A couple of days ago, a new SEO writer emailed me, asking the following:

Dear Yuwanda:

I recently bought your excellent e-book, “How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles“. I’m so excited by your description of the work! Right now I’m busy creating sample articles for my newly-defined niche.

I’m wondering: when a company hires you to write an SEO piece for them, do they tell you exactly what kind of content they want? (emphasis added)

Beyond the keyword(s), I mean. Do they say, “We need 400 words outlining the benefits of X product, ending in such-and-such call to action”? Or do they leave the precise nature of the article up to you, as long as it’s optimized for the correct keyword?
 
Warmest thanks,
FS

Here is the quick answer I emailed back.

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My Quick Answer to This SEO Content Writer’s Question

 F,
 
First, thanks for the purchase. Glad you found the info helpful.
 
In answer to your query, most clients (about 60-70%) will give you keywords and let you write what you want — as long as it’s beneficial to their company. The rest will outline the content they want.
 
Will answer in more detail in tomorrow’s post for SeoWritingJobs.com.

My Expanded Answer

As I said, most clients will just give you the keywords and tell you to write what you want on – of course, as long as it’s informative and helpful to the reader (ie, no “junk, filler-type” info). You should produce useful content that will make readers want to respond to a call to action, eg, call, email for further info, download a free pamphlet, etc.

SEO Content Writers: How to Know What to Write About When Clients Give You Little and/or No Direction Beyond Providing Keywords

To do this, I usually tool around a client’s site – and competitor sites – to see what I can pick up on and expand on, explain better, talk about from a different angle, etc.

Another thing I do is check out Q&A sites like Yahoo! Answers to see what questions in that niche are really popular that I can write a client article on. FYI, you can get a ton of useful ideas to write on from answer sites.

Finally, I check article directories like EzineArticles.com to see which content has been produced and what the popular content in a given niche is (check how many times an article has been read).

SEO Copywriting Tip: Build an Idea File 

If you know you’re going to have a client for the long haul, when you’re doing this type of research initially, jot down ideas for future articles – that way, you build an “idea file” and will never be stuck for what to write on.

SEO Copywriting Advice: Emails from Actual Clients Giving Direction about What They Want You to Write

To clarify further what clients want when they do give copywriting direction, I went back through my archives and dug up some actual exchanges I’ve had on what they want to give you an idea of what to expect. 

Client #1: IT Firm

[Note: All identifying factors (eg, keywords, locations, etc., have been changed to protect client identity]

We will be launching an SEO campaign, and our SEO agency needs fresh content of 500 words/article on a monthly basis.   We would like the content focused on “ABC Support Services” and “XYZ Computing.”  Here are the keywords we’re trying to target: [list of keywords was given”]

I’d like to start out with purchasing: 

1.       Two (2) easy/breezy technical articles, both for XYZ Computing; AND

2.       Two (2) foundational articles, one for XYZ Computing and the other for ABC Support.  

I just paid for these articles using PayPal (see attached two receipts for $120 and $170). 

A description of our services can be found here [website was linked to]. As I explained, ABC support is our traditional business, and we’ve only targeted local businesses using PPC campaigns.   Our XYZ services are new and we’re still building out the infrastructure.   Our plan is to roll out our XYZ services nationally using an SEO campaign, and since we’re at it, I figure we should include our traditional IT support business/keywords in the SEO campaign as well. 

Since there isn’t any copy yet on our Web site (which is being modified to be more SEO friendly), here is a brief description of our XYZ services: [link to site was given] 

Here are a few representative competitors: [links to 3 competitor sites was given]

Client #2: Realtor

Im looking to have local real estate related articles written about San Diego neighborhoods for my real estate website. Please let me know if your firm can help with this.

Editor Note: Sometimes, it really is as simple as this.

Client #3: Travel Website

I am managing an SEO campaign on behalf of my client – a tour operator based in US/Canada. As part of the campaign I have identified several priority themes / areas that could benefit from SEO articles posted to relevant / quality article submission sites.

