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How and where can i learn to write articles, press releases and such to become a freelance writer?

by imagoodguy
44 replies
How and where can i learn to write articles, press releases and such to become a freelance writer? How do you go about learning the different skills you need to become a freelance writer ?

I type fast and mostly write all day to people on forums and chat rooms, So I'm thinking i might as well use this to an advantage and start offering a writing service i just need to learn how to write articles and other skills that freelance writers offer , i know how to write essays but i would like to learn and offer more then that.
#articles #freelance #learn #press #releases #write #writer
  • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
    Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

    Thanks Ken, I'm checking it out right now...
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    1) Learn the skill of copywriting

    2) Study examples from successful freelancer

    3) Throw yourself out there and test the waters

    4) Dedicate months into becoming a great writer

    5) Keep learning about writing - and don't focus on stodgy grammar
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    • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      1) Learn the skill of copywriting

      2) Study examples from successful freelancer

      3) Throw yourself out there and test the waters

      4) Dedicate months into becoming a great writer

      5) Keep learning about writing - and don't focus on stodgy grammar
      Thanks for the great advice Randall, i appreciate it. I will keep this in mind...
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    • Profile picture of the author sprucehill
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      5) Keep learning about writing - and don't focus on stodgy grammar
      What do you mean by this exactly? If I see a sample article from a so-called writer containing poor grammar and a bunch of misspelled words, you can bet your life they will not be hired to write anything for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Winlin
    To name a few places to start: Constant-Content.com, Hirewriters.com,, MechanicalTurk.com, Fiverr.com ...
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  • Profile picture of the author Fantastic
    You can go from being a horrible writer...

    To a decent writer...

    And from a decent writer...

    To a great writer...

    But you can't go from being horrible to great.

    And that's the 100% truth.

    Practice practice practice, take on some cheap gigs, go from there.

    I did it for over 4 years, on a full time basis, bringing in $500+ a week.
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    • Profile picture of the author BambiFox
      Originally Posted by Fantastic View Post

      You can go from being a horrible writer...

      To a decent writer...

      And from a decent writer...

      To a great writer...

      But you can't go from being horrible to great.

      And that's the 100% truth.
      As Fantastic can testify, the only way to learn how to write well is write a lot, and think about what you are writing. (Care)

      Bambi
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      “All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; Third, it is accepted as self-evident.”
      ― Arthur Schopenhauer

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  • Profile picture of the author John Jonas Phil VA
    Learning how to write a good copy is a worthwhile investment of your time and money. This is my favorite site on copywriting so far: Copywriting 101: How to Craft Compelling Copy | Copyblogger
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  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    You might want to use an "I" not an "i". Go get a good grammar book.
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  • Profile picture of the author Miguelito203
    Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

    How and where can i learn to write articles, press releases and such to become a freelance writer? How do you go about learning the different skills you need to become a freelance writer ?

    I type fast and mostly write all day to people on forums and chat rooms, So I'm thinking i might as well use this to an advantage and start offering a writing service i just need to learn how to write articles and other skills that freelance writers offer , i know how to write essays but i would like to learn and offer more then that.
    Hi. You might want to check out Ghostwriting Cash by Tiffany Lambert (formally Dow, sales page still has her old name on it). You'll get paid a lot more doing what she shows you rather than writing for sites that pay crap.

    Good luck,
    Joey
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  • Profile picture of the author TimothyTorrents
    Well, there are a thousand different tips that I can give you but I will just give you one instead: create a blog and write for it everyday.

    Practice makes perfect right?

    Not only will a blog help provide a outlet for your article ideas but it will also help future clients get a taste of what you have to offer. So, make a website, and blog regularly.

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  • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
    Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

    How and where can i learn to write articles, press releases and such to become a freelance writer? How do you go about learning the different skills you need to become a freelance writer ?

