Ideas for Offline Freelance Writing Services?

14 replies
I have just started reading about offline marketing and it seems a lot of it deals with SMS messages, website development, etc.

Do any of these offline marketing methods apply to getting businesses to sign up for writing services (newsletters, press releases, etc)?

I would like to market my writing services to local businesses, but I am not sure where to start, or if there is even a need. I am just not sure if a small store would need content for anything....?

I would rather not cold call or go in blindly. I started reading The Well-Fed Writer, but thought I'd ask my fellow Warriors, especially those who have had success with this. Thanks!
#freelance #ideas #offline #services #writing
  • Profile picture of the author theolatic
    Hi Julie,

    I have been running a software development company for a few years now and i send out letters to my customers on a monthly basis, a bit like a newsletter but more targeted.

    These letters are to alert my customers when i have new software and upgrade options etc i know it would help me to have someone who can write these letters for me.

    So what i would do if i was you is just send out a letter to a handful of businesses in your local area to begin with just as introduction of yourself and then a way to impress them is to do a bit of homework on their business so find out what their industry is and read about the company via their website or other materials; then you could write a little about them in like a review manner so they can see your writing style.

    There is nothing more a business owner likes to read about than positive things about their own company.

    Then offer your services.

    Hope that helps


    Jamie
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  • Profile picture of the author Mehrdad
    hello groupies
    I found this site,maybe useful for you.

    20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers

    1. Zen Habits & Write To Done Zen Habits and Write To Done are written by Leo Babauta, an experienced writer and a prolific blogger. Not only does he write great content he has an amazing writing style which is simple yet captivating.
    2. Problogger I’d be very surprised if you haven’t heard of this blog. Problogger is written by Darren Rowse and teaches the art of blogging and making money through it. In spite of being one of the most famous blogs on the planet, Darren still maintains the same old way of writing articles which are useful, impressive and easily understandable.
    3. Dumb Little Man One of the best productivity blogs around, Dumb Little Man is edited by Jay White and written by an impressive group of writers who produce useful articles on how to increase your everyday productivity and manage time in a better manner.
    4. Copyblogger Brian Clark is an authority when it comes to blog writing and you cannot afford to miss any of his articles if you want to become a good writer. Seriously.
    5. Freelance Switch Written by the best freelance writers and edited by Skellie, this blog presents insightful articles which include tips and tricks for freelancers and web workers. Thanks to it’s great content, the blog has achieved huge growth in the past one year and should be on your reading list too.
    6. Dosh Dosh Maki’s writing style and his in-depth analysis of topics has gained him admiration and respect in the blogosphere, not to mention a huge reader base. One of the most well-written blogs around and certainly a writer’s paradise.
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    for more info go here
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  • Profile picture of the author Mehrdad
    for more info just go here:

    squidoo.com/get-paid-to-write-short-article
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    • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
      Originally Posted by theolatic View Post

      Hi Julie,

      I have been running a software development company for a few years now and i send out letters to my customers on a monthly basis, a bit like a newsletter but more targeted.

      These letters are to alert my customers when i have new software and upgrade options etc i know it would help me to have someone who can write these letters for me.

      So what i would do if i was you is just send out a letter to a handful of businesses in your local area to begin with just as introduction of yourself and then a way to impress them is to do a bit of homework on their business so find out what their industry is and read about the company via their website or other materials; then you could write a little about them in like a review manner so they can see your writing style.

      There is nothing more a business owner likes to read about than positive things about their own company.

      Then offer your services.

      Hope that helps


      Jamie
      Thanks, that is a good idea to write a review about thier business marketing a newsletter.

      Originally Posted by Mehrdad View Post

      hello groupies
      I found this site,maybe useful for you.

      20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers

      1. Zen Habits & Write To Done Zen Habits and Write To Done are written by Leo Babauta, an experienced writer and a prolific blogger. Not only does he write great content he has an amazing writing style which is simple yet captivating.
      2. Problogger I'd be very surprised if you haven't heard of this blog. Problogger is written by Darren Rowse and teaches the art of blogging and making money through it. In spite of being one of the most famous blogs on the planet, Darren still maintains the same old way of writing articles which are useful, impressive and easily understandable.
      3. Dumb Little Man One of the best productivity blogs around, Dumb Little Man is edited by Jay White and written by an impressive group of writers who produce useful articles on how to increase your everyday productivity and manage time in a better manner.
      4. Copyblogger Brian Clark is an authority when it comes to blog writing and you cannot afford to miss any of his articles if you want to become a good writer. Seriously.
      5. Freelance Switch Written by the best freelance writers and edited by Skellie, this blog presents insightful articles which include tips and tricks for freelancers and web workers. Thanks to it's great content, the blog has achieved huge growth in the past one year and should be on your reading list too.
      6. Dosh Dosh Maki's writing style and his in-depth analysis of topics has gained him admiration and respect in the blogosphere, not to mention a huge reader base. One of the most well-written blogs around and certainly a writer's paradise.
      .
      .
      .
      .
      for more info go here
      Thanks! Yep, I am aware of all these sites. (I did an interview with Leo on my InspiredtoWrite blog). I am not really looking for blogging tips - I actually have my own blog about blogging tips - I am looking more for offline writing opportunities to local or even worldwide businesses.
      Signature
      Tired of paying for low-quality writing? If you care about your reputation, get Professional Writing Services for your business needs.

