How to use this Page

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

Sure, there are lots of ways to make a living as a writer …

But, not every path is the same. And, each year, there are new market trends that make some paths easier … and faster … than others.

Today I’d like to share a few insights about writing for money in 2015 … including where you’ll find the best clients, where you’ll find the biggest growth opportunities, and what the competition will look like this year.

Insight #1: Writing to consumers is not on top this year.

For all the talk about how we live in a “consumer-driven economy,” 2015 will not be the year of the consumer for writers. Instead, it will be all about the world of B2B.

If you’re not familiar, B2B stands for Business-to-Business … the world where companies sell things to each other.

In B2B, instead of a single company trying to sell you one bottle of fancy shampoo, you have various companies trying to sell millions of bottles of fancy shampoo to hotel chains or cruise lines. Instead of selling one outfit, these companies are selling 10,000 uniforms. Or perhaps a whole fleet of delivery trucks, or a brand-new software system for an entire restaurant franchise.

To close these mega-deals, B2B firms need a ton of written material, all aimed at giving the “decision makers” the information they need to make the purchase. And no matter how many pieces of sales material they have written, they always need more.

In fact, for 2015, Ko Marketing reports that 80% of B2B marketers plan to maintain or increase their budgets, making B2B companies some of the best clients in the world.

Insight #2: 13 is a lucky number for writers this year.

In their 2015 B2B Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, the Content Marketing Institute reported that the average B2B company is using 13 different marketing tactics.

In this case, a “tactic” is a type of writing project …

Newsletters, emails, blog posts, white papers, case studies, social media … they’re all considered a different tactic. So along with many opportunities to get your foot in the door, each client you land will have loads of work for you.

Which means you only need a few B2B clients to make a very good living as a writer in 2015.

Insight #3: Fresher is better.

Once upon a time, companies could get away with only talking to their customers a few times a year. But not now …

B2B companies have found they get the best results from their marketing when they always have something new to share. They show up better in the search results, they get more engagement from customers, and they close more sales. So they’ve shifted from using the same old pieces over and over to constantly wanting something fresh.

In fact, 42% of B2B marketers say they publish new content “multiple times per week or daily” to serve their customers. And year over year, 70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than the year before!

Insight #4: You’ll get to multiply every project times 4.

Another big reason why B2B firms are creating so much more content has to do with “audience segmentation.”

With audience segmentation, you take one product and market it in different ways to different people. For example, a company selling a line of organic cleaning products might be looking at schools, hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and factories as potential audiences. To get the best results, they need a targeted campaign for each audience, even though the actual product doesn’t change.

The typical B2B firm plans to target four different audience segments in 2015, says the Content Marketing Institute. Four audiences means four versions of each piece you write. And four versions means higher fees for every project you accept.

Insight #5: Businesses say it’s gotten 3 times harder to find good writers in the past year.

Have you ever feared you may have to compete with tons of writers to win business?

B2B companies would argue otherwise … they’ve got so much work to do it feels like there are no trained B2B writers available.

In fact, in their 2015 survey of B2B marketers, the Content Marketing Institute found that 32% were being “challenged” to find trained professional writers. In 2014, only 10% reported difficulty.

What changed in just this past year? As I mentioned before, demand for B2B writing has gone through the roof, and when you consider audience segmentation, that booming demand gets multiplied to even more astronomical levels. But the supply of writers isn’t growing nearly as fast …

In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that from one year to the next, the total supply of writers is only increasing by about 3%. With 129,100 writers of any type on record, that means just 3,873 new writers a year.

In contrast, there are 5 million B2B firms in North America. Do some quick math and it works out to 39 B2B firms competing for the time of every single writer out there …

Imagine it — you could start tomorrow, and if you just claimed your “fair share” of the market, you’d be taking on 39 clients.

And many B2B writers earn a good full-time income working with just four or five clients at a time …

Could you join them? In all likelihood, the answer is yes.

It just depends on what kind of writer you are …

AWAI has a quick quiz you can take here.

You’ll also learn about a program that can help get you started if you decide the answer is “Yes!”

Next week I’ll show you how to make a very good living as a writer, just by writing B2B content. The market is that hungry for new writers!

Until then,
Rebecca Matter

P.S. If you have any questions for me, or have a topic you’d like me to cover in a future issue, I invite you to contact me on Facebook, through AWAI or via my website, rebeccamatter.com.

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

“ … To make the big bucks, you have to develop two skills: writing and selling yourself as a writer. You must be competent at one of those skills and masterful at the other. The choice is up to you.”

— Mark Ford, Million-Dollar Copywriter, Bestselling Author, and Successful Entrepreneur

Mark Ford started his first business when he was 11 years old. He’s started hundreds more since then. Today, he’s a self-made millionaire, a New York Times bestselling author under his pen name Michael Masterson, and a successful business builder.

Mark is one of the founders of AWAI … he’s the mentor of dozens of A-level copywriters … and is the inspiration behind AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting and more.

It’s safe to say, when it comes to good advice on making a living as a writer, you can’t find much better …

The first promotion you wrote was a multimillion-dollar success. But, you’ve said it took about 20 revisions … What tips in persistence can you give new writers who are tempted to give up too soon?

I’m sure it didn’t take 20 revisions — it just seemed like that. And I wouldn’t say that I exhibited persistence per se. As you say, it was my first effort at writing a sales letter and it was also a sales letter for an entirely new kind of investment publication. I’d written both the sales letter and the product in my spare time and I’d pitched my boss on giving me a piece of the action if it became successful. So there was a lot riding on it and I saw it as a make-it-or-give-up sort of situation. I was very motivated to see it work and so I was eager to make whatever changes he suggested. I probably did three full revisions and another three or four partial revisions over a period of three months. It never even felt like work. It felt like, “This is so cool. If this works, I’m going to be a hero.”

You’ve said studying one marketing promotion a day is one of the secrets of your success. For people who don’t want to write sales copy and would rather write something like websites or e-books, what’s the best way to find great copy to learn from?

First of all, let me address the second part of your question. To me, there is very little difference between writing sales copy or writing websites or writing e-books. If you are paid to write, then you are paid to write persuasively. All the same rules apply.

As far as this idea of studying a finished piece of writing every day, I first made that statement 17 years ago, when I was working with Katie, Don, and Paul on the original AWAI copywriting program. In fact, I went beyond recommending that the fledgling writer read and study copy. I recommended hand copying it, word-by-word.

The truth is, I did a little bit of that transcribing myself and found it to be useful, but I never had the patience to practice what I preached. I did study (read with the intention of learning) loads of copy at that time and I’m sure that was very helpful.

When you study copy regularly, you not only notice strategies and techniques that the copywriter has used to make the package stronger, but you also get an ear for the rhythm of the phrasing and the tone of voice — two very important aspects of writing that are nearly impossible to learn any other way. I wasn’t the first person to recommend this sort of learning (Aristotle, among other critics, recommended it more than two thousand years ago). And there have been many other writing coaches that have repeated it since then. But I seldom see people explaining why this is so important. It’s all about learning what I think of as the musical side of the craft.

What do you mean by musical?

