Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Freelance Copywriting Essentials

By Ray Edwards

As the cost of living continues to rise, some regular copywriting positions are not able to generate the income one needs or wants. This has caused many copywriters to seek new supplemental forms of income. One such alternative is freelancing.

Becoming a freelance copywriter allows you to continue the work you're skilled at. Which is good, because you can use previously developed skills in a new career.

Freelancing has become popular not only for its ability to help bring in more income, but also for the flexibility freelancers have over their work schedules. Most jobs dictate your work schedule, but freelancers are able to mold their hours around their lives. This allows them to do less work when more important obligations come along, and make it up later when they have the time.

Freelancers work on a project-to-project basis. Freelancers bid on projects from clients and then have to complete that project by a certain date if they win the bid. Often, the quicker you can get a project completed, the better the pay. It is then up to the freelancer to effectively manage their time. This also allows people to be working on multiple projects at the same time, maximizing their revenue.

For time management purposes, it is best to avoid working as a freelancer while still being employed as a copywriter. You can do both, but it will add a lot of stress to your life and increase the risk of damaging your career. One of the main benefits of becoming a freelancer is the freedom you gain over your schedule. If you add freelancing on top of your employed position, you're basically throwing away one of the best parts of freelancing. Also you want be able to take on as many projects as a freelancer, limiting your productivity. It will also increase your risk of missing deadlines, which can really hurt your career. If you miss a deadline at an agency, then you can get fired. If you miss a deadline as a freelancer, then you tarnish your credibility and hurt your chances of success. Many are afraid to quit their jobs and become a full freelancer, which is understandable, but don't worry about it. There is plenty of work out there, so if you have proven skills as a copywriter and you can advertise yourself, then you will find success.

Freelance copywriters will always have work because of the high demand for copywriters. Many businesses have found that they can get a more specialized product at a cheaper price if they use freelance copywriters. The condition of the economy also has little effect on the demand for copywriters because businesses will always need to sell their products. So even if the economy is suffering, many businesses know that reducing the advertising budget will only result in weaker sales. Therefore demand for copywriters will remain high.

The Internet has created new opportunities for freelance copywriters as well. Copywriters are needed to write the web content for the products being sold more and more on the Internet. The Internet also allows copywriters to work when and where they want, as long as they have an Internet connection. Finally, the Internet helps freelancers find work. The Internet has opened up many doors for copywriters to find work that was previously unavailable to them.

Hopefully this article demonstrated the advantages to freelance copywriting. Becoming a freelance copywriter can be a great career move where you have more control over your time and income. You should do some more research to see if becoming a freelance copywriter would be the right move for you.

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