Getting Clients with a Money-Making Website

By Rebecca Matter

for

American Writers & Artists Inc.245 NE 4th Avenue, Suite 102

Delray Beach, FL 33483Phone: 561-278-5557Fax: 561-278-5929

Website: www.awaionline.com

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Getting Clients with a Money-Making Website

Many successful freelancers will tell you that promoting yourself is a numbers game ...

The more potential clients you reach out to, the more likely you are to land clients.

Now, I won’t argue with it on a surface level … I do believe the more opportunities you have “at bat,” the better your chances are to hit a home run.

But if, like me, you would prefer to have a very good shot of landing a client each time you spoke to one, so you wouldn’t have to take so many shots, then read on …

What I’m going to share with you is a marketing strategy that dramatically increases the odds of a potential client responding to your very first connection with them … a strategy that allows you to demonstrate your work to a prospective client while building a passive income at the same time … a strategy that immediately shows your value and puts you in a position of power … and a strategy that pushes potential clients to snatch you up before their competition does.

Seem too good to be true?

It’s not. And you may very well have already laid the groundwork to start using it if you already have a Money-Making Website. (If you don’t have one yet, don’t worry.)

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In this report, I’m going to show you exactly how to start leveraging a Money-Making Website to win clients and build your web-writing business.

I’ll even show you how to pick the perfect topic for your Money-Making Website … how your new site will bring a host of big benefits to your web-writing business … and exactly how to use it as the most effective self-promotion tool in your arsenal.

If you’re ready to find out how to use the marketing strategy with the highest conversion rate, then you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s get started!

Rebecca Matterwww.rebeccamatter.comwww.Facebook.com/RebeccaMatterWrites

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Get More “Yeses” From Your Marketing EffortsHi, I’m Rebecca Matter. As the President of AWAI, I hear from freelance web writers on a daily basis. And as you can imagine, the one question I get asked most often is, “What’s the best way to market myself?”

Now truth be told, there are many “great” ways to market yourself. But lately, my response shares the strategy I personally would use if I were starting from scratch, and launching a brand-new web-writing business …

I’d put together a Money-Making Website.

If you’re not familiar with a Money-Making Website, it’s basically an information site on a specific topic. In this case, your website would be on a topic relevant to your writing niche.

The benefits of this strategy are many …

First, if your Money-Making Website is set up to cater to the niche you want to work in, you position yourself as an expert in your field. Not just a flash-in-the-pan expert, but a consistent, steady voice in your industry. It gives you instant, undisputed credibility with anyone you target as a potential client.

Next, your Money-Making Website is the best portfolio and business card you could produce, all wrapped into one neat package. Your site demonstrates your ability to write. It shows off your knowledge of your industry. It reveals your personality, your professionalism, and your reliability. It proves you are comfortable working online and that you understand the nuances of online marketing because you use them everyday on your very own website.

And then, your Money-Making Website is the very best conversation starter you could ever have. Any time you want to approach a client, your site gives you a reason … a way to offer immediate value to your client — I’ll show you exactly how that works a bit further into the report.

But the benefits don’t stop there.

When you build and maintain a Money-Making Website, you’ll also be building a passive income stream. One that will grow over time, and could provide you an additional $500, $1,000 … even $5,000 a month. Imagine how that would change your mindset when it comes to the projects you take on. You’d be able to pick and choose, working only with clients on projects you’re passionate about.

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And your Money-Making Website is one of the fastest ways to hone your skills as a web writer and an online marketer. It becomes a testing ground where you can try out new writing strategies … new content marketing methods … new email marketing approaches … new SEO techniques … new Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing campaigns … new social media platforms … and more …

Whenever you talk to colleagues or clients about online marketing strategies, you won’t be talking about articles you’ve read or what you think will happen. You’ll be speaking from a position of real-world experience. Talk about a confidence builder!

That’s a lot of benefits from a website that will take you a couple of weeks (if that) to launch and then a few hours a month to maintain.

And by now I’m sure you’re seeing why it’s my top strategy for attracting new clients to your web-writing business.

