So you've decided to market your home-based copywriting business through article writing. Fantastic! Now comes the hard part: narrowing it down to a topic. What the heck are you going to say in your article?
A friend of mine recently suggested that I write more articles about copywriting. Not such a bad idea, being a copywriter and all. But here's a thought: if all you ever write about is writing, where is the proof that you can actually write? At some point, your prospects WILL ask for samples of work for their specific niches; that is, if you plan to serve clients, and I'm sure you do as that's what a "freelance copywriter" does for a living!
To the copywriter especially, article marketing is a beautiful thing. Why? It allows you to target any audience in any category that YOU choose.
Let's say someone out there in the great beyond is perusing a vegetable garden website... and this person also has some vague plans to create a gardening website of his own. YOU want to be a gardening writer. Now, if your gardening article is placed the aforementioned garden website, along with a bio that describes you as a gardening writer, guess what? Good old Broccoli Rob is probably checking out your work. If he likes what he sees, you've got yourself one paid garden writing project! Brilliant.
Another example. You're a pet person. You'd love to write web copy about dogs, cats, gerbils... any and all of God's creatures. But, uh-oh, you have no *official* experience! So what? Start writing, my friend. The assignment: one web article about How to Paper Train Your Puppy. In your bio, give a brief summary of your copywriting experience and throw in a line about how you're a pet writer. Pretty soon, what do you know... the Westminster Dog Show people are knocking on your door asking for an E-book about dogs. Way to go, pet writer!
Don't forget the context in which your web articles appear. YOU see the articles as they exist on a submission website. But the reader has an entirely different perspective! Imagine your article in all its shining glory on the delivery page. What's that bio say? Who are you and why would these people want to call you for a paid assignment? You must tell them in your article!
Still convinced you want to write about copywriting and copywriting alone? Okay, but keep this in mind: nine times out of ten, the folks who are interested in reading articles about copywriting are looking to become copywriters themselves.
You can offer them some free advice if you think it will help just to get your name out there. But, don't expect huge contracted jobs to come from "writing about writing." As the Copywriting Guru, you darn well better have some revenue-generating product to pitch on your own website. Think copywriting tips, templates and tools that would-be writers might want to purchase from YOU, the expert!
Article marketing is every writer's dream come true. It's the chance to mold yourself into something hugely successful on the web... and that something can be whatever you want. Just think of the hundreds of different markets out there waiting for you to bestow your expert copywriting talents upon them. Okay, now stop thinking... and start WRITING!
Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Find out how crisp, targeted copywriting can make a world of difference for your business. Dina Giolitto is a Copywriting Consultant with ten years of experience. Visit http://Wordfeeder.com for free tips on branding, copywriting, marketing, and more.
