Make It Different in the Best Way: 4 Proven Ways to Control Your Future in 2022
By Jen Adams

It’s time for a different approach to your life.

And there’s no time like right now to make it happen.

That’s what millions of people around the world decided this past year when they left jobs that no longer met their personal or professional needs. In the U.S. alone, nearly 35 million people have quit or resigned since the start of 2021.

Why?

Reasons varied, but many of them are things you may relate to — not being happy with the job, wanting a better work/life balance, or needing more flexibility to be present with family and friends.

Many “quitters” also said they wanted more interesting work. More fun. And more money, too.

Writing can provide all of that. Balance. Flexibility. Fun and good money at the same time.

Plus, by choosing the writer’s life now, you have the chance to make sure 2022 goes the way YOU want it to go.

You can put yourself in charge of your future, and swap a reactive, passive approach to life for an intentional and active journey toward your writing and lifestyle goals.

The key? Four simple steps I’ll explain here.

Even better? Each one of these steps is available to anyone, of any age or world geography. If you’re ready to make 2022 your best and most positively interesting year yet, this is how you make it happen.

Step 1: Choose to Be Your Own Boss

The first step to making 2022 a different experience is intentionally choosing to make a change.

One of the worst experiences of the recent past has been the overwhelming uncertainty. We’ve been flooded with all kinds of information — breaking news, politics, personal updates — faster than most of us can process.

So if you’ve been feeling a bit “stuck” or locked in “analysis paralysis” when you consider your future, it’s not your fault and you’re not alone.

You do, however, have the power to make a change.

You can move forward faster and make your life better in the coming year.

Choose to do it. Make the commitment that you won’t settle, won’t stay put, won’t sit on “stand by” any longer. You’ve played enough waiting games.

It’s time for positive action, and fortune favors the bold.

Step 2: Learn a Highly Valuable Skill

Now that you’ve committed to making a change in your life, it’s time to learn a valuable skill that will help you finance your renewed and refreshed existence.

Again, the writer’s life is the answer you seek. Writers have done exceptionally well over the last few years, and the pandemic driven “Leap” to online and virtual commerce was a major boon to the profession.

According to latest earnings figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median income for "typical jobs" in 2020 was $41,535, or an average of $19.96 per hour. For writers? $67,120 per year, or an average of $32.27 per hour.

That's a $25K difference, the largest gap I've ever seen between traditional workers and the writing profession (and I’ve tracked this for more than a decade). Writers may be stereotyped in popular media as starving and struggling, but the reality is that we’re out-earning many of our peers.

So what’s the fastest way for you to get going and get earning as a writer? Get comfortable creating the most popular and easily sold types of writing — emails, blog posts, social media ads, and sales pages.

You can learn each of these formats inside AWAI’s foundational program, The AWAI Method™ for Becoming a Skilled, In-Demand Copywriter. Plus, while doing the Method program, you can get critiques of your practice assignments and samples so you’re 100% confident you’re mastering the skills and ready to take on paying clients.

And once you’re ready to take on clients, it’s time for the third step …

Step 3: Match Your New Skills to One of the Red-Hot Markets Hiring Now

Your skills as a writer are in high demand in multiple markets and niches (dedicated topic areas) around the world. Fast financial success could be as simple as letting potential clients in hot markets know you’re available for work.

In The Professional Writers’ Alliance this past fall, we profiled some of the biggest opportunities right now. Members got in-depth reports, but there’s so much work to go around I’m happy to share these insights from two of the more lucrative markets with you here:

Red Hot Market #1: Web Writing

Since March of 2020, the web-writing world has seen almost 10 years of growth compressed into about 18 months. Businesses can’t get enough of what web writers offer, with especially rich opportunities available in:

• User experience (UX) writing, where you help companies make visiting their sites and using their online resources interesting and painless.
• Segmentation, which is writing (or rewriting) marketing materials to appeal to different audiences.
• Social storytelling, which helps businesses stand out on crowded social platforms and find the customers who love their values and brand as much as their products.
• Voice search writing, a special craft that helps companies show up in search results for the 70% of web users who prefer to ask their devices to search for them instead of typing search terms manually.

Red Hot Market #2: B2B Writing

Specialty vendors and large corporations that used to sell at trade shows or with sales team visits have needed to completely overhaul their marketing for the COVID era. Some of their biggest needs — and the places they’re prepared to pay you the most for your help — include:

• Retention marketing, which means helping businesses keep the customers and contracts they already have (particularly hot in subscription-based apps and software firms).
• Educational and how-to video scripts, to fill in the gaps for sales team members who no longer do site visits or provide initial on-site set-up experiences.
• Virtual event marketing, since in-person conferences and trade shows still haven’t fully returned to all parts of the world.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and search-driven marketing, which keeps B2B firms near the top of search results so they attract new customers in their target markets.

These opportunities aren’t just red hot — they’re lucrative, too. Search Engine Optimization work (for voice or traditional text) can range from $300 to $900 per page of optimized content. Short video scripts can bill out at $200-$300+ per filmed minute. Segmentation allows you to take any project and multiply your billable range by customizing it for each audience your client wants to target.

Plus, every opportunity I’ve just shown you is something you can learn to navigate quickly. The AWAI Method™ sets you up with the basic foundations, and once you have clients, you can continue to build your skills and specialize. You’ll quickly find that just a handful of good clients will keep you quite busy, and have you well on your way to the income and lifestyle you’d like.

And, to keep you going and ensure you’re successful from the start of 2022 all the way through, there’s one more step to take …

Step 4: Align Yourself with Other “Can Do, Will Do” Thinkers to Support Your Success

When you make a change to your life, having a “support squad” on your side can help that change stick. It’s the same with the writer’s life … you’ll enjoy lasting success by aligning yourself with other action-focused writers who can support you, inspire you, and celebrate your successes along with you.

Where can you find your support squad, especially if you’re just starting you? A great starting spot is AWAI’s Copywriting Insiders group on Facebook, where you can link up with writers who are just starting out, mid-career, and super experienced. Each day in that group, dozens of questions are answered, samples are critiqued, and wins are celebrated.

Depending on the niche you choose or your writing specialty, you may also choose to join smaller, more dedicated personal accountability and industry-specific groups. You may also choose to join groups focused on getting clients, like The Professional Writers’ Alliance. The important thing to remember is that thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web, no matter where you live, you’ll never have to walk your writer’s road alone.

Claim the Future You Deserve in 2022

Whatever lies behind you, 2022 is a chance at a fresh start and your opportunity to make this year different in all the best ways. To ensure the year goes as YOU plan, commit to making it YOUR year of change. Learn the financially valuable skill of writing, connect with hungry markets, and surround yourself with support. By this time next year, you could be celebrating a brand-new writer’s life … one that you steer in the direction you prefer, and one more than capable of giving you the life of your dreams.

Want to make your commitment to a different life in 2022 (and beyond) public? Share your goals below and take the first step toward your new life.