What I need

Three – four original SEO articles per month complete with keyphrases [editor note: he meant keyword phrases] and links (I will review originality of content)

Keyphrase density of between 3 and 5

Article length: 350 – 500 words

SEO writing firm to send articles to me for sign-off

Submission to high page rank SEO article sites 

Reporting to confirm submission

Keyphrases

 Primary: ‘ABC Holidays’; Secondary: ‘ABC from Zuma’

Key Points to Cover in Articles

This article will be designed for people from Zuma looking to travel to Timbuktu. Again the holidays include cultural tours by qualified tour guides so please mention these. For holiday product information – please see [link to page on their site was included]. Also mention island of Tripoli as well.

Conclusion 

As you can see, some clients get very detailed, and others provide very little direction. Usually, the longer you write SEO content for a client, the less direction they give . . . UNLESS, their client changes something, eg, want to focus on different keywords.

Hope this insight helps, and that you’re prepared for a busy fall, as we discussed in yesterday’s post on this site’s parent site, InkwellEditorial.com.

Best,
Yuwanda
P.S.: Learn how to create multiple freelance income streams. Get Living the Freelance Life! How I Live Internationally and Have Earned a Living Completely Online Since 2007 & You Can Too (on InkwellEditorial.com), a free ebook. SeoWritingJobs.com is an InkwellEditorial.com property.

P.P.S.: Ditch Your Job and Start a Successful Career as an SEO Copywriter? Get SEO Copywriting Training Today.

Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Submit a Guest Post: This site and its parent site, InkwellEditorial.com, now accept guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

Avoid freelance writing dry spells by making extra money as an affiliate marketer? Learn how to earn $50-$150/day online pretty seamlessly in the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites. Updated with 2011 PayPal screen shot of earnings!

Copyright © 2011: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

Editor Note: Learn How to Work and Live Abroad from the Caribbean: It’s Easier Than You Think to Make the Move to an Island Paradise.

TODAY’S POST

A couple of days ago, I received a harried email from a freelancer new to search engine optimization copywriting. She’d bought Inkwell’s ebook on how to start an SEO writing career and had a prospect on the hook, but didn’t know how to answer some questions he asked her.

Following is what she wrote: 

I Purchased you ebook online 2 days ago and have been marketing via email and cold calling and have already had this response BUT i have no previous knowledge or experience [sic] in the required area ANY INFORMATION you could help me out with here, so i dont loose [sic] this potential client would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
 
here is his response to my email//
 
Please send examples of content you have written.
 
I am particularly interested in
 
· articles you have composed that include infographics
 
· stories that were specifically written as link bait
 
· non-English SEO content
 
Once you have shown me the quality of your work we can discuss whether your rates are justified.

How Quickly SEO Writing Work Comes When You Start to Market

First off – see how quickly you can start landing jobs when you start marketing for SEO writing work? Two days she said she’d been marketing – and she already had a prospect on the hook. A freelancer wrote to me last week wanting to know when she would start getting work once she started marketing. 

Of course, it depends on a variety of factors. But, if you’re consistent in your marketing, it can happen very quickly. For some, it may take weeks, for others a few days. I haven’t heard of anyone who consistently marketed (this is key) who didn’t get at least some “bites” within the first month.

So, that’s the answer to that question. 

What Put Me Off About This Prospective Client’s Email

The tone of the email from this prospective client put me off; specifically the part that says “we can discuss whether your rates are justified.” The reason this puts me off is, it’s unprofessional and a bit demeaning. I mean, you wouldn’t ask an attorney if his rates were justified, or an insurance company if theirs were.

Many don’t give freelance SEO writers the credit they deserve as professionals, so when I get queries like this, my hackles go up and I immediately get the impression that this type of client may be difficult to work with.

With that being said, first, I’m going to clarify some of the things he asked about, then I’ll tell you how I’ve handle situations just like this in the past.

Question #1 from Prospective SEO Writing Client: What articles have you composed that include infographics?