Have you ever noticed how much emotional impact music gives to lyrics? Have you ever found a song profound and moving and yet later realized that the lyrics themselves were very ordinary, even cliché? This is what a great prose stylist can do with phrasing and tone of voice. It’s very powerful and, as I say, it can’t be learned analytically. You have to absorb it word-by-word.

How much of success as a freelance writer is about writing good copy, versus understanding how to find clients who value your work?

That is a seemingly simple question that requires a long and complicated answer. I will attempt to make it short by making a few statements that are connected without spelling out the connections. First, writing is a technical skill. As with any skill, it can be learned in degrees and as with any skill, there are four “macro” levels: incompetence, competence, mastery, and virtuosity. To become competent, you must be willing to practice writing for about 1,000 hours while you are incompetent. Many would-be writers never achieve competence because they refuse to admit (even to themselves) that they are incompetent. To become masterful, you need to put in 5,000 hours of conscious learning. (I wrote about these hourly requirements years before Malcolm Gladwell made them famous.) To become a virtuoso, you need a natural talent.

You can make lots of money as a merely competent copywriter. But to do so, you must confine your writing to markets that pay reasonably well for competent writing. Happily, there are many such markets. If you want to make good money without being masterful, then you must spend a good deal of time learning how to sell your competence, over and over again.

If you decide to become masterful at some sort of writing, then you will only have to do a modest amount of marketing at the beginning. A masterful writer will have little or no problem finding work. Virtually anyone that employs him will want to use him over and over again.

Put differently, to make the big bucks, you have to develop two skills: writing and selling yourself as a writer. You must be competent at one of those skills and masterful at the other. The choice is up to you.

What’s your best tip for writers on how to find clients who value their work and are willing to pay fair fees?

Spend a full week — 40 hours — studying the company you want to work for. Study their products. Study their sales literature. Study their customers. Don’t approach them until you know what they need and are 100% sure you can give it to them.

Most of the great copywriters were protégés of other great copywriters. For someone new to the writing world, what criteria should be used to find and vet a mentor?

It’s amazing to me how little value people place in finding a mentor. There is this bizarre idea out there that accomplished writers should be happy to work with inexperienced writers merely for the pleasure of it. Mentoring someone in any sophisticated skill is enormously demanding. The mentor is offering a huge value and he will provide that effort only if he thinks that the protégé is both ready to learn at a certain level and also willing to pay for it in some way.

Beginning writers should not expect that accomplished writers will be willing to mentor them. They should be happy with peer-to-peer feedback and the sort of secondary and tertiary mentoring they can get from programs like AWAI offers.

There are professional mentors out there who offer their services for a fee. I used such mentors when I was learning to write fiction. Some of them were good and some not so good. I don’t have any helpful advice on how to “find and vet” a good mentor other than to jump in with a positive attitude and get out respectfully and appreciatively if it doesn’t seem to be working out. The world of professional writing is a small one. Never, ever burn your bridges.

Throughout your life, you’ve launched scores of successful businesses. What gave you that confidence to put yourself out there and go for it so many times?

I never had any confidence that I could be successful in business. In fact, until I was 33, I never had any interest in business. I had lots of dreams about what I might do in life. I wanted to be a teacher and a writer and an artist and an art collector and a martial artist, etc. But I never even thought about business in a serious way until I decided one day to make “getting rich” my top priority. People talk about priorities, but most of that talk is rubbish. Making something a top priority is a very big and very dangerous thing to do. It is entirely different from, say, underlining one of the items on your to-do list.

After making that decision, everything changed for me. I thought about everything differently. Difficult decisions were suddenly easy to make. Confusing questions were easy to answer. I started moving, very quickly, in a very clear-to-me direction. And things fell into place, including a series of dozens of successful, multimillion-dollar businesses. I wrote a book about all that, The Reluctant Entrepreneur. I recommend that to anyone who thinks they might want to own a business and who is also reluctant — a sign of intelligence.

You helped debunk the myth that copywriting talent is something people are born with and can’t be learned. Can you also debunk the myth that people are stuck in their own circumstances, and explain whether it’s possible for anyone to become wealthy? (And if so, how?)

I’m not going to say anything here that you haven’t heard before. Yet it can never be said too often.

We are not in charge of what happens to us in life, but we are in charge of how we think about it. Is it harder for a black or Hispanic person to make it in Corporate America than a white person? Yes. But it can be done. Is it difficult for someone who can’t use his hands to become a successful writer? Yes. But it can be done. Is it difficult for someone who did not have the benefit of a good education and caring parents and well-placed friends to become rich? Yes. But it can be done.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book about that called David and Goliath. It explains that handicaps can be advantages if the individual responds to them in a certain way.

I wrote my own book, Seven Years to Seven Figures, which told the story of a number of people I mentored who developed multimillion-dollar businesses, starting from scratch, in less than seven years. And I’ve developed an entire program — a very extensive program — called The Palm Beach Wealth Club to give people every idea and every tool I could think of to make such an ambition come true.

Who are the top copywriters you’d recommend studying today?

I don’t have such a list. But it’s not a difficult list to put together. You must start with the industry you intend to work within. Then identify the top two or three companies in that industry and then identify the top two or three copywriters working for those companies. Those are the copywriters I’d study.

As someone who’s been wildly successful as a writer for over two decades, is there room for people from all backgrounds and circumstances — age, means, etc.? What can they do to set themselves apart?

I think I answered that question already. Age can be considered a handicap. But it is also an advantage. Older people usually have a lower tolerance for bullshit. And that can be a great advantage to anyone who wants to develop a writing style that is based on wisdom and honesty and a straightforward voice.

I have trained young people and I’ve trained older people and have had success with both. The main difference between the two is the obvious one: younger people have more time to become competent and more earning years after they achieve competence.

But so what? You can become a competent copywriter by spending 1,000 hours learning and practicing the skill. If you have a good mentor, even a mentorship program like AWAI offers, you can cut that time down almost in half. Do the math. Figure out how long it will take you, given the time you can devote to it. But don’t be deterred, at all, by your age or circumstances.

How did your time in the Peace Corps — two years teaching students at the University of Chad in Africa — change your perspective on life?

For one thing, it taught me how difficult it is to be a good teacher. Since my parents were both teachers, I figured I’d be a natural. I wasn’t. Teaching, like writing, requires skills that must be learned over time. It also requires the gradual dissolution of the ego. The first can be accomplished simply by putting in the work. The second is a lifelong challenge.

I also learned that having lots of money is not related to living a rich life. I wrote a book about that too, just published last year. It’s called Living Rich.

So is a writing career one of the best ways for someone to increase their income?

Writing is a great career. You can do it successfully as an employee or as a freelance writer. One is not more lucrative than the other. The choice is more about comfort, whether one prefers the comfort that working for a business provides or whether one prefers the independence of freelance employment.

I certainly believe that writing commercially is a great way to go. I’ve recommended it to many friends and to my children, one of whom has actually listened to me!

What’s the very best Glicken you’ve ever received, either from a client or as a result of your own endeavors?

