This is a guest post by Brandon Cornett.
As a freelance writer, you have one of the most useful marketing tools at your disposal. I'm referring, of course, to your writing skills. Your ability to write content efficiently is particularly useful for web marketing purposes.
In this article, we will examine some of the ways you can leverage your writing talent to grow your business online. Specifically, we will talk about blogging, article marketing, online press releases and keyword-rich website content.
Business Blogging
A blog is a type of content-management system that is arranged in reverse chronological format (with the most recent blog posts at the top). That's a technical definition. But in terms of marketing, a blog is much more than that. It's a way for freelance writers to showcase their technology skills, promote their writing talents, and increase their search engine visibility -- all at the same time.
Article Marketing
I write several articles a week to support my own business, and I distribute them online through such websites as EzineArticles and Article Dashboard. I've been doing this for several years, because I realize the long-term benefits of the strategy.
This Internet marketing strategy helps you in several ways. For one thing, you get another source of online exposure. People can find your articles through search engines when researching freelance writing topics. Also, because you are able to include an author's note with a hyperlink to your website, the articles can send you direct traffic. Publish new material on a regular basis, and you'll begin to see the business-building potential of article marketing.
Best of all, this technique is ideally suited for freelance writers because it taps into their primary skill set -- the ability to create quality content on a regular basis.
Online Press Releases
In addition to offering this as a service to your clients, you can also use press releases to promote your own business. This is especially useful when there is something unique about your business, or if you cater to a particular industry or niche. If you have something newsworthy to say about the freelance writing services you provide, or the way you provide them, then use your talents to write a press release about your services.
You can publish your release online through news-distribution websites such as PR Web and many others. If the press release is specific to a particular industry (real estate, healthcare, etc.), you can submit it to those news channels as well.
Keyword-Rich Website Content
As a freelance writer, you can get a lot of business from the web. I would say that 95% of my clients find me online, and more often than not this happens through one of the major search engines. But that's only because I realize the value of good search engine visibility, and I work hard to pursue it.
The first step in creating a search-friendly website is to build your content around key phrases. These are the phrases that people type into search engines when looking for the kinds of services you offer. For example, a direct mail copywriter would want his or her website to come up high in the search engines for phrases related to "direct mail copywriting." You get the idea.
Using a keyword research tool, you can make a list of key phrases people are searching to find the services you provide. WordTracker has a free version of their tool online, so that's a good place to start. Then you would use your writing skills to create keyword-rich content around those key phrases. This is the fundamental building block of search engine optimization / SEO, and it will help you bring more qualified traffic to your website.
About The Author
Brandon Cornett is a freelance copywriter and Internet marketing consultant in Austin, Texas. If you would like to learn more about the Internet side of running your business, check out the author's informative website at www.austinseoguy.com
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