How to get clients for writing

Hi jackbauer,

It's not a question of whether the clients hire us in the end or not, it's just a question of how much they want it to hurt

Since you're in Orange county you have an advantage
of being 30 minutes from perhaps the biggest seminar
hub in North America - Los Angeles. Every weekend
there are seminars to sold out crowds in LA about making
money and entrepreneurship. Start going to them and
networking.

Good free ones to check out are:
-Millionaire Mind Intensive
-Christopher Howard's "Breakthrough To Success"
-Rich Dad events
-Real estate events

The list goes on. You can meet a lot of eager-to-succeed
entrepreneurs at alternative health expos, of which there
are many in that area too. You could literally be working
the floor at a different show every weekend and have a
lot of work provided you're competent and personable.

Lots of people in LA have entrepreneurial plans. You'll easily
get people interested in working with you if you show by the
way talk that you grasp marketing concepts well. Most folks
are clueless about this stuff. It's way easier to get clients
via face-to-face networking.

You can offer your services in the Warriors for Hire thread.. Good luck..

Where would you like to find your clients?

Once you can answer that question, it's a matter of deciding on what marketing weapons you want to use to reach them. You can also use networking, public speaking, advertising, and other methods to reach them as well.

As a general rule, marketing is the answer to a lot of business problems including how to get more business.

As far as getting work through this forum, I'd recommend making a website with some samples of your work, and putting it in your sig so people have a way of contacting you.

A real picture of you as your avatar would also help people feel like they know you a little bit, but if you don't want to do that, at least don't put up a picture of someone who obviously isn't you.

I guess what's really important to define is what type of writing you'd like to pick up clients for. If you're going after the 'custom articles' crowd, you'd do best by offering a few sample pieces first (preferably in return for some glowing testimonials). Show off your ability to write first, and you'd be surprised at the response.

If you're looking for copywriting clients, you've likely got a tougher climb ahead of you. Start networking in your local area. Find business owners to engage with, and begin educating them on the merits of good copywriting.

There's really no secret to getting work. It's all a matter of getting out there. I know I'm being vague, but it's really all there is to it. Look around this forum for nuggets of information from the 'offline' crowd. Generate leads from existing pockets of demand. First and foremost, however, start building a portfolio. You'll realize it's a major asset in any channel you're looking to pursue.

First and foremost, you should have a sales letter online not only spelling out the services you offer, but also explaining WHY somebody should use you, and not the writer down the road.

I call it "selling the difference". If you have any particular strengths, explain these and the BENEFITS of your client hiring you with those strengths.

Then, go out and find clients... as Mike said, it's about marketing yourself. Put yourself in front of people who need writers. If you're talking about article marketing, find out who is writing for blogs. For copywriting, join business forums, make contacts, get involved in conversations... and ask for referrals - just a couple of ideas.

But first and foremost you need some kind of web presence (i.e. a sales letter and portfolio of writing you've already done), to show off to potential clients, that tells them why they should hire you.

You can certainly look for clients in the internet marketing world. But it's very competitive and price sensitive. You don't tend to get professional copywriting rates in the im world.

Give serious consideration to copywriting for the business to business market. Read books by Slaunwhite, Robert W. Bly and Peter Bowerman on how to get copywriting clients. It's the best investment you will make on how to get copywriting clients.

Find some clients on forums. Its hard to get your first one I guess. Once you get started, its will be easier. BTW are you trying freelancing sites?

Look, there are plenty of places on the internet where you could go find work.

Elance.com
Rentacoder.com
GetAFreelancer.com
Craigslist.com (Best way to use craigslist is by visiting crazedlist.org & downloading an opml file for certain keywords, then upload it into your feedreader).
Odesk.com
Freelancer.com

Start a WSO in the "warrior for hire" section of the warrior forum.

Point is you must know what you could be charging your clients & what you're really worth.

One tip: Never compromise on your rates come what may.

An exception to this is only when you wish to enter the market & require a strong portfolio, I think it's fine because you require a portfolio & samples to prove what you're worth. However, some writers do start at the normal market rates because they are terrific at marketing their services or have terrific writing skill or probably they have been lucky to get hired from someone who already knows them well enough. So you could try your luck and quote the normal market rates for a start. But if things don't go well, just build the portfolio to get where you want to.

Another thing is, you must become an expert at the services you offer. Focus more on one or two services which are more in demand rather than those which are not much in demand.

Make your portfolio a strong case for your prospective clients to hire you. This could result in overflow of work regularly and your business will run mostly on references. This will further save you time marketing your services.

And yes as Ken said, you need a website with samples, portfolio, services, pricing & Testimonials. A sales letter on the home page would be a great deal for you as you're answering why a marketer "must" hire you.

Lastly, as Loren put... Face-2-face networking can offer you a great deal of clients. He is one of those who gives fabulous advice - mind blowing piece of advice.

I can bet you.. you'll choose your clients once you perform well. Most clients would hire you because they got your contact details from someone they already trust enough. Thus, you will receive further work mostly on references. Make sure you perform excellently.

There are writers like Jennifer Mattern who charge $100.00 per article to her clients and still is overloaded with work.

Also, if you prove your credibility to fellow writers, you'll find them offloading their work onto you.

You could get a writing partner as well. Be committed and you'll succeed anyway.

Web Content Writing & Copywriting are one of those most lucrative opportunities available today on the web. Get working! Have plenty of fun! Enjoy!