What are Infographics?

Infographics are simply “graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge.” Source: Wikipedia. See this example in the article, 12 kickass SEO infographics on econsultancy.com.

FYI, it’s rare that clients will want you as an SEO writer to create an infographic. In my four years of writing SEO content, I’ve never been asked to create one. They are becoming more popular though, so this might be a service you want to highlight that you offer. If you do, be sure to charge appropriately for it.

Infographics go way beyond just writing – unless the company gives you the info (stats). It can take hours (days) of research to create them. So again, be sure to charge accordingly if you are asked to provide one.

How much should you charge to create infographics along with your copy? At my SEO writing company, NewMediaWords.biz, we charge by the hour ($75/hour) for sales copy writing. This would fall in that category.

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Question #2 from Prospective SEO Writing Client: Please send examples of content/ stories you have written that were specifically written as link bait.

What is Link Bait?

Link bait content is simply content that’s created to get others to link to. As explained on Wikipedia, it’s any content or feature, within a website, designed specifically to gain attention or encourage others to link to the website.

This is usually “of the moment / hot topic” content. It can be controversial in nature, or not, and is almost always keyword rich.

For example, when gas prices were high back in 2008, I wrote an article entitled, Avoid High Gas Prices: 3 Easy-to-Start, Online Work-from-Home Careers. “Avoid high gas prices” was a strong keyword phrase at the time because the high cost of gas was on everybody’s mind and it was all over the news.

With the economy in the dumps and many workers losing their jobs, many were looking for ways to earn extra money. Freelance writing (my niche) offers just such an opportunity. So I wrote this article as “link bait” to capitalize on a hot topic that could drive traffic to my site (and hopefully lead to sales). 

And, this is exactly why many clients commission “link bait” copy.

Question #3 from Prospective SEO Writing Client: I am particularly interested in non-English SEO content.

I’m not sure if this SEO writer pitched the client on her language skills (eg, she writes in another language), so I can’t shed any light on this. Most clients want “English perfect” content.

Now that what this prospect is looking for has been clarified, let’s answer the primary question this new SEO writer asked, which was basically, how do I respond to this client when I have no experience.

Search Engine Optimization Copywriting: Answer to the Main Question from This Frantic New SEO Writer Who Needs Help Landing a Client 

Almost the exact thing happened to me when I first started out. Following is a link to an article I wrote that explains in detail how to handle this particular situation.  It’s entitled, SEO Writing: How to Convince Potential Clients to Hire You. In this article, I wrote, in part:

When clients ask for results [you’ve gotten for other clients], what they’re really asking is if you understand, hence are effective at, your job. If you can clearly demonstrate knowledge of your industry, this will go a long way toward alleviating any concerns they have about hiring you.

Read the entire article, SEO Writing: How to Convince Potential Clients to Hire You. Note: I wrote this article in January of 2008, mere months after I’d started my SEO writing career. So, I’ve been exactly where this freelancer is now; hence, I know the anxiety she’s feeling.

It passes and you do go on to build a solid portfolio where this isn’t a worry.

Good luck, and keep the questions coming!

FYI, right now, I’m working on an ebook of commonly asked (and not so commonly asked) questions SEO writers get from clients. It’s Inkwell Editorial’s next release.

This should ease a lot of tension some SEO writers have about what to do when they don’t know how to answer a specific question. It’s kinda like a “go to” handbook for SEO copywriters on what to expect from clients – and how to respond.

I’m trying to finish it by Sunday. Of course, it’ll be listed on InkwellEditorial.com, this site’s parent site, when it’s done.

Hope this info helps, and have a great rest of the week.

Yuwanda
P.S.: Learn how to create multiple freelance income streams. Get Living the Freelance Life! How I Live Internationally and Have Earned a Living Completely Online Since 2007 & You Can Too, a free ebook. SeoWritingJobs.com is an InkwellEditorial.com property.

P.P.S.: Ditch Your Job and Start a Successful Career as an SEO Copywriter? Get SEO Copywriting Training Today.

Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Submit a Guest Post: This site and its parent site, InkwellEditorial.com, now accept guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

Avoid freelance writing dry spells by making extra money as an affiliate marketer? Learn how to earn $50-$150/day online pretty seamlessly in the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites. Updated with 2011 PayPal screen shot of earnings!

Copyright © 2011: 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 post was inspired by a freelancer who wrote to me after reading the “Cold Calling Carol” series. This series details how one freelance SEO writer was able to have her first $400 day (and earn enough to book a trip to Hawaii!) by starting a cold calling campaign.

Question from an Aspiring SEO Writer about Who to Contact in a Company to Get Work 

This freelancer wanted to know who to contact within a company when you start a cold calling campaign. I would have posted the actual email, but must have accidentally deleted it because I can’t find it in my overcrowded inbox anywhere.

Aaaarrrggghhhh!

At any rate, my answer is below. FYI, this is the fifth post in the Cold Calling Carol series. The others can be found at: 

Her Initial Query to Me: 3 Reasons Cold Calling Works to Land Freelance Writing Jobs

First Post (June 14^th): Initial success with cold calling – garnering a 66% response rate 

Second Post (June 28^th): Finding Freelance Writing Jobs via Cold Calling: It’s VERY Effective; Here’s How to Get Over the “Cold Calling Jitters”

Third Post (July 12^th): Marketing for Freelance Writing Jobs This Summer? Here’s a Two-Pronged Attack That’s Working for One Freelancer 

Fourth Post (August 3^rd):  SEO Writing Work Continues to Flow in for This Freelancer: What’s She Doing? Learn How She Got on a Hot Streak (and You Can Too!)

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My Answer

Who to contact in a company depends greatly on the type of firm you’re targeting. For example, it’s been my experience that web and graphic design firms tend to be relatively small – from 1 or 2 employees on up to about 20. 

The same with internet marketing firms.

So when you call, just ask to speak to the person who outsources work to freelance writers.

For larger firms, you may reach a receptionist. In this case, identify yourself and the purpose of your call (ie, to speak to the person/department who outsources work to freelance writers). 

In my experience, most will not only tell you who you should ask for, they’ll patch you through. In a few instances (very few, I might add), I’ve had a receptionist tell me that they don’t use freelancers and/or they won’t know who to direct you to, so they’ll put you through to HR (Human Resources).

At any rate, always try to get a name when you cold call, even if it is to someone in HR. If you get nowhere going this route (ie, HR rebuffs you), you may have to do some web digging to see if you can find a name/email address of the correct person.

How to Find Direct Contacts to Cold Call for Freelance Writing Work by Doing Internet Searches

Do web searches by company name and Title, eg, ABC Company Communications Director; XYZ Company Marketing Director; TLC Company Creative Director; etc.

And, that’s how you find out who to speak with if you decide to do a cold-calling campaign to get SEO writing work.

As Cold Calling Carol so perfectly illustrates, this is one of the easiest ways to start landing these type of freelance writing jobs because so few freelancers pick up the phone.

Best,
Yuwanda
P.S.: Get a big discount on the soon-to-be-published ebook, How to Move To, Live and Work from a Caribbean Island: Everything You Need to Know to Make the Move to an Island Paradise. See the bottom of the linked-to page for details. Offer expires tomorrow.

P.P.S.: Ditch Your Job and Start a Successful Career as an SEO Copywriter? Get SEO Copywriting Training Today.

Find this post informative? Follow Us on Twitter.

Submit a Guest Post: This site and its parent site, InkwellEditorial.com, now accept guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

Summer is here: want to avoid freelance writing dry spells that usually come this time of year by making extra money as an affiliate marketer? Learn how to earn $50-$150/day online pretty seamlessly in the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites. Updated with 2011 PayPal screen shot of earnings!

