Could someone Be my Obi Wan and answer some Specific Questions?

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To: Warrior Forum Mentors

From: John Robbins

Thank you very much for reading my post. I know it is long, but I need the kind of specific help only a veteran in the field can supply and I wanted to ask the right specific questions so I could hopefully receive the right specific answers, I thank you ahead of time for dealing with this long form request. I am looking for helpful information from some kind and knowledgeable forum contributors in the realm of freelance writing. First off, let me preface that I have been reading information on the Warrior Forum for quite some time but never posted. I really enjoy reading peoples opinions on how to achieve success as a freelance writer. In this fashion, I have decided I need some further guidance on how to continue (or in practical terms restart) my online writing aspirations.

First, if you would indulge me, I would like to give you a brief synopsis of my experience. I started writing as a child and continued throughout high school and college. As a sophomore in college, I gained experience in print writing for the student newspaper; as I am sure many of you have. I also started writing for what was called E-zines, which were fan published reviews and commentary about modern technology and media. This led me to using the internet for sourcing jobs, and in this, I was for a time, very successful.

My first experience writing online was in the form of searching leads and submitting spec articles to potential publishers’ internet postings. I found websites such as Café Press and others that sourced Craigslist leads for people looking to publish content online for various reasons. I would submit a spec article (preferably one that had not been published) so the owners of the media outlet could judge if I was a good fit. Once accepted, they would have ideas of what they wanted written and/or take suggestions about ideas I had for publishing or articles I was working on. They usually paid either per word or per article and word count. I would make, on average, about 50 dollars for 300-400 words and about 250.00 for around a thousand words. I felt this was a pretty good pay point for what I was working on. I also, during the first few years, found out about content mills such as Demand Studios. They only paid between 3 dollars (for a 150 word article) and 15 dollars for (350 to 500 words) but I could pound one of these out in between ten minutes and half an hour, so I took these contracts as well. This seemed like pretty standard pay for a freelancer at the time, as I am sure that many of you are familiar with, so I was content. Between my higher paying clients and the Demand articles I could pound out at a rate of two or three an hour, I was doing pretty well. This is where it fell apart.

Technology changed over time and I simply did not keep up. Google changed its guidelines for SEO (I didn’t even know what this was, I just thought that eHow needed content for its gigantic web presence) and between this and the economy flooding college graduate unemployed literati into the workplace I found it unprofitable to continue, so I threw myself back into the job market. There, because of my previous experience I was able to continue writing at a technical level for business, at least as part of my larger duties in corporate America. Now, after three years of the private sector and one blissful layoff I find myself with free time and the energy to try to take my hobby into a place where I can once again make some money. This is where you come in.

I have no idea how to find jobs, and I don’t think my resume and work examples are up to today’s submission standards. Content mills pay nothing anymore, and don’t have much work most times. I can still apply to produce content in my Demand Media profile, but considering the CEO just quit I don’t think that content mill work is the way to make income anymore. I also found out I have a SkyWord account, and that seems promising, but I am looking to focus on bidding on freelance jobs, applying for freelance jobs or finding clients, preferably private. I came to this conclusion because I read the vast majority of people on Warrior Forum who enjoy successful careers in freelance writing take this route. This is where I need the instruction, because I have no idea where to start.

I have read many confusing nebulous things from writers of, “How to Freelance” blogs on the internet. These websites do not actually tell a person looking to restart a writing career in this new age how to find the jobs worth applying for. I listen to people on this forum that say, “Don’t go to Elance or Odesk because they don’t pay anything!” That is good advice, but I never see them say, “Go here, do this, submit your articles to this person/forum/company/website et. al.” I know there is work out there, because I see people talk about it on this forum all the time. Nevertheless, I think I need a little more help than simply knowing there are jobs SOMEWHERE, because the internet is full of people blogging about how to be a freelance writer, and making money blogging about being a freelance writer, without ever telling anyone how to find the business to be a freelance writer. I have the skills, or at least I am confident from my past experiences I do, I just need the road-map.

Before you advise me, and if you decide to do so you will be helping a person more then you may realize, let me tell you what I have, don’t have, am willing to do, and am not willing to do just so we can narrow down both the answers and the chastising I will get.

What I have:

1. I have a detailed writing resume made up of multiple places I have worked providing technical and freelance content. Although it is more tailored toward copy and technical writing, because of my recent corporate experiences, it can be easily edited to suit my need, and I would be happy to show someone the product if they wanted to provide critique.

2. I have about 30 unpublished spec articles I can dust off. They probably need re-editing, but I do not mind putting in work.

3. I have the technology. It’s pretty obvious but must be said, computer, internet, word processor, blender, martini shaker exc… Whatever I need to be an online writer.

4. Over 300 articles posted and approved to eHow, Livestrong et al. that should still be up on the websites. I do not know if this is valuable, because from what I have read on forums people tend to look badly on published byline on content mills, this one in particular.

5. The time and ability to start at the bottom, my first goal is to work up to making 200.00 USD a week writing part time.

What I do not have: (This includes questions I hope to have answered.)