Of course, before you can start using your Money-Making Website to attract clients, you need to put one up. So, let’s start at the beginning …

What is a Money-Making Website?A Money-Making Website is a topical website — one that provides information on a specific field of interest to people searching for it online. Your target audience has questions. They have problems. They have interests. And your website is a resource that handles all of that … answering their questions, solving their problems, and providing them with more knowledge about their interests.

A Money-Making Website uses articles, surveys, infographics, special reports, videos, photos, podcasts — or any combination of these types of media — and more to attract visitors and provide them the answers they are looking for.

In addition, your Money-Making Website gives you a number of ways to build a passive income. You can run AdSense campaigns on your site. You can sell banner ad space. You can set up affiliate arrangements with people or companies selling products related to your industry. Or you can create your own information products to sell. (Or “all of the above!”)

And if you set up your Money-Making Website in the right niche, it can attract your ideal clients to you while also giving you a way to contact them that is practically impossible for them to resist.

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Think about it. When you approach a prospective client, you have four goals.

1. You want to make a connection. You want to ensure you’re talking to the right person in the company, and you want them to actually read your email or take your call.

2. You want to quickly prove your expertise. The potential client needs to feel confident that you know your craft and can do the job well.

3. You want to show that you can provide value. The more value the potential client sees that you can provide, the more attractive you’ll be and the better position you’ll be in to claim higher fees.

4. You want to start a conversation that leads to a relationship. The chance you’ll reach out to a client at the exact moment they’re looking to hire someone is rare. Focus on building a long-term relationship so when they do need someone with your skills, they’ll know exactly who to call.

A Money-Making Website gives you a head start on every one of these. And the best part, is you are never starting from scratch.

But your site has to focus on your niche, so let’s talk about that for a moment.

Choosing the Right TopicChoosing your niche is really its own separate topic, but it plays a crucial role in the Money-Making-Website-as-Marketing-Tool strategy.

When you choose a niche, you focus on a specific market and a specific type of client. You may choose to concentrate on small businesses in the vegan foods industry. Or you might want to focus on working with start-up software companies.

The number of possible niches is immense. That’s good news because it means that you can almost certainly find a niche with enough clients to support your business that you are also passionate about.

When you choose your niche, follow these steps:

1. First, consider your own interests and experiences. What companies have you worked with in the past? What are your hobbies? What are things

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you’re interested in that you’d like to learn more about? What did you study in school? What career dreams did you have as a child? You’ll have a big list of possibilities when you’re finished making this list.

2. Next, narrow down your list to the top two or three niches you’d be most interested in working in.

3. Then, do your research. It isn’t enough to choose a niche you’re passionate about. You must also choose a niche that has enough different companies (and different kinds of companies) within it that you’ll be able to line up plenty of work. Visit business directories and see how many companies are listed when you search for your niche. Look for trade associations linked to your niche. Check news feeds and see if your niche has things happening. Look at Google Trends to see how often your niche is searched for. Do a search for “marketing spending” + “your niche” to find out if companies are spending money on marketing.

4. Finally, based on what you’ve learned, choose the best niche for you. Consider both your interest level and the potential for landing clients.

The niche you choose will direct the topic for your Money-Making Website. Let’s say you decide to work in the vegan food industry ...

Who are your dream clients? And who is their target audience? What are those people interested in? What are their problems? What are they searching for?

Maybe it’s vegan food trends, vegan restaurants, vegan cooking, and vegan cookbooks.

For another example, let’s use the child education industry. In that case, your dream client’s audience would be parents who want to augment their children’s education.

Or it could be working teachers.

Or volunteers heading up extracurricular education programs.

Your Money-Making Website should attract the same readers your dream clients want to do business with.

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Depending on which you choose, the focus of your website might change. Remember, the idea is to create a website that appeals to your dream client’s audience.

In other words, your Money-Making Website should attract the same readers that your dream clients want to do business with.

If you’re stuck on picking a niche, you can get more help on Wealthy Web Writer right here.

Setting Up Your Site — The Basics

Once you’ve chosen your site topic, the next step is to get your site launched.

