Copywriting for the web, or content writing, is an important aspect of copywriting, and the availability of projects is numerous. In fact, there is an e-book written by an author from Delaware detailing how to can make over $60,000 writing for the web.

The field is so wide open because there are different types of writing that you can do as a content writer or copywriter for the web. It’s also somewhat easier to find work in this capacity because the clients in many cases are webmasters who are building sites for clients and need to develop the content before the site goes live.

One type of copywriting that you can do for the web is that of writing promotional type articles on various subjects as provided by the client. Known as ad copy, you may be asked to write about products or services the client provides or provide promotional articles about products and services that client may wish to promote on his website.

Copywriting for the web may also involve a lot of rewriting of articles in order to make sure that the articles sound different on each website—in fact, sometimes you will be asked to rewrite your own articles because they are going on different websites.

The other type of web copywriting is that of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For these articles, the client will give you a subject and list of keywords that he wants optimized. He will also usually give you a certain density or a number of times that he wants each keyword used.

Sometimes the phrases don’t make sense as you are writing them, but the purpose is to increase search engine rankings, and doing that means including phrases the way a web surfer may look. For the copywriter, this often means making certain that the articles make as much sense as possible with making only minor changes to the client’s choice of keywords such as those words not recognized by the search engines such as prepositions.

For instance, if you are doing an SEO article on the keywords “cooking backyard,” you can change it to “cooking in the backyard” without changing the client’s purpose since the search engines will over look the words “in the” anyway.

Finding clients for web copywriting is much easier than that of other copywriting since you can search websites and contact those companies who have articles published on their sites. You can even contact those with just text writing because they may need to optimize their site more in order to make it more visible to the search engines.

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There is a large variance even within the industry standard for copywriting. When setting rates, you have to look at several different factors including amount of work to complete the project, size of the project, your experience, and the budget of the client.

It’s possible to make up to $100 an hour copywriting, but that doesn’t mean that all of your projects can justify that kind of income. You will need to look at each project as a separate entity, and not as an entirety. You are not going to charge the same price for a 500-word web content article as you do for a complete advertising package.

Another you have to consider when setting rates is whether you are going to be doing the work yourself or outsourcing it. If you are doing to hire other writers to assist with the job, that will have a bearing on your rate, especially if you are going to pay your writers a fair rate.

If this is a client who is going to provide a large amount of work, you might be expected to develop a bulk rate based upon that. This sometimes becomes more difficult because you want to accommodate your client’s needs and continue to pay your writers a fair rate for their work as well.

When you quote a price for a client you have to take into consideration how much work is involved to complete the project. A complete advertising package is going to take more time, and you want to price it accordingly.

You may be willing to negotiate within reason, but sometimes you will find a client who is trying to get by as cheaply as possible, so you want to make sure that you don’t undercut your costs in order to provide for an unreasonable client.

Allow yourself to have the last word, even if it means that you may have to decline some projects because the client’s budget and yours just don’t seem to see eye to eye. Remember, if you take on a client who wants cheap rates, and you take on another project that pays more, you are going to put the lower paying project on the back burner to finish the one that pays more.

In order to avoid that, stay away from projects that fall too far beneath your minimum rates. If you stand your ground, the clients will soon learn how much you will go and will adjust their budgets accordingly.

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Whether you are working for yourself as a freelancer or working for a company, you still need to be able to develop yourself into a successful copywriter. After all, you are going to be selling a product or service, and even if you work for a company, your talent and creativity will make that business a success or failure. Listed below are some of the most important tips for being a success copywriter.

1. Put your client first.

This is one of the most important things that you can do in any business, and copywriting is a business whether you are working for yourself or for someone else. Your client is the meat of that business, so you need to be able to meet his or her needs 100%. Take the time you need to work with your client, and if it’s a new client, take some time to learn to know him or her and what their needs and expectations are.

2. Make sure you understand your client’s needs on each project.

Whether you converse with a client over the telephone, in person, or via email, make sure that you understand fully what they need for the project that you are about to undertake. If possible, have your client provide samples of what he wants so that there is no question about it. Of course, if you are providing web content or other writing that doesn’t require the inclusion or art, it is less explanation that may be necessary.

3. Make your rates competitive with the industry standard.

Everyone wants to make as much as possible in the copywriting business, but you want to make sure that you follow the industry standard or come close. Do not attempt to underbid the next person at the expense of your writers, and even if you do the work yourself, don’t attempt to become rich at the expense of your clients.

4. Always provide quality work.

This can never be stressed too many times, and it is the one thing that will make or break your business. If you outsource work, it is your responsibility to make sure that everything follows your high standards before you send anything to your clients. Don’t let your client be the one to find an error that one of your writers missed—you should be the one to do that.
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5. Always meet deadlines.

Sometimes things go wrong, but don’t make it a habit to turn in projects late. Make sure your writers know this as well, and allow for emergencies by giving your writers a deadline that is at least a day or two ahead of when you actually need the work. That gives you time to allow for extensions or to find another writer in case the original one is unable to complete the project.

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