Copyright © 2011: 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 post is a little late this week — I’m behind on my newsletter writing. But when this freelancer sent her questions in, I put my ebook writing aside for an hour or so to answer her. Like so many of this blog’s posts, it’s great questions from readers that make the content so useful — and this one was a doozy to answer — so I knew it’d make a great post.

Following is her email to me . . .

Hi Yuwanda!

First I want to say a hearty THANK YOU for the work you put into writing e-books and informative blogs. It’s not just a money-maker – I can tell you have a passion for sharing this industry with others. I am aching to quit my 9-5, and as a good writer, this seems to be the way for me. Without your e-books and blogs, however, I’d never even know where to start. 

I have a few questions I was hoping you could take a moment to help with. Thanks for any help you can give! I know you’re a busy woman, and I appreciate you helping so many people into this industry!

Questions from an Aspiring SEO Writer Who’s “Aching” to Quit Her 9 to 5 Job

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1) How does a freelancer deal with self-employment taxes and health insurance? I know this isn’t your area of expertise, but when I look at quitting my 9-5, those are the ‘giants in the land’.

My Answer

On health insurance for freelancers, see this article I wrote: How to Get Health Insurance That’s Affordable when You Quit a Job to Freelance Fulltime.

FYI, I went for years when I first started freelancing without health insurance (years!). That’s not a route that’s for many people, but I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to not be stuck in a job I hated. It’s one of the reasons I try to take care of myself – eat right, exercise, etc.

I know this can’t prevent major catastrophes, but the reality is, much of the insurance that freelancers can afford won’t cover a lot of your expenses even if you are unfortunate enough to have a catastrophic medical issue.

Just something to think about and weigh.

On freelancing and taxes . . .

Freelancing and Taxes: How to Determine How Much You’ll Owe for Tax Year 2011: This link gives some numbers so you can get  a “quick and dirty” idea of what you’ll owe based on your income and filing status. Following is some further reading from this site’s parent site, InkwellEditorial.com, on freelancing and taxes.

Freelancing and Taxes: 6 Simple Tasks You Can Do Today to Make Next Year’s Tax Season a Breeze

Freelancing and Taxes: Info on How to Avoid an Audit, How/What to File if You Live Abroad & More

Freelance Writing Business Tax Tips: 4 Things You Can Do to Make Filing Your Taxes Easier

Freelance Writers: Tax Advice from a Professional

2) What is the difference between writing a themed SEO article and a client sending you 10 keyword phrases for a ‘simple SEO article’? It seems like if you incorporate 10 keyword phrases, you’re basically doing a theme, but I know you charge a lot more for themed content.

My Answer

When you write a “regular” SEO article, you’re not optimizing it for a lot of keyword phrases; you’re usually doing it for one. A themed SEO article is different in that you’re not “optimizing” an article for one – or even a few – keyword phrases. You’re really “seeding” the content with many relevant words and phrases (keywords/keyword phrases) so that it is “well rounded” enough to make search engines stand up and go:

Hey, all the right “buzz words” are in this article for this topic. It’s hasn’t just obviously been written to rank for one or two specific keyword phrases – but is a well-rounded “discussion, if you will” of this topic. Let’s rank this higher.

Read more on this at:

Search Engine Optimization Copywriting: What Is Themed SEO Content, How It’s Different from ‘Ordinary’ Content & Why SEO Writers Need to Know About It

How Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Affects Search Engine Rankings

FREE SEO Writing Ecourse: How to Write Themed Content and Start Charging $75-$250+ Per Article

3) As a beginner, I’m charging $45 for a simple SEO article, $60 for main-page content, and $35 for a 350 word or less blog post. Does that sound right to you? And I thought I’d charge $85 for themed articles. (All 400-500 words except the blog post). I have a specialty in finance, financial planning, and investments, and I’ll be able to add in insurance as soon as I quit my job.

My Answer

First let me say it again – what you charge as a freelance writer is totally up to you. I don’t tell people what to charge; I tell them how I charge and let them make up their own minds. But, following is my advice; how I’D go about it if I were you . . .

