10 Ways to Get Paid for Online Writing, with Lior Levin

So pleased to have Lior Levin with us today, talking about making money with online writing. Lior is a marketing consultant for a css company, and also consults for a company that works with physicians and patients to evaluate the likely effectiveness of new cancer treatments that specializes in new cancer treatments.Take it away Lior!

***

10 Ways to Get Paid for Online Writing
Selling words for dollars is easy, if you are aware of two things:

-How to put down the words together.

-How to sell your piece in the right market.

Be it a full time day job or an online freelance gig, good writing pays. Almost, always.

For the past couple of years, I have made a good amount of money by “writing for the web”. Not with my pen but with the keyboard, to be precise.

When I started out, I was clueless about the sites where I could actually get paid to write about the things I would write on my blog anyway. That time, I had a blogspot blog where I wrote about random topics e.g movie reviews, technology, gadgets, gaming and personal rants.

Over time, I discovered that there are a good number of sources who need full time writers on the topics I am passionate about. If you are a newbie freelancer and want to get paid for writing online, here is a handy list which you should remember:

1. Write in your own blog: 

Writing in your own blog pays and pays better than writing for anyone else. But there is a catch - you have to maintain your blog/website and make it popular in the first place. If your website never topples the average popularity line, it would be hard to make money through sponsored advertisements.

On the other hand, if your blog gets quite a few thousand visits daily, you can monetize it with Google Adsense, BuySellads, Chitika, Kontera and other advertising programs.

This is better than freelance writing as you can write whenever you want to and get paid from clicks on advertisements, banner ads and so on. The result is certainly much more rewarding than writing for someone else.

2. Write in article directories

If you do not have a website and have no vision of creating one, I would recommend starting with article directories. Write for free article directories in early days and build a solid online portfolio first. When you have the trust factor attached with your name, other paid article directories would contact you and you will eventually end up working for them.

3. Join other blogs as staff writers

Blogs and forums is not a one man affair these days. Most large blogs have full time writers and staff authors, who research and write stories regularly. If you are a skilled person and know how the ins and outs of something better than anyone else, contact an authority blog and ask them whether you can join their writing team. Show them proofs of your writing and if you have the talent, they will be more than happy to hire you.

4.  Participate in Freelance gigs

Small and medium sized websites often need part time writers for bi-yearly projects. Keep an eye on freelance forum sites and be-friend other freelancers on Facebook and Twitter. By participating in the community of freelancers, you would be able to crack a deal, sooner or later.

5. Write your own book

Do you have expertise and full proof knowledge over something which people want to know badly? Consider writing an ebook and sell it through your blog, email newsletter or through Amazon. If your blog is not so popular, it will be very difficult to sell the ebook you wrote.

In that case, I would recommend you to contact authority blogs in your niche and make a deal. You can split the sale amount by 70-30, so if your ebook sale crosses 10,000 copies - you would make a decent income through the exposure of the authority site selling your ebook.

Tip: Make sure your ebook is top notch and one of its kind, or else authority sites wont accept your deal in the first place.

6. Help someone write his book

A lot of prolific writers often look for “seconds” who can help them write their ebook. As a “second”, you have to research, prepare documentation, write dedicated sections and complete assignments for the author.

The result is pretty rewarding because when the eBook sells, people will notice your name. This hardens your standing soil and you gain that “trust” factor. Keep an eye on online Job boards and freelance sites for these occasional offers.

7. Look for Internships

Top Technology blogs e.g LifeHacker, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Mashable often hire regular interns, so if you are really passionate about your subject,

8. Write For Startups

Startups are small organizations who are keen on developing their product and often need someone who can spread the word about their product, pitch authority blogs and maintain their official blog. Get involved with a startup and ask them whether they require a blogger or a media person for spreading the word. Almost all startups have interns who are responsible for writing documentation and maintaining their social media brand awareness.

Tip: research well ahead of time and make yourself familiar with industry jargon first.

9. Editing and Proofreading

If you have command over the English language, you can work as a copy editor for clients or blogs. The role of a copy editor is to correct grammatical mistakes, proofread and tweak the writing style of the author. This type of job is ideally suited for folks who are already engaged in a full time day job, as proofreading articles is not that laborious and takes only a few minutes.

But, where do I find these sources?

This is the million dollar question.

You have to be active on social networking sites e.g Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and regularly visit freelance portals/online job boards. Here is a list of sites where you can start:

1. Odesk.com
2. Freelancer.com
3. Problogger Job board
4. Freelance forum
5. Freelance Switch
6. Guru.com

Don’t jump for shortcuts, there aren’t any shortcut to make thousands of dollars within a few weeks. It is going to take some time, be patient and keep looking.

Good luck!

Green Day, Red Day, Work Day, Dead Day

You've heard the expression, "Treat every day as a gift."

What they never say is what kind of gift.

When I wake up, ready to open my day in its neat little box, I have certain expectations. I want certain things out of this gift of a day. When I look in this box I want to see writing, sleeping in, more writing, blogging, talking with roommates, going to the gym, reading, and at the end a nice little package of a chick-flick, kettle corn and peach citrus Fresca all wrapped up in a red bow.