If you don’t already have a Money-Making Website, the best guide to developing and launching your site is Nick Usborne’s How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites. He walks you through the steps of researching your audience, developing site categories and a navigation structure, and organizing your content in a way that’s easy for your visitors to find … and much, much more.

That being said, since you are going to use your Money-Making Website to approach and land web-writing clients, you’ll want to weigh some additional considerations …

First, what are your client’s prospects searching for?

The audience for your Money-Making Website is the same audience that your desired clients are trying to reach. Research that audience and find out their main concerns. What specific topics are they interested in? What questions do they have about products like the ones your client is selling? What problems do they have that your clients’ products could help them overcome? What key phrases are they using when searching for information?

Four Quick Steps to Picking Your Niche

1. List your interests and experience.

2. Narrow your list to your three favorites.

3. Research your top three picks.

4. Choose the niche with the best mix of possible clients and personal interest level.

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The answers to these questions will help you develop the initial content for your site and to figure out the best approach to your site’s navigation.

What are your client’s prospects buying?

Think about things beyond your topic that these same prospects are buying. This will give you more ideas for content that will be attractive to the audience you want to draw in.

How will you structure your content?

Part of what is attractive to your potential clients is the audience you are cultivating. What can you do to make your site a favorite resource — an engaging resource — for this key audience … one that is easy to find, that they will come back to, and that they will share with others in the same audience?

Your overall goal is to set up your Money-Making Website as something more than an information site. You want to be able to easily incorporate product reviews and sales into the site. So, consider that in your design.

Using Your Site to Attract ClientsThe strength of using your Money-Making Website as a marketing tool is that it gives you an easy way to get your foot in the door with any client. Instead of picking up the phone and making cold calls or sending out dozens of prospecting emails to random people, you will strategically write content that will ensure they take your call … and ultimately attract clients to you.

Let’s explore a few of the most powerful ways to get your foot in the door …

1. Write Product Reviews

Your client has a product they are selling and are in business to sell more. You’ve cultivated a website that attracts people interested in learning more about that product and possibly even purchasing it.

So it makes sense to write a review of your dream client’s product. Along with providing relevant and useful information to your own site visitors, you’re writing something also of value to your dream client.

Here’s how this strategy breaks down:

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• Identify products that your dream client produces. Also identify competitors and their products.

• Send an email to the Marketing Director of each company letting them know you would like to review their product. Tell them about your site and the audience, so they know where it will appear.

• Write a unique and honest review of each product that also demonstrates your writing ability.

(Note: If the company sends you a sample of the product for free, you must include a disclaimer in your post that you were given the product in exchange for the review.)

• Share the review through your social media channels.

• Send a link to the client so they can see your review. Nearly every marketer will visit that link to see what you’ve written. It’s a great way to showcase your skill and to engender goodwill.

Doing this achieves all four of your marketing goals:

• It establishes a connection.

• It shows your expertise by directly demonstrating your skill as a writer and your knowledge of the industry.

• It provides value to your potential client without asking for anything in return.

• And it lays the first building blocks of a relationship by paving the way for a conversation and establishing your goodwill.

And speaking as a marketer, I always want to read reviews of the products I’m selling. Reviews mean free exposure to an audience I may not be reaching, from a source my prospects will naturally trust more than anyone from my company.

2. Become a Dream Affiliate

Take it from me, companies know who their top affiliates are. I can rattle off AWAI’s best affiliates right off the top of my head. I make it a point to know because they are making it their business to help AWAI grow. That’s important to me.

And you can bet if you become a top affiliate for one of your dream clients, you will be important to them.

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Now I realize it’s not easy to just become a good affiliate …

And you won’t be able to accomplish it by simply setting up affiliate links and banner ads on your website. You’ll need to go the extra mile, and write actual sales pages and landing pages for the products you want to help those companies sell.

Sure, it takes extra work. But keep your goals in mind. You want to grow a passive income stream anyway. And this will help you do that.

Plus, you want to hone your writing and online marketing skills. This will help you do that.

And finally, you want to draw your dream clients to you. This will also help you do that.