Actually, depending on what your specific credentials are, I think you could easily charge more and get it. One thing I always advise new NICHE SEO writers to do is write up a benefits pamphlet target to new prospects and offer it as a free download from their website.

Include things like how your credentials in your niche can benefit them; eg, not a lot of writers can write knowledgeably on finance – especially if it’s “high finance” eg, front-end loaded mutual funds, split shares, accelerated costs, etc.

If the market you’re targeting needs this type of writing, they ain’t gonna find many who can write knowledgeably on it. Anyone can fake it writing simple finance articles, but it sounds like you have experience in this type of writing.  

The rates you’ve outlined would be good for blog posts (250-350 words). Articles of 400-500 words, I’d start at $75 and work my way up.

Now, I know this goes against a lot of what I’ve said about starting low, but finance (and legal and medical and tech) are industries where businesses who are serious about their online presences (ie, their content) expect to pay more – and especially for someone with experience in their niche. Many times, these are the only types of writers they’ll hire – and rightly so.

But, this is just my opinion. Freelance writing rates are very individual. And if you have a burning desire to quit your job (as you stated and if that’s your main goal), you can always start low, and raise your rates later.

Following is more reading on how to set your freelance / SEO writing rates:

SEO Copywriters (and Other Freelancers): How to Justify Your Freelance Writing Rates to Clients & Get the Pay You Deserve

SEO Writing Rates: How to Determine What to Charge as an SEO Copywriter

How to Set SEO Writing Rates to Make $250-$500+/Day

How to Set Your Freelance Writing Rates to Make a Real Living

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

Freelance Writing Rates: And the Debate Rages On . . .

Advice for Freelance SEO Writers: How to Negotiate Rates When Clients Want You to Go Lower with the Promise of More Work

Conclusion

Thanks for the kind words about how I try to help others. I really, really appreciate your thanks because I truly do pour my heart and soul into my posts because I don’t believe that anyone should be “stuck” in a job they hate. Everyone should be able to enjoy their work – and if my successes, failures and insight can provide even a sliver of insight into how it can be done, then I’m grateful.

Hope this info helps, and have a great weekend.

Yuwanda
P.S.: Learn how to create multiple freelance income streams. Get Living the Freelance Life! How I Live Internationally and Have Earned a Living Completely Online Since 2007 & You Can Too, a free ebook. SeoWritingJobs.com is an InkwellEditorial.com property.

POST JOBS FREE: Find qualified talent for your SEO writing jobs, social media jobs and internet marketing jobs absolutely free. Simply send your ad to info[at]SeoWritingJobs.com. We will post it here, and in our weekly (Wednesday) newsletter.

P.P.S.: Ditch Your Job and Start a Successful Career as an SEO Copywriter? Get SEO Copywriting Training Today.

Find this post informative?Follow Us on Twitter.

Submit a Guest Post: This site and its parent site, InkwellEditorial.com, now accept guest posts. Get the guest post submission guidelines.

Summer is here: want to avoid freelance writing dry spells that usually come this time of year by making extra money as an affiliate marketer? Learn how to earn $50-$150/day online pretty seamlessly in the best-selling ebook, How to Make Money Placing Ads on Free Classified Ad Sites. Updated with 2011 PayPal screen shot of earnings!

Copyright © 2011: All material on this site is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without my written consent (linking to is fine).

Here is yet another update from the freelance SEO copywriter I dubbed “Cold Calling Carol.” She’s literally rockin’ and rollin’ – in freelance/SEO writing jobs that is! Following is what she wrote me on 7/30/2011. I also give some specific tips on how to capitalize on a “hot streak” (or get on one!) when you start landing freelance writing job after job after job.

Cold Calling Carol Strikes Again: How This Freelance SEO Copywriter Keeps Landing Writing Jobs 

Hi Yuwanda,

I am overwhelmed with joy at this point.  I just wanted to give you yet another update to inform your readers.  I have definitely been living the writers life for the past few weeks! All because of a result of my cold calling.

