Welcome to THE WELL-FED E-PUB!

The companion monthly ezine to the quadruple-award-winning how-to
guide, “The Well-Fed Writer.” Serving up food for thought and tasty tips
for the prospering FLCW*. Come on in, sit anywhere and bring your appetite!

*FLCW, peppered throughout the ezine, stands for “Freelance Commercial
Writer”—anyone who freelances for businesses (vs. writing magazine
articles, short stories, poetry, etc.), typically earns $50-125+ an
hour, and is the sole focus of this e-newsletter.  

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VOLUME 14, ISSUE 2 – FEBRUARY 2015
Publishing the first Tuesday of every month since May 2002  
Read it online at HERE.

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2014 EDITION OF “THE WELL-FED SELF-PUBLISHER” NOW AVAILABLE!
And it’s a TRIPLE award-winner! Check out various book AND ebook
(multiple formats!) products/bundles HERE!

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ARE YOU PARTNERING WITH DESIGNERS? IF NOT, YOU’RE MI$$ING OUT…
Get the real-world scoop on a low-effort flow of writing jobs HERE!

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NEW 1-ON-1 COACHING PROGRAMS: SAMPLE/SITE REVIEW & “SIDECAR”!
Low-cost peace of mind and guidance. Details HERE.

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WANT TO BUY “THE WELL-FED WRITER” IN BULK (AND SAVE BIG)?
Buy for writer’s group, class or workshop! Details HERE.

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THE WELL-FED WRITER BLOG! Weigh in on “Why Writers Don’t ‘Deserve’ to
Make More than $5 to $10 an Article; “Hire Other Writers! Make $25-50
an Hour for Doing Almost Nothing! (if you’re really lucky…)”; How Long
Did It Take You to Become a Profitable Commercial Writer?”; & More!

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THIS MONTH’S MENU:

I. APPETIZER: WHY IS WRITING DEVALUED?
Yours Truly Wonders Why Everyone Thinks They Can Write.

II. “FIELD” GREENS: GOT A “CAN-DO” ATTITUDE ABOUT REWRITES?
25-Year Freelancer Says Too Many Complaints Will Lead to Too Few Clients.

III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: PANNING FOR GOLD AT THE C-LEVEL
D.C. FLCW Mines Existing Client for Work By Tapping Top Leaders.  

IV. DESSERT: Sweet Success Stories and Tips
FLCW Breaks Code: $200K, 45 Total Hours Weekly, 6+ Weeks Vacation!
TIP: Free Resource Makes Yours Truly Look “Buttoned-Up” (For Starters…)

V. COFFEE, MINTS AND TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
- GOT ANY SUCCESS STORIES YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? Email ME.
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get Bonus CD!
- How Can My Mentoring Service Serve You?

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I. APPETIZER: WHY IS WRITING DEVALUED?
Yours Truly Wonders Why Everyone Thinks They Can Write.

The Good News: There’s an enormous need in the business world for good
writing skills, and businesses will pay handsomely for those skills.

The Bad News: Many businesspeople aren’t convinced they need a
professional writer.

Why is that? Why is writing devalued? What is it about writing that
makes so many people think they can do it, when they can’t (not
really, anyway…)? A few theories:

1) It’s Just Words: Unlike visual crafts like graphic design,
photography and illustration, writing is just symbols on a page. As
such, the mistaken—and irrational—perception of many is, “How hard can
it be?” Crazy, yes, but you KNOW the mentality exists.  

2) Plenty of Bad Writing: There’s so much bad writing being cranked
out by the business world that clients can be forgiven for believing
it’s not that hard to do.

3) Plenty of Bad Writers: A lot of people calling themselves writers
aren’t very good (or reliable). Enough experiences with them can
convince someone to “take a stab myself.”

But, for those of us who’ve been at this a while, and are, at the very
least, solid craftspeople of the written word, when a skeptical client
sees the dramatic difference a professional writer can make, it can be
nothing short of a revelation for them. Suddenly, they’re in the realm
of, “What they didn’t know they didn’t know.”

And I’m not just talking about persuasive writing here (i.e., direct
mail, long-letter copywriting, email marketing, landing pages, etc.).
Those client epiphanies can absolutely apply to any piece of writing
that needs to communicate effectively to the intended
audience—regardless of whether the goal of the piece is promotional,
educational, informational, awareness-building, etc.  