Ready to become your dream client’s dream affiliate? Here’s how you do it …

1. Research the company’s marketing materials. Get to know their audience. Pay attention to the words and phrasing they use, what benefits they high-light, and the product’s price points and offers. Get to know how they sell to their audience.

Important Note: Make sure you’re only doing this for companies that value their marketing already and do a good job with it. Remember, in the end, we’re looking for companies to hire you as a copywriter, and these are the companies that will pay you what you’re worth!

2. Once you’ve done your research, look for ways you can make their copy stronger. Find the weak spots and apply what you know about good copy-writing to improve it. Take it from me, you can always make copy stronger. So look at what they’re doing and then make your sales page even better.

3. Contact them and ask them to review your sales page for accuracy. Mar-keters will jump on this. You’re offering to add revenue to their bottom line and all they have to do is review your copy.

If your copy is strong — and you should make sure it is — you’ll set yourself up as the ideal candidate to write their other in-house marketing materials.

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And again, this strategy accomplishes all four of those marketing goals — it gives you a reason to make a connection, it demonstrates your expert ability, it delivers value, and it starts building a relationship with the client.

Plus, your awesome sales page is also going to add to your own affiliate income. Talk about a true win-win.

3. Ask Them to Provide Quotes for Content

On your Money-Making Website, you’re going to be writing content on a regular basis. And you want to add as much proof and credibility as possible to your content …

One of the best forms of proof and credibility is a quote from someone else in the same industry.

And one of the best ways for a company to stay relevant, and prove their own credibility, is to be quoted by a third-party source.

Once again, a win-win.

Here’s what you do:

1. Write content that is relevant to your industry. As a Money-Making Web-site owner, you’re also a content marketer. So pick topics that will naturally draw your audience to your site.

2. Contact a dream client about the piece you’re writing, and ask them for a quote on a very specific topic or angle.

3. If possible, show them other examples of content you’ve written, ideally that include quotes from competitors.

4. Make it easy for them to participate. Tell them what you’re looking for in a quote, and include an example they can quickly edit to make their own.

5. Give them a short deadline — 48 hours max. This ensures they don’t just put it aside to “get to it later.”

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By asking for quotes and showing them examples of other company quotes within existing content, you will make them see the value of your website. You’ll also establish that your emails are important and need to be opened quickly.

They’ll come to associate your name with potential opportunity, and again, that opens the door to developing a relationship.

Now, in some cases, after writing a review or a sales page and sending it to the marketer to take a look, you’ll get calls about doing projects ...

That’s the goal with all of this. So when it happens, pat yourself on the back. Goal achieved!

But other times, you’ll have to connect the dots for your dream clients to help them see what an asset you would be if you wrote their marketing materials.

Fortunately, your Money-Making Website, and the groundwork you lay by doing reviews, writing sales pages, and requesting quotes makes this easy …

4. Develop an Idea and Send a Proposal

Through the three strategies I’ve just shared — writing reviews, becoming a top affiliate, and asking for quotes — you’ve established a relationship with your dream clients.

They’ve seen your work. They’ve been in email communication with you. They know who you are. And that puts you in the perfect position to approach them with your ideas and to submit a proposal.

They are no longer considered a “cold call” … in fact, at this point, they are a very hot lead for you.

Again, your Money-Making Website plays a key role in this. You’re not just saying you know about the industry and understand how to effectively write for the Web … you’re able to prove it.

So keep that in mind when putting your site together …

Whatever projects you want to do for clients, make sure you also do for your Money-Making Website.

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First off, it will give you relevant samples to show clients. You’ll have real proof that you can do what you are suggesting for them.

Second, it gives you a track record. Whatever you do on your Money-Making Website, you know the results. You know if a new PPC campaign resulted in a 50% growth of your list. You know if the SEO work you’ve been doing has increased your traffic. You know the results of your social media, your sales pages, and your autoresponder campaigns.

So, you can approach your client not only with examples of your work from your website, but with proof that what you are doing will have a positive impact on their business.

Now the door is open with your potential clients … and they’ll be more likely to listen when you say things like:

“I noticed you don’t have <xyz> … I’d love to do that for you. I have some great ideas and you can see samples of how this is working on my site: www. mysite.com.”

