How do you sell your writing skills?

When I started writing, I knew what I should say but didn't know how to put it forward. I was shy and timid by nature but voracious and assertive in my outlook. That acted as a perfect bliss point combination of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tone of voice, accent, perspective, and context. I didn't set my target audience, but I ensured that my writeups were not aggressive, blunt, bitter or sharp. I knew that only a handful of people understood and appreciated sarcasm. So I had a hard time molding my ideas into a palatable writing style so that my vast audience had something to chew upon. I ensured that my profile is updated and I feature my writeups that can bring some value to the table. I ensured that I sounded relevant :)

Do some work (strategically) for free. Especially if you think the client will have more work. Or, as I did, take on projects where you set a price but also say, "I know you're taking a chance on me, so you don't have to pay unless you're happy with the result." I did that for a couple of years on Elance (now Upwork) and not once did a client decide not to pay. Of course that means you have to do really good work... but then again, you were going to anyway. Early on, your biggest hurdle is bridging the credibility/demonstrated experience gap. Doing a small job for free -- under the stated, not implied premise of proving yourself worthy of additional work -- often bridges that gap. So does saying, "Hey, don't pay me unless you love it."

Often the person hiring you does not really understand "content." But everyone understands impact. Highlight past evidence, mention metrics and traffic; explain how it helped past clients. Like it or not, all clients want high traffic. Even when they don't need it. Content experts understand the concept called "target audience," but the one paying the bills might not.

Writing skills is a key to strong expression. Reading every day and then sharing ideas in small posts and blogs will improve your writing skills. It’s validated by the comments and responses of the fellow connections on LinkedIn and other platforms

Writing is a skill that you can use for passion and profession. I have done the same. 3 things help me to use writing skill as a professional skill: - Use platforms and pitch clients (bidding) - Showcase writing on public platforms, especially on Linkedin - Build portfolio You can also consider last 2 things to use writing as a passion.

Many new freelance writers think they need to work for free to build their portfolios — and this couldn't be further from the truth. Instead, you can: - Create a free Medium account and start writing blog content that you could envision clients using - Write regularly on LinkedIn (for yourself) and become a creator - Send weekly newsletters to your followers (or publish them on LinkedIn) - Create spec pieces of ad copy - Accept lower-paying gigs in the beginning, build great client relationships, get bylines, and raise your rates as you gain experience

Your writing portfolio tells it all. Once it's built up with bylines showcasing your work, it sells itself. However, it can take time to build up a portfolio. If you don't have enough writing samples to create a portfolio, here are a few other ways you can showcase your talent to perspective clients: 1. Create a website that includes information about you and your writings (whether they have been published or not). 2. Ask potential clients if you can provide a "test" writing sample. For instance, write the first three paragraphs of a story they're in need of to show off your skills. 3. Find a staff position that requires writing and keep samples of everything you write (newsletters, emails, social media posts, press releases, etc.)

I think porfolio is a big hitch mark when it comes to getting jobs. You can only sell yourself through portfolio I mostly engage with tbe portfolio havinh less text and beautiful typography and showcasing the projects right after intro.

It's essential to show your versatility in writing for diverse audiences, addressing various purposes, and delving into different niches. Achieving this involves engaging in opportunities that may not provide substantial financial gain, such as guest posting, volunteering, or becoming an active part of online writing communities. Creating your own projects, like ebooks, newsletters, or educational courses, can be an excellent way to display your skills. Remember, the more you write, the more your craft evolves. It not only enhances your writing abilities but also broadens your professional network and captures the attention of potential clients or employers.

Good writers write as part of their writing practice. Sometimes they get paid, sometimes not. But a good writer does not seek out free work. A good writer may do free work until there’s opportunity for pay, but seeking “free” does them a disservice. Yes, write for different audiences blah blah blah, but find meaningful places to do and post your work.

This is always going to be one of the most intimidating aspects of selling your writing skills, but also one of the most vital. One way to go about it is to determine how best you pitch. Do you do well with picking up the phone and calling someone to see if they need any writing? Are you better working with an e-mail? Or maybe you do your best work when you can see the potential client face-to-face from the start. The latter option will be beneficial at networking events, though those are always good places to start regardless of how you best pitch.

For me, persistent and continuous writing on social media has helped. And to always bear in mind, to balance between visibility and showing off. People will cheer once or twice when you share, but over time it may wear off. Instead spend time writing valuable contents, insights and give readers something to think and reflect about. That also indirectly helps to position your brand. The authenticity in sharing shows

for a newbie writer, taking on free assignments can have its plus's and minus's. On the plus side, its great to grind your creative cells to produce good work. On the minus side the chances of being under-paid or high. I guess its all a case of knowing how much of your effort can be priced as low or zero.

How I get top-tier clients on LinkedIn without cold pitching: - Go to the search bar - Type in "looking for a [your freelance role]" and keyword variations - Filter the results by "posts" - Select the "date posted" dropdown and click on "past 24 hours" - Select the "sort by" dropdown and click on "latest" - Sift through the posts and find people looking to hire for your role - Write a brief introduction and share how you can help in a comment or a DM Do this daily for 15-30 minutes. If you reach out to 2 prospects per day, that's about 60 per month. Even if only 10% reply, you'll have 6 potential new clients—plenty to run a $10k+/month business.

I have started a Substack just for personal expression. However, I noticed that I am getting a LOT of responses when I comment on other contributors' Substacks. I am becoming quite enthusiastic about the platform because of this.

I'd change this wording. In my opinion, your rate shouldn't really be up for negotiation. If they can't afford the rate, or think it's "too expensive" then I either: 1. Reduce the scope of the project to be in their budget 2. Try to frame it in a different way. Explain that the rate is based upon the value they get by working with an experienced professional and that it will have a positive ROI for their business. 3. If they still don't budge, I kindly say that "it's not a good fit". And walk away with dignity intact. Don't sell yourself short just to gain a client. Work with clients who see the value of your work and WANT to pay you because they recognize the value you bring to the table.