Again, I’m going to say something you’ve heard a hundred times before and it may make you puke. The Glicken I most enjoy is when someone approaches me in the airport or at a conference and tells me that I changed their life in some positive, concrete way.

What’s something a new writer can do this week to advance his or her writing career?

Find an extra half hour a day and devote those 30 minutes to study and/or practice.

***

Along with being successful author, copywriter, and entrepreneur, Mark is a wonderful teacher. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him for over 10 years at AWAI, and owe a great deal of my own success to him.

If you ever have the opportunity to learn from him firsthand, jump on it.

And if you happen to be taking AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, you’ll be learning to write copy from one of the industry’s top copywriters. In fact, many of today’s A-level copywriters credit Mark as a huge contributor to their success.

I should also note that this interview originally appeared in AWAI’s Barefoot Writer Magazine …

Each month, we feature an interview with a writer who is willing to share specific insights and advice on how you can follow in their footsteps. In addition, the pages are filled with practical tips and strategies for making a living as a writer, as well as inspiration from numerous writers who are living the writer’s life and want to “pay it forward.”

Next week, I’ll share with you five insights about writing for money in 2015 …

Including where you’ll find the best clients, where you’ll find the biggest growth opportunities, and what the competition will look like this year.

Until then,
Rebecca Matter

P.S. If you have any questions for me, or have a topic you’d like me to cover in a future issue, I invite you to contact me on Facebook, through AWAI or via my website, rebeccamatter.com.

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

When a writer — or aspiring writer — asks me about the single hottest opportunity for writers, my answer never changes …

No matter the season, the year, economy, or the individual’s background, passion, interests, degree — or lack of — the answer is always copywriting.

There simply isn’t another writing skill that even comes close to the income potential and variety of paid writing gigs …

In fact, there are literally hundreds of ways to live the writer’s life using copywriting as your foundation.

And you can choose the type of writing that fits your style and goals …

Short copy … social media updates … product descriptions … long copy … websites … it’s completely up to you.

Of course, so many options can be a little overwhelming. So today I’m going to give you four ways to get started making a living as a copywriter …

#1: Manage and Write Social Media Campaigns

This copywriting opportunity is exploding! In just a few years, it’s grown from being referred to as “social media” to now often being called “the social web.”

It’s integrated into everything we do online.

Because of that, companies need more social web content than ever … to the tune of social media revenue reaching $34 billion by 2016! (Gartner Inc.)

And that’s up from $11.8 billion in 2011 and $16.9 billion in 2012.

Huge growth!

Plus, check this out: According to a recent article from social web expert, Nick Usborne, “88% of companies know they’re not doing well on social media.”

Additionally, “Fewer than 15% of companies have dedicated social media experts on staff.”

Social media might as well be an opportunity on a silver platter!

The demand is so high, yet this is another area of direct-response copy where just a few clients can keep you completely booked.

What does a social media writer do, exactly?

As a social media writer, you work with companies to manage their social media campaigns. This can include a range of services from creating initial social pages to the day-to-day management and updating of the accounts.

There are also posts and updates that need to be written and scheduled, shareable content that needs to be found and re-shared, and fans and followers who need to be engaged with.

And since social media requires ongoing attention month after month, you could have a full-time project — and full-time pay — simply managing a company’s social media strategy.

Get started today by setting up or optimizing your own social media channel. In other words, prove that you understand social media and participate in social media.

Then, share (or re-share) valuable content, tell people about your services, and use social media to attract new clients.

#2: Revise Web Copy So It Can Be Found

SEO (search engine optimization) is a copywriting opportunity that sadly does not receive the attention it deserves.

Yet it’s something every writer should learn …

1. Even if you’re a brand-new writer, you can jump in right away and start making solid money from day one. It’s likely the easiest and fastest way for a web writer to start working with paying clients.

2. SEO skills will make your services more valuable — meaning higher rates and better pay. So — if you are doing any writing for the Web at all — don’t miss out on the added value of SEO.

But, let’s back up a little to make sure we’re on the same page …

In order to sell anything online, a website needs to attract people (commonly called “visitors”). The number of visitors a website receives per month is called its “traffic.”

As a business gets more traffic (or people visiting their website), they increase their selling opportunities.

And, it just so happens that SEO is a great way — if not the best way — to get more traffic …

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

A search engine is a tool that helps a person find what they’re looking for online. You’ve certainly heard of Google, Yahoo!, or Bing …

You type something into one of those search engines and they return a list of recommended sites. These are known as “search engine results.”

SEO is the process of tweaking a website so it appears higher in those results … increasing the website’s exposure to more potential customers.

That’s where you, as the SEO copywriter, come in …

What does a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) writer do?

The way a search engine ranks all of the websites on the Internet can be a bit complicated … and, it changes from time to time …

As an SEO writer, you would follow these changes and ensure your client’s website copy is written (and revised) in a way that allows the search engine to find and rank it high in the results.

Depending on your preference, your service might include writing all the copy and content for a website, or simply tweaking existing copy to optimize it.

For your clients, more Search Engine Optimization equals more traffic. More traffic means more profits. That’s why just a few clients can keep you busy writing (or enhancing) content that will improve their SEO ranking!

Get started today by exploring SEO. Try going to your favorite search engine and searching for something you’d like to buy. Then, review the results to see how the websites use the words (called “keywords” in the SEO world) that you searched for on their website.

You’ll find that the most optimized sites (those that are most relevant to what you searched for) appear first …

What about those other sites? The ones who aren’t ranking well are all potential clients just waiting for you to help them.

#3: Write Online Content (Like what you’re reading now!)

This copywriting opportunity ties everything we already talked about together … and it’s an easy opportunity to break into …

You see, most companies are desperate for content — like articles, blog posts, case studies, free reports, reviews, and more — because this content attracts new prospects, helps them make purchase decisions, builds rapport, increases credibility, and more.

Content — or “content marketing” — is now a major part of the sales process. In fact, I discovered that 9 out of 10 companies in North America are using content marketing to boost their sales.

And, get this … 60% of them plan on increasing how much they’ll spend on content!

Writing content is one of the easiest, fastest-growing opportunities there is …

And, for the most part, you’ll be writing short pieces of copy that are informative, engaging, and entertaining. No need to “hard sell” or be hype-y.

Get started today by writing an article about a topic you are passionate about. It doesn’t have to be long — aim for 500-800 words. The point of this exercise is for you to see just how easy content writing can be.

As an example, let’s say you enjoy yoga. You could write something like, “4 Ways Yoga Changed My Life.” That’s exactly the kind of content a yoga studio, yoga supply website, or yoga instructor would need to market their business.

#4: Write Emails

Last, but certainly not least, on my list of copywriting opportunities, is email writing.

This opportunity is so huge because email is one of the main ways that smart companies stay in contact with their potential prospects as well as past customers.

You may have seen sign-up forms on various websites … companies asking for your email address in exchange for a free report, discount, insider information, or access to their newsletter. In the world of email, that’s called “building a list” of prospects.

Once a company builds this list, they want to follow up with it often — sometimes even daily — to prompt the reader to take an action …

That action could be to visit the website, request more information, or purchase something.