“The sales page I wrote for your product is converting at xx% rate. How does that compare with the results you’re seeing on your own sales pages? I’d like to work together on improving conversion rates across the board.”

“I’m glad I’ve had the chance to get to know you and work with you over the past few weeks. You know, I’m also an online copywriter specializing in <name your industry> and have some ideas on how we could work together more. But I’d also like to know where your biggest needs are to see if there’s something more I can help you with.”

The goal in submitting a proposal or sharing ideas or just letting them know you’re available to take on freelance work is to help them connect those dots and see that you are not just a valuable resource because of your Money-Making Website, but that you can bring the same expertise directly to their projects.

5. Approach the Competition

Whoever your dream clients are, they have direct competitors … other companies who could also benefit from your expertise, and who may very well end up being even better dream clients in the long-run.

And you can easily leverage all of the additional time and energy you put in to targeting your first list of dream clients to target their competitors as well …

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With little-to-no additional work!

Simply do a little research if needed to see who else is in the space, and then show those companies the same content and sales pages you’ve written about their competitors.

Note: Don’t actually point out their competitors — they’ll notice that on their own. You’re simply sharing samples of your work.

No matter what, you’re going to spark their interest. They’ll see that you’ve been writing for and about the competition. And they’ll want the opportunity too.

Keep in mind that these are the companies that weren’t originally at the top of your list. You haven’t taken the time to cultivate them like you did with your dream clients. But what you’re doing here is leveraging the work you have done to get on the radar of as many potential clients as possible.

Why Your Money-Making Website Works So Well as a Marketing ToolSo there you have it …

Five strategies you can use to draw in clients with your Money-Making Website — all of which are practically guaranteed to give you a higher close rate than other marketing strategies.

Remember, you’re offering potential clients something of value …

A review that will drive more traffic to their website, more sales which will add money to their bottom line, and free publicity that will increase their reach and enhance their own authority/credibility in the industry.

And you have a lot of leverage because you’ve already built a relationship with an audience that your clients are also trying to reach.

Remember, this is not an “easy button” marketing strategy. It takes additional work, and a clear vision of who your dream clients are, what niche you want to work in, and the types of projects you want to take on.

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Rebecca Was Right — It Works!

Susanna Perkins, Wealthy Web Writer member and Roving Reporter, shares her story about using a Money-Making Website as a marketing tool …

“I have to say, Rebecca Matter’s advice to start your web-writing career by creating your own Money-Making Website is totally on target.

“These days, I write mostly about WordPress, and about expats and expatriation. That’s a big change from when I was a floundering generalist. Two years ago, I created a Money-Making Website to teach non-technical people how to use WordPress. It’s called WordPress Building Blocks. To my surprise, that site has led to some nice writing gigs. In May 2014, SiteSell approached me to write content for their WordPress plugin, BizXPress. This is an ongoing project. “I also have another site, which started as a hobby and gradually became a Money-Making Website. It’s all about expatriation and our life in Panama, and this site has led to writing jobs as well. “The How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites program helped me without a doubt. It forced me to pick a workable niche that I enjoy, and almost everything else I’m doing now has come from what I learned, the relationships I formed with other members in the program, and the sites I’ve created from it.”

But it works — very well, in fact. And for very specific reasons …

1. You’re giving your dream clients a ton of value before they even hire you.

You’re offering companies free traffic, free publicity, and free sales … who in their right mind would turn that down? Only a client you wouldn’t want to work for anyway …

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2. You’re more likely to follow through.

The best self-promotion strategy is the one that you will actually do. This method isn’t about sending cold emails or making cold calls or putting together direct-response mailings …

You’ll be doing what comes naturally to you as a web writer.

Research your audience. Write about things you’re passionate about. Learn more about online marketing. And offer value to your audience — both your visitors and your dream clients. A Money-Making Website requires a little more work up front, but once that’s done, it makes promoting yourself easy and painless. It won’t even feel like self-promotion!

3. It lets clients see your skill and expertise firsthand.

You don’t have to tell them you’re a great web writer — you can send them to your site where they can see for themselves what you can do for them.