It’s not usually worthwhile to try to persuade people who aren’t
convinced to try us out (unless you feel they’re persuadable). Better
to find those already on board.

And therein lies our challenge: Finding those clients who know their
limitations, understand the value a true writing craftsman brings, and
are willing to pay for that service, commensurate with its understood
value. Not an easy thing to find, but when we do, it’s why we
(potentially) get paid the big bucks. On that happy note, let’s eat!

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II. “FIELD” GREENS: GOT A “CAN-DO” ATTITUDE ABOUT REWRITES?
25-Year Freelancer Says Too Many Complaints Will Lead to Too Few Clients

Great advice from a 25-year freelancing pro (which wishes to remain
anonymous). She was flabbergasted after coming across an article about
writers complaining when asked for rewrites, and shared her thoughts.
I don’t necessarily agree with her assertion that the client is always
right, but far more often than not, it’s a solid rule to live by—IF career
longevity is your goal. A great reminder of the “rules” in our world!  

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The most powerful words a writer can ever say to a client are, "No
problem, I'll take care of it." When you accepted the assignment, the
agreement, implicit or explicit, was that you would provide the
written material the client requested. That means you have to leave
your ego behind and do it the way the client wants.

You’re not writing the great American novel here. You are writing to
communicate your client's information. If your first expression of
their material is not to their liking (and assuming they didn’t change
the parameters on you), you’re obligated to give it another try and to
be cheerful (at least as far as they know) while you do it.

Once a client for whom I was doing search-engine-optimized writing for
a website wanted a split infinitive. I politely asked his reasoning
and he explained that the wrong way, English-grammar-wise, was the
right way for search. His data showed many more people split the
infinitive when they typed their query into the search box, so the chances
of them finding his website were enhanced by doing the same in the copy.

Remember: "The client is always right - even when they aren't." Ignore
this at your peril and watch your clients go elsewhere.

Are there unreasonable clients who are impossible to please? Yes, I've
had a few and I made the decision to stop accepting work from them.
Fortunately, they’ve been rare.

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III. MAIN “MEAT” COURSE: PANNING FOR GOLD AT THE C-LEVEL
D.C. FLCW Mines Existing Client for Work By Tapping Top Leaders  

Got this smart piece from Washington, D.C. FLCW (and PhD.)
Loren M. Blinde. It’s a wonderful affirmation of that old marketing truism:
It’s always far easier to get more work from an existing client than
to land a new one. Reed and heed.

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Working with a small to mid-sized business? Don't overlook the writing
needs of an organization's senior leadership.

Like many of you, I typically approach an organization’s marketing
communications department when I am prospecting. As I develop a
relationship with a client, however, I look for other departments that
may have work available.

As a result, it’s not unusual for me to be working on web copy for the
marketing department, a case study for the quality assurance team, and
donor profiles for the company foundation’s annual report
simultaneously.

Even so, I had never thought of an organization’s top executives as
potential sources of work until recently, when I got calls from two
CEOs within the space of a few weeks.

“I’ve been asked to deliver a commencement address, and I don’t know
where to start,” one said. “You know the organization, and you know
me. I hope you can help.” The project was fun, and I’ve written four
other speeches for him over the past three months.

It makes sense that a small- or mid-sized company’s top executives
would have writing needs of their own, from cover letters and
interview text to speeches and employee communications. And if you’re
already a trusted vendor, you’re the easy choice. Here are a few steps
to get in the big boss’s door.

1. Introduce yourself to the CEO directly. Although you may typically
report to the director of marketing, look for anopportunity to connect
with the chief in a non-salesy way. If the marketing department has
asked you to get a quotation from the president for a press release,
for example, you can also mention what you do for the company.

2. Ask for the work. At the conclusion of your interaction, thank the
executive, offer to help with other projects, and give the executive’s
assistant your full contact information.

3. Be prepared to accept a project that is a little bit out of your
comfort zone. You’re probably not going to get a brochure or ad copy
assignment here. But because the CEO represents the organization, you
can leverage your familiarity with the company’s mission and goals to
create a successful written product.

Bonus Tip: Take care to be friendly, genuine, and respectful of
executive assistants and other gatekeepers you encounter. You can’t
get the call if your contact information has found its way into the
trash because you were condescending or dismissive.