Just yesterday, I got an email in my inbox that stated: How do we get started?  I got a standing order  to write 2 articles on Web Design, then today,  I got another email requesting 14 pages for Article transporting.

It’s funny, I was scared to call this one guy because he was an independent Seo. ( Don’t ask me why) But, it turns out that in the past 3 weeks he has been giving me a lot of lucrative high paying work. ( That’s how I was able to pay for my trip [to Hawaii], plus have a little extra left over to actually enjoy it).  And to think I was terrified of calling him! I know nothing lasts forever, but I am treating him like Diamonds for now. He takes care of me, so I have to take care of him.   

On other news,  I used to “envy” writers that said they were busy writing, and had orders that were backed up in production.  And now, I am experiencing the same thing (emphasis added), and I love it!  Of course, I can outsource to writers, but to tell you the truth I had one client not like my work, and that really upset me, so I feel like I need to redeem myself and create compelling content that I was put on this planet to write.  However, I think the client was a little cocky, hence I wrote the articles before I got paid, so that was a loss. .  But I guess that’s a learning experience.

As you know, I am getting ready to enjoy my B-day in Hawaii, and just some R&R. So, in September and the fall months, I will be ready to rock and roll.  I wish, I could just write all day, and have someone else do the marketing, but for now I am paying my dues    I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

And that’s the latest from Cold Calling Carol. So, how can you get on a roll and/or start capitalizing off one you may already be on? Following is some insight.

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5 Ways to Capitalize and/or Create a Freelance/SEO Writing “Hot Streak” 

FYI, in case you don’t know, learn what search engine optimization (SEO) writing is all about.

I. Never Stop Doing What Works: When I first started out as an SEO writer, email campaigns worked for me. And, to this day, I still use them – although my target  market is different these days.

Most of us stop doing what works because we get bored or we jump on the newest bandwagon (eg, social media). But an old advertising truism is never stop doing what works. This brings me to my second tip, which is …

II. Tweak What Does Work: Make small changes (not sweeping ones) to see if you can better results. Keep the “old campaign” in place (for example, in the case of this freelance SEO writer, call some prospects and continue to say the same thing), but start calling a few and vary what you say.

See if it brings in better results.

III. Abandon What’s Not Working: If what you’re doing isn’t working – by all means – try something new!

That’s exactly what Cold Calling Carol did. She wanted to land more writing jobs and what she was initially doing wasn’t working (eg, piggybacking freelance writing onto other services she was offering).

So, she picked up the phone and pitched that specific service (SEO writing). And look at the results!

IV. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone:  It takes a special soul to “like” cold calling. Most of us hate it, and it’s the reason most of us don’t do it (especially freelance writers because many of us are introverts). But honey, if achieving success was “comfortable” more of us would have it. So don’t be afraid to try something new – even if you hate it. 

V. Take Good Advice: Cold Calling Carol initially contacted me because she was thinking about doing a direct mail campaign to SEO firms. I advised against it and told her to cold call instead because in my experience, it had a higher rate of return.

I bolded the phrase “in my experience” because I’ve “been there and done that.” If someone has done something you’re thinking about doing and says it doesn’t work, or “X” is more effective, then there’s a time to trust that (eg, when you don’t have any money to experiment).

Cold Calling Carol was smart enough to do so and I don’t think direct mail is on her agenda any longer (at least not right now).

Conclusion

One of the things I love about the internet is that it provides a bountiful supply of information about practically every subject under the sun.

But, you have to be astute enough to know who to trust, when, and how to ingest information and make it work for you, as we discussed in yesterday’s post on how to find a mentor to help you grow your freelance/SEO writing business. My hope is that this insight will guide you in your search – and get you on a hot freelance writing jobs streak in no time!

P.S.: Learn how to create multiple freelance income streams. Get Living the Freelance Life! How I Live Internationally and Have Earned a Living Completely Online Since 2007 & You Can Too, a free ebook. SeoWritingJobs.com is an InkwellEditorial.com property.

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