SEO copywriters are hired to drive traffic and sales to client websites. Hence, it’s important  for us to stay upon the changing landscape that is SEO, particularly when it comes to our jobs – the writing of content.

I read a lot of SEO trade sites that give some very good search engine optimization tips. One that really stood out to me lately an article on anchor text and its growing lack of influence on search results.

Note: If you don’t know, learn what anchor text is.

SEO Copywriting: Sources that Keep SEO Writers “In the Know”

To get top search engine placement for your clients, you have to stay on top of what search engines are doing. Some great sources to do this by the way are:

SearchEngineJournal.com

SearchEngineNews.com

SearchEnglineLand.com

SearchEngineGuide.com

SeoChat.com

And of course, for search engine optimization copywriting tips, this site, SeoWritingJobs.com.

There are tons more. Just do a search for “search marketing news” or similar keyword phrases.

Anchor Text Why This Change Means More Work for SEO Copywriters

So, what do the changing rules of anchor text mean for SEO writers? The author of the above-linked post on anchor text said this:

The research clearly shows, in terms of ranking, building a strong domain is far more important than anchor text.

 And, in my opinion, this means more work for SEO writers in the coming years. Let me explain.

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Submit a Guest Post: This site and its sister site, SeoWritingJobs.com, now accepts guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

P.S.: Want to avoid freelance writing dry spells and try your hand at affiliate marketing with a proven product? Learn how you can market the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites, and keep 100% of the profits.

P.P.S.: Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

 

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

 

Publisher Note: Before we get to today’s post, a little boo-boo I made that I need your help to correct.

In yesterday’s newsletter I told you about a new newsletter on internet marketing that I’ll start publishing tomorrow (internet marketing for extreme newbies). Well, in doing some preparation for that last night, I accidentally deleted some email addresses of those who have subscribed. So if you subscribed, please do so again (go to bottom of this page, http://FreeAdsSell.info).

I’m sorry for the mixup. Should never work while you’re tired, cuz things like this have a tendency to happen. Thanks, and I look forward to helping you make money in internet and affiliate marketing.

Article Marketing: The Internet Equalizer When It Comes to Driving Traffic and Sales

In yesterday’s (very long) post on InkwellEditorial.com, we discussed content marketing and why it’s a fast-growing field. As I stated in that post, this means lots of work for freelance writers, specifically SEO copywriters. But of course, you have to know how to market for SEO writing jobs to land them.

Again, as I relayed in that post, one of my most successful marketing methods has been article marketing – a form of content marketing. In fact, if you type “SEO writing” (without quotes) into Google, the top result to pop up is an article written by me on EzineArticles.com (a top-rated article directory site) entitled,

Now, this article was submitted in January of 2009. And almost two years later, it’s still ranked number one and is driving traffic (and sales) for me. In fact, my sites have three listings on the first page of Google (out of 10) for this keyword phrase (SEO writing), as illustrated by the graphic below.

And, this is the power of article marketing. It works, if you put in the work. So today, I wanted to lay out a handy little “mini article marketing tutorial,” if you will, to help you market your SEO writing services.

Article Marketing Tutorial Specifics . . .

You must be a subscriber to read this post in its entirety. Don’t worry, it’s free!

How to Subscribe: You can subscribe from any page of http://InkwellEditorial.com. It’s this site’s parent site; simply look for the subscription boxes for newsletter sign-up and/or RSS feed on the right-hand side of every page. Of course, your contact information is protected — it is never sold, rented, leased or compromised in any way.

Submit a Guest Post: This site and its sister site, SeoWritingJobs.com, now accepts guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

P.S.: Want to avoid freelance writing dry spells and try your hand at affiliate marketing with a proven product? Learn how you can market the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites, and keep 100% of the profits.

P.P.S.: Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

I received the following email from a fellow SEO writer recently about outsourcing. She wrote:

QUESTION FROM FREELANCER #1

I have finally found some great people that I’d like to hand off some projects to, however I don’t know where to begin regarding what to charge. I know, I know everyone asks that but I can’t find anything legit enough (I’ve been a strong follower of your work and trust your advice) when it comes to outsourcing.

I’ve also run into a lot of articles about outsourcing work to other countries. That really hasn’t crossed my mind but now wondering about it. Would you share your thoughts on outsourcing overseas? If not, thank you anyways for your incredible answer a few months back to my question.