If more executives used FLCW’s, there might be less corporate jargon
and more meaningful messages in the world. Here’s to your success!

Loren M. Blinde, PhD is a Washington, DC-area copywriter and owner of
Writing Power. She helps organizations energize their communications
with an audience-focused approach that gets results. For more tips
from this English professor turned professional writer, visit her online.

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IV. DESSERT: Sweet Success Stories and Tips
FLCW Breaks Code: $200K, 45 Total Hours Weekly, 6+ Weeks Vacation!
TIP: Free Resource Makes Yours Truly Look “Buttoned-Up” (For Starters…)

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A REALLY cool success story from a commercial freelancer (who prefers
to remain anonymous) and the amazing 2014 he had. Total income: Over
$200K. He sent me his log for the year, with every day’s time logged
(just the fact that he kept a log of every single day of the year gives
you one clue to his success; you can’t improve what you don’t measure).

But, these were the numbers that really struck me: Average hours
billed/week: ~30 (@ average earnings of $133 an hour). Vacation days:
33 (6+ weeks). Sure, he worked more hours than just 30 a week (an
estimated 10-15 additional). And yes, he has a writing specialty (one
he honed in a salaried job for more than 20 years prior to going
freelance), so that definitely offered him an advantage.

But, here’s the takeaway as I see it: $200K without killing himself in
the process. Maybe you don’t aspire to make $200K. Totally fine. And
maybe you don’t have that unique “niched” situation, but the good
clients exist out there that’ll pay hourly rates like this so you CAN
make a really healthy income, without working 90 hours a week.

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Recently, I had a phone meeting scheduled with a client. We were
hashing out the times, who’d call whom, etc. Because they had several
people they wanted on the call from their end, and who were going to
be in different places, I offered to set up a conference call on the
free service I use (TalkShoe).

It quickly cut through the dilemma, and made me look like I had my act
together. TalkShoe’s “how-to” is easy enough to get a handle on, and
is free for basic calls. Once set up, the system generated an email to
all the invited guests (whose emails I’d added to the distribution
list), with call-in-instructions.

A nice bonus is that I can choose automatic recording of the call. Now
I have a backup I can refer to in case I miss or want to double-check
something. And assuming I know exactly when we started the call, if,
during the call, there’s something I know I’ll want to refer back to, I can
note the rough time of the murky part so it’ll be easy to find it again.

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V. COFFEE, MINTS AND TOOTHPICKS
- MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
- GOT ANY SUCCESS STORIES YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? Email ME.
- THE WELL-FED E-PUB NEEDS ALL COURSES!
- The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!
- AWAI Copywriting (& Other) Courses: Register Here, Get Bonus CD!
- How Can My Mentoring Service Serve You?

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MORE WORK WITH LESS EFFORT? Ebook Serves Up “How-To”!
That’s not hype. It’s how my business has worked for the better part
of 18 years, thanks to some juicy partnerships with graphic designers.
The result? 1-2 jobs virtually every month with little or no effort on
my part. And I put all the how-to details down on paper. Details HERE.

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GOT ANY SUCCESS STORIES YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
While my call for submissions netted some things a few months back, I’m
still a bit lean on success stories. Whether starting out or experienced, if
you recently had a noteworthy success (i.e., landed a new client—perhaps
in an unusual way—a new gig, new work from an old client, or anything
else that has a good lesson for your fellow FLCW’s), send it on to ME.
100-300 words is great.    

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I’M (STILL) SERIOUSLY LOW ON ALL WELL-FED E-PUB COURSES!
Got a great strategy, approach or specific expertise you’re willing to share?
Turn it into a Feature (MAIN COURSE) for the EPUB (500-600 words;
query first). ALSO, send your “GREENS” (200-400 words), TIPS (100-200)
and SUCCESS STORIES (150-300) to ME. Archived issues HERE. 

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The WELL-FED WRITER BLOG is Rockin’!

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AWAI COPYWRITING (& OTHER) COURSES: Register Here, Get Your
Choice of Bonus CD Program! Six-Figure Copywriting, Graphic Design,
Internet Writing, Fundraising, Health Market and more!

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HOW CAN MY MULTIPLE MENTORING PROGRAMS SERVE YOU?
For details and testimonials, visit HERE.

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