Freelance Writing

I don’t think that I am a stupid person, but I do call myself dumb when it comes to technology, the internet, and things of that sort. The fact of the matter is that I have no idea how to code websites, design pages, or anything else along those lines. I can set up a Wordpress blog, make some very basic changes, and a little bit more. But even with that being said, I still have no problems making a full-time living online.

So many people think that they do not stand a chance online because they are not internet savvy. But I am here to show you that this is definitely not the case.

The great thing about the internet is that you can learn about anything if you are willing to take the time to read. Since I have always loved reading, this is fun for me. So when I first decided that blogging was a great way to make money, what do you think I did? That is right; I began to read as much as I could about this way of earning cash. As I found information I printed it out, saved it, and marked websites as favorites. The bottom line is that if you are willing to learn, you can make money online.

Additionally, once you have a blog set up, you will be able to experiment with different ideas. When I was choosing the theme for my first Wordpress blog I almost drove myself insane. It took days for me to find the one that I would finally settle on. But today, I do not put nearly as much time into this process. Instead, I find a good theme and then start to experiment. Things are easier on me now, but early on I was in the same shoes as many beginners. I had no idea how to add Google Adsense, or change the names of pages. But over time, I experimented and now this is all second nature.

Remember, you are not going to break anything that you cannot fix. This is not to say that you should go nuts, but do not be afraid to attempt to make changes. After all, experimentation is the only way that you are going to learn.

I might not be stupid when it comes to overall learning ability and knowledge, but as far as the internet is concerned I am not the brightest bulb on the tree. But so what? Sometimes I think that it is better off this way. Since I do not know a lot I never end up over thinking things. And all in all, my basic knowledge has done me good so far!

Associated Content (AC) can be a great income stream for both full-time and part-time freelance writers. But if you think that you are going to get rich from AC, you are most definitely in the wrong place. Although you can pick up a few dollars here and there, you will be hard pressed to make a decent living submitting content exclusively to AC.

AC refers to themselves as the “The People’s Media Company.” I suppose the reason for this is that all the content is created and submitted by the people. Another one of their taglines is simply enough: “Submit Content and Earn Cash.” And when it comes down to it, making money with AC really is that easy.

The Process

Before you can do anything, you need to sign up as a member. This is done by providing your contact information, PayPal address, etc. Just your basic information. You will also have to agree to AC’s Terms of Use and Private Policy; there is nothing here that should alarm you.

Once you are a member of AC, the real fun starts. If you need to sign up, here is the link: https://publish.associatedcontent.com/signup.shtml.

First Time Signing In

The first time that you sign into your AC account you will want to navigate every page. They did a great job with the design of the account area, so you should never get lost. Make sure that before you move on you fill out the biography section, and of course, do not forget to your site’s URL. This way, visitors can find you!

Submitting Content

Now that you are through the preliminary details you are ready to start making money. The process of submitting content for consideration is easier than you may think. In fact, I was very surprised at how simple the entire process was my first couple times around.

1. You must first write an article that you feel is worthy of submission. Remember, AC does not accept everything that is submitted. So if you want to give yourself the best possible chance your content should be original, longer than 400 words, and of high quality

2. When your article is ready to go, click the submit content button. This will lead you to a page full of submission options. Choose the category that fits your article the best. For instance I wrote an article on traveling to Chicago a few months ago. This was submitted under the “Travel Guide” category.

3. Once you choose the category, you will be taken to the next page where you have two more options. First off, you need to check either exclusive or non exclusive. Exclusive content is anything that you have not submitted anywhere else. This is where the majority of your articles will fit in.

You will also need to check whether or not you want your article to be considered for payment. Obviously, if you are trying to make money you will want to check yes.

4. The next step is to copy and paste your article from your word processing program to the AC page. You will also want to include a headline as well as a brief abstract.

If these four steps sound difficult, trust me, they are not. Once you go through them once it will be a breeze from there on out.

