Writing for the Web

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Writing for the Web and Multimedia

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If you've been keeping your fingers on the economic pulse, you'll have noticed that the worldwide economy is picking up. All indications point to a new Web boom. This means that writers should gear up and get ready for all the work they can handle.

I keep a busy copywriting practice, and several of my regular multimedia agency clients have told me they’re getting many more enquiries and many new contracts.

If you're looking for writing work, start now to pursue more Web copywriting work.

As a copywriter, what can you write for the Web? Anything and everything. Main pages to Web sites, sales pages, product descriptions, blogs (yes, companies do pay writers to write blogs, which are Web logs or journals, if you're not au courant), newsletters, ezines - the list goes on and on.

If I were a new copywriter starting out today, I'd focus strictly on the Web. You get to work with companies worldwide, you work at your own pace, and you can see the results of your efforts almost instantly. What chiefly appeals to me is the wide variety of the work, and the terrific relationships you can make.

How much money can you make? If you're a complete beginner, you can estimate that you'll make $50,000 for the first year. If you're more experienced, you can easily double that amount.

How to get started as an online copywriter

How do you get started copywriting in the online world?

It's not a requirement to have your own Web site, but it helps. With your own site, you can point prospective clients to work samples, and can show them that you know how the Web operates. They can also get an idea of your writing style. The biggest benefit of a Web site is that it's painless marketing. After the site has been up for a year or so, clients will come to you, you don’t have to hunt for work.

You can find Web writing work in many ways. The best way is to approach companies directly, with a proposal.

In that article I used the example of offering proofreading services to a site. This was ONLY meant as AN EXAMPLE. Please find some other service to offer to Web sites, like creating additional features, pages, auto-responder sequences, newsletters, and so on. The amount of money you make proofing sites won’t keep your canary in birdseed.

You can also respond to online job ads. However, please be careful when responding to such ads. I've received several anguished yelps from writers who've been conned by rip-off artists. These characters get writers to write (and write and write), and when the writer sends an invoice, there's no payment.

Please get a retainer up-front

A further warning - if you don't know the client, and haven't worked for the company before, get some money BEFORE you start working on a project. Copywriting is not speculative work. Please make sure that you get your writing services agreement signed, and that you get a retainer up front. You might not require a retainer for small projects, but you should definitely get a retainer for any job over $500. The retainer can be as low as ten per cent for a large project, with regular payments to be made at intervals, or half the total fee.

If you don’t have a writing services agreement, please create one. It's a simple form explaining the scope of the project, its deadline, the number of revisions, the payment, and how and when that payment is due.

If you enjoy writing, please make the most of the coming Web writing boom. It's a chance for you to get started with a writing career if you're a beginning writer. If you're a pro, it's a great chance to increase your income.

To read more articles by Angela Booth, visit the digital-e.biz Web site for  Information for writers and creatives.

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