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In 2007 freelance writers are in high demand, and they’re highly paid too. If you’re a freelance writer, congratulations. Freelance writing is booming, primarily because of the Web. Everyone needs a Web site, and someone has to write all those words. In this article, we’ll look at just three of the many fantastic job opportunities for writers now.

We’ll look at copywriting (writing for business), writing resumes (great for beginning writers), and blogging, which is also great for beginning writers.

Want A High Income Writing Career? Become A Copywriter

Essentially, copywriters write for businesses. A copywriter can write anything from advertising and sales letters, to operating manuals. Every business needs a copywriter, and most of those businesses are in your own backyard. Getting copywriting gigs as is simple as calling a few businesses, plus some advertising agencies, in your own city.

Many writers are hesitant to do this, but I promise you that if you will spend a couple of hours calling businesses in your home town, you’ll have enough writing job opportunities to keep you busy for months.

Just Getting Started Freelance Writing? Write Resumes For Easy Cash

Writers tend to take their writing skills for granted. However the rest of the population finds writing scary, especially writing resumes. This is where you come in. If you can make someone’s resume and application letter sparkle, you’ve made a friend for life.

Many placement agencies are looking for writers, so get busy calling them. You can also search for placement agencies online, but the phone is faster and easier, because you’ll get jobs just because you took the trouble to call.

If you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, writing resumes, bios and letters is an easy way to quick cash.

Everyone’s A Writer Now: The Blogging Route To Riches

Blogging is a writer’s dream come true. There are unlimited job opportunities for bloggers, because a blog is becoming a must-have for all businesses online. This is because blogs are great at generating traffic for a Web site.

You can get started as a blogger-for-hire by creating your own blog. Once you’ve done that, you can search for blogging job opportunities online, or you can approach businesses and offer your services.

So there you have it: three fantastic job opportunities for freelance writers – copywriting, resumes and blogging. Take advantage of the unlimited opportunities they offer you. As well as being lucrative, all three opportunities are lots of fun.

As a marketing communications or public relations manager, you may work with freelance or agency copywriters. Some of these relationships are likely to be very smooth and synergistic, while others may be frustrating or challenging for both you and the writer. You want to know:

“How can I choose the best writer for a project?”

“How can I improve the working relationship with writers?”

And, “How can I get the best work from a copywriter, from first draft to final edit?”

Read on for guidelines that will help you choose the right freelance writer for your project and create a positive, collaborative, and fruitful working relationship.

Selecting a Freelance Writer

Before evaluating potential writers, identify what you want from a writer and what your projects need. For example, do you need someone to handle just the writing, or someone who is more of a communications strategist? Do you need a project manager who can handle all aspects from planning and writing to design and production? All of these roles involve very different skill sets.

If you have determined that you truly need a freelance copywriter, consider the style and content demands of your projects. Do they require a high level of creativity, such as a cutting-edge advertising campaign? Or do the projects involve more of a technical or formal corporate style? Different projects require a different mind-set of the writer, and not every writer can produce good work in every style. Indeed, many copywriters focus their work on certain types of projects, industries, or media.

As a manager, you probably won’t be able to find just one writer who can handle all projects. Instead, you will likely work with several writers: one who handles brochures and articles, another who writes presentation scripts and speeches, yet another who writes direct-mail materials. Although these multiple relationships require more time to develop and manage, you’ll benefit from the higher quality of work that specialist writers can deliver. And, when launching a new communications program, you’ll appreciate having multiple resources who can develop several projects simultaneously.

Factors to consider when selecting a freelance copywriter include the following:

Skill level and orientation. Does the project require a writer with extensive experience? Should the writer have an analytical or creative orientation? 

Knowledge. In-depth knowledge of the subject matter may be paramount for a project because it would require too much time and effort to train a new writer. For example, technology knowledge is especially important for projects that promote a high-tech product or service. In other cases, it may be important for the writer to be very familiar with the audience you’re trying to reach.

Strategy and planning skills. Project management or program planning skills may play a part in identifying the best resources for the project.

People skills. Consider a writer’s interpersonal skills, because it is very likely the writer will interact with customers or community members, journalists, executives, subject experts and of course, your marketing and PR colleagues.

Tools knowledge and skills. If the writer must work with particular software, content management systems, or other tools, specify your requirements.

Experience in particular media. The skills needed for Web content or electronic media projects are somewhat different than those required for print materials.

Reviewing Portfolios and Samples

When you have a candidate in mind, typically the next step is to conduct an in-person or telephone interview and review the candidate’s portfolio. The following factors will help you make a better assessment of the candidate’s writing skills when evaluating samples:

Are the materials similar to your projects? 

Are the style and tone in the samples similar to those of your projects?

Is the depth and complexity of content comparable to that in your projects?

Is the text well organized, readable, and free of errors? Even if you have no knowledge of the subject matter in the sample, you should be able to get a sense very quickly whether the writer can produce clear, interesting, and correct copy.

What was the writer’s actual involvement in the project?

Sustaining the Relationship

Once you have found the right freelance writer, you can benefit from cultivating a sustained relationship. First, consider freelancers not only for new projects that come up, but also recurring projects such as newsletters that always seem to be “lost in the shuffle” of more immediate tasks and deadlines.

Develop a writer’s subject focus—such as technologies, issues, audiences—and leverage that focus over multiple different projects.

Give the writer new types of projects as a way to maximize your investment in the writer’s knowledge. For example, a writer who has not previously written a video script, but who knows your products and company, may be a better choice that an experienced scriptwriter who lacks that knowledge.

When working with a freelance copywriter, remember to send samples of the published work. It’s both a courtesy and a way for the writer to learn from any changes that were made between the final draft and published document. Most of all, when you choose the right freelance copywriter, you can look forward to a long, positive collaboration and great materials!