It's a simple method to make money writing copy for the gaming market that exists out there.

1) Search through Google for the following terms: MMOG, MMORPG, RTS, FPS etc. These terms are as follow: MMOG -> Massive Multiplayer Online Game; or; MMORPG -> Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game; RTS stands for Real Time Strategy and FPS stands for First Person Shooter.

2) Then do a quick scan over the next several pages for sites like these:
top50.onrpg.com , mmorpglist.com etc. You are basically looking for any sites that would be a list or blogs that write about several games and have links to the actual websites.

3) Once you have compiled a thorough list of these sites that list all these online games, then go through them and list every official website. This will take some time but these are your leads.

4) Create your own site or have a sub-domain affiliated with a site you own and create a portfolio-type site. This is what these website/company owners would like to see.

*** You may think copywriting doesn't exist in these markets, but they do. These sites depend on good content that is written for their games. Often the first page of a browser-based/Online game is the most essential part and many game owners have absolutely no idea on how to present their games to potential people that would like to play it.

5) Go to your leads and start contacting the owners of these sites and ask if they would like to consider keeping you in mind for future or current work. Make sure you have AIM, MSN and YIM since these people usually communicate via these instant messengers. Some owners will require that you talk to them and for that you need XFire, Teamspeak or Ventrillo. These VoIP systems are easy to use and to speak to people. In the gaming world people use it to communicate all the time.

That is the easy 5 step plan to get some work in the gaming world.

"What about the actual copywriting?" you may ask.

Well the easiest jobs to find will be people that purchase browser-based or online games. Alternatively you approach the people in your leads. There are dozens of sites that have the worst copy on their main page. If someone is creative enough, and you can use words to tell a story and intrigue people enough to be able to sign up for the game, then that is all you need.

Some owners will be starting out and have no capital outlay and others would have a fair bit.

Your portfolio is important here. If you can provide great examples of how you can write and how you could take a normal game with (crappy) copy and turn it into a beautiful swan with fairies and monsters all rolled into one, then you will have a winner. That was just me talking :P

Your imagination is the greatest key here. You cannot sell to gamers like you would do on a normal internet marketing type of product page. It simply won't work.

An example is this....

I had a browser-based game once called Kingdom of Shadows. I needed something great to get people to sign up.

I rotated the copy on the website at least 3 times and every time it changed, more people signed up.

As an example I found one of Out spark’s games that you can see here:

mmozone.com/secret-of-the-solstice.html

Does that page inspire someone to play the game? Sure anime fans would... but a lot of people including me, need that extra bit more in order to make us sign up. That is where the gamer copywriter comes in. Your task is to take that page and make it seem more interesting with words as an example.

If you could get one or two companies like that under your belt, then you will start to see a whole world that will be open to you.

There are tons of opportunities available out there in the entertainment industry. You just have to look!

Labels: copywriting