But, here’s the thing that makes this a huge opportunity …

Companies don’t want to mail the same email twice!

They need someone to write a unique email — or even a whole series — for every product they launch, every new email list they create, and every new affiliate offer they want to promote.

They also need emails for upsells, discounts, holiday promotions, and more.

Every time they reach out to their list, they need a new email.

If they like what they see from you, they’ll keep coming back. That’s why you can live the writer’s life just by writing email copy and nothing else.

Get started now by signing up for an offer on a website you like. Then, follow their emails to see their process. If you think you can write a better email, why not reach out to the company and propose it?

2015 Will Be a Bright Year for Writers!

There you have it …

Four wide-open, enjoyable, potentially profitable writing specialties: social media campaigns, search engine optimization, content writing, and email.

Whether you’re writing an article, helping a company with their SEO or social media strategy … or even convincing a reader to support a cause, download a special report, buy a product, or request more information …

You’ll always be in demand!

It doesn’t matter what your background is, what your passions are, or even if you have experience.

All that matters is that you’re willing to take the first step …

Choose one of these four copywriting opportunities and do the “get started now” step as soon as possible.

Just don’t spend too much time deliberating. After all, any of these four opportunities can be your ticket to making a living as a writer.

And if you’d like to learn how to take advantage of – and write – all of the projects I shared with you today, check out the Home Study from our recent Web Copywriting Intensive. You’ll get incredible professional-grade training on all of these writing opportunities, taught by the industry’s top experts, from the comfort of your own home.

Next week I’m interviewing a writer who has made millions – both as a published author AND as a copywriter. He’s a brilliant writer … but more importantly he’s a wonderful teacher who has mentored dozens of other writers over the years on building successful writing businesses of their own.

He’s promised to give useful and actionable advice for writers looking to follow in his footsteps. You won’t want to miss it!

Until then,
Rebecca Matter

P.S. If you have any questions for me, or have a topic you’d like me to cover in a future issue, I invite you to contact me on Facebook, through AWAI or via my website, rebeccamatter.com.

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

Making a living as a writer …

Whenever I read that phrase, I immediately think about all the opportunities for writers to make money doing what they love — copywriting, web writing, resume writing, grant writing … writing case studies, white papers, online content, social media posts — the list goes on and on. And typically, that’s what I cover in this blog.

After all, there’s SO MUCH opportunity for SO MANY writers in these fields. And for over 18 years now, AWAI has successfully been training writers on how to find the best-paying assignments and acquire the skills they need to do the job well.

Yet I also realize that for many writers, there’s a passion to become a published author — along with making a good living.

Since making money as a fiction writer isn’t my area of expertise, I called up rising star author Becky Masterman, who promised to hold nothing back …

Becky has had quite a bit of success in the past two years …

Her first book, Rage Against the Dying, was nominated for seven awards for Best First Novel, including the Edgar, Anthony, Gold Dagger, Macavity, Barry, International Thriller Writers, and Audie, and was recommended by the AARP and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” It was named Pick of the Week by Publishers Weekly and will be translated into 11 different languages, including Japanese and Czech.

And Fear the Darkness, the follow-up, which just hit shelves January 20^th, appears to be following in its footsteps with glowing reviews. According to Janet Maslin, reviewing for The New York Times, ” … another strong display of the author’s ingenuity … this novel is no replay of the first … ” and Tom Nolan in The Wall Street Journal declares the book, ” … idiosyncratic and engaging … pulls the rug out from beneath expectations.”

But her success didn’t come overnight …

Prior to hitting her break with Rage, Becky wrote six novels … but nothing sold. It wasn’t until she challenged her husband to a competition for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where they’d each write a book in a month that things started to change …

With a background in forensic science book publishing, connections to some of the most famous scientists and experts in that field, and a desire to compete head-on with her husband, the character of Brigid Quinn was born …

An FBI special agent who now — in her retirement — is finally getting married, making friends, owning Pugs, trying to fit into the civilian world she always sought to protect for others. A woman whose priority is to keep her Book Club from finding out she can kill people with her bare hands.

And while it took Becky six weeks instead of the month to finish the first draft, she loved the character so much, she thought maybe someone else would like her, too.

She sent a query letter to an agent who responded, “Nobody is interested in a woman over 30.”

And though she shelved the book for a few years, she didn’t lose hope.

A few years later, something happened to change the world — maybe it was how Helen Mirren wowed at the Oscars — all of the sudden, older women were hot. Becky saw the opportunity and decided to send out query letters about her book one more time …

This time, the literary agent Helen Heller called. “I’ve been looking for this character for years. I think you can write, and if you’re willing to work hard, I think this book can be something.”

It took you 20 years to experience the success you’re experiencing now. Did you ever think about giving up? And if so, what made you go on?

I joke sometimes about giving it up and raising therapy cockapoos, but after all this time, I can’t see life without writing. It’s not about the publishing or the money, that’s just the game. For me, it’s about loving to write. I feel down when I’ve been away from it more than a week. I keep doing it because I can’t stop.

Where do you find the inspiration behind your writing?

You never know where an idea is going to come from. It could appear in a book, or in watching two strangers interact, or a news item, or a magazine article, or a friend telling you their troubles. That means you have to stay alert and ready to make that leap into story. You have to be ‘writing’ all the time.

What writers inspire you most?

John D. MacDonald, Richard Ford, Lee Child, Anna Quindlen, James Lee Burke, Walker Percy, Elmore Leonard, Daphne du Maurier … I get such different kinds of inspiration from so many writers, the list is endless and could change daily. I think it’s important to read widely and not stick to a genre.

What was your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge was recognizing that there’s a difference between writing the first draft for my own pleasure and writing every draft after that for love of the reader. Luckily, I was granted the counsel of an agent and editors who had been serving readers for a long time.

Why did you choose to go with an agent versus self-publishing?

I was familiar enough with publishing to know I’d likely sell a couple hundred copies tops if I self-published. There are self-published authors who make it, but the chances of that are equal to my getting a movie role that Meryl Streep wants. No, when I decided to play the game, I intended to do whatever it took, short of nastiness, to win.

What advice do you have on getting a good agent?

Write a great query letter, for starters. Make sure it shows your writing chops. Keep the part about you short. If you’re somebody, you don’t need to say much, and if you’re nobody, it doesn’t matter what you say. The good agents get a thousand queries a week, and in order to manage this quantity, they look for a reason to say no.

Next, try to find an agent who will criticize your work. Praise is useless. You want someone who will work with you to polish what they like, and who won’t just throw the manuscript as-is at five publishers and see if someone bites.

I know it’s exciting to get a call from someone who wants to represent you, but take a little time, find out who else is in their stable. How long have they been an agent?

You want someone who has experience with names you recognize, who specializes in your genre, but doesn’t have so many clients they haven’t the time to bring you along.

How long does it take to go from an idea for a book to actually getting published?

Because I’m writing in the thriller genre, publishers want a book a year. Rage Against the Dying took nine years. Fear the Darkness took three years. I think I’m making good progress.

How much research do you do for your books?

