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Add These 5 Services to Your Freelance Writing Business

March 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Lately, I’ve been receiving requests from business owners to review and provide feedback on their websites. Savvy-Writer will be receiving a makeover. I have a graphic design background and an eye for design which is why I want to learn web design. I love WordPress but am not a fan of the ‘free’ web templates available for it. Sometimes I wonder why web designers choose the color schemes they do. Why do they use graphics that take up half of the home page? If you enjoy designing, consulting, or teaching, you could add these services to your freelance writing business. You may think, “I don’t have the time to do this additional work.” You could always outsource it!

It’s good to have multiple streams of income. If you love computers and understand how to install software, you could offer this as a side to your freelance writing. If this doesn’t appeal to you, create a new business. For example, some baby boomers and senior citizens may not be computer literate. You could create a side business by offering services such as installation of software, teaching computer classes to boomers and seniors, or writing an eBook especially for them. Use your skills to help others and earn additional income at the same time.

Add These 5 Services to Your Freelance Writing Business

Graphic Design. I’m very grateful I have a graphic design certification because it allows me to create my own graphics and ‘tweak’ web designs. I still have a lot to learn and plan to further my graphic design education. If you have an interest in graphic design, check your local adult education centers to see if they offer a certification program. The alternative is to take classes at the local community college or enroll in a B.A. program.

Web Design. If you’re like me, you like to adjust your website. Not only will web design serve you, it will serve your clients. You can offer consultations on how they can improve their websites or you can totally redesign their websites.

Social Media Consultant. Most business owners still don’t understand social media or why they would need to use it. You could add ‘social media consultant’ to your freelance writing business and help owners take advantage the free social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and others.

Computer Consultant. Are you secretly a techie? You know who you are! You love to install software and figure out how to ‘debug’ programs. If you add computer consultant to your freelance writing business services, you could triple your income. Business owners don’t want to deal with installing new programs or figuring out how they work. You could install new software and make recommendations for upgrades. If you have a computer programming background, perhaps you could write them a program that works for them. It’s something to consider.

Teacher. How are your communication skills? Are you able to articulate information in an easy, understandable way? If you answered “Yes,” consider teaching classes and workshops. Obviously you can teach others how to become freelance writers, but how about teaching them how to use social media? How about teaching them how to write query letters? What teaching them how to market their services? You’d be surprised how many people want to become writers but are either afraid or don’t know how to get started. You can help them realize their dreams. Go for it!

Rebecca

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Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Savvy-Writer.com Named One of Constant Contact’s 2010 All Stars

March 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Savvy-Writer.com Named One of Constant Contact’s 2010 All Stars

Savvy-Writer’s use of Constant Contact products and services helped increase its overall marketing performance and deepen its engagement with customers

PARMA OH — 3/17/11 – Rebecca Sebek, owner of Savvy-Writer.com, a freelance writing service provider, has received the 2010 All Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc., the trusted marketing advisor to more than 400,000 small organizations worldwide. Savvy-Writer.com is one of Constant Contact’s 2010 top performers and most prolific user of its tools, whether within Constant Contact’s email marketing, event marketing, social media marketing, or survey products – or a combination of all four.

“I’m thrilled to be recognized by Constant Contact for the use of their newsletter service. This was totally unexpected and a wonderful surprise! Constant Contact’s newsletter service helps me provide subscribers with a newsletter that contains information not found on Savvy-Writer.com. In the future, I plan to utilize Constant Contact’s ‘Online Survey and Event Marketing’ tools to help me take Savvy-Writer.com to the next level. I’m also the owner of DEOR Consulting, a teen/parent coaching company, and plan to implement a monthly newsletter using Constant Contact’s service. It’s fast and easy to use which is what I like.”

Constant Contact looked at criteria including the following when selecting this year’s All Stars:

  • Frequency of campaigns, events and surveys
  • Open, bounce and click through rates
  • Usage of social features
  • Mailing list sign up tools
  • Use of reporting tools

“We work hard to listen to our customers, and we use that feedback to create products and services designed to help them better engage with their customers and prospects,” said Gail Goodman, chairman, president and CEO of Constant Contact. “The Constant Contact All Star Awards are our way of recognizing our customers that have successfully used Constant Contact to market their companies. We have some of the most committed, passionate customers out there and we’re proud we can be a part of their continued success.”

About Constant Contact, Inc.
Constant Contact is revolutionizing the success formula for small organizations through affordable, easy-to-use Engagement Marketing™ tools that help create and grow customer relationships. More than 400,000 small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and member associations worldwide rely on Constant Contact as their engagement hub for starting and driving ongoing customer dialogs through email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, and online surveys. All Constant Contact products come with unrivaled know how, education and free coaching with a personal touch, including award-winning customer support.

Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Rebecca Sebek
Savvy-Writer.com
480-208-1599
savvywriter.rebecca@gmail.com

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7 Deadly Sins of a Freelance Writer

March 2, 2011 by 2 Comments

Are you committing the “7 Deadly Sins of a Freelance Writer?” This is something you should never do if you want to be a prosperous freelance writer. By committing these deadly sins, you condemn yourself to a lifetime of damnation! You can avoid this is you know the deadly sins of a freelance writer. Now, go forth and and be all the freelance writer you can be!

7 Deadly Sins of a Freelance Writer

Not writing every day. If you don’t write every day, how will you strengthen your writing skills? Freelance writers who don’t write every day will have weak writing skills. It’s imperative to exercise your writing muscles if you want to be a top freelance writer. It’s no different than an athlete who wants to stay in shape. They can’t participate in competitions if they’re weak. You can’t be the best freelance writer you can be if you don’t write every day.

