Website Basics for the Freelance Writer
May 5, 2008 by Deb Ng
Filed under Freelance Writing, Writing Tips
Whether you’ve just started your freelance writing career, or have been at it a while, you’ve most likely seen the advice to put up a website as part of your marketing efforts. DailyWritingTips.com makes a brief argument as to why this is necessary, while the writers at FreelanceSwitch.com simply state having one as a matter of fact. But just how do you get one?
Two Types of Website: Static vs. Blog
You’ll need to decide whether you want a static website or a dynamic website (a blog, basically). Both are surprisingly easy to set up, at least in a basic form.
Static sites
Most basic websites are static. That is, once created and put up, they remain basically unchanged. "Well-Fed Writer" Peter Bowerman’s site is an example of a static site.
To put up a static website, you’ll need to register a domain name, find a host, and create and launch the site itself.
Register a domain name
A domain name uniquely identifies your website on the Internet, and is the part of a web address between the "www" and the ".com". For this site, http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/, the domain name is "freelancewritinggigs". Registering a domain name costs around 7 to 10 U.S. dollars, and can be done through such companies as Dynadot, GoDaddy, and others.
You may be discouraged to find that most of the "good" domain names are taken, but there are still some gems available if you’re creative (which is a given, since you write for a living, right?). As a freelancer, it may even be as simple as registering your own name. (You should probably do this anyway, just in case clients remember your name, but not the name of your site or business; just have it point to your business site.)
Find a host
A hosting company’s computer is where your website will actually "live". There are many hosting companies available. Some of the more well-known include Dreamhost, Media Temple, and A2 Hosting. You’ll want a host that provides good support and makes installing and managing your site easy. A good discussion about the pros and cons of various hosts has been running recently over in the FreelanceSwitch.com forums.
Create and launch the site
Unless you’re a web designer, this is the hard part. The best option is to hire someone who knows what they’re doing. If that’s not yet financially feasible, you’ll have to do it yourself. The big daddy of site creation applications is Dreamweaver. Don’t buy this, as it is probably way more than you need.
I made my first website using a Mac program called Rapidweaver, and the process was fairly straightforward. It was just a matter of choosing a theme and creating the content. A similar program may be available for Windows (leave a comment if you know of one).
Once you have the site created, your hosting company will be able to help you install it. Congratulations! You’re on the internet!
Dynamic sites/blogs
The other kind of website you can have is one based on a blog. It seems more and more writers are taking this approach to having a website, and it makes sense. What better way to demonstrate to potential clients that you can write well and provide them with creative material than with regularly posting to your own blog? I recently switched my own website over from a static site to a blog because of the increased ease of managing the site, and to enjoy the benefits of having a blog.
What’s the same: registering a domain name and finding a host
I advise against setting up a free blog at Blogger.com or TypePad.com for your professional website. Not only will you have much more creative and technical control over your blog if you run it from your own domain, but it will leave a much stronger impression of you as a professional. (We can’t all be Seth Godin.) Plus, many hosting companies make installing a blogging platform automatic and painless.
What’s different: setting up a blog
You have a few choices of blogging platform to install. The two most common are Wordpress and Moveable Type, and both have strong support communities, a wide variety of themes available for personalizing your blog, and a large number of plugins you can use to enhance a visitor’s experience at your site. I personally use Wordpress, partly because there is a strong community of support, but mostly because installing it was made automatic and easy by my hosting company. Unless you’re comfortable typing commands in a Linux environment (and if you don’t know what that means, you aren’t), taking advantage of your hosting company’s automatic installation is the way to go.
So what does a freelance writer’s website need to have?"
Whether you set up a static site or a blog, your website needs to have a few key pages. (Even if you opt for using a blog as your professional website, you can still have static pages, and you should take advantage of that.) Pages you should have include:
- A description of services
A big appeal of being a freelance writer is the huge variety of work available. Freelancers can write for blogs, magazines, produce copy for ad agencies… The list is endless. So whether it’s a simple list (such as Peter Bowerman’s) or a more thorough explanation (such as the Men With Pens‘ or my own), your site will need to tell potential clients what you can do for them. - Writing samples
So the client has checked your site and seen that you provide the services they seek. Now you have to show them you can deliver what you promise. A page of writing samples will do the trick, and it doesn’t need to be that fancy. A simple list of files to download with brief descriptions will do the trick. Remember, these samples are here to get you hired, so make sure to include only your best work. You’ll find a good example of a samples page at Tracy Needham’s Compelling Communications site. - A "Contact Me" page
Whether you install the code for a contact form, or simply list information such as your email address or your phone number, you need to let visitors to your site know how to get a hold of you. Remember, the ultimate goal of your site is to generate business. No one will hire you if they can’t contact you!
Conclusion
Well, this post is titled "Website Basics" and that’s what you’ve gotten here: the basics. There’s certainly a lot more to discuss: plugins for making your blog easier to run and use, techniques for making your site easier to find using search engines, and more. But this should be enough to get you started (or at least get you started with Google!).