How much will you make?

Ahh…the most important question. You want to know how much money you will earn through AC. Unfortunately, there is no way of saying for sure what you will get paid for each article.

When you submit an article it will go to the editor of that particular category. They will then review the article, usually within two days or less, and let you know how much they think it is worth. Keep in mind that you do NOT have to accept their offer. If you feel that you are not getting what your article is worth, you may want to revise it and try again.

Payment for submissions range from $3 to $20 and is based largely on your “Clout Index.” Generally speaking, your clout ranks the number of total page views that your content has collected. The lowest clout range is 0-100 page views, and when you hit 1 million page views you have reached the top. As you can imagine, to reach the highest level you need to write a lot of content, and then market the heck out of it. While this may take some time, once you reach a higher level you will notice it in the offers that you receive.

Payments are processed three times per week so you should not have to wait too long to see the funds in your PayPal account.

My Experience

To be honest, my first article was published on AC in March of 2006 and my last a couple of months later. My short time with AC had nothing to do with the quality of the service, but more so my lack of time.

Here are some of my stats over the two months that I submitted content on a regular basis.

Articles submitted: 72
Articles accepted for payment: 56
Total acceptance rate: 78%
Total payment received: $310
Highest offer: $10
Lowest offer: $3
Average offer: $5.54

As you can see, you can make a good side income if you are devoted to submitting content to AC on a regular basis.

Right now, my Clout Index is 7 of 10. That means that my content has between 50,001 and 100,000 page views. While this is far from the top level, I hope that when I start to submit again that my offers are closer to a $10 average.

I have kept a close eye on AC since their introduction, so expect more posts in the future. They have rolled out a new bonus performance program as well as some other great features. But for now, you should have a good idea of how to get started submitting content. And by taking a look at my stats, you should have a better idea of what to expect. 
 

So you don’t believe that my technical skills, how should I say this, suck! Check out one of my first websites at http://www.keywordsandcopy.com/. Although I have gained a bit more knowledge since this design, the fact of the matter is that I have not moved on much.

As you can see, there is nothing special about this site. The domain name is at the top, and a thin line separates the links to my other pages. I don’t think that anybody would call this a top notch, or even a mediocre design. And I could care less!

Do you know why I keep using this site? Simply put, it has produced results for me time and time again. Although it is not one of my biggest moneymakers, I usually get a few inquiries per week for small to medium sized jobs. Last month, I picked up a $600 contract that took me about 8 hours to complete. And right now, that rate is just about on par with many of my writing jobs; not all of my projects pay that much, but some do. 

The point of showing this site is so you can see that you do not need to have loads of technical and design knowledge to make money online. With a basic design that shows your visitor what you offer and how much it costs, you will begin to see an increase in business. Of course, this differs from industry to industry, but a service related site need not be too complex.

It is a blogging myth that you need to pay for a custom design in order to achieve a high level of traffic and profits. Of course, a custom blog would help to give your site a unique look and feel, but this is far from being a requirement. I have had blogs that were custom designed as well as those (such as this one) that run on a simple, free theme.

As I have mentioned time and time again, I do not have the technical skills to customize my blogs. If I want this done I have to call one of my friends for a favor, or pay a freelancer to help me out; both of which I have done in the past.

As you will see by the design of chrisblogging.com, there is not much to it. It is a basic free theme that I picked up after checking out several options. The main reason that I settled on this theme is because it is widget compatible, has a nice color combination, and is nothing over the top. I am a simple guy, and this is a simple theme!

Generally speaking, the only customization that I did was to add some sidebar content, new pages, and a slight tweak to the footer code. Besides that, everything is pretty much basic. Of course, as I move along I will probably insert some ads here and there as well as a few other ideas that I have been working on.

Does a basic design hold you back from making money or increasing traffic? The simple answer to this question is no! I have had template blogs earn more money than customized blogs and vice versa. The key is not the design of the blog, but the content that you provide. As long as you are not making your readers work too hard to browse your content you should be alright.