      If you can not afford to pay for unique content, why not get limited PLR articles for your website?
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  • Profile picture of the author Transcripts
    Why not offer to set them up a blog and provide the content for it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
    I thought about the blog thing since I do have some experience in WordPress and have set up lots of blogs, but I didn't want to go down the road with hosting and all that, but it may be an option. Thanks!
    Signature
    Tired of paying for low-quality writing? If you care about your reputation, get Professional Writing Services for your business needs.

    If you can not afford to pay for unique content, why not get limited PLR articles for your website?
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      As a writer, you have a unique ability when it comes to offering services to off-line businesses.

      There are numerous things that you can do to help off-line businesses and use your writing skills.

      1. Press releases - this is something that most writers do very well starting off with. There are templates you can use, and press releases tend to be very straightforward.

      If you know your stuff, this can be upsold to a full-blown PR campaign.

      2. Newsletters/auto-responder messages - if you check out a local business and you find that they have a website but they do not have a mailing list, you have a double opportunity. You can sell them on the auto-responder concept, and then offer to write the newsletter/auto-responder messages. This can provide a very nice setup fee plus a nice monthly fee.

      3. Social media - you can offer local businesses packages that deal with writing their social media messages (FB, Twitter, etc.). You can sell them on an initial setup package if they do not already have accounts, plus a monthly fee to maintain the accounts.

      4. Blogging - even if a business already has a website, they can use a blog as well. If they do not have a blog, you can sell them on the initial setup and then have a monthly maintenance fee to post a certain number of posts per week or month.

      There are other ways to be creative and use your writing skills for off-line businesses, but this is a good start.

      Edited to add:

      If you know of people that do a lot of offline marketing, you may want to see if they are in need of help providing these kinds of services to their clients.
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      "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships called Enterprise." ~Commander Riker
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  • Profile picture of the author jacquic
    Do any of these offline marketing methods apply to getting businesses to sign up for writing services
    Yes, the methods are pretty well the same - the idea is to help them see how getting you to do these things will bring in more exposure and clients for them. A friend of mine decided to make newsletters his niche and does very well from it.

    Networking (eg, at the BNI or Chamber) is a good way to get going with promoting writing services.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      For fast exposure, volunteer to write articles (or even the newsletter itself) for your local Chamber of Commerce. Also, joining up with networking groups such as BNI, LinkedIn, Toastmaster, Rotary and civic organizations will keep you busy for quite awhile. Small to medium sized busineses have internal corporate newsletters which are often outsourced.
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    You could run an ad in your local newpaper looking for business owners who need copywriting services. Or you can rent a list for business owners in your area who have previously spent money on advertising services. By renting a list instead of direct mailing business owners randomly, you'll improve your odds of getting qualified business owners who could use your help. Direct mailing randomly will cost you alot of money, plus your message could be potentially falling on def ears.
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  • Profile picture of the author articlepros
    From my personal experience: yes there is a big need for writers. I was in the IT industry, even the sales and marketing guys (of smaller firms) are techies.

    My advise would be (for every company, but certainly IT), take a look at there website. Usually it's written in their own business slang and difficult to read. Send them on paper 10 things to improve in writing. But also look if they have a blog, if they are registered at Linkedin, do they have twitter account. All chances for them to increase customer exposure and for you to wite!

    Make it an official letter (not a sales leaflet) and include a picture of you to make it more personal. Send it to the director of the company, you can find the name on the site. Three days later call him (it's a big step, I know, but then it's not cold calling anymore).

    This seem to take a lot of time, but you have to find clever way to analyse their sites quickly and create the letters in a standardized (but personal) way.

    100% sure you get reponse!
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  • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
    Thanks everyone for the ideas! This is a good start! @Shay Thanks for all those ideas! I just started writing Press Releases and am starting to get the hang of it.

    If I was going to set up a website, do I just use my own hosting site? Then just bill them for this? What if it becomes a high traffic site - are dedicated hosts required? Thanks!
    Signature
    Tired of paying for low-quality writing? If you care about your reputation, get Professional Writing Services for your business needs.

    If you can not afford to pay for unique content, why not get limited PLR articles for your website?
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  • Profile picture of the author majestictaxis
    i do not have any idea what are you saying.
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    • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
      Originally Posted by majestictaxis View Post

      i do not have any idea what are you saying.
      Do you want clarification? I am not sure why you left that comment. ??
      Signature
      Tired of paying for low-quality writing? If you care about your reputation, get Professional Writing Services for your business needs.

      If you can not afford to pay for unique content, why not get limited PLR articles for your website?
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