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Freelance Writing Jobs Galore - How to Add Value As a Writer
By Lisa Jenkins
As an online freelance writer, quality content is the best way to continuously increase
your pay rate and find new clients. The better your work the more freelance writing jobs
you'll get over time. Experience means a lot, too, and in this industry, that experience
doesn't just boil down to how many articles you've written in the past. To increase your
value as a writer, you have to have other experience as well.
One of the best ways to make yourself more marketable is to learn about search engine
optimization, or SEO. Search engines, like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN rank sites for
relevance based on keyword phrases. A keyword phrase is anything someone types into the
search bar - this ranges from a single work like "golfing" to a long phrase like "where to
buy wooden bookcases."
When you get an article writing job, it's critical to think about how to optimize it
for keywords. For example, if you are writing an article called "Ten Ways to Save Money on
your Vacation," some of the keywords that might be relevant for your article are "budget
vacation" and "vacation tips." If you learn about SEO, you'll understand where and how
often to place these keywords in the article, title, and subheadings. Clients usually want
to drive traffic via search engines, so learning SEO skills can help you convince them
that you're the perfect writer to hire.
Another helpful skill is website creation. You don't have to be a professional, but a
little basic HTML knowledge goes a long way. I highly recommend checking out your local
community college. Often, for under $200, you can take a course on basic HTML or CSS,
which increases your value as a freelancer. Get an associates degree in a computer-related
area, and you'll be able to command even higher prices!
Speaking of degrees, new freelance writers often ask whether or not a bachelor's in
professional writing or English is necessary. That isn't an easily answered question. Some
clients care, but most care more about your abilities as a writer. The primary reason you
should consider getting your degree is that you'll learn a lot about writing by doing so.
The college you attend isn't as important as what you'll learn. Often, online courses and
certifications are more cost-effective options. There will always be clients who only are
willing to work with degreed individuals, but you'll find more clients if you really learn
a lot about freelance writing, and a traditional degree can't always give you that.
Along with additional skills regarding writing in general, you should think about your
favorite topics and consider additional education in that topic area. For example, if you
enjoy writing about law, consider becoming a paralegal or working in a legal office, or if
you enjoy writing about real estate, consider getting your real estate license.
If you don't have the money for additional education, you can at least look for writing
experience in a niche. For example, if you take a project writing ten articles about
weddings and enjoy the work, look for more projects dealing with weddings and romance.
This can increase your value in two ways. First, you'll be more likely to get
wedding-related jobs if you have tons of previous experience writing about weddings. More
importantly, though, even if you do not increase your prices, you'll be making more money
per article simple because you'll be able to write faster, since you have to do less
research. Concentrating on three to five specific niches is much better than just applying
for every job that comes your way.
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