Just this morning, I receive the following email from another SEO writer about outsourcing. As these dovetailed so nicely, I wanted to cover them both. The second freelancer wrote:

QUESTION FROM FREELANCER #2

Should I, or do I have to disclose to a client when I am outsourcing content? If so, should I include this in the work-for-hire agreement? I know you’ve covered this topic before, but I can’t seem to find it. Sorry. Thanks.

Your e-book, “How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles” [http://bit.ly/akL7HZ] is excellent! I am glad I made the investment.

Graphic courtesy of nicasiodesign.com

MY ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM FREELANCER #1

All of the above questions have been answered in previous posts, so I’m going to point you to these rather than answer them again.

FYI, there’s a lot of info here on this site, and on InkwellEditorial.com. So please dig through the archives if you have a specific question. When it comes to SEO writing and general commercial freelance writing questions, there’s not a lot I haven’t covered when it comes to rates, outsourcing and marketing.

RE: “however I don’t know where to begin regarding what to charge.” By “what to charge,” I’m assuming this freelancer meant “what to pay other freelancers.” What you charge clients will determine what you can pay freelancers. At the end of this post are some links to articles I’ve written on what/how to charge as an SEO writer, so I’m not going to cover this here.

See this post for the answer to “what to pay freelancers you outsource to: July 6^th post on SeoWritingJobs.com entitled: Freelance Writers: How to Stop Freelancers You Outsource to From Stealing Your Clients[http://bit.ly/bNrqxP]

RE: I’ve also run into a lot of articles about outsourcing work to other countries. . . . Would you share your thoughts on outsourcing overseas?

My response to this is: See the “Legal Recourse” section ofthis article [http://bit.ly/d8L3S4] . . . FYI, this article also addresses other concerns an employer may have about hiring foreign freelance writers.

Personally, I have never hired foreign freelance writers, for the very reasons cited in this article and also because of the language idiosyncrasies I talked about in the post, SEO Copywriting: How to Start This Type of Freelance Writing Career If You’re a Foreigner, Pt II [http://bit.ly/b2Y36T].

There’s already so much that I have to take care of when I outsource, and there are such a steady supply of good talent stateside that I have never found the need to use foreigner writers.

I know that one reason many may be tempted to hire writers from other countries is because it can be cheaper to do so, but that’s a business decision each person has to make for themselves. Balance that with the time you may have to put in rewriting/editing – and if it’s worth your while, then I say go for it.

Even bringing on one or two writers who can save you on wages can make it worth your while. But again, be prepared to put in some upfront work to source these candidates to ensure that their skill in writing/English comprehension is good enough to pass muster.

MY ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM FREELANCER #2

RE Should I, or do I have to disclose to a client when I am outsourcing content? If so, should I include this in the work-for-hire agreement?

I answered this in the post, How to Make $5,000/Month or More as an SEO Writer, specifically stating:

My advice on this, never ever mention who will be doing the writing work – unless a client asks directly. Most clients will assume it’s going to be you and won’t even inquire about this.

On the rare occasions they ask, of course, I tell them that I work with other freelance writers and do outsource some projects. But, most clients only care about two things – the quality of the work and the deadline. If you can guarantee those, you won’t have a problem.

Additional Reading on Outsourcing Work to Freelance SEO Writers

Here are links to a series of posts I did on outsourcing back in July on this site.

July 1 Post entitled SEO Copywriters: How to Find Reliable Freelance SEO Writers to Outsource To [http://bit.ly/aLnkzT]

July 7^th Post entitled: SEO Copywriters/Freelance Writers: How to Determine What to Pay Freelancers You Outsource To [http://bit.ly/cAo9DE]

SEO Copywriters: Links to Articles Discussing How to Determine What to Charge

SEO Writing Rates: How to Determine What to Charge as an SEO Copywriter (http://bit.ly/bjOJwj)

How to Set SEO Writing Rates to Make $250-$500+/Day (http://bit.ly/9FdonM)

How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates to Make a Real Living (http://bit.ly/17CiV)

4 Guidelines for Setting Blog Posting Rates (http://bit.ly/c3u4mc )

Freelance Writing Rates: And the Debate Rages On . . . (http://bit.ly/dDvoIU)

Advice for Freelance SEO Writers: How to Negotiate Rates When Clients Want You to Go Lower with the Promise of More Work (http://bit.ly/arF0x0)

CONCLUSION: The Growth of SEO Writing – It’s Bright Y’all!

