Paid writing audition

No need to ever write for free … [The Writer’ s Life]( November 21, 2023 "Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." – M. Scott Peck Hi {NAME}, Should you work for free if you're just starting out? I'd like to respond with a hard "NO," and I'll show you why it's unnecessary in a minute. But the answer is more like, "probably not, unless … " When writers are totally brand new and lack confidence that they can really do this (which is common!), sometimes doing a few assignments for free can give them the proof (and push) they need to move forward. Which is fine … But if you choose to do this, limit yourself to three small assignments. After three, it's time to push forward into paid writing — no matter what. You'll have three samples and have had three opportunities to prove to yourself you really CAN do this! Then move forward to what I like to call the "paid audition." Honestly though, I say you skip the free stuff and jump in here. Why do it for free when you can just as easily get paid?! What is a paid audition? I'm glad you asked … 😉 Back when AWAI opened its doors 26 years ago, the best way to make a living was writing sales letters that would be printed and mailed. These were long projects that required significant investment on both sides — your time, and the client's money. (Lots of money! Though still highly effective, direct mail is EXPENSIVE.) So, to even get a chance, you needed proof that you could do the job … definitely samples, and ideally a track record (proof of results from past sales letters). Today though? I rarely hire a writer I haven't already worked with numerous times before to write a sales letter. It's too much pressure! And while sales letters are quite literally the top of the food chain when it comes to making money, and I do believe every writer should learn to write them … It's so much EASIER today to get your foot in the door with any company and create a paid audition. Plus, you can use this strategy whether a client reaches out to you, or you reach out to them! First, let's tackle the client reaching out to you … "Reader, I see on your LinkedIn profile that you specialize in writing for infant safety products. Do you have any samples?" Your response: "I believe every company must have a unique voice and style with their copy and content. I've taken a look at your website and have a few ideas for some blog topics I could write that meet yours. How about we work together on a quick article — specific to your brand and messaging — and see how we like working together?" Easy, right? Next, we'll reach out to a client that YOU want to work with … "Reader, I've looked at your website and see that your blog is targeting new moms with ideas on how to keep their babies safe. I have five ideas of blog posts I'd like to write for you … that will touch on some of the hot buttons I see as missed opportunities. Can I send them over?" Who is going to say no?! Bottom line: In today's world of well-paid writing, there's never a "need" to write for free … Start small with new companies — [I like blogging because it's easy to learn]( and has little to no risk for the client (other than a few hundred bucks!) … You just need to be able to come up with a few relevant blog post ideas … And then, once they ask you to continue writing for them, you need to be able to generate new ideas on an ongoing basis. #ideamachine Because once you start writing the blog content for a company, the paychecks typically don't stop … You'll write a series of posts every month … and the paychecks will continue to show up! It's the freedom of a freelance writer, with the predictable income of a full-time J-O-B. #winwin But how do you come up with new topics week after week?! Have no fear … Today, Heather Robson, Managing Editor of Digital Copywriter, gives you three strategies she guarantees will give you something new and interesting to say every time you sit down to write. Heather is someone to listen to … Along with being the instructor behind our [Blog Writing PRO Workshop](, she's written more than a thousand blog posts for her clients. (!!) Which means if she was paid on average $300 per post, she's made $300,000 … just writing blogs! And I happen to know that's a very small part of her writing business … Blogs are the easiest way in with any company … And the money-making opportunities grow from there. If you're not already making great money writing, [go here](. We're offering Heather's 5-part virtual training as an "early Black Friday" deal … And it's pretty ridiculous. 🤪 You can go through it this weekend while everyone is eating and shopping … And be ready to roll, writing blogs for clients, next week. Today's your last chance, though, to get this exclusive training — and at the CRAZY low early Black Friday price. [Check it out!]( And I'll see you tomorrow. 😀 With you every step of the way, Rebecca Matter President AWAI CLOSING: Now Accepting New Members Your new life as a well-paid and in-demand writer is just one click away … A life that offers freedom, lots of fun, no more money worries, and so many unique, high-paying writing opportunities. But the clock is ticking … The discounted new-member pricing disappears in a matter of hours!
