Type of Works available to a freelancer

There are numerous categories of writing work available to freelancers.

Here’s a brief introduction.

Web Content

Website owners are constantly looking to add content to their websites in the

form of articles. You will find a lot of work in this category. Most of the articles are

400 to 600 words in length. The price of web content varies and depends on the

buyer. Small website owners often will only pay around $5 to $10 per article.

However, seasoned website owners will gladly pay around $30 to $35 for a

700-word quality written article. If you can deliver quality work every time, don’t

be surprised if buyers approach you with requirements for hundreds of articles. The

topics of articles range from health, trading, business, every day living to as vague

as making a potato gun. There are even articles on the Internet on how to dig your

nose!

Press Releases

Companies like media exposure and when they do something great or

innovative, they submit press releases to various media outlets hoping they might be

the next big story. While many of the larger companies have in-house PR

departments to handle this sort of thing, most small to medium sized businesses hire

freelancers to handle press releases.

If you’re simply writing the text, expect to handle about 300-400 word range,

with 600 words being the maximum at a price of $100. If you’re writing and

releasing the text, you can charge up to $150 as a novice.

E-books

Digital books or e-books are big business on the internet. Many sites these

days offer downloadable e-books either as a free gift or as the product itself. From

writing about how to be a vegetarian to getting your puppy potty trained, there are

e-books on nearly every topic, and entrepreneurs are coming up with new topics or

new ways of approaching old topics every single day.

Depending on the scope of the e-book and the research time involved and

writer’s experience and reputation, the price can vary between $250 to about $2,000

and can go much higher.

Sales Letters and Copywriting

Many freelancers are currently raking in huge profits with this. Nearly every

e-book, nearly every new product, nearly every new site has a sales letter. These are

designed to be infomercials about the product being sold. Writing great persuasive

sales letters that get a high conversion rate is a skill that makes use of human

psychology. If you can develop this skill and hone it, it’s one of the most profitable

money raking investments you can make.

A total novice charges $250 for a 4 to 5 page letter. Middle range

copywriters start around $2,000. Reputed copywriters never work less than $10,000

per sales letter. The best of the best charge $25,000 per project.

Other Projects

Apart from this, there are many other projects such as:

• Project report writing

• Essay writing

• Proofreading

• Editing

• Rewriting

How to ChooseWork

Once you log on to the freelance exchange website, you would find lots of

work listed. Chances are you would see the dollar symbol flashing in your eyes!

As you browse around the projects, you may spend hours and not realize it. Then

the subtle truth dawns: you have to earn the bids. Grrrr!

Remember that during all the time you are reviewing bids, you are not

generating income so you want to complete this step as quickly as possible while

still being thorough.

A project consists of a summary and a description. The buyer can also give

the maximum bid he is willing to accept and in how much time the project should

be completed.

Always bid for projects that you can handle. If you feel uncomfortable

writing for a complicated new topic, don’t bid.

The project summary is a way to know at a glance whether or not it's worth

your time to further research a project. When you find a project that sounds like

something you can handle, bid. If you feel uncomfortable with a subject topic and

think you cannot complete it within the stipulated time then don’t bid.

Good buyers present a clear description of the project so that you and the

other freelancers can put a fair bid. Try and avoid bids that are very vague in nature

and the buyer is not clear about what he wants. Many times, such buyers are

unsatisfied with the final product and give a poor rating.

If you are unsure about a project, either ask the buyer or research his past

record. Some people always like being nasty, forever complaining, grumbling and

being negative. These buyers will do more bad than good to you. Use the history of

a buyer to your full advantage!