Promoting Yourself as a Freelance Writer

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you are new to the freelance writing world, it is important to promote yourself and showcase your talents.  Getting your name out there can lead to better pay and bigger jobs.

Website

Put up a website.  Even if you can’t afford a hefty bill for a professionally made site, these days anyone can throw up a template site in a matter of minutes.  Having a website will give potential clients a home base to contact you at.

Social Network

Join popular social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Digg.  These are great ways to promote your articles, increase your readership and meet clients.

Join a Writing Forum

Joining a forum can help you to learn tips from veteran writers.  Many of these sites will have lists of Internet scams to watch out for.  You can also get legitimate leads and marketing ideas from these sites.

Do a Few Freebies

Small, local publications often will take articles from new writers but there is no pay.  Doing this can help you to gain some exposure and beef up your resume.  Giving of your time now can lead to a high paying job later on.

Get Out and Meet People

Don’t let your freelance writing career turn you into a hermit.  Make new friends and get new leads by going out to local writers groups or taking a writing workshop at a community college.  Always be supportive of other writers.  Writing is a challenging craft and other writers can be your greatest resource.

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The Challenges of Being a Freelance Writer

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Freelance writing can be a lucrative profession, but can also have many challenges.  People who wish to be  freelancers need to possess good time management skills, drive and dedication.

Time Management

Freelancer writers can make their own schedules. While convenient it is important to stick to some type of routine.  You need to remember that unlike a 9 to 5 job, if you are not working you are not making money.  So although it can be tempting to sleep until 11:00 or spend an afternoon watching movies, your monthly income can suffer from this behavior.  Some work-a-holics can also be effected by making their own schedules. Some people become so dedicated to their writing that they don’t know when to take their work hat off and turn their relaxing hat or fun hat on.

Multiple Streams

As a freelance writer it is vital to have more than one stream of income.  You are an independent contractor and no one owes you anything besides payment for the work done.  If you rely only on one website or one client, you could find yourself in a dangerous bind if that website shuts down or if that client runs out of work for you.  Write for multiple websites and a few private clients and your income stream will be steady.  It is also good to mix up some clients that pay frequently with some clients that only pay once a month or have a long billing cycle.

Health Insurance

Some new freelancers have trouble obtaining health insurance.  If you are fortunate enough to have a spouse who has a plan, that is one of the best and easiest ways to obtain healthcare.  If you do not have this option, you will need to budget to join an independent plan.  Decent plans can be available for around $250 a month.  You will need to budget for this when setting your monthly goals.

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Top Content Sites for Beginners

February 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you’re a new freelance writer you may be overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information on freelance writing and the high number of writing opportunities out there.  Before you begin reaching out to private clients, you may want to consider joining some content websites to get the ball and your income rolling.

Text Broker

Text Broker is a great website for beginners.  After submitting a writing sample, if you are chosen to work for them you will be ranked with a score from two to five.  The higher your score, the more work will be available to you.  Once inside the work desk, you can pick your own short assignments and submit them.  Clients then can accept your work or ask for changes.  Text Broker pays twice a month via PayPal.

Associated Content / The Yahoo Contributor Network

Anyone can sign up for Associated Content, there is no need to apply.  You can submit articles f or upfront pay plus page views or for page views only.  If you submit your work for page views only, it will be posted faster.  If you want upfront pay, an editor must approve your work and make you an offer.  How you get paid will depend on your clout level. The more work you do for the site, the higher your clout score will go.  Clout improves based on page views and number of articles published.  Associated Content is not a get rich quick scheme, but can help you make a good little income overtime.  It will also give you the opportunity to write about whatever topics you want.

Bright Hub

Bright Hub is a website that allows people to write based on a channel system.  If you are just getting started, you should apply for a channel that you have a lot of knowledge in.  If you are former teacher you pay do well in the education channel.  If you have spent years working in an office, the business channel may be right for you.  Once you are accepted, you will be assigned to your channel and receive emails from your community editor.  At first, you are limited to 5 articles a month per channel.  Once your editor feels you have gotten a hang of the site and are producing consistent traffic that limit is lifted.  Some channels offer $10 upfront pay plus revenue share, while other channels offer revenue share only.

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