1. Links to other online published work I created. I was contracted mostly by anonymous people and gave up the rights when I was paid for the articles. Some of them were probably used as ghost writing on websites, others were posted on websites that no longer exist. I never paid attention to were my content actually ended up; because once it was gone, it was no more use to me. So goes the pain of craigslist contract clients. What should I do about this?

2. A webpage. I know I need one, but need to find a reliable template and example of how to set one up for free. Does anyone have an example and suggestions?

3. Clients and the knowledge of how to find and bid on projects that are worth my time and price point. This is a big one, as I am not afraid to fail, but do not want to waste hours writing an article for someone who will never buy it, and do not know where to go to find the leads to apply for the freelance jobs I am trying to get.

4. Examples. I need a good example portfolio of my work. What should I put on my webpage? What kind of samples should I have posted there? What else needs to be displayed? What is the tone of the articles my samples need so I can bid for the largest amount of customers? If I also want to apply for copywriting documents (I assume this, online, is a technical skill where someone writes brochures, press releases, shorter technical pieces requiring research exc…) what materials do I need? Does anyone have any websites or content that works for them I can look at and emulate for copywriting? I will of course do all my own work, it is just easier for me if I can see what works for people far more experienced than I, so I can tailor my product to what people want to see and hopefully buy.

What I am willing to do:

1. Not earn a living wage at first. I don’t expect to explode out of the gate making four grand a month. I want to focus on selling a single article for a good price first. Then for my next goal, I will sell a few more, and hopefully get a client. I want to build and continue to build client lists so I can have plenty of work and I am happy to start this process at the bottom.

2. Write as many spec articles as I need to so I can flesh out my portfolio. I have nothing but time and unemployment so even when I am working for free, I am still getting paid.

3. Research and writing other peoples subjects. I have been an in house technical writer and created content for websites I was not specifically excited about personally. I will always bring my A game to the table. I don’t care what I write, as long as I get paid. Maybe this mindset comes from writing in a technical capacity, but I am happy to take article suggestions or write on any subject.

4. Take advice on what to do. I have no pride! I don’t get mad! I just want to get jobs and make clients happy. The better off I am, the more I can charge and the more I achieve in life. If I can make good money sitting at the local bar drinking cocktails and typing on my laptop, I will do that, and I plan to take the advice that will allow me to do so.

5. Pay an editor. I want my work to be 100 percent all the time, so after I sell a few things I want to grab an editor. I am happy to pay a percentage of my profits (up front, once I have a budget)for an editor to go through and eyeball my stuff a second time. The more I make per assignment, the easier this will be. Moreover, the better my content is, the more I make per assignment. Where do I find people that charge reasonable rates and go over peoples work? There must be quite a few.

What I will not do:

1. Write for free. If I need further published work to show I have the ability, of course I will work for nothing, because it pays dividends in the future. That being said, I do not want to guest on peoples pages forever. I want to get clients and be paid for writing for them asap. This is my focus.

2. Adwords, pay per click, resell items. Today I learned how to use Facebook pay per click advertisements to sell t-shirts for a profit. Seems legit, maybe I will try it, but right now I am looking to write for people’s websites, blogs, needs and whatever else people suggest. I am looking to provide content for buyers, not to attract clicks for revenue.

3. Start a blog. Don’t get me wrong, I do not mean I will never blog. Perhaps I will. Perhaps it will be a great way to show others I can create compelling blog content on contract. What I mean is just that, to start, I want to focus on getting contracts, clients and bids. I do not want to try to build a readership for my thoughts. Work for hire is where I want to start, not trying to get clicks. I am sure that is effective for sourcing business, but for now let us focus on how to bid for good paying reliable buyers and creating a reputation that will push my personal business forward.

This is a very long post, I understand if it was a tiring read, thank you for getting all the way to the end. So, any help? Many have asked before on this site and have gotten generic answers that just lead to more questions for me. I would appreciate someone to specifically lay out a beginners game plan and where I can go to institute the plan to find the potential business. After that, hopefully, my talent will prove if I can do the job or not. Has someone answered this in specific detail with directions on where to go and start? Probably, but Warrior Forum is gigantic and has hundreds of thousands of posts, and search engines bring me to soccer moms DIY writing websites that just link me to other soccer mom DYI websites, all saying the generic things that don’t really help. I need a real person in the business that is successful to put me on the right course. I need you to be my Obi Wan.

Do you want to use the detailed plan we devise together for your blog or a new e-book you can sell? I would love to be your guinea pig. I have looked and looked for a free tutorial that directs new writers to the places they can be successful and sets up step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow for creating succesful resume, portfolio and lead generating submission suggestions. I will even write a companion blog tracking my progress using your tutorial so you can use it as proof of your Jedi Master teaching skills so people will buy your instructional e book products. I don’t want to compete with you, I want to work with you and learn from you. Whatever I can do to help the person that starts me on the right track I will do gladly. I know once I have an idea of where to go for finding work and have the materials necessary to succeed I can take the next step. It would probably take you all of 30 minutes and 500 words to give me the knowledge I need to create a new reality for my online writing. I feel like I can do the writing, I just need to find out where to apply for the jobs.

Thank you for your time,

John Robbins
#answer #obi #professional advice #questions #specific #wan

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