Author Archives: Nick Usborne

When a freelance niche appears to be too narrow, but isn’t.

Published on June 20, 2013 by Nick Usborne

narrow freelance niche I’m a big fan of choosing a niche when you set up as a freelance writer or copywriter.

By that I mean that you should not set up as a generalist: “Hi, my name is Nick and I can write your direct mail, your social media, your White Papers, your video scripts and more…across every industry imaginable from the fashion world to industrial fastenings, and everything in between!”

If I did that I would be perceived as a generalist, a jack of all trades and master of none. How can people see me as an expert if I claim to be “expert” at everything?

It’s far better if you decide to become a true expert within a defined niche.

You can niche yourself by industry, “I serve companies in the consumer electronics industry.” Or by writing skill, “I write shareable content for the web and for social media.”

Do that and your prospective clients will know what you do, and choose you over other freelancers because you are an expert in your particular specialty.

Published in Freelancing
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But who writes the homepage?

Published on June 13, 2013 by Nick Usborne

fight for homepage There are copywriters for copy, and content writers for content…but who writes a website’s homepage?

There is no doubt that writers and copywriter are in demand.

With the explosive growth of web content marketing and social media, a lot of words need to be written. Not to mention all those sales pages and landing pages. And the emails and newsletters.

So it’s no surprise that when you do some Google searches for words and terms like copywriter and “content writer” you get a lot of results.

Here’s what I found today on Google

copywriter - 13,800,000 results

“content writer” – 4,180,000 results

There is plenty of supply and demand when it comes to copywriting and web content writing.

Which brings us to my key question…who writes the homepage?

Published in Copywriting, Web Content, Writing for the Web
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The power of vertical networking.

Published on May 30, 2013 by Nick Usborne

A while back I was interviewed for a book on networking. My first response was, "Hey, I don't network. I hate that stuff."

In other words, you won't catch me dead shaking hands and passing out business cards at a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. Nor do I cold call. Nor do I wander around conferences with my hand thrust out saying, "Hi, my name is Nick Usborne." It's just not part of my character.

I guess that was my view of "networking".

But as I started writing, answering each of the interview questions, I realized that I network as much as the next person. I just go about it a different way.

The more I think about it, we all network, one way or another. If you think this doesn't apply to you, just make a quick mental tally of the people you know in your industry. People you have worked with, exchanged emails with, met somewhere.

Published in Freelancing
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The topic for your own money-making website is right there in your head.

Published on May 23, 2013 by Nick Usborne

As you may know, outside of my regular work I also have a hobby website about coffee. It’s called CoffeeDetective.com.

This is a site I started 7 years ago, and I’m still adding to it and improving it today. How come? Because I’m a huge coffee lover and enjoy writing about it and helping people brew a better cup of gourmet coffee at home.

Another reason to enjoy writing my site is that it has become a second source of income for me and my family. Best of all, it’s pretty much passive income, through ads and affiliate partnerships. I don’t have to sell or ship anything. I just have to keep writing and adding great content to the site, which I enjoy doing.

Anyway, a few years after starting the site I decided to share what I had learned with other people by writing a program which explains, step by step, how to write your own money-making website.

Over a thousand people have now taken the program, and hundreds of new websites have been published. And some of those sites are now coming close to or even exceeding the income I make from my coffee site.

Published in Writing for the Web
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To succeed as a freelancer, make yourself uncomfortable.

Published on May 21, 2013 by Nick Usborne

I was talking with a freelancer the other day who explained how he was working with just two clients who had been giving him almost all of his work over the last 3 years.

In one sense, that feels like a dream situation for any freelancer. He has a constant, reliable source of work, every day. He doesn’t have to spend time marketing his business. He doesn’t get stressed about finding new work each month.

Perfect!

Not so fast.

If you think about it, he’s actually in a horribly vulnerable position. I have had clients like that myself. Sometimes they stay with you for a year, or maybe 3 years, or even 5 years. But they’ll never stay with you forever. Companies are bought and sold, key staff change positions or employers. And so on.

Published in Coaching, Freelancing
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