Lots, but the question for me is not how much, but when. I do initial research when I’m developing my ‘what if.’ For example, googling executions at Raiford Penitentiary in Florida. But you shouldn’t get bogged down in fact-finding because you’ll never start the book. Get enough information to do a quick draft. Then figure out if the plot is viable, revise, and then find out the procedure for visiting a death row inmate.

Do you use an outline?

In this way: I list a bunch of possible scenes. I put them in some kind of order. I write a draft, changing things in the writing. I revise the outline to see what kind of book I’ve got. I write another draft. I revise the outline. Repeat.

What percentage of your fiction is based on real-life experiences?

You know how they say ‘write what you know?’ I think what it means is that you take what’s in the darker corners of your mind, and what you observe in the world, and then you distort it, refine it, or exaggerate it. One small example: I sometimes use a cane. My protagonist uses a walking stick when she hikes. It has a sharp blade attached to the end for killing … snakes.

How do you keep your fictional life separate from your real life? And if you don’t keep them separate, how do you keep people from getting upset with you?

You mean your narcissistic cousin who can’t hold a job? According to author Anne Lamott: “If people don’t want us to write about them, they should have behaved better.” Distort, refine, exaggerate, even change the gender, and they probably won’t recognize themselves. If you’re worried that they will, don’t do it. It’s all up to you.

What are some life experiences that led to some of your character development?

I worked as an acquisitions editor in forensic science and law enforcement. My retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn is an amalgamation of so many of the people I knew and loved. Also, I married late in life to a retired Episcopal priest. People ask if Brigid’s husband Carlo, a smart, sexy, good-looking ex-Catholic priest turned philosophy professor, is my husband. He denies it.

What was it like to write a follow-up book?

The challenge was that I needed to keep my protagonist and yet I didn’t want to write the same book again, perhaps with a higher body count. So I took risks, turned from a serial killer plot to one with a slower build into psychological suspense. The funniest line about my protagonist came from my editor during revisions: “What’s heart-breaking angst in the first book, in the second book is just whining.” The best advice is succinct like this. You have to keep a sense of humor.

With the praise Rage got, were you intimidated at the thought of following it up?

You bet I was! But the choices are to go on, or stop. It’s quite simple.

Will there be a third in the Brigid Quinn series?

I’m working on the fourth revision right now. When you say revision to some people who aren’t writers, they seem to think it’s tweaking sentences. You’ll understand when I say ‘revision,’ I mean the stage where your agent is advising, “You’ve got this character who’s just a walk-on, and he’s too important. You need to give him more of a role.” This time around, I’m figuring I’ll drop about 10K words and add another 10K. This is good progress.

Since this is a blog about making a living as a writer, I have to ask … Can you actually make a living as a fiction writer?

There’s a statistic about how many authors make their sole living at writing. I don’t know the number, but I think it’s single-digit small. I recommend having a day job. Be a hospital orderly. Work as a receptionist in a police department. Clean other people’s houses. Clerk in a bookstore. Just think of all the rich material you get from the people you encounter and the profession you have. Observe conflict. Take notes.

Do you have any income streams other than your books?

I had a full-time job until last year. I had saved my retirement fund and was close enough to Social Security that I could stop working. If I were younger, I wouldn’t have quit my day job.

Is it true you got your start as a copywriter? Anything you learned that helped you as a novelist?

Like journalism, copywriting is good preparation because you’re working on a deadline. Novelists don’t wait around for inspiration either. You churn out the words and then revise. Good advice from a mentor: You can’t rewrite nothing.

What advice would you give a writer who has a dream of being published?

Don’t stop at one book. While you’re shopping and revising it, be writing the second. If a publisher is going to invest in you, they want to know what else you’re working on. Besides, the pleasure of the writing will cushion the knocks of the business.

If you could go back and do something different, what would it be?

I’d rewrite Rage an eighth time. Someone once told me books are never finished, they’re abandoned.

When you sit down to write, are you ever overcome by the possibility that, when all is said and done, there will be no one there to read what you write?

You mean like we’ll have hit the zombie apocalypse? And there’s no market for zom-com?

Okay, seriously. Writers will talk about wanting to be published. I tell them just because they’re published doesn’t mean they’ll be read. “How many readers will make you happy?” I ask.

No, you either love the writing or you do something else that satisfies you more. Sometimes my agent will call with changes that the editor wants and she’ll apologize that it will mean several month’s work. I always tell her not to worry, because it means I’ll be writing and that’s all I want. If you love writing that sentence, and then throwing it out and writing a better one, at the end, you will have lived an enviable life.

***

It was a thrill to interview Becky Masterman …

If you have questions or comments for her about the interview, you can connect with her on Facebook or at beckymasterman.com.

And if you’re interested in learning more about making a living as a writer from some of the most successful writers in the industry, I also invite you to check out AWAI’s Barefoot Writer Magazine …

Each month, we feature an interview with a writer who is willing to share specific insights and advice on how you can follow in their footsteps. I’m always amazed at how generous they are with their information (like Becky was), and how many great actionable tips they give away. I highly recommend you check it out.

Next week, I’ll share with you five ways you can start making money as a writer while you’re working on your novel …

And I’ll even give you the one you should jump on right away if you’re looking to turn your writing into a full-blown career.

Until then,
Rebecca Matter

P.S. A quick thank you to all of the writers who posted questions on my Facebook page for Becky! It was fun to work on this interview with you. Felt like a team effort

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

I used to make them every year. But, like most people, I made them unrealistic and immeasurable, and often tried to achieve too much, too fast. Then, a few months into the New Year, I’d realize I’d already missed at least one of my resolutions, and shortly thereafter, would simply forget the rest.

But, about 11 years ago, when I first started working with AWAI, I learned a lesson from legendary copywriter and published author Mark Ford (also known as Michael Masterson) that changed everything. And I’m no longer an “oh well, maybe next year” kind of gal.

Instead of making New Year’s resolutions … I now set goals.

Rather than making empty general resolutions like I’m going to exercise more, drink less, and make more money … I’ve learned to develop an actual plan that’s designed to ensure I succeed.

And you can, too.

Instead of banking your success as a writer on a New Year’s resolution, I’d like you to set a career-building goal to get you to that next level — whatever that “next level” is for you …

If you’re just starting out trying to make a living as a writer, maybe your goal will be to land your first paying assignment …

If you’ve successfully launched your writing business, maybe your goal will be to land five new clients …

Or, maybe it will be to clear a particular revenue goal, so you can quit your full-time job and spend all your time writing. Whatever it is, the first step is the same …

Step One: Set a clear goal for the year.

The key with Step One is to ensure your goal meets the following four criteria:

1. It must be specific …

Instead of setting a goal to make “a lot of money” from your writing in 2015, set a goal to land five clients worth at least $10K each.

2. It must be actionable …

Winning $50K in Vegas is not an actionable goal. But winning enough projects to bill $50K in writing fees is.

3. It must be time-oriented …

While landing five clients worth $10K each is a good goal … landing five clients worth $10K each by October 31^st is a better one.

4. It must be realistic …

Landing five clients worth $10K each by October 31^st may be an aggressive goal, but it’s possible. Landing those same five clients by January 31^st is not.

