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Tips, ideas and humor for the freelance copywriter. Voted a Top 10 Writer's Site, the Copywriter Underground combines straightforward ideas with wry humor.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'business of freelancing'
An Underground Update: The Copywriter Who Turned Niche Domination Into Lucrative TV and Product Development Deals
In an earlier (and popular) Underground post I profiled niche writer Tom Gaylord – the writer who turned his lifelong passion for target air guns into a fulltime career. Two years later, Gaylord’s writing gig has mushroomed into several l...
Blogging For Money? The Feed Pauser Plugin Offers You (and Your RSS Feed) a Second Chance
With more copywriters business blogging for bucks (say that three times fast), and people now accessing streams of information more or less instantaneously, the dangers of the WordPress “Publish” button loom large. Mis-type a word in a h...
Have You Hugged Your Online Marketing Map Today?
Lately, there’s been precious little writing going on here – an odd reality given that you’ll find the word “writer” in this blog’s title. It’s not sloth. It’s a slew of new Web projects. A little teach...
The New Deal: The Network Gets the Words; The Writer Gets The Shaft
Like you, I receive the emails every week. They spell out a golden “opportunity” which allows me to write for an emerging content site. Inevitably, the arc of the communication is predictable; it always ends at a place where the site gets...
An Underground Replay: “Pay The Damned Writer”
I first published this video in November, 2007, and because it’s more timely than ever, thought I’d run the video again. Sure, Harlan Ellison is an abrasive pain in the ass, but he’s repeatedly put his money where his sizable mouth ...
The Numbers Aren’t Pretty - But Is There An Emotional Toll to Freelancing in a Recession?
Freelancers are suffering a recession-linked double-whammy - not only are clients and customers cutting budgets, but the newly unemployed are swelling the ranks of the self-employed, and driving fees downward. This New York Time article (found via t...
Note to Copywriters Worldwide: Sex & Nudity Still Sell, But Will This?
In my 23 years of pitching, I’ve never never once been tempted to bare it all (doing both myself and civilization at large a favor), but in a copywriting market ravaged by a plummeting economy and the digital era, one recently laid-off copywrit...
Eight Great Reasons I’m Still a Freelance Copywriter
I used to spontaneously craft lists just for fun, and today seems like the perfect day to revive the practice. And rather than beat around the bush, let’s just call this list the “Eight Gratifying Moments in the Life of Any Freelance Copy...
Working With Difficult Clients: When Stay & Educate, When to Leave
Google’s Visual Design Leader announced he’s leaving the company on his Stopdesign blog, suggesting the engineer-driven company had become too difficult to work for: Without a person at (or near) the helm who thoroughly understands the pr...
The Online Marketing Map (or, Why Teaching is Just Learning in Disguise)
Teaching - done right - is really just learning in disguise. And what you learn when you teach is often what you already knew, though perhaps not as deeply as you should have. I recently finished teaching the last local session of my Online Marketing...
Simple Job Tracking For Freelance Writers (or, Maybe Paper is Better)
Ad agencies want to bill every minute of employee time to their clients, so they demand daily timesheets - which require each project have a unique tracking ID. While I don’t track my time with such precision (any more), I have adapted my last ...
In a Recession, Go Where the Budgets Are Growing
Some of you may have heard a little something about a recession, and while the Intertubes are awash in strategies for freelance survival during the downturn, I thought a little actual data might be helpful. After all, my contribution to the freelance...
Happy Thanksgiving, and… You’re Fired (More on a Tough Economy)
Two days before Thanksgiving I received The Email; one of my retainer projects wasn’t going to be funded in 2009 - a victim, the client said, of the economic upheaval. No, the timing wasn’t great, but I wasn’t surprised. This was a ...
Surviving a Bad Economy: Why Businesses Need You More Than Ever
In addition to the usual workload, I’ve wiled away my “spare” time developing and teaching classes in online marketing for entrepreneurs. And yes, answering emails from copywriters wondering what to do about our cratering economy. A...
Dimensional Mailers: Misunderstood, Underutilized, and Yet Another to Set Yourself Apart
Regular readers know I’m a fan of lumpy mailers. They’re powerful self-promotion tools - the kind of tactic that invariably finds your pitch on the desk of decision makers. Of course, they’re not just a short-run tool used for self ...