This also means you need to do your best work on your Money-Making Website. Your reviews need to shine. Your sales pages need to convert. Your traffic needs to grow.

Basically, your site needs to be your very best client — the client who always sees your best possible work. Remember, if you do this right, your dream clients will begin to associate your name with opportunity. They will always open your emails. And they’ll seek out ways to work with you.

4. It tickles their fear factor.

What if one of the competitors hires you instead?

The knowledge that you are prominent in your niche increases their urgency to hire you. Because if they don’t, someone else in the industry will, and that organization will reap the benefits instead.

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It’s also worth mentioning a number of other professional benefits you’ll enjoy from pursuing this strategy that I didn’t even cover in the report …

• You’ll become a recognized expert in your niche.

• You’ll get direct, hands-on experience.

• You’ll reduce — if not eliminate — the fear of rejection.

• You’ll develop multiple streams of income.

• You’ll create loads of relevant samples.

• You’ll attract clients to you — the clients you want to work with will approach you. How great is that!

Closing Thoughts …Before I leave you, let me give you just a few more tips for success …

1. Relevancy is key. The content you create on your website must be relevant to your target audience. And your target audience must be the same one the clients you want to work with are targeting.

2. First impressions matter. Make a good first impression every time your reach out to a new prospect. Value the marketer’s time. Be informed — do research about the company’s products, about their marketing strategies, and about their audience.

3. Follow up. And again. (And again.) Your goal is to create good, long-term relationships with clients who will value your services and pay you well for them. Once you’ve built a relationship and established your value and expertise, follow that up with a proposal. The chance of hitting someone at the exact right time is rare. And if you don’t follow up, you will miss out on many opportunities.

4. Move clients to the next level. Once you land a client, keep bringing them new ideas. Keep moving them forward into bigger projects. It takes less time to land additional projects with clients you have already worked with than it does to land brand-new clients.

No matter how you look at this strategy, you’ll win …

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Having a Money-Making Website builds your reputation as an expert. It gives you a way to create work samples that are delivering value to your prospects. It will help you establish your expertise with the clients you want to be working with. And it provides an easy way to grow relationships with those clients.

Plus, at the same time, it builds your bottom line with additional streams of income.

Seven-Step Plan for Money-Making Website Marketing SuccessTo recap, let’s go over the steps for using a Money-Making Website to attract your dream client and build your web-writing business:

1. Choose a Money-Making Website topic that attracts the same readers your dream client wants to do business with, and launch your site. (Follow Nick Usborne’s How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites program if you need help with this step.)

2. Write a review of your dream client’s product and send a link to the client to showcase your skill and generate goodwill.

3. Become a dream affiliate and write successful sales pages that demonstrate you are the ideal candidate to write their other in-house marketing materials.

4. Ask your dream client to provide quotes to use in content to show the value of your website and establish that your emails should be opened (quickly).

5. Develop a project idea and send a proposal to let your dream client know you’re available for freelance work.

6. Approach the competition and spark their interest in the opportunities you can create for them.

7. Enjoy the passive income you’ve been generating with your Money-Making Website while you were marketing yourself to your dream client.

Now that you know how great — and how beneficial — this marketing strategy is, the next step is to start using it! (And then share your stories with me … I’m always available to help celebrate your success!)

Good luck!

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About Rebecca MatterRebecca is President of American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI), the world’s leading trainer of direct-response copywriters and graphic designers. A marketer with over 15 years of experience in publishing and direct-marketing, Rebecca has spearheaded successful million-dollar campaigns for countless products, both online and off, and has spoken and written on topics ranging from getting and working with clients to successful web marketing strategies. She’s dedicated herself to keeping AWAI members ahead of the curve … and in demand … by creating cutting-edge programs on the most marketable writing skills today.

She founded Wealthy Web Writer, which gives readers the tools, tips, and techniques they need to write effective web copy, identify new revenue streams for their businesses, find and work with new clients, and make money writing for the online world. Rebecca’s latest venture, B2B Writing Success, provides readers with the resources to succeed in the vast Business-to-Business copywriting market.