Are you a versatile freelancer?

One mistake novice freelance copywriters make is to think of themselves as “writers.”

It’s an understandable error. Usually, those who get into this profession are people with a background in writing. They see freelancing as a way to write and actually get paid decent money for it.

But freelancing is really a service business. You provide a service (copywriting) to various companies, not because they want writing, but because they need copy to help them sell products and services.

Once you make that little mental adjustment, you realize that if you can provide one service, you can also provide other services. This is what most businesses do and it’s what you should do as well.

That’s the premise of a new book by Don Hauptman, one of the most respected copywriters in the industry. The book is called The Versatile Freelancer: How Writers and Other Creative Professionals Can Generate More Income by Seizing New Opportunities in Critiquing, Consulting, Training, and Presenting.

Don shows a variety of ways that copywriters, or any type of freelancer, can make extra money using the core knowledge and skill they have as writers.

For example, Don starts out by talking about “critiquing,” which is a service I’ve offered my clients for many years. This is both practical and timely, given today’s tough economy.

Sometimes a client wants to work with you but doesn’t have the budget to pay your full copywriting fee. By offering a critique of ads, brochures, Web sites, direct mail, or other items, you can provide a valuable service at a lower cost. I’ve also found that it’s a good way to “audition” for some clients. Once they see how helpful your critique is, they feel less risk in hiring you for your premium services.

Don also covers public speaking, training, giving seminars, and other services, with lots of specifics and personal anecdotes about how he used these ideas in his long and successful career.

What I think you’ll enjoy just as much as the sound advice is Don’s writing style. He’s a master wordsmith and a well-known author of books on language and wordplay. I guarantee, Don agonized over every word to make The Versatile Freelancer a joy to read.

CLICK HERE to find out more and order your own copy.