Web Writing

Opportunities

By Rebecca Matter
 Published by:
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 Web Writing
Opportunities
By Rebecca Matter

In the "olden days," before the Internet, if you wanted to

make a lot of money as a writer, you had three main options:
Write a best-selling novel, write a blockbuster screenplay, or
become a direct-response sales letter copywriter.

Fortunately for us, that's all changed. The Internet has

literally blown the doors wide open for people who enjoy
writing, and want to make a living doing what they love.

These days, people who never thought they'd be in a

position to call themselves “professional writers,” are now
bringing in six-figure incomes working from anywhere in the
world they choose to be.

Web Writing Opportunities 1

 And, it’s all thanks to the ever-increasing number of writing
opportunities the Web makes available, and the thousands of
business owners who are willing to pay writers a lot of money
to do this writing for them.

Why so many writers

are turning to the Web …
In just a minute, I’m going to give you the inside scoop
on the best paying writing projects for web writers. But first,
let’s take a look at all the other reasons why you may want to
consider writing for the Web …

First, there's the big demand for your services …

E-Marketer predicts e-commerce will grow 13.7% this year
and estimates that total U.S. e-commerce sales will reach
$269.8 billion by 2015.

And, it's a growing opportunity …

According to
Netcraft, as of
November 2011, there
are a total of 525
million websites on
the Internet — with
22 million new sites
added in October
alone.

New businesses are

putting up websites
every day. And,
existing websites
continually need

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to be updated. They are
constantly being added to, One of the real joys
changed, and improved.
of web writing is that
Plus, companies are
you can specialize in
constantly developing new
an area that genuinely
products that need to be
interests you.
added to their website
and marketed online. One
client can mean an ongoing
number of projects.

You already have the successful copywriting foundation

As an AWAI-trained copywriter, you already know how
to write strong, compelling promotions. Successful web
copywriters use those exact same strategies and secrets when
writing winning web copy.

In fact, most untrained web writers make the mistake of

thinking there’s something basically different in web writing. So
they miss the mark. But you won’t. You know the importance
of knowing your prospect … how to go beyond simple emotions
… the importance of understanding your prospect’s level of
awareness. Knowing these fundamentals means all you need
to learn are the secrets of shaping the copy you already know
how to write into words that attract search engines as well
your prospects.

You can specialize in an area you enjoy …

One of the real joys of web writing is that you can specialize
in an area that genuinely interests you. For instance, if you
enjoy investing in stocks, you can write for all the financial
publishers that are desperate for good writers who understand
investing.

Web Writing Opportunities 3

 If you have interest in alternative health and well-being,
you can choose to write for the alternative health market. Love
animals? You could write for the pet industry. Concerned about
the environment? Become a "green" web writer. Your options
are almost unlimited.

You'll have a wide variety of writing assignments to

choose from …
From blog posts and emails to home pages to
e-newsletters, there's a wide variety of copy needed by online
businesses. If you’re fond of writing, you should have no
problem finding projects that suit your personality and fit the
writing style you enjoy the most.

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You'll never be bored …
Because of the wide variety of assignments, you'll find
you're never bored. It's a career where you're always learning
and writing about new things. One day you could be writing an
email about something you read in the news, and the next you
could be writing a video script for an online video to sell your
client’s latest product.

And, you can get started relatively quickly!

We’re about to go over all the types of web-writing projects
you could write. But with web writing, you don't have to know
them all before getting started. In fact, only knowing one type
of web writing will suffice, and it’s quite possible to get your
business up and running and start making money within just
few weeks.

When it comes to web writing, there’s no shortage of

projects to choose from. The challenge usually comes with
choosing which one to start with!

Take a look at the wide range

of projects available …
 Home Pages
It’s the first page you visit when you type a company’s
website into your Internet browser, and therefore, it’s the most
important page. It has to quickly grab the reader's attention
and give them assurance that they've reached the right spot.
And as you can imagine, clients are more than willing to pay a
lot to make sure it’s written well.

Web Writing Opportunities 5

 A day in the life of a web writer …
On Monday, you start writing a small website. Five
to six pages tops, and it’s nothing fancy. It may take
you a couple of days, and your client has happily
agreed to pay you $2,000 to do it.
Then mid-week, you begin writing a single landing
page project, which you normally charge $1,000 to
write. But, then you suggest to your client that she
also let you write some online ads to drive people to
that page, as well as the follow-up emails that will be
sent to the people who respond to your ads.
What was originally a $1,000 project has turned
into $3,000 … just for spending a couple more days
writing a few ads and emails.
It’s only been a week, and you’ve already made
$5,000!
Take Friday off!

 Product and Service Sales Pages

Just like the home page, these pages have a very specific
task: to sell a particular product or service. So once again,
clients are willing to pay a lot to have them written.

But, don’t worry if writing sales copy isn’t your thing …

As a web writer, there are many projects where you won’t

need to sell — EVER!

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 Information Pages
In addition to pages that sell, websites are typically made
up of many pages that provide information. They may include
information about the company, Frequently Asked Questions,
information on a topic in the company’s industry, etc. Your job
isn’t to sell here, but rather simply to inform.