Once you have a goal that meets all four criteria, write it down.

According to many successful people, that one simple action can spell the difference between achieving your goal, and failing completely.

Step Two: Break that goal down into small objectives that each take you one step closer to your goal.

Write the objectives in the order they need to be completed, and assign a deadline to each one.

Let’s say your goal is to become a working copywriter and land five paying clients by October 31^st. Your first couple of objectives may look like this:

Objective 1: Finish AWAI’s The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting by February 28^th.

Objective 2: By March 15^th, turn the program assignments into four samples showcasing what I learned, so potential clients can see how much value my writing will deliver.

Objective 3: Put up my copywriting website, research a list of companies I want to write for, and reach out to 50 prospective clients by April 1^st.

So on and so forth.

Step Three: Break each of these objectives down into even smaller, measurable tasks.

The key to this step is to make sure you specify exactly what needs to be done, and once again assign a time frame.

Using the same example, let’s say you plan to be a copywriter who specializes in writing for the alternative health market, and you’ve completed the first section of AWAI’s Accelerated Program.

You may break down the first objectives like this:

January 10-23, read Section Two of The Accelerated Program and complete the exercises. Start attending AWAI’s Live Copywriting Companion Series to ensure I’m mastering all the key principles taught in The Accelerated Program, get feedback on my writing, and get my questions answered directly by experts who know the copywriting industry inside and out.

January 24–31, read Section Three of The Accelerated Program, complete the exercises, and continue attending the live training sessions with Katie and Rebecca.

February 1-19, read Section Four of The Accelerated Program, complete the exercises, and continue attending the live training sessions with Katie and Rebecca.

February 20-28, submit my assignments for feedback, start researching potential clients as instructed in the program, and collect all relevant contact data.

March 1-15, take the feedback I received on my writing assignments, and turn the pieces into samples I can use to pitch my services.

March 16-31, begin writing copy for my website following AWAI’s instruction, put up my website, and do a quick refresher to ensure I feel confident when contacting clients.

April 1-7, launch my new copywriting business and apply for at least 5 jobs on AWAI’s job board, as well as reach out to 50 potential clients I researched, following the instructions laid out in The Accelerated Program.

See how that works?

My only other advice is to create a tracking system you can use to easily keep track of these tasks. I personally like to use an 8½ x 11 calendar that when opened, lays flat on my desk and shows me a month at a time.

Other writers I know like to use spreadsheets and online apps to track their progress.

Whatever you choose, just make sure you can access it easily. Then check your tasks daily, and your objectives monthly to make sure you are staying on track. If you need to adjust any deadlines, go ahead. But don’t let yourself make excuses for not sticking to your plan.

So, what goal will you achieve in 2015?

Take 30 minutes right now and write it down, along with the objectives it will take to achieve it. Remember to be specific and realistic. And then get ready to achieve it!

And if you want to share it with me, or need advice on how to achieve your goals this year, feel free to connect with me on Facebook, or reach out to me any time through my website at rebeccamatter.com.

To your success,
Rebecca Matter

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

How are you at writing articles?

I know it seems like they should be easy to write … but I used to struggle a lot when I first started trying to make a living as a writer.

It wasn’t until I learned how to prepare myself before writing that they got a LOT easier.

If you’re not writing articles yet, here are three reasons you may want to consider it:

• They’re an easy way to gain credibility in your field.
• They can drive quality traffic to your website or sales page.
• You can get paid really well to write them (single articles and on retainer!).

And, to make it easy for you to get started, I’m going to share with you a process I go through every time I sit down to write one.

It’s a process I developed after Mark Ford (known by his pen name, Michael Masterson) critiqued an article I had written and declared it to be very effective. In his critique, he explained why the article was so effective.

The feedback was so valuable that I went ahead and turned it into a worksheet. And now, I’m going to walk you through my process.

To illustrate, I’ll use an article I wrote on offering packages to upsell clients. You can access the complete article here.

Before we get started, you need to realize that writing good editorial is a lot like writing good direct-response copy.

Don’t get me wrong; every article you write doesn’t have to sell something. But, it should provoke a useful thought or feeling in your reader — one that you’ve intended the reader to feel.

Which takes us to the steps in this process …

1. Define the specific thought, feeling, or action you want to stimulate in the reader.

Just like you do when writing good direct-response copy, you want to think about the purpose of your article. Do you want the reader to feel inspired? Consider changing his career? Visit a website or buy something?

Right up front, you need to know where the article is headed. And then, ensure that every word written supports that intention.

In the package deal example, I wanted the reader to think about how they could package their skills to make more money from each client they worked with, and think about what skills they would like to learn in order to create even more valuable packages in the future.

2. Outline how the article will help the reader.

This step is similar to defining the benefits of the product or service you’re selling in a sales letter. It’s critical, because along with helping you write the article, the list of benefits will reveal if the article is even worthwhile to write!

How many benefits?

A good rule of thumb is to try and name at least six. Of course, you can do more, but if you have trouble naming six benefits, the article probably needs to be rethought.

Going back to my package example, here are the benefits I outlined for the reader:

• Have confidence when upselling.
• Make more money from each client.
• Get ideas for different types of packages he can offer.
• Build revenue at a faster pace.
• Make money with fewer clients.
• Become more valuable to his client.
• Make more money in less time.
• Showcase his other services, with little risk on his part.

One tip worth noting here: You can mention all of the benefits in the article, but pick one to start the article with, and then end with the same one.

(If you’ve taken AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, you should be seeing the similarities by now, and can expect to get really good at writing articles fast!)

3. Include useful instruction on your topic.

The next step in this process has you identifying some sort of instruction you can give your reader. Just like with a sales letter, you want to engage him, and useful instruction will ensure that happens.

In my package deals article, I show the reader how to put together, price, and pitch three different types of packages to their clients. The examples I give engage the reader by making him think about which of the packages he can already offer, and which ones he could offer once he acquires more skills.

Now, this doesn’t mean that every article needs to be a “how-to.” The instruction could just be as simple as explaining how a marketing process works, or providing examples of what others do when faced with a similar situation.

4. Identify how your reader will identify with the article.

As much as you want to engage your reader, you also want him to identify himself as someone who will benefit from the advice or instructions given in your article.

In my article, the reader identifies with the piece by thinking about the next time he prices an assignment …

All he has to do is get his foot in the door with a client, and then follow my instructions for offering a package. He can actually see it happening to him.

5. Answer the questions your reader will have.

This final step is not only a critical part of good editorial, but when done in advance, it will help you write your article a lot faster.
Simply outline frequently asked questions on the topic, and then make sure you answer them in your article.
Before writing my package deal article, I identified two questions that my reader could possibly ask:

• Will I risk losing the project if I try this?
• What if the client says no?

Then, when I sat down to write the article, I made sure they were both answered to put the reader’s mind at ease, and not leave him hanging.

Closing thoughts …

The next time you sit down to write an article, create yourself a worksheet following this process, and fill in the details before you actually start writing. I guarantee you’ll write the article faster, and your copy will be a lot stronger. Strong enough to get published!