You may want to look into some SEO plugins if you are worried about optimization. Check out http://www.theblogjoint.com/2006/09/21/best-seo-plugins-for-wordpress/ for some good ideas in this department.

I have always thought that a blog will make money and receive traffic if the content is something that people want to read. Despite the simplicity of your design, if you are making good posts that are relevant to your subject matter, you will eventually reach your goals.

If you want to be a great blogger, you should read other blogs. After all, this only makes sense, right? And don’t say that you cannot find other blogs that suit your needs. There are more than 70 million out there, so you should be able to find at least a few to read on a regular basis.

There are a couple of things that I always look for when reading other blogs:

1. You may be able to get information for future posts by reading other blogs. For instance, I read at least three blogs on blogging and writing each day. In fact, I may obsess over this a bit too much. But hey, there are a lot of people out there who know more about making money through blogging than me.

2. Get ideas for how you can make additional money. For instance, if you are only using Google Adsense on your blog right now you are not going to reach your fullest potential. Take a closer look at how other similar blogs are making money. This way, you can implement these revenue streams to suit your needs.

There are only two reasons that people do not read other blogs. They either think that they know everything, or they are too lazy or busy to do so. You should not let either one of these things stand in your way! There is an endless amount of information that you can learn by reading blogs from others in your industry.

Being a professional freelance writer/blogger is the best job in the world; at least from where I sit (which is wherever I want by the way.) But before you can start blogging for the big bucks, you need to know what you are up against. Remember, there are over 70 million blogs online. And guess what? I would venture to guess that a very small number of them allow their owners to make a decent living. With that being said, there is no reason that you cannot turn your blog into a money making machine.

For beginning bloggers, the first thing that you need to know is that content is king. I know that saying is a bit “played out,” but it is true. If you do not update your blog on a regular basis it is not going to reach its fullest potential. Remember, people visit your blog for what you have to say. If they read a few good posts and then find that you slacked off for two weeks, they are going to forget about you. Even if you only have the chance to shoot off a couple hundred words, it is better than nothing.

In addition to blogging on a regular basis, you also want to make sure that your posts are of high quality. There is an ever growing debate between bloggers over what is better, “quantity or quality.” My personal take is that you need both. Maybe I am a bit off base with this, but if you offer both you will have a much better chance of succeeding. And that is what you want, right?

So at this point you know that you need to write often, and that your entries should be of the highest quality possible. The next step is to not get frustrated. I have had some blogs begin making money within a few days, whereas others have taken a year or longer. There is no way of saying how things will work out, so exercise a high degree of patience. In other words, concentrate on making posts and let the traffic and money follow in suit. Trust me; it will come sooner or later if you continue to write.

You may also want to consider whether or not you want to attempt to monetize your blog from day one. Some people feel that waiting for traffic is best, while others prefer to get their income streams in place right away. Personally, I like to wait just a bit to see what direction my blog is moving. This will then allow you to put the proper income streams in the right place.

For instance, if you have a blog with more Google Adsense ads than posts, your readers are going to think that you are after nothing more than money. I am sure some bloggers will disagree, but in my experience content comes first, then traffic, then monetization.

The majority of people start blogs to make money, but then give up within a few weeks when nothing happens. Do not become one of these people! You do have what it takes if you put your mind to it, stay patient, and continue posting.

Now that you have a better idea of where to find freelance writing and blogging jobs (see the last post), you must now know how to win these coveted positions.

I recently ran a test experiment of sorts at freelancewriting.com. Since I was a bit behind with some articles, I wanted to find an experienced writer to crank out a couple pages for me; not a huge project by any means. So I posted the job, with a detailed description, and waited for the responses to roll in. Within five hours or so I was barraged with more than 30 emails. As you can imagine, I had a hard time sifting through all of these to find the best writer.

