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When it comes to freelance writing jobs two questions are often asked, where are they obtained, and how much should a writer charge for his or her services? The answer to both questions is not a black or white one, but there are some tried and true methods of both picking up freelance writing jobs, and finding the appropriate rate to charge that will have you writing for greenbacks before you know it.

One can not start charging money for their writing services without a client, thus it is first and foremost the job of a new freelance writer to seek out work before deciding what to charge. Doing this can be a daunting task, since most new freelance writers have little to no professional experience. Lesson the blow of stress and anxiety by creating several feature articles on a favorite set of topics that can showcase your work.

Once a basic portfolio of the written work has been created, it is time to start searching for freelance writing jobs. Start the search for writing gigs by looking on the large freelance websites that offer an abundance of content thirsty clients looking for a professional writer.

Another great place to find freelance writing jobs is online forums. Forums, especially those dedicated to webmaster tips and discussion offer a virtual jackpot of writing opportunities. Since the web is still dominated with the written word, there is no better client than that of a webmaster with a series of niche sites that is in need of constant content. Further, webmasters tend to be more patient with new writers as long as the rates are relatively inexpensive.

Whether you land your first freelance writing job from one of the big name freelance job boards online, or from a online forum, make sure to start with an affordable menu of prices. While some new writers can instantly charge larger than average rates for their work, most start with modest fees to help gain a client base and build up their portfolio.

While the term modest is left up to reader interpretation, charging between $20 and $100 per page would fall into that category of affordable writing services. This also will differentiate your services from the glut of writers that attempt to command rates 5 to 10 times the above amount.

Remember, there will always be time in the future to raise your rates, create retainer packages, and come up with ways to earn more for writing less, however when starting out it is imperative to keep it cheap for the clients so they have an incentive to take a risk on a new writer.

Finally, be sure to be persistent in your search for freelance writing jobs. Without doubt you will face some adversity along the way to becoming an established freelance writer, but for those that stick to the above advice a world of creative satisfaction and financial stability awaits.

Ron Subs is a marketing consultant for the bestselling book The Definitive Guide to Making Money Online with Your Writing. For more information about the book and the author visit Http://www.WriterWork.com

You can create attentive and receptive readers by developing and using the right copywriting skills. Good copywriting can be the answer to phenomenal sales, and even a small adjustment in copy can have large impact on results.

Do you have a website? Do you have an opt-in page? Are you getting traffic? Or are you agonizing over what to promote or what to write about on a blog or in a newsletter?

Is the blank screen staring back at you expecting a response, but your eyes glaze over and your brain begins thinking of what is on Television. You get up for a snack, settle into another exciting episode of a favourite television program and forgot that you were going to write those killer emails or blog posts so you can make some money?

Does the idea of trying to write world-class copy, copy that gets response, cause sweat to pour from your palms and drip from your brow? Do you put off what you know you should do, but just don’t get around to it because you’re unsure of how to get started or what to write about or how to write messages that generates responses?

Then it happens, another day goes by without anything loaded into your autoresponder or posted to your website or blog that could have earned you a commission! Another lost opportunity! Does this sound familiar?

Well, you’re not alone…it is estimated that 97% of those with online interests have a general grasp on how to setup a squeeze page and get decent traffic, but when it comes time to selecting and extracting benefits from a sales page and writing killer response pulling copy, they are less sure of themselves.

Crafting your online messages in a way that draws the reader into the copy using techniques like trance inducing language will create a massive increase in your conversions and sales. If you’re like most people online you just want to see results.

Including trance inducing language in your messages can get the attention of your reader and put them into a highly receptive state of mind. That’s all it does. But the results are spectacular! The most successful online marketers hire the best to write this kind of copy for them. Trance inducing language can create large sales figures.

Your messages work harder for you when you include trance inducing language which triggers trance-like attentiveness. Instead of the one-thousand-and-one things that are going on around them every minute of every day, readers feel compelled to follow your message paths.

Sometimes it’s almost magical the way these messages get people to respond. Of course, there’s nothing really magical, in the supernatural sense of the word… but the results can be magical!

People act on messages because they are drawn into the words and thoughts Even if they do not accept them 100%, they do not want to give up a potential advantage by continuing to read your message.

So here is a powerful formula for creating massive response. It could be considered to be a million dollar technique:

Draw people into your message in a way that suspends their skepticism long enough to convince themselves that if they don’t follow you they will be missing out on some key advantage they could obtain from you either now or in the near future.

You can induce deep attention or a trance-like state in your audience on command once you learn how. Help your reader get into a highly focused and attentive state while guiding them to take your predetermined most desired action.

Making money online comes down to how good you are at crafting a message that will focus the attention of the reader, keep their attention and lead them to take an action, an action such as click through to a website and order the product, thus generating a commission.

Each message has a specific job to do and should be created with the reader in mind, and to extract the maximum desired response from the reader. Their object is simple, get clicks through to the product site and predispose the reader to order now.

A subject line should be crafted carefully to create curiosity, and to increase the open rates, and also to lead into the body of the messages. The first message should bring the reader in to an attentive and involved state by building the rapport and drawing them into the flow of the copy.