 [Get it before midnight tonight!]( Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to this exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … All the success roadmaps … All the writing templates … All the articles … All the how-to videos … All 150+ training webinars … The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … And much more! [Go Here for More Details]( 3 Ways to Never Run Out of Ideas for Your Blog By Heather Robson [Writer sitting at table with laptop working on a blog post] "But what if I run out of things to say?" That's a common question I hear from writers who are curious about blogging — even excited by the idea — but are worried about taking the leap. The fear is they'll publish each week for three or four months and find themselves completely out of ideas. If that's a worry you have, and it's holding you back from launching a blog of your own, let me put your mind at ease. With a few easy-to-use strategies, I can all but guarantee you'll always have something new and interesting to say and that your audience will be excited to see what comes next. Over the years, by my calculation, I've written more than a thousand articles for my clients. Articles for their newsletters, for their blogs, for my readers on DigitalCopywriter. And, often I was writing on the same topic weekly for years at a time. I'm going to share some of the strategies I use to keep the ideas coming … And I'm going to give you an idea of how I apply these strategies by demonstrating them as we go. Let's say we're coming up with ideas for a blog on "parenting through the toddler years." Here's how I would use some of my favorite strategies to generate ideas for that topic … #1. Be Well-Read No matter what topic you're writing about, there are going to be other blogs covering similar or related topics. Find a few of your favorites and read them regularly. This will help you keep up with trends and it will keep you immersed in the ongoing conversations happening around your topic. That means you'll be able to enter into those conversations from your own unique perspective … and you'll be able to do that in a timely way. Also, pay attention to news stories that affect your audience. Those can also lead to ideas for blog posts or articles … and can become some of your most widely shared posts. What I like to do whenever I read something that's related to a topic or industry I write for is to come up with three related ideas I might write about. If you read just one blog post or article a day, you'll end up generating three ideas a day … and this alone can keep you a step ahead when it comes to what you're going to write about next. Allow me to demonstrate. After a quick search of parenting blogs, I found a recent post on how songs can ease toddler transitions. If I were also a parenting blogger with a focus on toddlers, after reading this blog post, I might come up with the following three ideas for my own blog: - Creating a well-balanced routine for your toddler with time for Play, Rest, and Work - 5 ways you can use music to prevent toddler tantrums - The power of social stories for helping toddlers cope with big changes Each of these ideas was triggered by something mentioned in the article. But they also each have their own focus, one that's different from the inspiring post. If I read three parenting posts or news articles each day and then come up with three ideas from each one, I'd come up with nine new ideas every day. They wouldn't all be amazing. But I'd always have an idea in the hopper. #2. Social Listening Another great way to come up with ideas for your blog is to spend some time doing keyword research. You can use some of the free tools out there to get an idea of what people are looking for and how they're looking for it … tools like UberSuggest, AnswerthePublic, and SerpStat. Each of these tools has a free and paid version. Start with the free version, and then if it seems useful enough to be a good investment, test out the free trial of the paid version to see if it is. You can also use social media to listen into what people are saying about your topic. For example, do a hashtag search on Twitter. Join a few Facebook groups that focus on your topic or do a search on Facebook. Follow a few influencers on Instagram, watch some trending YouTube videos, and search Pinterest. By taking this approach, you go a step beyond what other bloggers in your industry are writing about. You're listening to your audience to discover what they're looking for and what they're talking about when it comes to your topic. Use what you find to brainstorm new ideas. So, for example, when I type toddlers into Answer the Public, some of the things that come up are: - Are toddlers psychopaths - Toddler Where's Waldo Costume - How toddlers communicate And over on Twitter, doing a search on toddlers comes up with: - A toddler reading to a bunny - Celebrating a fifth birthday - Toddlers and rapid mood changes So of these topics, I do a quick brainstorm on "Toddler Where's Waldo Costume" and come up with: - Five Warm Halloween Costumes a Toddler Will Love - Making a Halloween Costume From Stuff You Already Have - How to Turn Any Child's Book Into a Game So, three more ideas … and that's just from one search result on Answer the Public. I could spend an hour on this and probably generate between 50 and 100 ideas. Would all of them be something I'd decide to pursue? No. But they don't have to be. This exercise would give me enough to plan my calendar for months to come. #3. Second-Level Brainstorming So brainstorming seems like an obvious suggestion for coming up with ideas for your blog. And it is! It's a classic go-to because it works. My approach to brainstorming goes like this … Step 1: Get out a pen and a pad of paper. (I brainstorm way better by hand than I do at a keyboard.) Step 2: Set a timer for 10 minutes. Step 3: Put on some raucous music that doesn't have any lyrics. (Or whatever works best for you.) Step 4: Focus on your topic. Fix it in your mind. Step 5: Hit start on the timer and don't stop writing until the timer beeps (or until your hand cramps up so badly you don't have any other choice). When I do this, I usually come up with between 25 and 50 ideas … and I usually like all but a few of them. This is just a first-level brainstorm. The second-level is where the magic really happens. But first, it's important to keep in mind that when you have a blog (or you're doing content marketing for a client), it's normal to cover the same topic more than once. Some topics, you'll come back to again and again, but with a fresh angle each time. This happens because the topic is important to your audience, because you have new people in your audience who may not have seen that topic before, and because as you learn, you gain new insights that you'll want to share with your audience. So … the second-level brainstorm sets you up to cover the same topic from many angles. What you do is take one of your ideas from the list you just created. Write it at the top of a new page in your notebook. Set your timer for five minutes. Make that topic your focus. Then write down as many ideas as you can during the five minutes. You'll come up with different ways to cover the same idea as well as related ideas you might not have thought of before. While a first-level brainstorm generally calls up fairly broad ideas, the second-level brainstorm helps you come up with more granular topics for posts. Your blog will benefit from having both kinds of coverage. To demonstrate, in my first-level brainstorm, I might come up with the idea to write a post about 5 Fun Healthy Snacks Toddlers Will Love. That's got the makings of a good post. Then in my deeper dive, some of the more granular ideas that come up might be: - Food Art — Making Snacks That Will Make Your Toddler Giggle - Food Fight! What to Do When Your Toddler Won't Eat - Baking with Toddlers — Easy Recipes for Little Hands If my original brainstorm yields 25 results, a second-level brainstorm might yield 5 or 10. But if I do a second-level brainstorm for each of the 25 original ideas, I'll have somewhere between 150 and 275 ideas on my list. If a fear of coming up with ideas has been holding you back from blogging, that's a fear you can officially lay to rest. Coming up with ideas for your blog doesn't have to be torture. It doesn't even have to be something you worry about. In fact, with just these three methods, it can be a fun process … and in a single afternoon, you could plan your blog for years to come. Just remember to be flexible. Work new ideas into your list as they come up. Because once you start blogging, the ideas aren't going to run out … if anything, they'll come easier than ever before. Editorial Note: Every aspiring writer should write for blogs … Do it now and you'll not only become a better writer faster, you'll set yourself up for a five- or six-figure income, writing only a few hours a day. And during our exclusive (and early!) Black Friday deal, you can get Heather's Blog Writing PRO Workshop at a CRAZY discount … When you consider your first blog post will pay way more than the training itself, it's kind of a no-brainer, eh? [>> Go here now to grab it.]( Today is your last chance! What's Hot at AWAI … 👉 LAST DAY: [Grab Heather's Blog Writing PRO Workshop and save BIG!]( 💸 How do blogs make money? [Here's the breakdown.]( 🤩 [Event organizer trades cold winters and tiring commutes for life as a blog writer by the Caribbean Sea.]( Heck of a win … [Social media post about landing first client] Congratulations on getting your first client, Mike! Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! 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