Post: #251

(10-31-2013 07:35 AM)MattC Wrote:  I'm setting myself goals for my earnings when I start out full time. For December while I'll be at home, I'm targeting $200 a week. By February I want that to be $700 a week minimum.

Considering I've earned about $250 in around 20 hours of freelance work to date, and that's from a position of nothing, I'm sure it's more than achievable. That's just on Elance too.

No doubt man.

I think it is good to have targets. I work both weekend days, so I save that money and try to live off what I make freelancing. It's working so far.

Post: #252

BB your inbox is full. Trying to pm you.

Post: #253

(10-31-2013 07:35 AM)MattC Wrote:  I'm setting myself goals for my earnings when I start out full time. For December while I'll be at home, I'm targeting $200 a week. By February I want that to be $700 a week minimum.

Considering I've earned about $250 in around 20 hours of freelance work to date, and that's from a position of nothing, I'm sure it's more than achievable. That's just on Elance too.

That is pretty much my exact plan. Eventually I want to work about 4-5 hours, perhaps 4 days a week, but make enough to live well in Poland/Ukraine etc, permanently. Although, Germany is possible as it's my favorite country. Anywhere where you can find a plethora of women who do not get bigger than a UK size-10 at the maximum is a good country for me.

Post: #254

Job:

-ghostwrite a creative novel

Requirements:

-existing fanbase
- NY Times bestseller or equivalent

Budget:

-$500-$1000

Post: #255

Just thought I'd come into this thread with an update, since this is a huge milestone in my freelancing career.

As of last monday, I'm employed at a full time apprentice job over odesk. I bill 40 hours a week and my employer wants to keep me on for as long as I can stay; apparently the ultimate plan is to get my copy skills up to an elite level, then take me off of odesk to work on a mixed compensation plan of salary and revenue share.

In addition to working 40 hours a week at this job, I'm still doing work for other clients at my usual billing rate of $30 an hour, so my income should go up quite a bit as a result of this. I'm aiming to do $1000 worth of work on top of what this long term gig pays me.

I have no idea how long this will last, so I'm not going to share too many details yet. However, I'm getting a ton of interesting tasks and mentoring from these guys (they send me books about copywriting on a regular basis) and I feel I've already really improved my chops since starting.

I will report more on this as time goes by.

Post: #256

Just been having a look on Elance at some jobs. Where there were about 20 jobs I'd have applied to a month or so ago, I'm struggling to find much else to apply for. It's mainly the cost, and I'm gonna need to land a couple of well paid jobs to up my earnings and show I'm a quality writer that people will pay for. I only glanced at the listings for a couple of minutes so I'm sure if I have a real look I can find more.

I applied to two; one was some beauty article that she's willing to pay $100-200 for, and the next is a big project to help write a dating ebook with a "sizeable budget". That's to be written in December and January which is perfect as I'll be free full time from then. Hopefully s/he gets back to me and it's something I can do where I can charge $20-25 an hour.

---------

Haha! Fucking hell, just got this back from the person who wants the beauty article done:

Quote:I've been on Elance for 3 years and this is one of the best proposals ive ever read.

I'm going to add you to my watch list, so that even if we dont work together on this job, you'll be top of my list for a broader internet marketing project i should have in the future!

Thanks!

Post: #257

@AndyB: Good shit, man. Was that something you applied for on oDesk or did they recruit you like in the Matrix?

@MattC: Nice job. Yeah, sometimes I'll look and there are handfuls of good jobs on the first couple pages and other times I'll be searching page after page for anything worthwhile.

Post: #258

Thanks mate. Apart from pricing, what puts you guys off of applying for a job? If it has over 20 proposals, for example?

Post: #259

(10-31-2013 11:41 AM)pitt Wrote:  BB your inbox is full. Trying to pm you.

Hey Man - I went ahead and cleared up some room in there.

Don't you have my email though? If so, hit me up there. My inbox fills up quick and going in to delete them all gets to be a hassle.

(11-01-2013 07:22 PM)MattC Wrote:  Thanks mate. Apart from pricing, what puts you guys off of applying for a job? If it has over 20 proposals, for example?

I wouldn't let that put you off a job - remember, most clients are going to be overwhelmed by reading through all those proposals. I'd say they're likely to pick something at the top of the list. Other than that, write something in the very beginning that stands out enough to get them reading.

What does put me off of a client is if they seem cheap or overly-demanding.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #260

I just set up an elance account and I'm going to set aside some time and just max out my 40 proposals all at once and see what develops. I'm also going to start a blog writing about my area of knowledge.

