Online Writing Income

In my daily wanderings around the internet I came across a site that might be of interest to freelance writers. The name of the site is The Write Jobs.

What is particularly of interest is the Jobs listing page. I’m not quite sure how often they update their database, but they do list quite a few writing jobs. Some require that you live in a specific area, some are telecommuting and others are truly internet friendly writing positions that can be done from anywhere.

I cannot vouch for all of the positions, but I’ve personally written for Demand Studios and do currently write for eHow (both are listed in their database as needing freelance writers).

The listing isn’t extensive (34 jobs), but who knows, you might find something that works for you. Good luck!

In an earlier post, I suggested that it is wise for a freelance writer to have a blog. I still agree with that concept, but which will bring in more money? A blog or a website?

Well, there are quite a few things to consider.

Website Creation

Not everyone has what it takes to create a website. It takes some HTML knowledge, or knowledge of software that can create websites, a web host, SEO knowledge and a host of other things. You need a domain name, site host, etc., etc. All of that takes time, effort and some money.

Blog Creation

You can create a blog in 10 minutes or less depending on your blog-hosting site. After all, I have this blog here on the Today.com domain and it took just a couple of minutes. I don’t need to have intricate HTML knowledge or look for software to create my site. So, when it comes to ease of use and setup, a blog wins hands down.

Cha Ching Factor

Here’s where the hard work pays off. It’s been my experience that websites generate more money than blogs do. Wait…before you post comments about all of the successful blogs that are earning money hands over fist, stop to see how long they’ve been around and how large their following.

Just for grins, I started a website. It started earning money within the first few days and the earnings were starting to grow. Then I decided I didn’t want to spend the time coding, formatting and doing all of the stuff that needed to be done with a website so I converted it into a blog.

A blog is so much easier to maintain, but I’ve got to tell you, the earnings plummeted immediately. I found that Google AdSense and my other advertising worked better when the site was a website and not a blog. I have the exact same content, but just in a different format. Go figure.

One Person’s Experience

I enjoy the blogging format because it’s much easier to write content. It’s less formal and doesn’t take as much time to put together a post as it does an article. In my opinion, websites have more of an authoritative quality, where as blogs seem to share the wisdom and experiences of the blogger on a more personal conversational level.

And The Purpose Is????

What I’m trying to say is that as a freelance writer you should have a web presence to showcase your writing abilities. If you have the time and inclination, I also recommend that you spend a little of your spare time creating a website. You may find that it is more financially rewarding in the long run.

Wishing all of you a very
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah and
Happy Kwanzaa

If you’re serious about becoming an online freelance writer, you’re going to have to spread your love around. What I mean is that you cannot afford to place all of your eggs into one freelance writing basket. You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s worth repeating it. Find several freelancing income streams.

In the short time lifespan of this blog I’ve mentioned a few online writing resources. They all vary in the way in which they compensate their writers. Some compensate writers based on page views, others on ad clicks while others pay up front for each article or post. No matter which one you prefer, I would suggest that you add one or two of each to your basket. Variety is the spice of life, so keep your writing opportunities spicy.

I’ll continue to share writing opportunities as I come across them, or remember them (at my age, I tend to forget things unless I write them down). In the meanwhile, get out there and spread your freelance writing love (or love of freelance writing).

It must be near the holidays, my posts are getting cornier and cornier. Bear with me. I’ll pull myself back together for the New Year.

The title wasn’t too cool, but its holiday time and I’m feeling very festive (get it, Suite…sweet?).

If you’re a serious freelance writer and are looking for another writing gig, check out Suite 101.com. They’ve been around for over 12 years and they have a growing reader base. The reason I mention serious freelance writers, is because Suite takes their articles seriously.

Here’s the story with Suite 101

In order to become a Contributing Writer for Suite 101 you have to apply. Your application includes a resume along with several writing samples. If they approve your application, you must sign and return your contract before you can begin writing.

Each section has an editor, and your first article must be reviewed and approved by an editor before it appears on the site. Your subsequent articles can post to the site prior to editor review, but the editor will still review them. If the editor finds that your article needs a few revisions, you’ll be notified. If your article is a disaster (by disaster I mean you write an article contrary to Suite 101’s terms and conditions), your article will be disabled until it is fixed.

The Up Side to Write for Suite

Suite forces writers to produce quality work. Some online content sites are more concerned about making money than producing quality; Suite is not like that, they want quality first.

Based in Canada, Suite 101 accepts international writers. They pay once a month via PayPal once your accumulated balance exceeds $10. For more info on Suite, visit their site.

