How to Write A Business Plan for Web Writers in 9 Simple Steps

Any freelance writer wanting to start a new business needs a detailed plan. Your winning business plan not only helps you plan for income and success but acts as a blueprint for your new writing business.

Using the following tips you can write a freelance writing business plan to help you create a thriving new freelance business.

1 – Identify your mission and find your niche.

Selecting a writing niche will help create a mission statement for your freelance writing company.

Write one sentence that describes your purpose.

If your focus is SEO article writing for realtors and mortgage companies, your mission statement could read, “To help my clients reach the top of the search engines with quality mortgage and real estate articles that will help them increase their sales and brand recognition online.”

If your area of expertise is SEO writing for lifestyle ecommerce companies, your mission statement could say, “To help my fashion, home, shopping clients reach the top of Google, Bing and Yahoo search with quality  articles that will increase their brand recognition and sales online.”

2 – Make a list of start-up costs and monthly expenses.

Managing cash flow effectively is the first priority of any successful business. Include detailed information about your projected expenses in your web writing business plan.

Itemize your start-up costs and yearly budget before you launch. Failure to identify every expense could skew your revenue model towards high sales, but low profits.

3 – Gather important information.

Online market research is essential for determining profit centers. For your freelance writing or blogging business, consumer insights can tell you whether your business is meeting or exceeding your customers’ expectations and needs.

• Use Google insights for search to track keywords your target market are using to hire freelancers
• Visit online forums and job boards to check for issues and problems with hiring freelancers
• Monitor business trends by reading as many online newspapers, and trade journal articles related to your business.
• Create a simple one-page questionnaire for your clients to assess your current business strengths and weaknesses.

4 – List your services.

Create a minimum of seven products and seven services for your clients. As a web writer you could provide the following: press release writing, SEO articles, web copy, white papers, and blog posts.

Develop web packages for clients who wish to bundle their services. Plan to gain new web writing skills to expand your writing services each year.

5 – Determine hourly and project rates.

Research the current market rates for web writers with your skills and experience. A la carte writing services combined with package deals allows the client a variety of web writing options to choose from.

6 – List your freelance writing services and determine your rates.

Create 5 services and 5 products for your clients. As a freelance writer, you could offer the following SEO services:  articles, press releases, white papers, blog posts, and e-books.  Create a price sheet to quote clients your current rates for web writing services.

7 – Define revenue goals.

Your web writing revenue model is based upon the number of individual writing services and or packages that you can sell per month. Create weekly, monthly, and yearly sales goals based on the list of services created in Step 3.

Calculate the amount of revenue received minus your expenses to determine an accurate web writing profit model.

8 – Create an online portfolio and website.

Marketing your web writing services is a critical component of your web writing plan.

Hire a freelance graphic/web designer to create a simple portfolio to showcase your work.

If you are short on cash and cannot hire a web designer, use a free blogspot.com or wordpress.com blog site to create an online portfolio to showcase your web articles and clips.

When marketing your services online provide a link to your online portfolio in blog comments and forum posts.

9 – Identify no-cost marketing and publicity tools.

Include in your web writing business plan low-cost or free marketing strategies to promote your business. Join freelance web forums to promote your services. Create a blog to answer potential clients’ questions.

Include free marketing strategies like Twitter, LinkedIn, and freelance writing web forums to promote your business.

Write articles filled with keywords like “web writing,” “SEO article writer” or “Web copywriting” to advertise your services for free.

Web Writers Business Plan Tips & Warnings

• Upwork and Guru are websites where freelance designers bid on logo development and website creation for small businesses.
• The amount of online market research you gather for your freelance business is limited by your time and the quality of your research tool. But market research is essential if you want to grow your business and have continued success.
• If you don’t have the funds to pay a designer, create a free blog on WordPress or Blogger to promote your services.