With the help of the Internet and email, copywriters today can branch out beyond the geographical boundaries of their hometown, making it their world headquarters. And clients seem to be coming along for the ride, apparently not caring if you're a copywriter based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, like myself, or halfway around the world.

TAPPING THE INTERNATIONAL PORTAL

It still amazes me when I do work for a client I've never met. Heck, I've never even talked on the phone with some of them. And as I look back at the people and companies I've written or edited for in just the past few months, I'm reminded of how the Internet is an international portal leading to clients far and wide.

I've recently ghostwritten online articles for a PR site in Australia; revised web copy for an energy healer in Seattle, Washington; edited technical documents for a language service in San Francisco, California; researched and written a technical SEO article for an international online information company based in Denver, Colorado; crafted copy for a community site in based somewhere in Europe (I don't even know which country); and pulled together a trade magazine article for a food company in Toronto, Ontario.

Of just those 6 clients listed above, here's how the personal contact factor breaks down:

Email contact only: 4

Email and one phone call only: 1

Email and more than one phone call: 1

Of course, if you're the kind of person who needs to hear your client's voice, you can always pick up the phone, especially with long distance rates being lower than ever. But for many copywriters and clients these days, a few quick emails are all that's required to get along nicely. The result is that you can easily make Vancouver (or Anytown) your copywriting world headquarters.

In part 2 of 2, we'll explore three easy techniques to increase your chances of still getting paid when you're a copywriter in Vancouver and your client, who you've never met or spoken to, is thousands of miles away. Plus, we'll look at how a world headquarters reduces your local competition. Make sure you check it out.