One thing that stood out to me as I was digging through archives to answer these posts is that, while I still get a lot of questions about the mechanics of SEO writing, I’m also starting to get a lot of questions about things like outsourcing.

What this says to me is two things: (i) that many SEO writers are busy – so busy that they’ve moved beyond “making a living as a freelance (SEO) writer”, they’re growing their businesses; and (ii) there’s plenty of work out there.

This is excellent news.

One freelancer who is currently enrolled in the SEO Copywriting Training [http://bit.ly/3uMhpE] e-course wanted to know “Where am I entering the market trajectory-wise? You mention it’s getting more competitive.”

My response to her was:

[SEO] Writing is an evergreen profession . . . It always has been, and it always will be. Yes, it’s getting more competitive. But everything does when so many are looking for work. But your success has nothing to do with that.

I entered the market when everyone was saying that SEO writing was a “slave wage” market. Many shied away from it b/c they thought that it was a niche where getting $3 for 500-word articles was just the way it was. I proved that it most definitely is not.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter where or when you’re entering the market. How you run your business will determine your success; not the market at large.

The SEO writers who wrote in about outsourcing here prove this last point beautifully!

P.S.: Want to avoid freelance writing dry spells and try your hand at affiliate marketing with a proven product? Learn how you can market the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites, and keep 100% of the profits.

P.P.S.: Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

Some days, it feels like blogging about how to become a freelance writer is not worth it. I’ve been accused of being everything from a product pusher, to someone who depresses the wages for all freelance writers, to a “hard to reach b*tch” (yes, some people can be quite vicious).

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about just abandoning my blogs (InkwellEditorial.com and SeoWritingJobs.com) altogether. THEN, I receive emails like the one I’m about to share with you that remind me why I do what I do.

Much like a child’s hug, the feeling I got when I read this email is one that will carry me through a thousand more criticisms the universe will throw my way.

Remember SEO Mary? If not, read back through her series. She’s delightfully funny, and allowed us to share in her journey on the road to becoming an SEO writer, which started almost three years ago (my how time flies).

I hope you find the inspiration you need in her story to pursue your dreams, whatever they are.

EMAIL RECEIVED FROM SEO MARY

The e-book is fantastic! Great marketing e-mails. You are a genius!!!!

Cross your fingers for me, this month should be my best ever. I should break the $3K mark! (which will have me hitting my goal of $3K a month by Sept. 30). I’ve a $4K/month goal to hit by Dec.30; $5K by end of March; $6K by end of June. I KNOW I can get to $4-5K fairly “easily. $6K? Not so much. But I’m aiming high.

I’ll need to start charging more, of course, and I intend to go to my long-time clients and let them know I’d like a raise (two years with one at just $25 per…. oy, me!)

Also will need to be bringing in a couple of subcontractors. I see that I may need to go live with my folks for several weeks/months at a time in the next year or two, and doing most of the writing myself certainly won’t be feasible at that time since, if they need constant care (with the help of hired caregivers), I won’t be able to concentrate enough to write.

So that’s another goal of mine within a goal: raise rates enough so that I can pay my writers decently ($20 minimum) and still make a decent amount for me (to support the fam, etc.) without doing most, if any, of the writing. (This sounds similar to being the project manager/rain maker, similar to your stated goal come Jan.). Being able to be more available to my parents as they near the end of their lives would be such an awesome thing to do, and this SEO biz I’m creating will allow me to do so.

Thank heavens you found Christine at Self Made Chick, put your own twist on SEO biz marketing, then wrote about it in your e-book! This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s SO worth it! Creating a life I want to live, on my rules, to be able to help my folks, work where I want… this is so priceless!

You’re changing lives for the better, Yuwanda. I know others may tell you this, but I’ll never tire of making sure I tell you so again and again and again.

I’ll keep you posted!

3 Things That Make SEO Mary Successful that Stood Out to Me

P.S.: Want to avoid freelance writing dry spells and try your hand at affiliate marketing with a proven product? Learn how you can market the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites, and keep 100% of the profits.

P.P.S.: Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

This is a question that came to my attention via Yahoo Answers! A great site to visit for SEO purposes by the way, for it gives you a good idea about what people really want to know about and you can craft your “SEO’d” responses around them.