I’ve been writing for them for a little over a year and have enjoyed my time with them. I recently took the plunge and became a Suite 101 Feature Writer. I was on the fence for a bit as to whether or not to commit to becoming a Feature Writer. I guess money talks so I decided to do it. Feature Writers get an additional bonus that Contributing Writers don’t get. I’m ashamed to admit, but my decision to become a Feature Writer was based on getting additional cash (shame on me).

If you have a blog and are looking to earn a couple of bucks for your posts, check out SponsoredReveiws.com. Similar to Pay Per Post, they pay you to blog about particular topics and/or products.

The pay scale for SponsoredReviews is a bit higher than other pay to blog sites that I’ve come across and they always seem to have a lot of blogging assignments to choose from. Once you agree to blog about a particular topic, you must use the keywords and/or links provided by the advertiser.

Word of Caution:

The downside is once you agree to complete a blogging assignment, write the post as soon as possible. Don’t do what I did. On one occasion, I waited a few days before writing the post. I wrote the blog post well within the time allotted, but, after submitting the post for approval, I was turned down because the advertiser had changed their keyword and link requirements.

I was shocked and surprised. I thought I was hallucinating. I contacted SponsoredReviews to complain about the switcheroo, but they advised that the advertisers are allowed to change their requirements. They also advised that it’s important to write the posts as soon as possible (even though they give you 7 days to write the post).

As a result, I did not get paid for that particular post. To avoid such a problem, learn from my mistake. Once you accept the assignment, write it immediately and submit the link for approval. Send it to them before they get a chance to change the requirements.

In all fairness, I have received payment from SponsoredReviews in the past, but after that switcheroo scenario, I’ve stayed away.

A day or so ago, I mentioned that if you are a freelance writer, you should have your own blog. I also promised that I would share a few ways to earn money with your blog. Well, one of the ways is to get paid to make posts. Companies like Pay Per Post are willing to pay bloggers to write about products and/or services and make blog posts.

There are pros and cons to such do so, however.

Pros: You get to earn money with your blog. How much you earn depends on things like your blog’s ranking, popularity and advertiser subject (It is possible to earn money with a blog with 0 or no page rank. I’ve done it).

Cons: You may sacrifice your blog’s authenticity. Depending on the subject matter of your blog, a random post written for an advertiser may appear disingenuous, but like I said, it all depends on the subject matter of your blog.

Additionally, purportedly, your Google page rank may suffer as I’ve heard that Google doesn’t like paid posting. I’m not an expert on this so I cannot say for sure.

My Suggestion

Develop a blog you won’t mind writing advertisements for. I tried this experiment some time ago with a blog hosted on Blogger.com. Just for grins I took on a few Pay Per Post advertisers and earned a few dollars just to make sure it was doable, and it is.

So, if you’re inclined to make a couple of dollars for paid posts, give Pay Per Post a try.

Freelance writers are often faced with a weighty dilemma. They earn enough money to be able to quit their 9-5 job, but hesitate to do so because leaving the job means leaving their group health insurance program. If you are facing that very same dilemma, it’s time to do a little research.

There are several writers groups that offer writers the chance to purchase health insurance and enjoy the discounted price of being a part of a group. As you may be aware, the larger the health insurance group, generally the lower the premium.

Therefore, if your writing income is at a level where you would like to quit your day job, don’t let the fear of securing group health insurance coverage stop you. With a little research, you can live your writing dream and have group health insurance too.

If you are a freelance writer and you don’t have your own blog, it’s time to get one. A blog is helpful to a freelance writer in several ways:

• It’s a great showcase for your writing talent.
• You get to interact with your readers (that can be both good and bad).
• It gives you a place where you don’t have to adhere to anyone else’s writing rules except your own. You can let your creative muse flow.

Newbies should set up blogs on a free blog host such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com. If you intend to monetize your blog, use Blogger because WordPress does not allow ads on their free blog accounts.

Over time your blog hosting requirements may change and you may want to graduate to a more sophisticated blogging system. At that time you can look into self-hosting, but as a newbie, it’s a lot quicker and easier to use a free host.

Now that you’ve set up your own blog, stay tuned, because in future posts we’re going to discuss some of the various ways you can earn money with your very own free blog.

I felt it necessary to add Associated Content to my list of freelance writing sites. While I personally haven’t done well with them The fact that I’ve only written one or maybe two articles since I joined last year might have something to do with it.

Don’t let my inactivity deter you. There are writers who are earning money consistently with Associated Content. By joining the community, writers have the ability to be paid up front for original work or earn a residual income based on page views and article popularity.

Associated Content also has these things called “Calls for Content.” I’ll have to defer the Calls for Content explanation to the Associated Content site itself . My goal here is to make you aware of the opportunity, but unfortunately, I can’t give you too much first hand experience or knowledge.

Personally, I found the site rather confusing, that’s why I never really did much with them, but don’t let my confusion stop you. There is money to be made at Associated Content.