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The Writing Journey

Helping Internet Writers Achieve Their Dreams

Onward and Upward in 2009Yesterday

Happy new year to my freelance writing friends, old and new. I trust the holidays have found you well, and wish you success in 2009.

I have to say, I’m excited about what the new year is going to bring. If 2008 was any indication, 2009 is going to be the best year for my freelancing business yet. While there may be some tough economic times in the world, there’s no business I’d rather be in.

Why am I so optimistic? There are a bunch of reasons, but I get the most encouragement by looking back over the last year. In the past 12 months, here are some of the amazing things that have happened for me:

• I started this blog, which has grown my freelance writing client base by leaps and bounds. It’s also allowed me to meet so many interesting people, network with other writers and given me the opportunity to help other writers achieve their own dreams.
• I began my coaching program, which has allowed me to help a great group of writers get their start in the business.
• I’ve grown the business to the point where I’m regularly outsourcing work, allowing me more time to focus on the business itself.
• I’ve increased my business revenue, as well as my personal revenue, by a significant factor.
• Ive been able to work together with my wife, bringing her in as a partner behind the scenes of the business.

There’s plenty more, too, but those are just the things that come to mind.

2009 promises to see all sorts of new and exciting things. While I’m still in the process of refining my business (a process that truly never ends) I am thrilled to think about some of the irons I’ve got in the fire, and some of the projects that are yet to come.

I also want to take a minute to thank everyone who has regularly read this blog, and helped me reach each milestone. As of today, I’m happy to have just shy of 1,000 RSS and email subscribers, and I’m happy that you’ve joined me on this journey.

Here’s to hoping we all have a very bright future in 2009:

When the Writer Trumps the SalespersonDecember 19 2008

There’s money in SEO writing. If you can do it right, you can make a killing. Understanding the inner workings of search engines, knowing the right keywords to pick and being able to insert them into your writing is a valued skill.

If you write on the Internet at all, chances are you do at least some SEO. If you surf the Internet at all (who doesn’t) you’ve seen perfectly-optimized SEO pages.

You’ve probably also noticed that, in many cases, perfectly-optimized SEO pages suck. The writing is contrived, sentence structure is awkward and those keywords - usually in various formats - are repeated ad nauseum. In other words, good SEO is often terrible writing.

Now, this isn’t always the case. You can optimize a page without having to make the SEO so in-your-face noticeable. (If you want to know more, go to SEO School. Naomi will tell you all there is to know about good SEO.)

What happens, though, when your client wants the SEO to be so thick you can cut it with a knife?

You have two choices: take the gig or don’t.

If you take the gig, you’re going to have to get pretty damn creative. Chances are you’re still going to wind up with a piece of work th

Freelance Writing and the Danger of IsolationDecember 17 2008

In this age of instant connectivity and social media, there really isn’t a good reason for freelance writers or other web workers to become isolated. Truly.

Still, it happens. You can become so involved in your work, in producing the content you need to produce, in dealing with clients, paying bills, hiring writers and everything else involved in the business that you wind up spending a majority of time on your own.

Is this isolation a bad thing?

Experts tell us it is. Depression is one of the most common conditions affecting web workers, according to studies. As a freelance writer, you can easily go a full day without hearing a single other person’s voice, and that can become a problem.

I’m at one of those places right now. Business is, well, busy. I’ve got lots of irons in the fire. I’ve got projects left and right. I’m pounding pavement constantly to find new clients as the economic downturn claims old clients as victims. The business is humming along fine, but it’s taking more hours to produce the same results.

What that means is I spend no time on

Writing Your Way Out Of A RecessionDecember 8 2008

I don’t know about you, but I’m about done with all of this talk about a “faltering economy,” “economic downturn,” and, worst of all, “recession.”

My state, Michigan, hasn’t really ever recovered from the hard times that started after 9/11. Back in 2005, I recall newspaper headlines declaring that Michigan was in a “one-state recession.” Times are tough here, and have been for a long time.

Am I worried about this situation? Sure. I’m worried for my friends, my extended family. I see people around me getting laid off every day, and my heart goes out to them.

But I’m not worried for myself.

The thing is, you see, I choose not to participate in the recession.

What do I mean by that, exactly? I mean, simply, that I’m not going to allow the recession to affect my income or my lifestyle. You see, there are a few facts about running a freelance writing business that can, if you’re smart about it, make your business recession-proof.

Freelance writing clients are worldwide

Right now, my biggest clients aren’t based in the United States. While I have clients in the U.S.,

Effective Client CommunicationDecember 4 2008

Something has occurred to me recently that has really changed my perspective on communicating with my freelance writing clients.

Before I tell you what it is, though, Let me start off by telling you a story.

When I was a younger man, I was horribly shy.

No, strike that. Shy isn’t the right way to say it. I had plenty of friends, and was pretty outgoing in most social situations. I was very involved in student groups, even taking leadership roles.

My problem was that I couldn’t seem to talk to a pretty girl to save my life. I’d get all nervous, tongue tied. I’d be scared to death that I’d say something stupid, embarrassing or awkward.

And then I would say something stupid, embarrassing or awkward.

It was 1994, and the Internet was still a young pup (at least, the public side of the Internet was). Everyone that was on the Internet was on AOL or, like me, Prodigy. The web was still fairly new and something of a novelty; online services were where it was at.

Now, today we take for granted the online dating services. Match.com, eHarmony and all the others hit us with TV and radio ads. Back then, however, the best you could fi