    I type fast and mostly write all day to people on forums and chat rooms, So I'm thinking i might as well use this to an advantage and start offering a writing service i just need to learn how to write articles and other skills that freelance writers offer , i know how to write essays but i would like to learn and offer more then that.
    How and where can i learn to write articles, press releases and such to become a freelance writer? How do you go about learning the different skills you need to become a freelance writer ?
    Make A Living Writing
    Copyblogger
    Problogger
    Leaving Work Behind
    The Renegade Writer

    Make these five sites your Bible. Enough valuable information in these sites to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about freelance writing.
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  • Profile picture of the author RickCopy
    I just wanted to say that I started down this path years ago, made some decent money...then I figured out that the people hiring the freelance writers are the ones REALLY making the money. Being a better writer is great, however you may want to keep in mind that for every article written by a freelancer, someone is making a lot more money on that article than the one time payment they paid you....just something to keep in mind. Also, my writing quality has jumped by leaps and bounds once I stopped taking clients and started writing for my own sites.

    as far as your question...go sign up to the AbsoluteWrite forums... they're a good community who can probably help you out better than anyone here can specifically about writing.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    Look for writers’ forums. There are so many places where you can have free lessons about writing that you only have to look for them online.

    Don't write ‘i’ even in your personal email messages. Learn how to always write ‘I’ because you are a writer. A writer must respect grammar rules.

    If you want to make money you should write for Constant Content, but their guidelines are very complicated. You must learn how to pay attention to numerous details and write without making any mistake.

    You can find an editor to edit your articles before submitting them like I did a long time ago. I didn't have time to keep writing articles, but it was very easy to sell articles at this website, and at good prices. I sold most 500- 700 word articles for $20 - $30 because I wanted to sell fast instead of waiting for the perfect buyer, but some people have time and write many expensive articles ($80 - $100) and they simply wait for the right buyer. You can do both. Write short articles and sell them for $20 so that you may make money everyday, and also write complex articles for good buyers whenever they may appear. They may delay, but they will come.

    Read CC’s forum, and participate of the discussions.

    This is a good place to sell your articles if you will be serious and patient.
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    Hi,

    Press releases as you may not know is a very different animal than writing an article. Press releases are written in the third person and or objective so you will never find any real horrid sales pitch inside the body of the release.

    The bottom line is that regardless of what you want right it takes research in order to not only be able to write in the medium that you want to but you also need to research the content itself so your customers are happy and they keep coming back for more

    Otherwise if you like to learn how to write successful professional press releases then look no further than my press release software which has been a very long-standing WSO going back over five years:
    IM Press Release Generator


    Best of Luck,

    Justin
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  • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
    Thanks for the wonderful advice everyone, I really appreciate it....
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  • Profile picture of the author carlso20
    Read constantly and write constantly. I like blogging for a place to sharpen my writing skills and work with persuasion, calls to action, etc... Daily blogging improved my writing and reader connection exponentially.
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    Carl Willis
    Looking For an Autopilot Money System?

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    • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
      Originally Posted by carlso20 View Post

      Read constantly and write constantly. I like blogging for a place to sharpen my writing skills and work with persuasion, calls to action, etc... Daily blogging improved my writing and reader connection exponentially.
      Thanks I will definitely do this
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  • Profile picture of the author therealargo
    If you believe that you can write, go for it and jump right into the industry. Start by applying for gigs in freelancing sites like oDesk and Elance. With your first client, you will know what are you doing right and if you are doing things wrong, correct them. Repeat this process until you understand the freelance online writing standards, as well as the clients' general standards.
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    I write Product Reviews and eBooks for $0.01 per word only!
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    • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
      Originally Posted by therealargo View Post

      If you believe that you can write, go for it and jump right into the industry. Start by applying for gigs in freelancing sites like oDesk and Elance. With your first client, you will know what are you doing right and if you are doing things wrong, correct them. Repeat this process until you understand the freelance online writing standards, as well as the clients' general standards.
      Thanks for the feedback, I think I should go ahead and do this. I know that I definitely can be a great freelance writer, I just need to brush up on certain parts of my writing.
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    Try to write many articles that pass the copyscape and submit to EzineArticles. The EzineArticles guidelines is strict. With it, you can do exercise yourself in the increasing of your writing skill.
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  • Profile picture of the author dsuitor
    Writing is an art and takes many years to master but when you do GET IT! There is many benifits - and with alot of new tecnology you don't have to be the best speller lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Logan Lee
    Want to get good at copy?