I have a question. How much of the copywriting market is people writing for clients who are selling something other than Internet marketing products? I know a little about IM, just enough to know that I don't know anything. It seems like most of the people making money are selling IM products to people who want to make money doing IM. Is that the case? Or are there lots of people making a living selling copy and doing marketing for other types of products and services?

The reason I ask is because my end game isn't to make a living online. I'd like to make a little side income stream, but mostly my goal is to help establish a presence writing about my specific area, which is international economics and devlopment and geopolitical risk analysis, to help augment my real life career.

Post: #261

(11-04-2013 07:52 AM)j r Wrote:  I just set up an elance account and I'm going to set aside some time and just max out my 40 proposals all at once and see what develops. I'm also going to start a blog writing about my area of knowledge.

I have a question. How much of the copywriting market is people writing for clients who are selling something other than Internet marketing products? I know a little about IM, just enough to know that I don't know anything. It seems like most of the people making money are selling IM products to people who want to make money doing IM. Is that the case? Or are there lots of people making a living selling copy and doing marketing for other types of products and services?

The reason I ask is because my end game isn't to make a living online. I'd like to make a little side income stream, but mostly my goal is to help establish a presence writing about my specific area, which is international economics and devlopment and geopolitical risk analysis, to help augment my real life career.

@elance: If you sign up for the $10/month premium account, you get 60 proposals per month. "Connects" are $1 each so it's worth it in my opinion. You can always buy even more...I don't believe there is any limit or "max out".

@copywriting: I know just more than nothing about copywriting but almost every business that offers a product or service uses it to some degree.

Post: #262

j r - Enigma is right. Copywriting just means 'sales writing' to be honest. The blurb on the back of a DVD, the press release about an upcoming boxing match, a tagline such as 'The Best a Man Can Get' etc - all are examples of copywriting. You could argue that content writing in ultimately copy too, as the goal of a website asking for content, is to increase traffic and thus up their sales. I market myself as a 'commercial copywriter and content creator' though, so I do make a distinction. Most work comes as a content provider though, need to market my copywriting more, and I will starting from Monday when I have no other commitments. I've been waiting for that Monday for about a month now! Also need to dedicate a few days to watching all the seminars etc on the Freelance den discussed in this thread.

Post: #263

For those of you looking to build some content marketing skills in order to up the value of your skillset, check out this 10-page "Advanced Guide to Content Marketing" here: http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-...marketing/

Epic information. Follow it step-by-step to build yourself a blog and a social media following, and you'll have no problem with finding great clients to take you on, I'd say. Not to mention you'll very likely be in the money on your own little non-service biz too.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #264

Guys, I had to come on here to show you the most stupid post I have ever seen.



$3 per hour for an expert? Jeez.

Anyone moved off Elance yet?

Chris

Post: #265

(11-07-2013 04:40 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  $3 per hour for an expert? Jeez.

lol I popped in there a bit ago and saw that one too - thought about bitching here.

(11-07-2013 04:40 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  Anyone moved off Elance yet?

For sure. I get some of my best jobs off of job boards. I imagine the guys who've joined the Den are targeting other marketing channels too, as Carol discourages Elance every time she gets a chance.

There are some good clients on Elance but it's not exactly the ideal place to start, especially if you can afford to take a long-term approach.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #266

(11-07-2013 05:30 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 04:40 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  Anyone moved off Elance yet?

For sure. I get some of my best jobs off of job boards. I imagine the guys who've joined the Den are targeting other marketing channels too, as Carol discourages Elance every time she gets a chance.

Job boards? By this, do you mean that you search for journalist/PR/editor jobs and offer your services on a freelance basis?

Chris

Post: #267

I think another good opportunity at least to start, would be to contact people who are already successful getting jobs as they may be too overwhelmed with their projects and they can give you some of their work.

Post: #268

I'm getting off Elance because the jobs on there are pissing me off, I've actually found Odesk has better rates. I've got 2 good contracts on there, though they won't fund me full time, they are small steps.

Post: #269

(11-07-2013 05:57 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 05:30 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 04:40 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  Anyone moved off Elance yet?

For sure. I get some of my best jobs off of job boards. I imagine the guys who've joined the Den are targeting other marketing channels too, as Carol discourages Elance every time she gets a chance.

Job boards? By this, do you mean that you search for journalist/PR/editor jobs and offer your services on a freelance basis?

Chris

The method you mentioned would probably work too - I've heard that promoted as a way to get work before.

