I remember distinctly the moment I figured out that I could possibly write for businesses.
At the time, I was a longtime journalist, and I honestly thought people who did PR-type writing were part of the Dark side of the Force.
I didn’t know article writers could write for business, too!
But one day, I asked another Seattle Times freelancer I was working on a project with who else she wrote for.
“Oh — Ford Motor,” she blithely replied.
That was my introduction to the idea that I could be a business writer, too.
The funny thing was, when I tried it, I discovered I loved it.
It’s challenging, satisfying work, helping a business tell their story in a compelling way.
And yes, you can do it without feeling sleazy.
Oh yeah — also, it paid so much more than articles for magazines that the first year I did it, I was able to take my family on an Alaska cruise with the extra money. True story.
What keeps writers out of business
Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from freelance writers about getting into business writing — and questions from small-business copywriters on how to move up to bigger clients. What I’m hearing:
- Writers feel they don’t know enough about business to get into this niche.
- Or they’re unsure they’ve got the writing skills to do it.
- Writers don’t know how to find good business clients — the kind that pay $75-$100 an hour.
- Or they’re turned off because they think it’s all writing hard-sell direct mail packages.
Tell me your business-writing question – and win
So that’s the topic of the next Freelance Writers Den bootcamp: Break into Business Writing. It’s coming next month.
We’re still getting all the content ready for this 4-week training, and I’d love to find out what you’d like to learn about this.
What do you need to know about breaking into business writing?
To make it fun, I’ll be giving out a free ticket to the bootcamp for the most interesting question.
(P.S. If you’re a Den member, I’d love to see your questions here, but you won’t win — because the bootcamp is included in your membership.)
What do you want to know about becoming a business writer? Leave your question in the comments below. I’ll announce the winner on the blog next week.