Listening to others who say, “You can’t have a freelance writing career.” This isn’t easy if you have family and friends who aren’t supportive. This could be hurtful but that’s life. Find people who’ll support your dream and ignore those who aren’t supportive.

Not reading. If you don’t like to read, you may not enjoy being a freelance writer. How will you hone your skills if you don’t read? There are many books that can help you strengthen your writing and freelance writing business. Purchase some of these books and educate yourself. If you’re interested in ghostwriting, you’ll want to read books by your favorite authors. When someone contacts you to ghostwrite their YA book, you’ll understand how to write and market to the YA market.

Ignoring social media. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be your best friends if you know how to utilize them. You can find freelance writing opportunities through these networks. Also, you can connect with other writers, editors, and clients.

Not participating in networking opportunities. If you live in an area that has a plethora of networking opportunities take advantage of them. Remember, you’re in the business of solving problems and sales and marketing. How can you help? What do you offer that another freelance writer doesn’t? Be professional and make it about your clients not about you.

Being lackadaisical about proofreading. You can’t get away from this one. If you don’t like to proofread, hire a proofreader if you can afford it. Clients expect that you proofread your work. Editors expect that you proofread your work. Proofreading is here to stay!

You don’t have a blog/website. How can clients find you? If you don’t have a blog/website, you’re missing out on opportunities. People expect that you’ll have a blog/website. You don’t have to have anything fancy. All you need is a website that will attract clients/readers and showcases your writing.

Rebecca

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Networking, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , ,

Increase Your Facebook Fan Page by Talking about Facebook

February 21, 2011 by 3 Comments

How would you like to increase your Facebook page? Many freelance writers, authors, businesses, and professionals have Facebook fan pages for different reasons. Authors and freelance writers use them to increase book sales and or gain clients. If your fan page doesn’t have many fans, talking about Facebook could change that. This sounds off beat but it’s true. People like to read about Facebook. Freelance writers can write blogs or articles about FB as a way to engage fans to discuss the posts.

Remember, there are many Facebook fan pages to select from on Facebook. What makes your fan page special? I’ve been asking myself this lately. I have a strong Twitter following but would like to increase my FB fan base. How can I do this? I can talk about Facebook on my fan page, hold contests, encourage discussions, and provide ‘unique’ content. These strategies are a good start to attracting fans.

Other ways to gain fans for your Facebook page

  • Talk about Facebook.
  • Write unique content.
  • Be controversial.
  • Ask your fans what they want.
  • Encourage discussions amongst your fans.
  • Buy advertising on FB.
  • Hold contests and give away a product or service.

If you have a desire to be a best-selling author, you’ll want to market and sell your books. Authors can use a FB fan page to interact with fans and strengthen their communication skills. If you’re shy (some writers are), your FB fan page is a great way to get over your shyness. Remember, your fans paid money for your books and want to feel a connection to you. Encourage fans to discuss the characters in your book or how they relate to the topic of your non-fiction book. You’ll increase your fan page in no time.

Increase your Facebook fan page by talking about Facebook. Test it out and see what happens. You may be surprised how you attract fans. Make sure you ask family, friends, and colleagues to ‘like’ your fan page. In fact, they could spread the word for you. After all, word-of-mouth advertising is still the #1 way to advertise!

Rebecca

Do you have a FB page? What are you doing to increase the number of fans? Share.

Filed Under: Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Tips and Tricks, Travel Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Should You Start a Blog?

February 14, 2011 by 2 Comments

To start a blog or not to start a blog — that is the question. The internet is full of blogs on many, many subjects. Some professionals don’t think they need a blog but freelance writers know that a blog is an easy way to showcase their writing ability. A blog is a cheap marketing tool that doesn’t take long to create, especially if you use WordPress. If you don’t have a blog, you may want to consider starting one.

I have a couple of blogs: one for Savvy-Writer.com, a personal blog, an advocacy blog, and a parent/teen life coaching website that has two blogs on it. This may seem a bit extreme but I’m a freelance writer and a blog is fabulous way for me to showcase my range as a writer. A blog allows me to prove to clients that I can write on any topic. Of course, some topics require more research than others but I get the job done.

Why start a blog?

If you’re starting out as a freelance writer, a blog can act as your portfolio. Clients request samples of work all of the time. Give them a link to your blog, and they’ll be able to review your work. It’s a lot easier than sending a Word or PDF document, unless, of course, clients ask for writing samples in these formats. Yes, sometimes they do!

A blog is one way to promote your business. Most clients or customers like to read blogs because they provide information they need. Customers want to know ‘how to’ do something or ‘why’ they should do it. Blog posts often offer a benefit or reward to customers; they’ll appreciate learning something new for free.

Should you start a blog?

Blogs serve many purposes. Perhaps you’re a travel writer or just a traveler who wants to document your every move throughout the world. You can set-up a “Where in the World Am I?” blog and keep readers, family, and friends updated on your travels. Who knows, it could lead to a career as a travel writer!

Whether or not you start a blog is entirely up to you. You can optimize posts through SEO — carefully selected keywords, phrases, and tags. It would be wise for a freelance writer to have a blog because it’s great advertising for your business. If you’re an experienced freelance writer, you can teach beginning freelance writers a thing or two about the business. Happy blogging!

Rebecca

Do you have a blog? Why? Why Not? Share.

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