A Content Writing Book that Really Helps You Get New Copywriting Clients

Content Writing can be rewarding. You only need to find your niche, and put your heart, mind, soul, and fingers into the work, and you’ll be on your way.

There’s a bit more to it than that, though.

I’ve been a teacher for nearly two decades. Storytelling was always my thing, so I have also practised the art and craft of how to formulate a thought on paper in a way that catches the attention of passing readers.

I love to write, and I enjoy the challenge of writing a copy article that will attract readers. That’s a tall order in this overcrowded internet.

So when teaching began to dry up due to a combination of students using apps and machines to learn a language, and we teachers did too much of a good job, students became thin on the ground.

So I began searching for a way to make money writing. Content marketing writing seemed like the obvious choice. If content is still king, then writers are needed everyday.

Companies big and small are always looking out for good writers. Some of them don’t get too picky about the good writer part, they only need a work horse to write tons of content for little money. So you have to learn to be discerning about clients.

Clients don’t always know what they need. They often know what they want, but don’t realise their wants don’t meet the goal of content. The problem is that often their needs and wants clash — but they are the client, and they are certain to be right about everything.

Some companies are whizz-kids at content marketing and know what they need, and they pay well for the services of a content writer.

There’s a lot to it. Storytelling skills, speaking to the reader’s needs, and knowing what the goal of your writing is all about is important.

When the day comes, and you stick your nose up in the air and tell the boss you don’t need her services anymore, you’ve decided to become a content writer — so there! — you’re going to need a hell of a lot better writer’s chops than what your school teacher taught you.

There are some excellent books out there that teach you the way to becoming a better content/copywriter.

I found a book that helped me. The Freelance Content Marketing Writer written by Jennifer Goforth Gregory. It’s good. I didn’t expect that.

It’s about getting clients, not how to write the content.

The author takes you through the basics of identifying exactly what content writing is, and what is not.

Then she helps you to think clearly and business-like about where your own niche might be — a lot of people have problems understanding niches.

(by the way, niche is a French word, it is pronounced neesh — not nitche. You’re looking for a small corner in the marketplace for yourself, not half a philosopher. You can also put a small bookcase in the niche in your room.)

A writing niche is hard to nail down, especially if you are a real writer who loves to write.

If you love writing it is probably because life fascinates you.

Writing, both content and creatively, opens up a vein that shows you the world and all that’s in it. You’ll want to write about that. And settling your mind down into a tight recess of thought about somebody else’s product or service reminds you that you’re going to have to get some self-discipline going.

Jennifer Goforth Gregory’s book on content marketing writing is all about how to get yourself out there into the world of content writing, and market the hell out of your skills.

Letters of introduction, best place to go look and find the email addresses that your target clients will open and read, how to identify your clients, how to set up your social media presence so clients find you.

There’s a lot of focus on the letter of introduction. I get the impression that she knows that if you don’t take the leap and write those letters/ emails and send them out to targeted clients, then you’re going to be sitting in dreamland for a while.

You’ve got to be a bit of a salesperson these days. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, but if you can’t make contact with a client and at least get the chance to pitch your knowledge and skills as a benefit to their business, then you won’t be doing any content writing for anybody.

I can imagine that you know it already, you need to pluck up courage and send letters of introduction out, to get letters of invitation back.

Tip: you need courage to offer yourself as a service to big companies. Courage comes with self-knowledge, that knowledge of self develops more and more through daily practice as a writer. Practice content writing if you want to feel confident in the marketplace.

Make stuff up, like a product idea and write about it as if you want to motivate your readers to know more. Or slant an article to keep the reader reading, and deepen their knowledge about a product. Content helps readers make decisions about whether something is right for them. Copywriting helps them to reach into their wallets to buy a product now.

After defining what a content writer does, Jennifer Goforth Gregory gets into the nitty gritty of marketing. Most of her ideas revolve around internet marketing.

All of it is about making contact in an effective way with the companies that you have zeroed in on to gain as clients.

Marketing yourself online can be a slog, and it becomes daunting at times. Sometimes, I’ve pitched 150 plus times to various firms around the web, and at times I get no answers. But I know that when an answer comes, and a good interview ensues, It pays off. It can develop into an ongoing business relationship. It’s worth more money than I at first thought.

It’s true, 80% of our time is spent marketing our business, but that isn’t forever. A time comes when we have built a business and our clients stay with us for a long-time. They like our work, pay fairly, and don’t want to lose us. That’s a goal.

There are many types of content writing, ghost writing is on the up and up. People want short and informative books written by writers who know how to research and have some knowledge on the subject. Many of these companies want great writers, but they often have to make a compromise with getting a good writer who loves the subject, works hard and is absolutely reliable in getting the job done.

Content writer service is not all about good writer gets the job, not so good writer doesn’t get the job.

Reliability, easy to talk to, a writer who can take a brief on the job and understand it, so it’s reflected in the finished work, is a writer who gets the job just because they are great to work with.

Showing potential clients who you are as a real person, as well as having a portfolio of your best writing is part of a your marketing mix.

“The Freelance Content Marketing Writer”, Jennifer Goforth Gregory, is a great little book that I refer to at times when I’m a bit stuck about what I could do to get new clients for my content writing work.

I was surprised at how down to earth, and realistic the ideas in the book are. It’s a book that is truly useful as an actionable plan to get going, or get yourself back in the saddle, and build a new list of clients for your content writing business.

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