Tips for Working in the Copywriting Industry

Individuals and business all over the world are turning to the copywriting industry for help on marketing, website content, technical handbooks, articles, books, and business plans. This is not a new fad - copywriters have been around for quite some time - but an explosion in the freelance industry has led to businesses and small companies that specialize in both copywriting and ghostwriting.

Whether you need revamped website content, a persuasive direct mailing, informative technical articles, or electrifying press releases, there is always a professional willing to create it for you. Copywriters typicall specialize in a particular niche of the market, such as website content, but usually branch out into other venues when the need arises. A good copywriter will take what their client wants and mold a creative, custom piece that is unique to that specific client and that speaks to a particular target audience.

After researching the industry and talking with lead copywriters, I have discovered that this business is not as cut-and-dry as it seems. Though there are many excellent copywriters with legitimate skills and experience, there are also freelancers who have no idea what they are doing and who leave extremely dissatisfied clients. It is important to thoroughly research the copywriter you are considering hiring and to request references and samples of their previous works.

Ghostwriters perform much the same job as copywriters, but they retain no rights to their manuscripts. Ghostwriters are truly "ghosts", for their bylines never appear below their work and their portfoilio's are typically kept secret. Businesses and individuals hire ghostwriters to create manuscripts for them to be submitted under the client's name, rather than the ghostwriter's. Celebrities often hire these professionals to write their memoirs, and businesses use ghostwriters to create promotional material.

There are several websites geared toward helping employers find the perfect ghostwriters for their projects. Some of these websites include:

~ www.getafreelancer.com
~ www.guru.com
~ www.elance.com
~ www.freelancewriters.com
~ www.sba.gov/freelancers
~ http://r144.com/article004.htm (SBA Freelancers)

Websites like getafreelancer.com are free, while guru and eLance charge fees to use their services.

One must be careful when using these sites, however, because the freelancers can write whatever they wish, regardless of the truth. Many freelancers on getafreelancer.com, for example, are from foreign countries and charge ridiculously low prices like $3.00/hr. One should steer clear of these types of freelancers because they can rarely produce the quality of work that they guarantee.

Freelance business are the safest way to go. Here are a few of the top copywriting business in the United States:

eWriters' Web: www.ewritersweb.com
Writers for Hire: www.thewritersforhire.com
Bill Butler: http://www.freelance-copywriting-services.com/
Levison: www.levison.com
Killer Copywriting: www.markpocock.com

These freelance business offer the custom, personlized treatment of a single freelance copywriter, while offering the benefit of an organized, established company.