The message should also be introducing the product and communicating the power of the benefits of the product and also suspending skepticism long enough and simultaneously making the reader immensely curious to bring them to click through to the site wanting to learn more.

An attentive state can be induced by the use of question and answer formats. This can also enable the answering of objections before they arise. When questions are answered, the reader is moved closer to the purchase decision.

Bullet points should be used to highlight the benefits and again move the reader towards the step of clicking through.

But, of course, sending a single message gets some sales, but it is widely known that the majority of the real profits come from the follow ups. Trance copy should also be used in additional messages for promoted products. The copy in each message needs to be carefully crafted using trance copy techniques to engage and to create maximum desired response, leading them to act now.

If you are not currently promoting a product, you can start your search at Clickbank, and choose a relevant product which is showing good results and good return.

Outsourcing high-level copywriting could be expensive, so it is wise to invest in and develop your copywriting skills. There can be big dollars in good copy and the lucrative results it can generate.

Courtesy Jules Hawk. For a gift audio on copywriting skills, go to http://www.writecopynow.com and for the easy copywriting solution visit: http://www.cashcreators.affiliatewealthsuccess.com

Someone once said that the invention of the Internet was the most innovative thing that has happened to the professional writer since the creation of moveable type. There’s no doubt that after a shaky start a decade ago, web content is here to stay as a juggernaut that twists and turns as it evolves through the exorbitant professional writer rates that were charged and the cheap overseas copy that was found in the end to actually turn business away. Like any other transformation, the writer who makes his/her living from the web needs to shed some of their old beliefs and attitudes to keep up in this new world.

Statistics show that the average office worker spends about thirty hours a week looking at a computer screen. And although computers have made it easier to share and pass along information, reading from a monitor has proven itself so far to be less effective than paper. Because of the slight flicker that’s present with monitors and the fact the resolution is a little harder on the eye, the experts have been able to ascertain that reading from a screen is 25% slower than paper.

So this means that the professional writer will have a different set of criteria they need to address when they’re writing for the Internet; because they’re up against a medium where people find it more laborious to read off their monitors and they tire out more quickly, the adaptable writer comes to the conclusion that they must somehow adapt their style to this new wave of progress. At least one of the ways to do that is by shoring up on the tenets of good old fashion journalism and cut the fat from everything you write.

Get to the point. Be brief and concise. These have always been the trademarks of anything that’s well written anywhere, but these adages take on an added urgency when you’re dealing with a standard where the professional writer will have on average nine seconds to hook someone’s attention before they click away. While every word always counted back in the days where all our information came on paper, the amount of avenues that allow readers to get the same input different ways has increased exponentially with the Internet forcing writers of all kinds to sharpen their skills.

However, while writing for the Internet should be anything but bland, there is an apparent lack of tolerance for self-indulgence present at the same time. The best content seems to follow the rules of all good writing and be factual, clear and lean.

Robert Starr is a professional writer/editor with several published books and a degree in journalism. He’s brought 20 years of experience in the craft to his own online writing/editing service. You can reach him at

http://www.robstarr.org/index.php

Let’s assume you have a brilliant product or service, and you want to make it an absolute no brainer for people to buy it. What can you do? One of the best things you can do is to take away all the risk for the purchaser and give a guarantee.

People these days are worried about being ripped off and want some reassurance that you will not do that to them. By offering a guarantee you reassure them of your good intentions and in doing so, you will reduce their resistance to buying your goods or services.

All businesses can offer voluntary guarantees in addition to those required by law no matter if they are selling goods or services. You just need to be a bit creative. You can offer:

* Money back guarantees – where you refund the purchase price for whatever reason

* Time guarantees – where you guarantee a person to be on time or a job to be completed on time

* Satisfaction guarantee – where you guarantee people will be happy with your product

* Results guarantee – where you guarantee a particular result will be obtained (e.g.: page 1 on Google for 50% of your keywords within 12 months)

* Product guarantee – where you guarantee the particular qualities of a product (e.g.: won’t go hard in the tube)

* Price guarantee – where you guarantee a particular price point (often used if someone sees the same product elsewhere advertised at a lower price)

* Service guarantees – where you guarantee a particular standard of service

Here are my top 10 tips for guarantees:

1. The longer the better! In most parts of the world, people are entitled to a refund within 30 days of purchase. The fascinating thing is that the longer the guarantee the less likely it is that someone will return it. If you only give a 30 day guarantee you place urgency on the person to use it/test it and then get back to you if they are unhappy, you are triggering increased returns. By extending the guarantee period you will surprisingly reduce your return rate. The longer the guarantee = the stronger the guarantee.

2. Go beyond the norm for your industry. Remember when cars used to have a 12 month warranty and then one company suddenly offered a 3 year warranty – what happened to their sales? Go beyond the norm in your industry for your guarantee and test the results.

3. Give 100% back. If you are going to give a guarantee then give every cent back to the consumer. Don’t hold back handling fees or other fees and charges. Give the lot back! You will end up with happier customers and less returns.

