And I’m working for a bunch of them.

What’s sad is that tons of talented commercial freelancers (and yes, you need to have the chops to be able to consistently land high rates), are making pathetically low hourly rates for NO other reason than that’s what some guide told them they can expect to make at their experience level, and because they’re working for clients who pay no more than that. Just because it’s your world doesn’t mean it’s THE world.

Meanwhile, other writers who never got that memo (like me when I started out, and perhaps those who read my books), and don’t realize that they shouldn’t be able to command higher rates, are doing just that. All because they looked in different places, believed different people, and found those willing to pay more.

Heck, land a few entrepreneur-type clients with big budgets—which I’ve happily done quite a bit over the years—along with big egos that drive them to pay high rates for “the best,” and all discussions of “standard rates” go out the window. When people like that routinely pay, say, $400+ an hour for legal services, $125 an hour for a professional writer will make them downright giddy.

One caveat: Someone starting out with little experience and armed with the concept of “going rates” can end up deluding themselves into thinking they should be able to ask for and get the “standard rates,” when they’ll likely have to work up to them.

Sort of a “Duh,” but more commercial copywriting experience (in general) will boost what you can ask for, and more industry-specific writing experience will boost it even more (assuming you’re pursuing work in that industry).

Just know that the concept of rates is far more fluid than we’re often led to believe, and sticking to “conventional wisdom” can limit income potential significantly.

Have you ever used others’ guidelines to determine your copywriting rates, only to land a client that defied rates expectation? In other words…

Have you ever had an “Aha!” moment when you got far higher than you expected to, and henceforth rewired your thinking about what you could ask for?

Have you had a sense that you’re shortchanging yourself when it comes to rates?

Any other thoughts or ideas on the subject?

Want to be a guest blogger on TWFW Blog? I welcome your contribution to the Well-Fed writing community! Check out the guidelines here.

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Is Your Website Bio Creating Trust or Indifference? (Guest Post)

Thanks, Stephanie, for a great post on a rarely-discussed component of our freelance copywriting web sites. It’s all about having everything on your site (yes, even the information about YOU) geared towards those things your visitors/prospects really care about—not just talking about ourselves.

When your clients, or your clients’ clients, visit a page you’ve written, the last thing you want them to think is “Why are you telling me this?” Because the moment they start thinking that, they’ll begin to feel like the website is wasting their time.

And the only sites that can get away with that are the ones where the readers KNOW their time is being wasted, but they’re having so much fun, they keep on giving it “just one more click, and then I swear I’ll go to bed!” anyway.

On the other hand, a well-written bio or “About Us” page can give the readers a sense of trust and hope. It shows them that the owner of the website knows what they’re talking about, understands their problems, and truly is well equipped to help them.

Unfortunately, whether you’re writing the copy for your own website or a client’s, knowing how to create an effective bio seems to be a rare skill.

Many business owners, entrepreneurs, and even copywriters fill their bios and “About Me” pages with information that sounds meaningful to them, but to the reader is mildly encouraging at best and actually off-putting at worst.

What’s the difference between a page that bores the readers into closing the tab, and one that makes them want to know more?

There are several, but the one most commonly missed is relevance.

So you have a history as a journalist; how does that make you a better marketing copywriter?

Yes, you had a glorious career in the military, but how does that relate to your ability to help your clients buy a home?

How does having been raised on a farm make you qualified to be a home decorator?

Yes, you’ve got a lot of fancy abbreviations in your description, but what do they mean to ME? (And no, I’m not going to take the time to look them up, because you haven’t gotten me interested enough that I’d want to know!)

If your readers can’t see how your life story or the history of your business makes you better equipped to help them, it may be a mildly interesting read, but it ultimately means nothing to them.

So how do you make the bio, “Story” or “About” page catch the reader’s attention and make them more likely to buy?

1. Use a story the reader can identify with.

When have you or your client been in a position similar to what the target audience is suffering through? Or, if you or they haven’t been through a similar situation, what pain did you or they see someone else going through, that created a desire to learn how to help people experiencing that same difficulty?

By showing that you or your client have been through, or have experience with, the challenge your readers are struggling with, you show them their suffering is understood. You make them realize “This isn’t just some clueless person trying to help with a problem they don’t understand. They know what I’m going through, and they know how hard it is.”

2. Show them why you or your clients are passionate about the industry.

It goes without saying that someone who’s passionate about a job will be much better at it than a guy just trying to pay his bills. The bio or “About” page should reflect this.

Why is the site owner excited about the problem they solve and the change and benefits they create? The more you show the emotional charge they have for their work, the more you’ll engage the reader’s emotions in turn. And emotion, not logic, is what really persuades people to invest.

3. Give the reader hope that their problems can be overcome.

Don’t just show that the site owner has experienced the problem; show how they’ve overcome it to create a better life for themselves. Help the reader see what’s possible, and show them that if one person or company can make these changes, they can, too.

4. Show how the site owner’s past makes them better at what they do.

Earlier in this post, I asked, “So you have a history as a journalist; how does that make you a better marketing copywriter? Yes, you had a glorious career in the military, but how does that relate to your ability to help your clients buy a home? How does having been raised on a farm make you qualified to be a home decorator?”

If you can answer these questions, and tie your past or your client’s to the quality of the service being offered, it can help you or them to stand out in a whole new way.

You could tie your journalistic career into your commercial writing by saying,

My time as a journalist taught me to convey stories and messages in ways that are compelling enough to catch the reader’s attention, yet concise enough that they’re willing to read to the end. Because of this, I know how to write your sales pages in a way that gets your readers hooked, and makes them keep reading all the way through your offer instead of leaving halfway through the page.

Or, you could tie your client’s past to their current career by saying things like,

My time in the army instilled in me a toughness and integrity that I bring to everything I do. I’ll fight to get you the very best deal on your house and mortgage, and I’ll make sure that you don’t get caught in any of the common traps that cause people to end up overpaying or stuck in a bad contract.

Or, While I was growing up on the farm, we lived a couple hours away from town, so going out and buying things with which to brighten up the house wasn’t very practical. I learned to use whatever I had at my disposal in unique and creative ways, even if I didn’t have much to work with. Because of this, I know how to make any house beautiful on any budget, so you don’t have to pay through the nose to create a gorgeous home.

See how much more interesting and compelling the story is when it’s tied in to the problem at the top of the reader’s mind?

If people are reading your website or your client’s, they’re doing so for a reason – because they want to know if the answers to their questions and problems are there. By making good use of bios and the “About” or “My Story” page, you can earn their trust, inspire them to believe that their challenges CAN be overcome, and make yourself and your clients stand out in a way that few other things can.

Have you ever used any of these strategies for you or a client?

If you have several stories from your life that seem like a good fit, how do you pick one?

What methods do you use to draw an inspiring life story out of your clients?

What is the most common mistake you see people making when they tell their stories on their sites?

AboutUsPagesStephaniePicStephanie O’Brien is a copywriter, marketing coach, entrepreneur, novelist, and self-growth addict. She uses her twelve years of fiction-writing experience to make her copywriting fun and inspirational as well as effective, and her lifelong exploration of the human mind helps her to get inside her clients’ heads, pick out the words they’re trying to find, and put them onto paper. To learn more about Stephanie, and to discover who your ideal client is so you can get a better idea of how to write your story, visit her website.

Want to be a guest blogger on TWFW Blog? I welcome your contribution to the Well-Fed writing community! Check out the guidelines here.

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