As I read it, four things came immediately to mind. If you still work a full-time job, but want to dip your toes in the freelance writing waters part-time – and be well compensated for it – following is some helpful advice.

4 Things You Can do To Make Freelance Writing Part-time Very Lucrative

I. Choose High-Paying Niches: There are two ways to make more money – charge more, or do more work. When you work full-time, you likely don’t have time to put in “more” hours (and this will be different for every freelancer).

So, starting out in a high-paying niche means that you can charge more – and make more – for less work.

High-Paying Niches in Freelance Writing

What are some high-paying niches in freelance writing?

P.S.: Want to avoid freelance writing dry spells and try your hand at affiliate marketing with a proven product? Learn how you can market the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites, and keep 100% of the profits.

P.P.S.: Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

Publisher Note: The SEO Copywriting Training course is on sale through Labor Day. The busy season is coming up; if you want to penetrate this niche and start making money as an SEO writer, get details about the discount and bonus offered with this training. 

As I said in the first post in this series on finding work as a foreign freelance writer [http://bit.ly/dv1kgS], the word foreigner is in quotation marks because we’re all foreigners. But, when most use this word as it relates to freelancing, they’re speaking of those who aren’t U.S. (or Canadian) citizens who want to work for companies in these countries.

This question comes from a Scottish reader (always amazes me how the internet connects the world) who wants to know how to find work in Jamaica [http://bit.ly/aLDExL], where I’m currently residing. He wrote:

QUESTION FROM A READER RECEIVED ON 8/7/2010

Hello, I was really interested to see that you are earning a living as a freelancer in Jamaica. I graduated from Uni in Scotland last year with a BA Hons(1st class) in English Studies and I have worked for the Big Issue South Africa Magazine in Cape Town and had some short stories published in anthologies in the UK.I am currently working on a novel.

 

I currently work as an SEO freelancer for a large UK company and although I’m based in Scotland, I have friends in Jamaica and would like to find out about relocating there. I would be very grateful if you could give me some advice about SEO work and freelance journalism in Jamaica. I’m a very creative, hardworking person and I am confident that I can write well on any subject, but I’m just starting out in the field.

 

Thanks so much for your help, best regards

 

MY ANSWER

The essential question this freelance wanted is in bold. I want to address the part about relocating right quick though, before we discuss finding work as a freelance writing living abroad.

Quick Tip about Relocating to Jamaica (or any Foreign Country)

Don’t look for an apartment via the internet. Book a hotel (or stay with friends in the case of this freelancer) and look when you get here. There are just too many scams on the net when looking for places living abroad [http://bit.ly/9HfJLa] to trust it.

Negril is small, so you’ll be able to find something within a few days once you get here and get acclimated.

Now, about freelancing and finding freelance writing work while living abroad.

Train to Become a Highly Paid SEO Copywriter Making as Much as $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year: You’ll learn 4 ways to make money online using your newly acquired skills.P.S.: Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

As of April 7, you must be a subscriber to read new content on this site and its parent site, InkwellEditorial.com. New content includes all posts written after 4/7/2010. When you subscribe,you’ll get access to the most recent content, as well as all future posts and all previous posts you may have missed.

How to Subscribe

You can subscribe from any page of http://InkwellEditorial.com. It’s this site’s parent site; simply look for the subscription boxes for newsletter sign-up and/or RSS feed on the right-hand side of every page. Of course, your contact information is protected — it is never sold, rented, leased or compromised in any way.

Why Subscribe? Get Real, First-Hand Advice from All Types of Freelance Writers

Week in and week out, you get first-hand “freelance writing stories from the trenches” here at InkwellEditorial.com. I routinely relay my freelance writing experiences — everything from setting rates, to how to market, to knowing when to say no to a project. Also, I answer questions – in great detail (no fluff here!) — from other freelancers writers (new and experienced).

Recent posts you may have missed by not being a subscriber include:

Why I Turned Down a $2,000 – $3,000 Freelance Writing Job That Could Have Led to Even More Work;

P.P.S.: Want an easy, fast way to get started in affiliate marketing, making as much as $50, $100 or $150/day? Get How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites(ie, Backpage.com). If you want to make some easy money promoting affiliate products on free classified ad sites, this ebook is for you. I’ve personally sold tens of thousands of dollars of e-products (my own and affiliate products) doing this since January 2009.

Copyright © 2010: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).