4. Take out the fine print. If you offer conditional guarantees you will create bad blood with your customers. Take out all the “subject to” and “if you tell the person at the time of the event” type of words. It is best to offer an unconditional guarantee for the most power and yes that means if they don’t like the colour of your shirt they can ask for a refund.

5. Take out the hype. In the past few years some people have been offering “triple your money back”, “$100 for your trouble” type of guarantees. People see them for the hype they are and steer away from them, particularly in the Australian culture. If your product is as good as you say it is, a straight money back guarantee is enough.

6. They make you cringe. The best guarantees will make you feel a slight cringe in your stomach as a business owner. You may feel worried there will be hordes of people lining up to get their money back. The truth is you will get a few returns, but the good will you will generate is priceless. If your guarantee doesn’t make you slightly cringe you need to stretch it.

7. Focus on the positives. Write your guarantee in a positive way “if you are not overjoyed with our XYZ product for any reason simply returns it for a full refund”.

8. Act quickly. If you get a refund request, then you need to action it within 24 hours if possible. The longer you delay, the unhappier the person will become and the greater the problem you are creating for your business.

9. Don’t take it personally. Treat all refund requests as merely feedback that you need to listen to rather than a personal attack and treat the person making the request as a valued client rather than a problem. By not taking it personally you have the opportunity to build relations rather than break them down.

10. Honour your commitments. With all voluntary guarantees you need to honour their terms and conditions. By stating a voluntary guarantee you have created a contract with the person and you could be up for penalties if you don’t honour your commitments.

If you want to learn more about your legal obligations for warranties and refunds in Australia visit the ACCC website.

Ingrid Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter and Human Resources Consultant to Small Businesses with her business Heart Harmony. Ingrid writes a free weekly small business newsletter and Small Business Ideas blog for small businesses. http://www.heartharmony.com.au

There has been a major shift in how people buy things and relate to companies in the past 3 years and this trend is brilliant for small business. The trend is away from “buying a brand” to “buying the person behind the brand”.

We have been disillusioned by big business so now we are looking to know the faces behind the names of the brand. We want to know their personalities, what makes them tick and can we trust them to do what they say they will.

Some indicators of this trend are the shift in ads on TV. Gone are the ads promoting a company Woolworths the Fresh Food People to be replaced with ads showing core Woolies employees showing their expertise with fruit by showing weekly information about new seasons fruit and vegies. Bunnings shows their employees talking in their words about their company. Even the banks are cashing in showing their tellers in social settings.

Other indicators are the growth in reality TV programs – love them or loath them they reflect a societal trend towards wanting to know what makes people tick.

This trend has also shifted into writing. Gone are the boring web pages or brochures with “we try harder”. People expect more. They want to know more. They want to know what it will be like to work with you.

This means you need to go back through all of your writing … all of your webpages … all of your letters and brochures. Do the words you are currently using reflect you and your personality? Do they let your customers a glimpse of the person behind the product? If you read them and had to describe the personality of the business what would you describe it as?

Here are my top 5 tips to put personality back into your writing.

1. Identify the person behind the brand. You need to work out who is going to be the person profiled behind the brand. Generally it is the Managing Director for small companies … but not always. Do some digging to find out interesting facts about them, what they think about or what they believe in. Use these facts in your writing to help people identify your brand.

2. Get a warm approachable photo. All stuffy studio shots need to be instantly binned. Look for ones that show the personality of the person.

3. Write as you speak. One of the things good copywriters do when we talk with clients is to listen to how the person talks. We pick up sentence flows, words the clients commonly use, phrasing and common sayings. We weave their way of speaking into the writing so we are writing with their voice. This means that people get a strong sense of the person and the product and there is no disconnect between the words they read and the words they hear when they go to the business.

4. Tell stories. Parables and stories are some of the most powerful psychological tools available. Many top psychologists through history would only tell stories, or part of stories and allow the mind to work to fill in the blanks as part of their therapeutic approach (Milton Erickson was one of the masters of this strategy).

Learn from psychologists and weave in hero stories, plotlines and metaphors into your words. In small business the story can be as simple as how you first discovered a particular product and why you like it – just tell it as a story.

5. Insert emotion. Personality is messy, complex and full of contrasts. Emotion is a big part of what makes up personality. The old way to write was to wring all of the juice out of your words to make them dry, academic and clinical. Now you need to put the juice back in – you are not “happy to introduce a new product”, you are “jumping out of your skin excited to bring this brilliant new product to your customers”.

Your email sign-off should not be “regards” or “yours sincerely”. Your sign off should reflect your personality and should be an indicator of what you are like to work with.

The best part of writing with personality is it feels like all straight-jackets have been removed. You no longer are stuck trying to fit yourself into a narrow box of “acceptable”.

Allow your personality to shine through and people will naturally flock to you. Yes, you may also turn away some customers who don’t identify with you – but the even better news is that they were usually the customers you had problems with.

By allowing yourself to shine you naturally attract people aligned to you and your message which is great for you and great for your business.

Ingrid Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with her Brisbane Copywriting Business (Heart Harmony). Ingrid writes a free weekly small business newsletter packed full of articles and tips and Small Business Ideas blog for small businesses. http://www.heartharmony.com.au