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

Congratulations to Duwen Iye, 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 Duwen's winning post titled, “How to ‘Fail’ Your Way to More Freelance Copywriting Jobs."

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

Watch Video

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

"I've written blog posts in the past, but they were never up to the standard that I would've liked. There were a lot of things regarding topics, structure, and research that I wasn't aware of until I participated in AWAI's “4 Days” program. The program taught me vital information that took my blog writing to the next level."

Congratulations to Duwen 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.