But what I meant is there are boards all over the Internet with freelance writing jobs posted on them - the best job posters will even specifically state they are willing to pay $100 (or whatever) per article. Just hit them up from time to time and try to apply to a couple everyday. Even Craigslist has decent ones sometimes.

The better boards are mentioned in a lot of the resources talked about in this thread - the books and websites. Just got to do some research.

Or just use Google.

You wade through a lot of crap and/or stuff you're not qualified for, but if you can pick up one or two new jobs per week, it doesn't take long for you to create a roster of regular clients out of that. Not all will be regular but enough will.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #270

Just had a guy on People Per Hour offer me £25 an hour to proofread and edit his stuff. Pretty good, right?

Post: #271

(11-07-2013 11:37 AM)Teedub Wrote:  Just had a guy on People Per Hour offer me £25 an hour to proofread and edit his stuff. Pretty good, right?

That's great, I'm actually registered on that site but forgot to check it out

Post: #272

^ he wants to meet me first though, which is fine I guess - however I've suggested a skype interview and he hasn't responded yet. He told me to google his name, turns out he's a pretty big deal in his field. Bit scared now!

Post: #273

(11-07-2013 11:37 AM)Teedub Wrote:  Just had a guy on People Per Hour offer me £25 an hour to proofread and edit his stuff. Pretty good, right?

Yeah, I'd take it as long as I didn't have something better filling my time. What's up with People per Hour? You just start on there?

I'm experimenting with a gig on Fiverr for shits and giggles. People actually ordering my $5 for 100 words gig there, believe it or not - not great but not bad either (you can offer extra word counts for upsells). Going try $5 for 50 words next and see what happens. Just interested to see if it's worth anything. I've seen at least one other writer charging $5 per 100 words and they have backorders.

If you can't get it higher it's not worth it, though, as far as I'm concerned. The customer service headache on that site is the worst I've ever seen, and fiverr doesn't even give you the ability to reject a bid. Some clients have no fucking clue what they're doing....

I had this bitch order a gig from me last night and then she sent me like 8 - 10 emails going back and forth on what she wanted. Then she sent me 3 in a row waiting for a response, with the last one saying she didn't want to "negotiate" anymore. haha I was sitting there laughing to myself, thinking, "Bitch you're the only one negotiating. Stop sending me fucking emails. It's five damn dollars already."

It was good for a laugh anyways.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #274

(11-07-2013 01:08 PM)Teedub Wrote:  ^ he wants to meet me first though, which is fine I guess - however I've suggested a skype interview and he hasn't responded yet. He told me to google his name, turns out he's a pretty big deal in his field. Bit scared now!

Don't let him intimidate you - he shits just like everyone else. If you can talk to girls, you'll do fine talking to some dude over Skype.

I'll admit it can be a bit nerve-wracking the first couple times but I've found that after the first sentence or two it's always smooth-going, no matter how clueless I felt going in - and I've gone into quite a few of those interviews thinking I was in way over my head. I've talked with international celebrities and been put in a virtual meeting with a marketing team for one of the biggest life insurance firms in America while I was sitting there with a brew in my hand.

Regular people, all of them, and not once in all these years has it gone badly. You'll often find, in fact, that the clients are puffing themselves up in their emails just as much as we are. Get them on the horn and they're just like everyone else.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #275

(11-07-2013 01:18 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 01:08 PM)Teedub Wrote:  ^ he wants to meet me first though, which is fine I guess - however I've suggested a skype interview and he hasn't responded yet. He told me to google his name, turns out he's a pretty big deal in his field. Bit scared now!

Don't let him intimidate you - he shits just like everyone else. If you can talk to girls, you'll do fine talking to some dude over Skype.

I'll admit it can be a bit nerve-wracking the first couple times but I've found that after the first sentence or two it's always smooth-going, no matter how clueless I felt going in - and I've gone into quite a few of those interviews thinking I was in way over my head. I've talked with international celebrities and been put in a virtual meeting with a marketing team for one of the biggest life insurance firms in America while I was sitting there with a brew in my hand.

Regular people, all of them, and not once in all these years has it gone badly. You'll often find, in fact, that the clients are puffing themselves up in their emails just as much as we are. Get them on the horn and they're just like everyone else.

International celebrities, do tell more! PM if necessary!

It's not the skype interview, it's more if he wants to meet in person in London that I'd be nervous about. People Per Hour is horse shit in my opinion, but for some reason I've had a few people emailing me out of the blue based on an 'hourlie' I put up (what I'd do and for what rate per hour) months ago, weird, but guess it's OK for that reason.