I write a lot about content strategy and writing for the Web and I noticed a funny thing the other day. I was talking with a friend about an article he wanted me to guest write for his blog about helping out-of-work web content strategists find a job. We talked around the subject for a while trying to find a good angle and it occurred to me that it was no wonder we were having trouble – I don’t know any out-of-work content strategists!

That was kind of a revelation really. Even with the bad economy and double-digit unemployment, all the Web writers and content strategists I know are hard at work. The contractors are doing particularly well. But I DO know a few technical writers who have been recently laid off who are finding technical writer jobs hard to come by.

But the technical writers I know have great job skills. They can handle almost any kind of writing and are used to living under deadline pressure. It seemed odd that web content development and content strategy job skills would be in demand, but the closely related technical writer jobs would be drying up.

So we starting thinking – if technical writer jobs are going to be so hard come by, then maybe it’s time for my friends to take those technical writer job skills and put them to work elsewhere. This conversation got interesting fast. Before I started working in the Web content world, I had been a technical writer for ten years. So I have a deep understanding of the technical writer world, technical writer job skills, and how to take those skills and stop looking for technical writer jobs and move to growing areas of technical writing and on to other job areas such as the Web. I’m living proof that it can happen and that the change can be very profitable.

We came up with so many interesting article ideas that I decided to write about something else on his blog entirely and keep the technical writer jobs idea for myself as the subject of a blog. I think that technical writers have great job skills and I look forward to writing about how to best put them to use in a job that pays well and that they feel good about!

I’ll be covering:

• New and developing technical writer jobs
• Featured technical writer job listings
• Taking technical writer job skills to the Web
• Going freelance as a technical writer
• The technical writer jobs market

Plus anything else that pops into my head!

Learn more about how I used my technical writer jobs skills get a much higher paying job as a Content Strategist working on Web site development projects.

Content Strategy Jobs Board

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Technorati Tags: content strategy, freelance, Technical Writer Jobs

I see this all the time, especially with freelancers. A good client comes to them with a new project that involves writing a lot of new content for their Website. This is a great chance to quote a slightly higher rate. If asked about it I just say something like this:

“That’s my rate for Web Content Development. Writing for the Web requires a somewhat different skill set, is aimed at an audience who is usually less technical in nature, and I find the review cycles to be much longer and more in depth, so I charge a slightly higher rate.”

 
It’s usually a quick negotiation, either that accpet the rate or not. It’s not worth losing a good client over it, but it never hurts to ask.
 
Something else I’ve done with great success is to use an old marketing trick of showing them a discounted price. In the quote I send, I’d show them a much higher hourly rate for “Web Content Development,” and then I’d apply a “Best Client Discount” that brings the price way down to just a little bit more than I was already making. This way they think they are getting a deal!
 
Whether you are a freelancer or on salary, you need to constantly be on the lookout for ways to increase your rate. There are only so many hours in the day, if you want to make more money, you need to find a way to increase your hourly rate.
 

Technorati Tags: freelance, hourly rate, Technical Writer Jobs