March Winner of 4 Days to $400 Writing Challenge
By Pam Foster

Congratulations to William Weeks, the latest winner in our special program for new freelance writers — AWAI's 4 Days to $400 Writing Challenge.

This training program is for aspiring professional freelance writers learning the ropes for the first time through American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI).

Participants were challenged to write a "how to" or "listicle" blog post for AWAI readers, who are aspiring and working direct-response copywriters and content specialists.

The Challenge was to write a 1,000-word blog post that takes a fresh spin on the idea of how to write for money, which is what AWAI is all about. Participants followed four days of lessons on blog-writing best practices and how to find clients. They also scrutinized a variety of blog posts from different industries and audience types, studying the formulas that work best for business blogging. And they were given a chance to submit their best effort for the chance at a $400 prize.

AWAI Learning Chief Pam Foster worked with the AWAI Editorial Team to choose William's winning post titled, “How to Find Your Writer’s Niche with Ikigai."

In this short video below, Pam explains why William's blog post stood above the rest.

Watch Video

When William received the news that he had won, he said,

“Ikigai popped up on my radar a few months ago when I was researching niches and how to find one. I knew there was a diagram, so I figured writing a blog article about Ikigai would be quick and easy. It led me to creating my own Ikigai diagram and figuring out the steps to use this philosophy to find a writing niche. I’m super glad I stuck with it!

This was actually my second attempt with the 4 Days to $400 course … and the second blog I ever wrote. The first one didn’t make the cut, but it did resonate with some people on LinkedIn … so it’s still a win. The [challenge’s] swipe file of 24 blog samples, including the links to the full articles, and the AWAI Free Content Archive were tremendously helpful to get a feel of the tone, pacing, and style that AWAI is looking for. But the main resource I kept going back to, was the Day 2 video with Heather Robson and Nick Usborne. Thank you!"

Congratulations to William and to everyone who took the time to submit an entry! All participants who completed a blog post now have a finished sample of an in-demand project for their portfolio.

It can be your turn next! To enroll in our 4 Days to $400 Writing Challenge, check out the details here.

To discover more opportunities to get paid as a writer, be sure to read our daily e-letter, The Writer’s Life, and visit AWAI to browse through our many copywriter training programs.