In my experience, Hourly rates can benefit clients in the unlikely event a project takes less time than expected. On the other hand, flat fee projects that take longer than expected, as often happens, can hurt the vendor, meaning a factor for overrun may be priced in. Interested to hear what others think.

Per-project fees work best for me. My formula is to divide the fee by the number of hours I sense it will take to complete the work, and then only accept projects where the conversion falls above a certain amount of money per hour of my time. I know the fee, the client knows the fee, and there are no surprises when it's time to bill. The trick is that you need to be objective about your familiarity with a topic and your own pace. I've seen writers pour so much time into a piece that the hourly breakdown came to minimum wage. I've also seen writers turn down pieces that seemed like they had a low fee (i.e., a 600-word article for $300), but if you know the topic well and can bang the piece out in three hours, that's $100 per hour.

Rates are tough. You have to know what you’re selling. Is it your time? Capabilities? Unique skill? Or perhaps it’s a result (e.g. more time on page)? We price per word or per project, but never per hour. Hourly rates don’t serve the client. I’ve seen other writers charge by value, and they’ll get a percentage of revenue or value based on the result they provide. That’s hardcore!

Don't be afraid to post a high rate of pay for your writing skills. Many employers will judge you based on your bravery for the rate of pay. Check experience, skills, knowledge, job position and market demand. If you are a professional, offer employers a higher than market wage rate. In my experience, employers are less likely to trust writers who charge less to write a job posting. Fear not, your skills are what give employers "value added". If the employer accepts your rate of pay, you have an opportunity to demonstrate your skills. If you are not a professional writer, you can start at a lower than market rate to become a professional. Either way, you should include work experience on your resume.

In my experience, social media is the fastest and best way to market your written content for businesses. Even having a blog and website is not as powerful as social media. The feature of social networks such as LinkedIn and Instagram is networking. Websites and blogs are effective when we use them to link our formal and informal portfolios. They have a more personal space. However, the community of blogs and websites is much smaller than that of social networks. As mentioned, engaging your audience with your writing can also help your content marketing.

Yeah this is where social media comes in aid. Making your only presence would go a long way only if there is consistency and systematic regulation.

Creating content on Linkedin is an ideal way to market yourself. It not only help you attract warm leads. But also helps you build a long-term personal brand. That's what I'm doing on Linkedin daily - intentionally.

As a writer, marketing yourself can feel a bit out of your realm of skills. However, I've learned over the years that it's essential in order to get and maintain business. Posting on social media like LinkedIn and sharing your stories is a good way to put yourself out there. In the past year, I have started setting aside an hour a week to consider social posts about the writing process, a story I wrote, or person I interviewed. This approach makes the time put into self-marketing seem less cumbersome and less like it's taking time away from writing.

An effective way of marketing yourself involves showcasing your skills, experiences, and unique qualities in a way that attracts attention and interest. Work on highlighting relevant skills and experiences, while you demonstrate some level of authority in your area of expertise. This will give you credibility and will help you gain trust. All of the above will give you greater leverage when seeking opportunities. Develop a consistent and professional image across your social media profiles. Share relevant content on social platforms. Engage in conversations and contribute valuable insights to showcase your expertise. Build and maintain relationships. Remember, effective self-marketing is an ongoing process.

Make mistakes, cry over it, recover from it, get up, learn your lesson, implement it, move on to next thing, and repeat the cycle. But not with the same mistake. Make mistakes everyday but don't repeat any mistake more than 2 times. It's stupid.

I agree that an excellent editor is worth their weight in gold. Listen to them. Learn from them. And write every day, even if you don't have an assignment to work on.

Without learning, you lose something every day. To write commercial texts, you need to improve your search and SEO skills to increase the conversion rate of your content to sales of products and services. You need to be aware of Google tools in this regard. The writing market is vast and competitive, but not scary. Many authors are ineffective and only have the name of the author. They have nothing to offer. Use online tutorials and books on creative writing skills. If you are very successful and think you don't need new practical and scientific training, you will miss the opportunities to cooperate with big organizations. Always stay a student to write. Read, research and express yourself.

The Art of revisiting the basics will never go out of style. Learnt this the hard way in dental school after I flunked a subject. I tend to revisit my old books or simply look up some YouTube videos to refresh my grammar. Somehow studying the same thing again after a certain time gap brings a fresh perspective. Remember how our favorite movies reveal something new every time we rewatch them? Try it and you'll be amazed.

If your dream is to be a writer, never give up! There are obstacles and challenges but don’t give up. Seek help to improve your craft and keep moving forward and look for opportunities that will help you build your resume. If you get frustrated and quit too soon, you may miss the opportunity that was right around the corner.

Here's the trick to sell your writing. Do NOT write to sell! When you write without any expectation, you can focus and maintain the flow. That's when you'll jot down something worth reading.

First & and foremost, try writing for yourself! Try what appeals to you rather than pleasing or 'targeting' the audience. Of course, you will need to write for the market, and the audience, but that should come second because unless you write something interesting for you to read, it would defeat the purpose of writing as an expression of yourself.

I've seen people make millions writing, again this is another prove that it is a lucrative venture. It's however not one that one that comes easy, even the super duper wordsmith and writing heavyweights either learnt the craft from scratch or learn on the job and follow what works. They are hardly afraid to try new things either - they merely fall and rise and yes falling make them stronger.

Just keep writing and keep using tools. Ask questions and engage. Eventually you will find yourself with a network of people and a lot of writing behind you. Then leverage it!