To your success,
Rebecca

P.S. This article, a 5-Step Process for Writing Articles that Get Published was previously published by AWAI.

If you have any questions or comments for me, head over there and post them, and I’ll get back to you personally!

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

“You’re a good writer if you can write a story that can make people cry …

“You’re a better writer if your writing can make people laugh …

“But, if your writing can persuade people to take action — that’s when you know you can be a very wealthy writer.”

Mark Morgan Ford (formerly known under his pen name Michael Masterson) – a Master Copywriter who has mentored hundreds of up-and-coming writers – said those words some years ago – and they’re still true today …

If you can effectively use words to persuade another to act, you stand to make a lot of money.

The secret … is direct-response copywriting.

And while in this blog I talk about lots of ways to make a living as a writer, when it comes down to it, most well paid writing opportunities are just variations of copywriting.

The Truth About Copywriting

Simply put, copywriters write words – in the form of advertisements and promotional materials – to persuade people to take action.

That action might be to support a cause, read a special report, buy a product, request some more information, and so on.

Copywriting can be found everywhere…

• Letters and advertisements you get in the mail.

• Company websites including home pages, landing pages, blog posts, and more.

• Marketing emails sent to potential customers.

• Newsletters, magazines and special reports.

• The text on brochures, billboards, and sometimes, even business cards.

You see the writing of copywriters every day. And today I want to show you how copywriting may very well be your best choice for achieving what we call the writer’s life …

Making a Living As a Writer?

You might think you need to be the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling to make a living as a writer, but …

Nothing could be further from the truth!

In fact, many copywriters make a very good living working full-time. Others work just part-time, and still earn a full-time income. So, yes, the compensation can be quite good … and depending on how much you work and the types of projects you land, a six-figure income is definitely attainable (if that’s your goal).

Here are a few stories from the writers I’ve worked with:

• There’s Krista Jones, who used copywriting to replace her income from an 18-year engineering career … she said, “I feel like I’m finally leading the life I was meant to live. I can’t thank you enough!”

• There’s copywriter, Joshua Boswell, who says, “I know that at almost any given time I can pick up assignments worth $3,000, $4,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more and that I don’t have to sacrifice one minute of family time to successfully complete these assignments.”

• And, there’s Penny Thomas, who was let go from her job due to downsizing and turned to copywriting instead. Penny says it really hit her that she was living “the writer’s life” when she was watching a neighbor digging his car out to drive to work after a snowstorm – and all she had to do was walk to her home office and turn on her computer.

• There’s also copywriter, Cindy Cyr, who says, “I don’t have to wear pantyhose, can work barefoot, and I get to take naps whenever I want. I eat better. Drive my car less (A LOT less), see my friends and family more, and never worry about running out of vacation time.”

And of course, there’s Pat McCord, a once struggling novelist who learned to support herself and her creative passion by becoming a copywriter. (You may have heard from Pat if you’ve been with Writer’s Digest for a while … we sometimes share her story and a letter she wrote about our copywriting program.)

I could keep going because I actually have hundreds of stories like these. But, I’ll move on so we can get to the real point of today’s blog …

Why Copywriters Make So Much

I’ve often said, “If you can write ‘copy’ that persuades, there isn’t a business in the world that won’t beat a path to your door to get you to work your magic for them.”

That’s not going to change any time soon.

Consider this: As a copywriter, you can realistically write a promotion in a week. Let’s say you charge $5,000 for your service. Let’s also say your promotion brings in $100,000 for the company who hired you …

There’s no downside. Everyone is happy – you got paid, the client made money – and, because you did well, they’re likely to hire you again and again.

Now, if you’re just getting started, that figure might seem like a lot. But, experienced writers – those with just a few successful projects – can charge between $5,000 and $10,000 (and more) per sales promotion.

Even if you only write one promotion per month, you could easily bring in $60,000+ (working just part time)! And that doesn’t even take into consideration any royalties that are very common with direct-response copywriting …

Typical rates are around 2-3% of sales, but I’ve seen them go as high as 10%. And because companies will mail your letters again and again, you could continue to get paid on one single letter for years and years.

What It Takes to Succeed

People often think they need a lot of qualifications to become a copywriter. But, the truth is, you can learn copywriting just as easily as you could learn any other type of writing.

Also, you don’t need a special education to succeed in this industry. There are successful copywriters with college degrees and some who didn’t finish high school.

Age … experience … location … none of that matters …

Some copywriters are only 18 and some are retired. Some copywriters are stay-at-home moms and some left six-figure corporate jobs.

The only thing you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Everything else can be learned.

How to Get Started Now

While you don’t need any formal qualifications to become a copywriter, you do need someone to show you the ropes.

That’s why American Writers and Artists Inc. created the Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

All the copywriters I’ve met—like the ones mentioned above—started their successful freelance copywriting careers by taking this program. Its step-by-step instructions prove anyone can quickly go from asking “What is copywriting?” to learning how to be a freelance copywriter.

Of course, I’m partial to it because I work at AWAI, know the program inside and out, and have personally met and worked with hundreds of people who started successful freelance copywriting careers by taking it.

But if you’re new to the idea of copywriting, and would like the opportunity to learn some basic copywriting techniques for free, I recommend you check out our report, Copywriting 101: An Introduction to Turning Your Writing Passion Into a High-Paying Career.

Along with giving you an inside look at the life of a copywriter, you’ll learn a few copywriting principles that you can put to work for you right away.

Just remember, no matter how you get started, the fact remains: You don’t need to get a degree or pay a lot of money for expensive training to become a successful freelance copywriter.

If you can write a simple e-mail to a friend, and you like to share ideas with other people… you have all the qualifications you need to become a successful freelance copywriter.

And if you were to ask me the best way to make a living as a writer …

I would say with 100% certainty – copywriting.

No other opportunity offers writers more variety, more freedom, or more income potential. And it’s the one thing I recommend every writer consider when looking to make a living.

To your success,
Rebecca

P.S. If you have any questions for me, feel free to connect with me on Facebook, or reach out to me any time through my website at rebeccamatter.com.

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

Looking for the “easy path” to making a living as a writer?

Set up retainer deals so that you have ongoing work, month after month, and a steady income.

Last week I gave you my top three picks for retainers you should set up in the New Year – including how much you can expect to make and how to land them.

And today I’m going to give you some best practices you should follow to ensure you land and execute them with ease…

First up, talk about retainer deals with every client.

If there’s an ongoing need for copy or content, a retainer deal could very well be used. And a client may not even realize it!

The key is to understand their need/volume before pitching. Take the time to learn just how much copy or content they need, and then determine where retainers could fit in.

Then, simply go over the benefits of working on an ongoing basis, and show them why a retainer is a true win-win for both of you.

No retainer deal is too small …

It may seem silly to set up a retainer with a company who only needs one article a month. But hey, it’s still one more project you can count on month-after-month!

Plus, it could very well be a way to get your foot in the door. You can always increase the retainer at a later date, and it will set you up for other projects that arise in the company.

