The Copywriter Underground

Is the Home Page dead? Are copywriters wasting their time writing them?
That’s the question posed by Matt Ambrose of the Copywriter’s Crucible (to be fair, plenty of others are asking the same thing).
The idea that every page is now potentially a landing page is generating some heavy, Russian-novel-level brooding in the marketing world, and certainly [...]

The GetOutdoors blog (a Top 10 blog in the outdoor niche) is looking for a couple bloggers.
The faint of heart need not apply.

They’re looking for good writers with a little attitude, and they’re even willing to pay for it. I’m too busy making millions off my own outdoor blog to single-handedly turn them into a [...]

In an instance of blogging imitating life, I just read the Irreverent Freelancer’s post about getting to “no.”
Interestingly, I invested a significant chunk of my morning writing a “Dear John” e-mail to a prospective client.

As freelancers, we’re most interested in moving our prospects to “yes.” Getting work is our focus. But when should we focus [...]

Outside of the fact that I don’t even use business cards these days, I found this idea irresistible: a card that grows alfalfa when you get it wet.
From the always interesting Notebookism blog:

Be a great idea for environmental firms too.
[tags]business card, notebookism[/tags]

I just got off the phone with a high-energy client. Interesting products, and a willingness to look at online selling in a new way (perhaps “evolving” way resonates better).
I got the initial job, though at one point, it wasn’t looking great. He didn’t know if I was the “right” person for his company. He asked [...]

I’m not interested in pushing any panic buttons on the copywriting front, but it’s interesting to see offshoring creeping its way up the writing-for-hire food chain.
At first, technical work went overseas. Then SEO and article-writing gigs. Now we’re seeing reporting jobs moved offshore:

The world may be flat, as New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has [...]

Copywriters have never been immune from market pricing pressures. To avoid competitive pressure on fees, I preach the gospel of the “value-added copywriter,” believing that adding value insulates us from the worst of them.
Recently, I spent a little time poking around Craigslist, job listing boards and even the bid boards (where copywriters underbid each other [...]

I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know FreelanceSwitch existed — until I stumbled across this “101 Essential Freelancing Resources” post.

A guide to resources like software, image libraries, business resources, tools, sample legal documents and the ever-popular “miscellaneous” category.
Much of the list was familiar, but the items I didn’t know about were more than ample compensation for [...]

You hear it everywhere on the blogosphere. “Find a niche, and then dominate it.”
It’s great advice – especially when your livelihood is tied to your blog.
I’ve long wanted to write a post on this topic, and when Michael Stelzner published his White Paper Industry Report, I knew I had my hook.

You see, Michael’s Writing White [...]

I just stumbled on Kivi Leroux Miller’s “Freelance Writing for Nonprofits” blog and found a post that nicely illustrates one of my oft-repeated points.
Instead of taking whatever work comes down the pike, target the companies and markets you want to work for.

From Kivi’s blog:
It was yet another reminder to me to be thankful [...]