No matter how you approach putting up your site, put one up. My biggest client, a "dream client" I would never have considered approaching at this stage of my career, approached me and hired me for a major website copywriting job because they found my website. Setting up a website may seem like a lot of work, but it will definitely be worth it.
Good luck!
I want to be a freelance article writer please contact me
I had a website when I was first starting out and it didn’t get me much of a career boost at all.
I just use my blogs now. If someone can’t get an idea of who I am through my blogs, really there’s no hope.
For someone a bit more ambitious, you can learn how to make your website from scratch. There is an excellent tutorial on W3Schools.com.
http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
You will need to first learn HTML, and then CSS.
HTML helps you turn your text into something your internet browser can display, and CSS allows you to decide what will show up where on the page (makes it pretty).
It sounds scarier than it is. You should be able to put something together that looks half-decent in a couple of hours. And once you’ve learned how to do one site, the next one is easy.
The best part is, once you understand the basics of HTML, you can go to your favourite webpage, click on View–>Page Source in your browser and figure out exactly how your favourite site was put together. You can even cut and paste other people’s code and change the details for your own site.
If you click on my name, it’ll direct you to a site I put together from scratch in a couple of hours.
Be ambitious!
For someone a bit more ambitious, you can learn how to make your website from scratch. There is an excellent tutorial on W3Schools.com.
You will need to first learn HTML, and then CSS.
HTML helps you turn your text into something your internet browser can display, and CSS allows you to decide what will show up where on the page (makes it pretty).
It sounds scarier than it is. You should be able to put something together that looks half-decent in a couple of hours. And once you’ve learned how to do one site, the next one is easy.
The best part is, once you understand the basics of HTML, you can go to your favourite webpage, click on View–>Page Source in your browser and figure out exactly how your favourite site was put together. You can even cut and paste other people’s code and change the details for your own site.
If you click on my name, it’ll direct you to a site I put together from scratch in a couple of hours.
Be ambitious!
I should have a website. The major problem is that, of the hundreds of articles I’ve had published, only a few are under my own name. It makes providing samples pretty tricky.
Recently,I submitted a few pieces of work that I wrote in 1991 for a major publication. I have to admit that I wondered if I should submit more recent work since I know that my writing voice has changed over the years. I was pleased when I received a call stating that I could have the writing contract. However, I am curious how others view using dated writing for sample purposes.
I have a writer’s website. Editors use it. I know I’ve gotten assignments based on it.
Obviously my book review site is static – through BlueHost who are inexpensive and have been excellent IMO. I use a site from FreeWebs.com for freelance work and it’s gotten me quite a few job offers and doesn’t cost me a penny.
This was a good place to post this, Matt. I think many writers cut themselves short by not having some form of professional online presence.
Another problem we commonly see is writers saying, “Oh, when I earn some money, I’ll have a site designed…” Um, put the horse before the cart, people, if you want to go places.
I have both a static site and a dynamic site. My static site is simply to have a place to send prospective clients to when I’m applying for a job. The bulk of it is links to my work or copies of my print work.
When I first started my blog, I was skeptical about it. I was amazed at how many people found me through it – both clients and marketing companies asking me to review products for them. I think that if your blog has the same theme as your writing niche, it’s an excellent tool.
If you have both, make sure there is a link from your blog to your static site and vice versa!
First, a public thanks to Deb for the opportunity to do a guest post here. I appreciate it!
@Adam I agree it will eventually need to be necessary to learn some HTML and CSS to really make your site your own. Even using a nice theme with a Wordpress installation, one will want to tweak things to personalize the look, add or remove features, etc. And you’re right: it’s not that hard. The best way to learn is to look at existing HTML and CSS code and fiddle with it.
@James I agree. I try to tell folks their first won’t be the best, just like their first business card or brochure wasn’t either. But there has to be something to point clients to. Then more business will come in, raising more money, for a better site. A lot of folks today just don’t seem to get the importance of investment and long-term thinking. Planting seeds and all that.
@BooBoo If some of your best samples weren’t published under your own name, perhaps your clients will let you link to them and ID yourself as the writer. Maybe not, but you can ask.
@Robin I only recently launched the blog, but I hope to experience the same success with it you seem to have!
@Ann G. It’s great the Freewebs.com site has worked out for you. How long have you had it? Are you considering launching your own domain?
It’s a lot cleaner to send editors a link to your clips through your website than it is to have to send anything else.
I have set up three web sites using google apps. You can register your domain name through google, or do it though another service. The templates on google are extremely easy to use.
The hard part is getting google to point to your domain name if you register somewhere other than google (it’s called “verifying your domain.” However, there are lots of helpful people in the google apps discussion group who can get you through this process.
The other hard part is just finding the place in google where you start building your web site! Go to http://www.google.com, click on Business Solutions, then click on Google Apps. If you use the Basic Service and only have one user, it’s free hosting!
If you use a service such as godaddy.com or domaindirect.com to register your domain, they offer hosting and web templates to help you build your site, but it’s not free like google apps.
As a writer and graphic designer, I think it’s essential to have a static web site to show your portfolio, but I wonder sometimes how many potential clients take the time to go to my web site to check the samples, or whether it’s just an extra step they can’t be bothered with. Is it better to send samples with your resume?