Bloggers Facing Growing Risk of Lawsuit, Free Blogging Media Law Class Available
A new NPR podcast covers a topic of interest to at least some of the Underground’s readers - the rising risk of lawsuits aimed at silencing bloggers. The podcast player should appear below; if not, simply click here and play it via NPR’s ...
Post-Project Stress Syndrome, and “Who Really Owns Your Words?”
With my big, deadline-driven Web project launched and humming (for the time being), it’s time to get out of town for my anniversary. That’s what writers do; we finish the book/Web site/project, then go somewhere warm to shake off the Post...
Top Ten Blogs for Writers Contest Flies Again: I Say We’ve Already Won
Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers has once again set his “Ten Best Blogs for Writers” contest in motion, and as a Top Ten “winner” the past two years, my nose would grow long indeed if I said I wasn’t honored by t...
Building Company Blogs: What Should You Charge?
I’ve pitched blogs to several business clients. And just closed a deal (finally) for an advocacy blog/microsite. It’s not easy. Businesses don’t necessarily believe a freelance writer can write coherently about their business or th...
Cold Calling or Lumpy Mailer? Two Ways to Reach and Win New Clients
For some freelancers, acquiring new clients is a hit-or-miss process, and many wait for work to come to them. In the past, I’ve detailed my tried-and-true Six Point Lumpy Mailer Plan designed to put you in touch with high-value contacts at the ...
Instead of Flipping Houses, Try Flipping Web Sites For Fun and Profit
The New York Times fired up a story about online entrepreneurs mimicking real estate speculators: they’re buying under-performing Web sites, fixing them up, and then flipping them for a profit: Dave Hermansen did not own a bird or a cage when h...
e-Junkie Makes Selling Online “Information Products” Easier
Another good tip from Writer’s Technology Companion - this one for a $5/month online service named e-Junkie (they lose points for the name) that really looks to simplify e-book downloads, paper book sales, and more: From the Writer’s Tec...
The Ups and Downs of Freelance Copywriting: The Perils of Proposals
I’m beat. My wife and I both worked a very, very long work week. And when it lands hard on both of us at once, neither can pick up the slack. It’s not true, but the last few days, I feel like I’ve eaten nothing but cereal. Does it ...
For $10/Hour, You Should Write “Perfect” Copy, and Lots Of It
While they’re only paying $10/hour, this MediaBistro ad tells us Mahalo’s looking for writers who: Candidates must be excellent writers capable of writing perfect copy at a fast pace. Familiarity with online research, journalism, and wiki...
Learn the Success Secret of the World’s Greatest Chessplayer: Making Fantasy Pay
Garry Kasparov is the greatest chess player the world’s ever known. While few of us can replicate his impressive mental powers, we can leverage the methods he used to achieve the chess world’s highest ever rating. His secret? He played the game ...
Could The Feelance Writer’s Most Important Tool Be The Lowly Spreadsheet?
I just finished a conversation with a client who wanted to send me money. Sadly, they expect me to perform a written act of marketing before sending a check, and they wanted a project estimate. Long ago, I made a rule to never give off-the-cuff estim...
How to Pitch & Win Your Dream Copywriting Clients (or, Life’s Too Short to Work With Boring Clients)
Prior to my family emergency, I promised you the results of my recent new client pitch — the culmination of several posts about picking and pitching the clients you want to work for (instead of letting clients pick you). We started back here &#...
Getting Ready For the Client Pitch: How to Turn Prospects Into Clients
I’ve repeatedly said you should pick the clients and projects that interest you, get your foot in the door (via lumpy mailers), and get the business. But how do you pitch prospects — and make them buy what you’re proposing? I̵...
Nicholas Carr on the "Value" of Content (or, Why You Should Build Value For Yourself)
In a prior post, I wrote about the growing commercial value of high-quality content — and why content-based marketing offers long-term opportunities to new copywriters. Now — Nicholas Carr (who remains a favorite online read) — poi...
Making the Case for Quality Content: P&G Micro-site is 4x More Effective Than Equal Priced TV Advertisement
I’ve repeatedly highlighted the marketing benefits of quality content, and believe engagement marketing gigs (blogs, e-newsletters, etc) offer copywriters a shot at excellent long-term (and profitable) projects. Next time you’re pitching...
