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Excess Voice Newsletter
February 2007, Issue # 124
In this issue:
>> Intro: Our own space
>> Review: The Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey, Volume 2.
>> Article: ...watch for the moment when you hit your “confident writing zone”
>> Survey: For how long have you been writing?
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Greetings,
In the last issue I asked whether you had a dedicated work area at home. It seems most of us do. Not everyone. But about 80% of the people who replied seem to have a home office of some kind.
In this issue’s survey I ask a question I have asked a couple of times before over the last three years. For how long have you been writing? It might be interesting to see whether the figures are any different from the last time I posed the question.
This week’s article will, hopefully, be of particular interest to anyone who has faced the challenge of writing a complete web site, page by page.
And the review is worth looking at too. It’s about Volume 2 of Chris Marlow’s Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey. Lots of updates and new information.
Until next time,
Nick
Nick Usborne
Newsletter: http://www.excessvoice.com
Copywriting and consulting: http://www.nickusborne.com
>> Feedback: nick@excessvoice.com
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REVIEW: The Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey, Volume 2.
This is the second volume of this survey, fully up to date, and with a lot more information on what to charge for your freelance copywriting work, how to find new assignments, and more.
This second volume includes benchmark guides to help you price 40 different types of writing jobs – from direct mail to white papers, from web pages to emails etc.
In addition, it includes information on how much copywriters earn, how they find new assignments and how they maximize their own productivity.
Whether you are a freelance copywriter right now, or are hoping to become one, you will find this survey an essential resource when it comes to finding, estimating and securing new copywriting work.
Read my full review here...
http://www.excessvoice.com/copywriting-fees-survey.htm
>> Previous Reviews
::: At ExcessVoice.com :::
#1. MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007
If email marketing is part of your business, persuade your employer to buy a copy of this guide. It will give you the benchmark figures you need, and insights into some important upcoming trends, like the growth in mobile messaging.
Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/email-marketing.htm
#2. Self Publishing – Your complete business plan for creating a life without borders.
Written by Gary Scott and published by the American Writers & Artists Institute, this 350+ page guide will show you how to become a successful self-publisher. Its takes you through an eleven-step product development process, complete with case histories, exercises, sample sales letter and more.
Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/self-publishing.htm
::: At Freelance Writing Success :::
#1. Secrets of Writing for the Business to Business Market
There are 8 million business-to-business companies out there. And they all need good sales copy. The opportunity in B2B copywriting is huge, and this 350+ page course tells you everything you need to know about getting your own slice of the market.
Read my review:
http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com/B2B-copywriting.php
#2. The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course
Part-time or full time, travel writing is a wonderful way to make an income from writing about distant lands, or even about your own community.
http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com/travel.php
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ARTICLE: As you write your web site, watch for the moment when you hit your “confident writing zone”.
Perhaps the headline doesn’t make complete sense right now...but it will in a while, I hope.
Let’ say you have chosen a topic for your site, and that it’s going to be a content-rich site with maybe a hundred pages or more. Eventually.
And we’ll assume that your topic is something you have some knowledge of, and are interested in.
Well, you have to start writing at some point, and like many people, you’ll probably start with the home page, and then start writing some second level pages with strong keywords.
>> Switching now to my personal experience with one of my own sites about coffee...
I knew a fair amount about coffee before I started. And the topic interests me enough to keep me enthusiastic about learning more and writing more.
But, like everyone, I had to start somewhere.
I started with the home page and quickly added some second level pages, just to get something “up there”.
From there I was writing a new page once every other day or so. And I kept a steady pace until I hit the twenty-page mark. Or something like that.
Like many other people, I was anxious to get pages uploaded and indexed by the major search engines.
>> But I didn’t hit a mature and confident voice for quite a while...
As you write your site you’ll find that you are learning more and more about your topic as you go along.
The more pages you write, the more you learn. And the more you learn, the more confident you become in your knowledge.
As a result, you’ll find yourself settling into a much more confident writing style. Or, put another way, your voice will become more certain and consistent.
This maturing of your writing style and voice, and the confidence it communicates, is an essential ingredient of any good content site.
Your readers will hear that tone of confidence, and they will feel more comfortable as a result. And with comfort comes a growing level of trust.
They’ll view you as an authority, because you sound like an authority.
>> OK, so how about those first 20 pages?
Good question.
Writing my coffee site, I know I didn’t hit that “confident writing zone” for quite a while.
So I went back over the earlier pages. I didn’t rewrite them all. But I did edit most of them.
Maybe doing that confused Google for a little while. But I felt it important that every page on the site carry the same voice.
After the rewrites, my early pages not only sounded a lot better, but they also matched every other page on the site in terms of tone, voice and feel.
>> There’s nothing weird here...
Taking time to hit your pace is a familiar event for most professional writers.
It happens when you’re writing an article too.
You might be two thirds of the way through an article before the light bulb goes on, and you suddenly discover what it is you should have been saying, and how you should have been sounding, right from the start.
If you’re writing a seven hundred word article, this is no big deal. You simply start over.
It happens to me all the time.
>> But with your web site...
Clearly a web site requires a lot more writing than an article.
And because you are learning so much as you go, and you’re becoming more finely attuned to the market you are in and the people you are writing to, this “aha” moment may take quite a while to arrive.
But be sure you are aware that the moment will arrive. Listen out for it.
When you have written a few pages that came out easily, and are all in the same confident, relaxed tone, that’s the time to sit back and see what you have done.
Re-read those pages. Become intimately familiar with the tone and style you have adopted.
And then...at least this is what I did...go back and edit your earlier pages, particularly those which no longer seem to ring true, or feel quite right.
As I said, Google may get a little confused for a while.
But your readers won’t.
They’ll love your confidence and trust your content.
** If you would prefer to read this article on the web, or would like to forward the url to a colleague or friend, you'll find it here:
http://www.excessvoice.com/sbi-confidence.htm
NOTE: This article was originally written for an audience of people using the Site Build It service. The version in this newsletter has been slightly modified.
The link above takes you to the original article.
>> Feedback: nick@excessvoice.com
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AND...
If you work from home or are thinking about working from home, I recently completed the first in a series of short ebooks on the subject. These are based on my own experience over the last thirty years.
Here: http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com/quit-your-job.php
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SURVEY: For how long have you been writing?
More specifically, if you are a writer or copywriter, for how long have you been writing professionally?
[ ] Under 1 year
[ ] 1 - 5 years
[ ] 6 - 10 years
[ ] 11 - 15 years
[ ] 16 - 20 years
[ ] Over 20 years
[ ] I'm not a writer
Comments: ....
(NOTE: Any comments and your name may be published in the next issue, or on the Excess Voice web site.)
Cut and paste your replies to me at nick@excessvoice.com
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NICK USBORNE'S SERVICES:
Yes, I do more than write articles and publish newsletters.
Ask me to write for your site, emails and newsletters.
http://www.nickusborne.com/copywriting.htm
Ask me to optimize your key offer pages...
http://www.nickusborne.com/consulting.htm
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Like coffee? Visit my coffee sites:
http://www.coffeedetective.com/
http://www.coffeebestbuys.com/
And my new blog about working from home...
http://www.homeofficeproductivity.com
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