Great post! Having someplace to send potential customers online is essential! It’s also important to have something writing related show up attached to your name if they Google you before hiring you.
As for the issue of not being able to afford a website, hosting and a domain name will cost you $20 initially and $10 per month after that. That’s a small price to pay for professional presence!
You can also find graphic designers who are willing to barter for work. Lots of designers need writing done and would be happy to trade services.
I am trying to get my writer’s website back up and running, and this was just the post I needed to read.
My website, too, is one I mainly use for sharing clips when trying to get assignments. Hopefully clients will eventually find me through it, though I’m not particularly counting on it. Mine is a static site, but I am considering adding a blog to it to keep it fresh and exciting.
For anyone who wants to create their own website, but can’t afford to hire a designer you might want to try googling “free website templates.” I found this link, and it has some nice free designs: http://www.opendesigns.org/view-designs/
Matt and James (and anyone else who can offer insight), could you provide any more detail on the time it took to set up the site, and the resulting benefits?
I don’t have a site and have done quite well without one, but know there can be some advantages. A disadvantage that concerns me is conflict of interest assumptions. I primarily work as a journalist, but also do some PR work. Some editors don’t want people who do PR, even if it’s unrelated. And some editors act like a writer should be exclusive, even if they don’t pay that way.
Similarly, there are some instances in which PR firms are in the same markets, so (in my experience) want to have exclusive deals with writers even though “freelance” is part of the agreement.
I’ve found it beneficial to keep quite about other clients (unless I need to show experience) when discussing new projects, hence my hesitation.
Also, I’m not a graphics or design person, and have little experience in HTML (but I am experienced with Underwood manual typewriters!), so the time factor is an issue.
Would appreciate hearing your thoughts and/or a separate blog topic covering this (hint, hint, Deb).
Thanks in advance,
@ Phil – Well, it’s a little unfair for me to say how long it took us to set up a new site, because 1) we’re designers and 2) we’re skilled website content writers.
I will say that when clients come to us, we usually turn around a new site within a week when we have clear guidelines to the brand and image the client wants to convey.
The results can be instantaneous. Monika Mundell hired us for a website redesign and the site gained her 4 new clients within a day – the site paid for itself three times over.
In our particular case, a site redesign shot our blog to celebrity status very rapidly. We’d been blogging for almost a year with slow results. A new look and a comfortable fit with our personalities… whew. What a ride.
People who have a good website that fits well feel better, more confident, prouder, earn higher wages, and generally do well in business versus those who have a poorly designed site or no site at all.
That help?
@Matt – like I said, I have a static site for my book review site and though it’s cheap, I find that the review site ends up costing me money because people just are not buying books as much as they used to. I’ve landed a number of jobs through the Freewebs site and just was offered a full-time proofreading/writing job through my Freewebs site, so I don’t see a need to pay for one. I went with Freewebs because they keep advertising to a bare minimum. I know some who have used Geocities in the past and I hate those sites – they load slowly and the ads drive me nuts.
Thanks for the info, Matt. I am trying to figure out how I can make my blog more professional and use it for this purpose!
I’ve got a few free blogs over at Blogger, but I’m seeing the advantage of a more professional looking one over at Wordpress. I have a new gig that has one there and I really like it. Might need to consider switching.
Great post – we writer’s need to know this stuff!!
@Laura Thanks for pointing out Google Apps. Since most of us are lone freelancers, using them to set up a site makes good sense. I only played around with their stuff a little bit, but it struck me as being easy to use.
@Courtney Good point about bartering with graphic designers. Works especially well if you can find someone else starting out. You can get a site, they can get copy, and you can form a partnership that can turn into a long-term working relationship that drives more work to the other.
@Phil Your situation sounds a bit tricky. My advice would be to create two distinct sites, one to promote your journalistic efforts and one for your PR stuff. As to the time it took to set up the site, well, that’s hard to say. The initial setup of Wordpress was automated and fast. The ongoing tweaking of the colors, graphics, plug-ins… It all adds up. It’s on the order of hours, anyway. Plus, I’m not a website designer, but am familiar enough with HTML and CSS to work “under the hood.” Based on your comment, I’d recommend hiring someone like James to do it for you.
@Ann G. Is Geocities still around? If my status bar showed the link I was about to follow led to Geocities, I passed. Bad.
@m and Erika Thanks for the kind words.
A reminder: A site doesn’t have to be just a blog or just static. Blog platforms such as Wordpress and Movable Type support the inclusion of static pages, too. If you look at my site, for example, every button in the top menu points to a static page on the site, and it was easy to do.
Timing is everything. The folks at smashing Magazine have just put up an overview of 25 WYSIWYG website editors. They call it a review of 25 editors, but the “reviews” are so brief that “overview” is a more honest description.
Check it out: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/06/25-wysiwyg-editors-reviewed/
Funny. I have been building, operating and selling web sites for a decade. I have about a dozen now, but none of them have anything to do with my writing. The odd thing is that freelance writing now provides more than half of my income. You would think I could find a free weekend to add another site to my arsenal. Color me lazy.