    This is the only resource you'll need to begin learning about copywriting:

    The Gary Halbert Letter
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  • Profile picture of the author JRJWrites
    There is actually nothing much to 'learn' in freelance writing.

    It's a huge market, meaning that you'll have LOTS of competition. The trick is to let customers know that you're better than everyone else.

    The most important thing you should know is implementing SEO techniques in your article. That is by FAR the most important.
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    • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
      Originally Posted by jrjohn View Post

      There is actually nothing much to 'learn' in freelance writing.

      It's a huge market, meaning that you'll have LOTS of competition. The trick is to let customers know that you're better than everyone else.

      The most important thing you should know is implementing SEO techniques in your article. That is by FAR the most important.
      No, it is not.
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      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        Originally Posted by DTGeorge View Post

        No, it is not.
        Spot on George!

        The best thing you can do is create pieces that are compelling for readers to continue on to the next sentence, the next paragraph, etc. If you can't hold a reader's attention, they'll click off and search elsewhere.

        I've never understood why some think you must write to please the search engines for two reasons. Search engines are never going open their wallets and search engines like ranking content that readers like because they are a business and have competition. It's good business sense for them to rank content that will please their clients in order to turn them into loyal users or repeat customers, if you will.

        Terra
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        • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
          Originally Posted by MissTerraK View Post

          Spot on George!

          The best thing you can do is create pieces that are compelling for readers to continue on to the next sentence, the next paragraph, etc. If you can't hold a reader's attention, they'll click off and search elsewhere.

          I've never understood why some think you must write to please the search engines for two reasons. Search engines are never going open their wallets and search engines like ranking content that readers like because they are a business and have competition. It's good business sense for them to rank content that will please their clients in order to turn them into loyal users or repeat customers, if you will.

          Terra
          This is something I've been wondering about, Do you automatically insert seo keywords in the article or does the client have to request it?
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          • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
            Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

            This is something I've been wondering about, Do you automatically insert seo keywords in the article or does the client have to request it?
            "keyword density" is only a small part of ranking in search engines.

            As Miss Terra said, if you're writing on a topic you'll naturally hit certain keywords.

            Even then, it doesn't make a huge difference.

            For example, I wrote an article where my keyword was only mentioned 3 times, for a total of a 0.42% keyword density - FAR below the recommended density.

            The result?

            I am currently ranking FIRST in exact matches for my keyword (or key phrase to be more accurate)

            Write content that people like, that people COMMENT on, and that people want to share with others.

            Write content that people love.

            That's the real key to doing well in SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Franklin
    John Coutts and Tiffany Dow would be great starting points for you. You will learn a lot from either of them and as you get more and more into writing, you will find your skills naturally improve.

    I will also add to get into the habit of reading books, magazines, or blogs on a variety of subjects. Pay particular attention to those articles that caught your attention as well as kept your interest throughout the article. Think about how you can emulate that kind of writing. It is a great way to polish your own skills!
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    • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
      Originally Posted by Michael Franklin View Post

      John Coutts and Tiffany Dow would be great starting points for you. You will learn a lot from either of them and as you get more and more into writing, you will find your skills naturally improve.

      I will also add to get into the habit of reading books, magazines, or blogs on a variety of subjects. Pay particular attention to those articles that caught your attention as well as kept your interest throughout the article. Think about how you can emulate that kind of writing. It is a great way to polish your own skills!
      Thanks for the advice, I'm thinking about buying John's WSO or Tiffany Dow's ghostwriting guide.
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      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

        Thanks for the advice, I'm thinking about buying John's WSO or Tiffany Dow's ghostwriting guide.
        I also recommend John's WSO. You can read my review here.

        Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

        This is something I've been wondering about, Do you automatically insert seo keywords in the article or does the client have to request it?
        The way I look at it is this way.

        You can't possibly write about a topic without hitting the keywords and some semantically related keywords.

        I just write the piece and don't worry about the placement or density of the keyword - how many times I use it in the piece. Naturally sounding/reading/written content that is compelling, interesting, and written for the reader is the best content.

        To make it engaging, I may use a conversational tone, write it in story form, use some humor, give it a theme such as comparing it to say, the ocean and use aquatic terms in some of the phrasing.

        I hope this answers your question.

        Terra
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        • Profile picture of the author imagoodguy
          Originally Posted by MissTerraK View Post

          I also recommend John's WSO. You can read my review here.



          The way I look at it is this way.

          You can't possibly write about a topic without hitting the keywords and some semantically related keywords.

          I just write the piece and don't worry about the placement or density of the keyword - how many times I use it in the piece. Naturally sounding/reading/written content that is compelling, interesting, and wriiten for the reader is the best content.

          To make it engaging, I may use a conversational tone, write it in story form, use some humor, give it a theme such as comparing it to say, the ocean and use aquatic terms in some of the phrasing.

          I hope this answers your question.

          Terra
          Thank you for your response, you answered my question and went into more details. I appreciate it...
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          • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
            Originally Posted by imagoodguy View Post

            Thank you for your response, you answered my question and went into more details. I appreciate it...
            You're welcome!

            I'm glad I could be of some assistance.

            Terra
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  • Profile picture of the author TerryX
    I got a lot out of what a site called copyblogger site had, just google it. They have some decent free books also.
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I have a few products that deal specifically with the "article writing" side of the equation:

    WritingPuzzle.com | If you are looking to learn about writing and making money with writing, we will help you.
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    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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  • Profile picture of the author holleythompson
    heya,
    my friend used to write SEO articles (with keywords) but now she transitioned to writing marketing copy like sales letters and landing pages. she says they're easier to write, shorter, and the pay is better. she usually charges $5 for a 400-word article so she was surprised when she got paid $10 for a landing page copy that was under 250 words. maybe you want to study writing landing pages apart from article writing. just my two cents : )
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by holleythompson View Post

      heya,
      my friend used to write SEO articles (with keywords) but now she transitioned to writing marketing copy like sales letters and landing pages. she says they're easier to write, shorter, and the pay is better. she usually charges $5 for a 400-word article so she was surprised when she got paid $10 for a landing page copy that was under 250 words. maybe you want to study writing landing pages apart from article writing. just my two cents : )

      heya,

      If your friend is a good copywriter, she should be getting closer to one dollar a word.
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      Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
      Originally Posted by holleythompson View Post

      heya,
      my friend used to write SEO articles (with keywords) but now she transitioned to writing marketing copy like sales letters and landing pages. she says they're easier to write, shorter, and the pay is better. she usually charges $5 for a 400-word article so she was surprised when she got paid $10 for a landing page copy that was under 250 words. maybe you want to study writing landing pages apart from article writing. just my two cents : )
      $10 for landing page copy?

      Your friend should be making 10x that. And I'm talking absolute bare minimum. (As tpw rightly pointed out, good copy writers will make $1 per word...and UP.)

      But that's a whole other discussion on targeting the right clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMDESTROYER
    Banned
    me writing content was literally the issue that held me back for so long. I had to keep reminding myself that i am not an internet marketer, i am a content publisher. I just know how to market on the internet and develop websites. If their is anything a newbie should learn it is how to write effectively and the business model they want to use to make money online. I discovered their are 2 mind sets in Internet Affiliate Marketing and that is Writing and or Investing. You are either a writer or an investor or both.
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  • Profile picture of the author Moneymaker2012
    I suggest you buy a good wso, ebook on this topic, their are many free guides you'll find online, but paid one will be more good for you if you want to be a professional writer.
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  • Profile picture of the author kash21
    If you're not too confident on your grammar skills, then I'd start with a grammar course at your local college.
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