Are you a freelance web content writer?  If so, you may have noticed an increase in competition.  With high gas prices, the high unemployment rate, and various other reasons, more people want to work from home.  Many of these individuals give writing a chance.  Competition is nice, but it may leave you without work.  To find work, you may start to examine unconventional approaches, such as Twitter.

If you are a freelance writer, you may have heard of Twitter before.  As a writer and researcher, it is your job to stay up-to-date with internet happenings.  In fact, you may already be a member.  But, are you only sending messages to friends and family?  If so, you aren’t using Twitter to its fullest extent.  As previously stated, you can use it to gain writing clients and projects.  How?  By using Twitter as an internet marketing tool.

If you aren’t a member of Twitter, signup for a free account.  You can do so at Twitter.com.  After creating your screen name, password, and providing your email address, you start adding contacts.  You can do so by importing your email contact list or by searching for members based on email address, name, or location.

Before you start marketing your writing services on Twitter, you need to develop a list of contacts.  As stated above, this needs to be more than friends and family.  Start with a Twitter search.  You can do so by visiting Search.Twitter.com.  Perform a search with targeted phrases, like writing, writer, freelance writer, and so forth.  These individuals share similar interests with you, so they make great Twitter contacts and friends.

You can also turn to online message boards. Since marketing is an important component of writing on the web, you may already belong to a few message boards for writers, internet users, or working from home.  If so, create a new message stating that you are a member of Twitter and that you want to exchange information.  If someone starts following you, do the same.  

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The above mentioned approaches will help you find those with similar interests, likely other writers.  Now, you may wonder how this can benefit you.  After all, these Twitter members may be your competition.  They may apply and compete for the same jobs.  Yes, this is true, but have you ever been overwhelmed as a freelance writer?  If so, you may have turned to outsourcing.  This is your goal.

When following Twitter users who are writers, you will commonly find updates that include “I am overwhelmed with this writing project,” “I am suffering from writer’s block,” and so forth.  This is your opportunity to find outsourcing projects, even if they aren’t advertised as such.  Send an @reply saying “Writer’s block.  Yes, I have been there.  Taking a break or asking for help works to overcome it.”  You can also outright state that you are a writer and ask if any help is needed.  

Using @replies is the best way to market yourself, subtly, online as a freelance writer, but so is sending updates.  For example, do you have contacts on your list who run websites, are looking to work from home, and so forth?  If so, send updates that cleverly mentioned you are a freelance writer.  For example, “I just finished writing a series of articles for my blog.  I hope it generates enough Adsense revenue.”  First, you make it known that you write for money.  Next, you generate interest.  Someone on your follow list may respond to ask how you make online or they may even ask for paid help.

In short, Twitter is a social networking website that millions of internet users use.  Although social networking is often regarded as playful fun, it can work to your advantage as an online writer.  In fact, to become a successful and profitable web content writer, you need to rely heavily on internet marketing.  Twitter can help you.