Evaluate retainer deals regularly …

Any time you set up a deal, you’re basing it on what you both “think” the scope of the project will be. But that could very well change once you get underway …

So always plan to evaluate your retainer deals at 60 days, 6 months, and then annually. And when evaluating, look for ways you can provide additional value, and then propose a new deal that shows how much more value the client will receive.

Sell benefits other than cost savings …

Clients know — and expect — to save a little money on retainer deals. So you shouldn’t focus your pitch on the savings.

Focus on the bigger benefits that are invaluable:

• You’ll know their products and services deeply.
• You’ll understand their target audience inside and out.
• You know how they operate, and therefore can turn things around faster and on schedule.
• You’ll be able to offer up other ideas that will make their business more successful.

And then remind them they’ll also save some money. J

Be mindful about what you charge …

Pricing is often a big challenge for writers. There are a lot of factors that should go into the pricing of a retainer deal. Make sure you’re thinking of the big picture …

• Your time — both spent and saved.
• What the regular rate would be if each item were contracted individually.
• The value to the client (the Return on Investment).
• How much the client saves in exchange for guaranteeing you work every month.

At the end of the day, retainer deals are usually good for both the writer and the client. As long as you’re happy with the fee for the work you’ll put in every month, and the client gets the return from the monthly expense, it’s a win-win.

I hope you found this series on retainers helpful…

But, regardless of where you are in your freelance writing career, I highly recommend setting up some retainer deals for yourself. They’ll give your business some stability and allow you to rest easy month after month.

And if you’d like a little help …

Earlier this year I did a webinar on the best retainer deals – and how to land them – on Wealthy Web Writer. The webinar was exclusive for members only, but I’ve asked the Managing Editor to unlock it for you. You can access it here until the end of the month.

And as usual, if you have any questions for me, feel free to connect with me on Facebook, or post comments below the webinar on the Wealthy Web Writer website.

To your success,
Rebecca

P.S. Until December 26^th, AWAI is offering up to 50% savings on its most popular writing programs. You can get all the details here.

Editor’s Note: The following content is provided to Writer’s Digest by a writing community partner. This content is sponsored by American Writers & Artists Inc. www.awaionline.com.

Steady paychecks month after month …

Easy writing assignments because you know the audience …

Happy clients who value you and your writing …

These are just a few of the benefits of writing on retainer. Last week, I shared seven reasons why you should consider these arrangements —and why, as a marketer who hires lots of writers, I’m a big fan. (If you missed it, you can access the post here.)

And today I’m going to share with you the best retainer deals for writers. They may not be the ones that first come to mind …

In fact, in my experience, these three deals are the ones most often overlooked by writers. (Which means great opportunity for you!)

1. Social Media

Social media is a top pick for two reasons …

For starters, most businesses have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to social media. They know they need to have a presence. But they don’t understand why.

But more importantly, it gives you an inside edge on other writing assignments that are necessary for an effective social media marketing strategy. Which means along with having a steady gig, you’ll be able to develop a list of other assignments you can pitch your clients — from landing pages and email campaigns, to online content and Pay-Per-Click ads, all of which come with additional writing fees.

Typically the writer’s role includes:

• Managing the various social media communities.
• Writing messages/updates.
• Writing advertisements to build follower numbers and increase engagements.
• Leading discussions.
• Turning engagements into content (which is often priced in addition to the retainer deal).
  

Fees:

• Upwards of $2,000 a month, depending on how much you do.
• New content is often priced separately.

How to land:

• Get involved in their social networks.
• Identify how they’re using them (customer service, sales, etc.).
• Research and join similar groups to see what their competition is doing.
• Present the client with solutions for achieving their goals and taking advantage of missed opportunities.

(Learn more about doing social media on retainer here.)

2. E-newsletters

E-newsletters provide a valuable marketing channel for many businesses …

They provide an inexpensive way to develop a relationship with prospects, and they allow a company (or service provider) to position itself as an expert in the industry.

But here’s the catch …

Once a business starts sending out an e-newsletter, their prospects and customers expect it to show up on a regular basis.

Which is great for you. Because it means they’re going to need good e-newsletter content written on a consistent, ongoing schedule.

Typically the writer’s role includes:

• Researching the industry.
• Developing an Editorial Calendar.
• Writing the e-newsletter content.
• Developing a single voice for the company.
• Managing the list and disseminating the e-newsletter.

Fees:

• $900 to $2,000 per issue (length is typically 1,200 to 1,500 words).
• Plus thousands to set-up an e-newsletter from scratch.

How to land:

• Focus on a particular niche.
• Review newsletters in the industry.
• Put together a few sample issues.
• Prepare two Project Proposal templates:
  • taking over an existing e-newsletter,
  • and starting a new e-newsletter.

(Learn more about writing e-newsletters on retainer here.)

3. Online Content

Companies spent more than $118.4 billion on content marketing in 2013 — yet many writers don’t think of online content as a retainer deal. They approach the projects piece-by-piece.

Which always surprises me … Because companies need content on an ongoing basis!

Google now insists that a website have quality content (and a constant stream of it) or its search engine rankings will suffer. And, if a business can’t be found on Google … well, they may as well close up shop.

Content marketing is essentially “selling without selling.” Instead, businesses educate their readers with stories, metaphors, and simple advice in the form of new articles, blog posts, emails, and so on.

Ultimately, these pieces of content are moving the reader toward the sale …

But in the meantime, content gives the company the opportunity to build a relationship with the reader, and demonstrate their expertise, so that when the opportunity to buy does appear, the reader is open to it and ready to take action.

Typically the writer’s role includes:

• Researching the industry.
• Writing blog posts in the voice of company executives or experts.
• Conducting interviews for case studies, press releases, or articles.
• Developing different pieces that will move the prospect through the sales funnel (emails, video scripts, slide shows, etc.).

Fees:

• $100 to $500 per piece.
• Fees depend on length and complexity of topic.

How to land:

• Read content on websites of interest.
• Determine who their audience is and what they’re trying to ultimately sell.
• Put together a list of relevant topics.
• When pitching, keep in mind the intention of the company.

(Learn more about writing online content on retainer here.)

Remember, retainer deals can be put in place whenever there is an ongoing need for a particular type of content or copy.

And while this list really only scratches the surface, hopefully it helps you spot other opportunities to build a steady ongoing income stream as a professional writer.

Next week, I’ll show you how to structure and set up these deals …

So decide which ones you’d like to pursue, and then join me for some best practices you should follow to ensure you land and execute them with ease!

To your success,
Rebecca Matter

I read such a helpful article by Will Newman at AWAI. It’s about offering too much information and the unwanted results it can cause. Now, if you’re a marketer there are two camps on the length of copy you should write. One camp says shorter is better because people are in too much of a hurry. They want the gist of what you’re offering along with the benefit and cost. The other camp says

Guest post by Will Newman I wouldn’t be a copywriter if it weren’t for the computer. You might be in the same boat. The computer has allowed me to get around my terrible typing skills. I’m a hunt-and-peck typist. So, sometimes – no, make that frequently – my fingers hit the wrong keys. Thank goodness Word flags those typos. The computer has also made editing orders of magnitude easier than