 Landing Pages
A landing page is a
web page where you The most common type
intentionally direct
of landing page offers
people, because you
the reader something in
want them to see a
exchange for an action,
specific message about
like entering your email
a particular topic, rather
than a home page that
address.
may include copy about
any number of topics.
The most common type of landing page offers the reader
something in exchange for an action, like entering your email
address. They’re easy to write once you get the hang of what
works, and extremely valuable to the client, which makes this
opportunity very profitable for you.

 Emails
Email is still one of the biggest moneymakers available to
online businesses, since they’re inexpensive, and allow the
company to put new sales messages in front of their customers
again and again with little effort. Web writers get paid
anywhere from $100 to $500 per email, and once they get
good at it, only have to spend a couple of hours writing.

Web Writing Opportunities 7

  Blog Posts
Companies use blogs to communicate, engage, and create
strong bonds with their prospects and customers. Oftentimes,
they don't always have the time, manpower, or the know-how
to write their own blog posts. And that spells easy money for a
web writer.

 E-newsletters
Another way companies build relationships with their
prospects and customers is by sending out a regular
e-newsletter. And, if you’re looking for a regular paycheck
every month, these are the perfect gigs to land since often a
client will want you to write them regularly.

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 You can specialize if you prefer …
Barefoot Writer Jay White specializes in writing
emails, and charges $500 for each one. He
recommends that his clients have at least 7 emails in
an autoresponder series.
Which means he earns on average $3,500 per
project ($500 x 7 emails).
Now, if you’re just starting out, you can charge a
minimum of $100 — $250 per email and work your
way up. But, at 7 emails per autoresponder series,
that’s still $700 — $1,750 per project!
And, when you consider that each email takes 30
— 60 minutes to write, you can complete an entire
project in just a few hours.
In fact, this is exactly what Jay does. He works a few
hours in the morning and then takes the rest of the
day off to golf or spend time with his family.

 Video scripts
According to Google and MSN, online videos can boost
sales a whopping 72%! It's no wonder there's a big and
growing demand for web writers who can write effective and
compelling video scripts.

See what I mean when I say there’s no shortage of

projects? And, these aren’t even all of the opportunities
available for web writers! So, if you’re looking for variety,
writing for the Web may be the best writing path for you.

Of course, that’s only one of the benefits …

Web Writing Opportunities 9

 An endless stream of assignments …
Companies love testing new copy on the Web. It’s cheap.
Plus, they can read the results almost instantly.

That’s why they test lots of different copy approaches as

often as they possibly can.

And, get this …

As a web writer, this means you have the potential for

getting one assignment after another … all from the same
client! Land just two or three clients, and you could be booked
solid for months at a time.

Plus, clients don’t just hire you to write one of the projects
discussed earlier. More often than not, a client who needs
a landing page also needs a series of emails, additional
information pages, and e-newsletter copy written. So, what
starts as one small project, often turns into a much larger
group of projects … followed by more.

Which leads me to the final big benefit …

The money is good … REALLY good.

Now, as with all writing opportunities, the amount of
money you can make depends on your ability, as well as how
effectively you can market yourself. But, even someone who’s
new to this world and doesn’t have a whole lot of experience
marketing their services to potential clients can easily make
$30K, $40K, $50K a year.

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 But, if you’re willing to put the effort in, and really work, it’s
possible to hit six-figures by the end of the first year. It’s one
of the reasons I’m so passionate about this writing opportunity.
How much you make is completely up to you.

And, don’t worry if you’re not a “technical person” …

Technical know-how isn’t required.

When you write for the web, you’ll be hired to write the
copy. Your job will be to come up with the words. And the
technical people will take care of the rest.

Over time, you’ll end up picking up bits and pieces, simply

because you’ll be around it. But, you don’t have to have any
previous experience, or be able to do any of the technical work
yourself.

Of course, if you like the technical side of things, you

can always offer to do the work and get paid even more for
additional services. But, it’s not necessary.

How do you get started?

The key is to choose one opportunity, learn how to write it,
and start working for clients. Then if you’d like, start learning
another skill, while you’re getting paid for the first. When
you’re done learning the new skill, let your clients know, and
start making money at it … and repeat the cycle again, as
often as you’d like.

Web Writing Opportunities 11

 One way to start learning the various forms of web writing
is to take online copywriting expert Nick Usborne's Copywriting
2.0: Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts.
It covers all of the web projects discussed earlier … and more
… and will give you a thorough understanding of all things
Web.

You can also join Wealthy Web Writer, an online

membership community for aspiring and professional web
writers that provides step-by-step roadmaps to follow,
job opportunities, and over 100 hours of training from the
industry’s top web-writing experts.

Right now, companies

across America are pumping
BILLIONS (over $36 billion
by 2012, to be more precise)
into online advertising. And,
they need words — your
words — to set them apart
from their competition. For
their home pages … their
landing pages … email
campaigns … e-newsletters
… blogs … sales pages … and
more.

Become a web writer today, and start filling that demand!

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