The Ferengi would make excellent copywriters. Because they know how to sell the benefits, and how to close a deal.

For those that don’t watch much TV sci-fi, the Ferengi are a fictional race from Star Trek, a people obsessed with trade and profit.

They spend their whole lives doing deals. Or, as Wikipedia, puts it, the Ferengi are:

characterized by a mercantile obsession with profit and trade and their constant efforts to swindle people into bad deals.

Of course, as virtuous copywriters, we don’t want to ’swindle people into bad deals.’ But we do need to sell the products and services of our clients. So maybe we can learn something from these Ferengi, and their Rules of Acquisition.

The rules are numbered guidelines and aphorisms that govern business, and serve as the religious canon of Ferengi society.

So, just for fun, I decided to look through the list and see which ones might apply to copywriting: Continue reading →

Photo by fuzzbabble (CC on Flickr)

Being a full-time freelance writer isn’t so different to being a self-employed plumber. Both need control of their tools, be it words and phrases or a wrench and socket set.

But that’s not enough. Not nearly enough. If you want to a be a freelance writer, you’ll need a lot more than just writing skills. Making a living from writing (or blogging, or graphic design, or whatever) means you’re running a business.

Making it as a freelance means getting regular work that pays well enough that you can live on it, year after year.

If you neglect the business side of things, then you’re heading for trouble. But by looking after your business, it’s perfectly possible to make a good living as a freelance writer. I’ve done so now for over 12 years, without ever needing to take a part-time job or earn any money outside of writing. (And without making any money from online writing or blogging).

But to make it as a freelance there are some important things you’re going to need along the way. If you don’t have them all right now, don’t panic. But until you have some of this stuff in place, it isn’t time to leave the day job. After the jump, the 20 things you need most to be a freelance: Continue reading →

Photo by monterd (CC on Flickr)

One of the readers of this blog (hi Petya) contacted me recently to ask how I first became a freelance writer. She was looking for advice about getting started as a freelance herself.

Becoming a freelance writer is not easy, but it is possible. The bad news is that it doesn’t really depend on how good a writer you are (and, yes, I’m the living proof).

There’s a lot of luck involved, you need to know people who can help you, and you need business skills.

In an upcoming post (warning, it’s a long one) I’m going to look at some of the things you need to be a successful freelance writer.

But first I’m going to explain how I came to be a full-time freelance writer. This might seem a little self-indulgent, but I’m hoping it may help readers like Petya with ideas they can use in their own careers.

Do I make a decent living? Yes
I have worked as freelance writer for around 12 years. In that time, I’ve never had to take any form of employment. And all my income has come from freelance writing. Continue reading →