So what was the point of this experiment? Outside of actually wanting to find a writer, I also wanted to see what type of competition was out there. The bottom line is that if you want to move to the top of a buyers list, your email better stick out.

Here is what I looked for when going through the emails.

1. First off, anybody who made a typo in the subject line was immediately out of the running. It is this attention to detail that buyers are going to notice first.

2. Upon opening each email I began to look at sentence structure, grammar, etc. As soon as I noticed a mistake, no matter how small, I deleted the message.

3. Finally, I took a close look at what the remaining writers had to offer. Are they experienced? Did they follow my directions? These, among many others, are questions that I asked myself.

As you can see, if you can put together an error free email you will be able to move onto the final round with most buyers. From there, your past work and current skills will determine whether or not you get hired.

The point is that you need to take each email you send very seriously. If you make even one mistake, you may miss out on a great job that could have netted a big paycheck. And remember, spell check is not enough. You need to read and reread each message to check for typos, grammar mistakes, and anything else that may raise a red flag!

Time and time again people ask me how I find regular freelance writing and blogging jobs. While there is no hard and fast rule for seeking the best positions, there are several options that anybody can look into.

Two of my favorite places to hunt down freelance writing gigs are:

1. freelancewriting.com
2. getafreelancer.com

At freelancewriting.com, buyers post jobs ranging from business plan writing to keyword articles. Make sure that you search both the “high paying” and “low paying” boards so that you do not miss out on anything. While you will find a lot of tire kickers on this site, a few good jobs do sneak into the picture on a regular basis.

Getafreelancer.com (GAF) is quite similar to elance.com; just not as popular. The main reason that I like GAF is that you do not have to pay anything to bid on jobs. In fact, the only time that you are forced to pay is if you win a job. Even then, you are only charged 10 percent of the total winning bid. For example, if you win a project worth $100, GAF will charge you $10 and you will net $90. This may seem like a lot, but it is actually a great deal once you begin to win more and more projects.

Check out my GAF page at http://www.getafreelancer.com/users/180681.html. Although some of the contact information is out of date, it does not really matter at this point. Since joining I have won 18 projects, and on all of them I have received perfect “10 of 10” feedback from the buyer. Getting good feedback is essential if you want to get repeat jobs. Now that I am established I usually get a couple requests to bid each week from interested buyers.

Are you thinking that 17 projects won is not worth the time? Before you do, keep in mind that a lot of these jobs have turned into regular clients. In fact, one of my biggest clients found me through GAF. Over the last year alone I have done over $5,000 worth of work for them.

Blogging jobs are often times more difficult to find. But with that being said, they are not impossible to land. Although I guest blog for three companies right now, all of them were referrals from different clients of mine. If you are interested in a blogging job, check out http://jobs.problogger.net. This is a great place to find some of the top blogging jobs with the top blogging networks.

As you can imagine, this does not even scratch the surface as far as to what is available in the freelance writing and blogging industries. Simply put, this is where I started to find jobs, and still do from time to time.
 

With every new blog, I like to make the first post general in nature. After all, you probably have a few questions about who I am, what I do, and much more.

Who am I?

As I mention in the “Me” page at the top of the blog, I am a freelance writer and professional blogger. Although that is a pretty broad description, I plan to show you just what it means in the near future.

Generally speaking, three or so years ago I was fed up with the corporate world so I decided to go at it alone. Since I received my degree in Professional Writing, I figured that this was the right direction. I will talk more about how I built up my career in later posts, but for now, I am earning anywhere from three to four times more than I did when I worked for somebody else. I figure, “why work for somebody else, when I can do it on my own and take home all the profits?”

What I do?

Although some people may think that writing day in and day out is boring, I love it. Not only do I make more than enough money, but the work is fun. My projects range from website content to feature articles to blogging. This diversity allows me to experience something different everyday of the week.

So how did you like the first post? If anybody has questions or comments, let me know. From here on out I will be posting on anything and everything that has to do with freelance writing, blogging, and internet marketing!