What they never say is that gifts change, and are only rarely what you expect.

Sometimes I open the box and there's extra errands. Sometimes its puppies and rainbows. Sometimes its a new song or an old hoodie or sitting on the couch with my mom watching Biggest Loser and not wanting to leave. Sometimes its absolutely nothing. Sometimes it explodes.

I've learned that the best way to feel good about your writing and your life is to take what the box gives you and do the best you can with it. If its nothing, let it be a nothing day and don't beat yourself up about it. If its twenty juggling knives and a few flamethrowers, do the best you can and just try not to burn yourself. If you happen to wake up on a Saturday with no obligations, take advantage of it and write. If its puppies, give them to me.

It's just that I've been realizing lately that I'm spending too much time beating myself up about days that I don't get enough done and not enough time writing on days when I have more time to spare. Days can be unwieldy, but if we just go along with it, work with it, then I think we make more progress and stay healthier than if we try making bread out of vacuum cleaners.

So take what the box gives you and try to smile :)

Sarah Allen

If you didn't write, what would you do?

My roomie and I were talking last night, like we do sometimes. She's a writer too. I don't quite know how it came up, but we were talking about people who write just for themselves, with no goal of publication at all. Just for the fun of it. I told her I couldn't write like that. That I need that end goal of getting my words to readers as something to work towards, and that without it I don't know if I would have the gumption to finish any serious project.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. What does it mean that I feel that way? Why did I get into writing in the first place? I got into it because of the fulfillment and genuine joy it brings me. This may sound ridiculous, but I sort of feel like I don't and never did really have a choice. I don't want to go so far as to call writing a "calling", but its been with me and part of me for as long as I can remember. There have been times when I've wanted to write and do something else (photograph for National Geographic was a big one), but I've always wanted to write. I don't know what I would do if I didn't write. I'm not saying I couldn't live, I really just don't know what I'd do instead.

That could be an interesting mental exercise. What would it feel like to just completely drop the writing ball right now, and what would I do instead? I actually think these are good questions to ask, especially for me at this point, because I've been so focused on the career/business aspect of a writing career. It would be good to remind myself why I love writing in the first place.

So, what would it feel like? Very scary, first of all. I would feel very hollow. I would feel like the effort I've put into things all these years would have gone to waste, and that I would be behind in whatever else I decided to do. I would jump into whatever else I decided to do with my whole soul and kind of go bat crap crazy about it just because I don't know any other way to do things. It would be the littlest bit exciting, and I would have fun going through possibilities. The first one that comes to mind is aiming for a career at some place like National Geographic or the World Wildlife Fund or some other environmental non-profit agency. That seems like it could be amazing.

But would something like that, or any other career be as fulfilling? I'm thinking out-loud and trying to be totally honest with myself here. I really don't think it would. I mean, it would be incredibly fulfilling, but it would not feel as personal. I love the idea that through writing, I will never die, or that I can continue to be an influence in the world not just generally, but in a very personal way. I could see acting filling that same personally fulfilling need, but I don't know if it would go as deep, and I'm pretty positive I don't have the claws it takes to succeed in that industry these days.

I'm having a hard time being patient with writing right now, which is why I think this exercise has been helpful. It has actually been extremely helpful. I'm allowing myself to imagine life without going crazy about a writing career, and as refreshing as it seems in some ways, I don't want it. I'm impatient right now, but that's all it is. Impatience. I'm doing the planting and sowing, I just have to wait for the harvesting and reaping. But it will come, and this is the garden I want to plant in. For sure.

Another way it has been helpful though, is that I've been having day-job uncertainties. Because all I want is writing, I've been unsure about what to do in terms of supporting myself. Just last night I was telling my roomie that I was in this weird place of not being totally stable but not really knowing what I wanted as far as jobs go. But this helped me realize that there are other things that would be amazing that could support me and that I could do as well as write. The environmental agency thing is sounding better and better, and every writer needs a second career as well, right? Who says they have to be mutually exclusive? Because I'm so obsessive it takes extra thought for me to imagine things in a dual-career kind of way--how do you obsess over and give yourself to more than one thing?--but I don't think it has to be that way necessarily. I might have to start doing some research and see what I can see.

Whew. Thanks for letting me do that, guys. I actually feel like I've just aired out and sorted a mental file cabinet. What would your answers be? Could you imagine life without writing, and what would you do instead?

Sarah Allen

Christmas Made Easy, Part 4: Movies

Movies are a classic part of the Christmas holiday. The only hard part is that there are so many to choose from. So I'm going to make that choice a little easier and give you probably my favorite Christmas movie ever:



If you haven't seen this adaptation of A Christmas Carol, do yourself a favor. Albert Finney is the best Scrooge ever.

Sarah Allen

Christmas Made Easy, Part 3: Oh the weather outside is frightful

So look for the beauty in the ice...

Or find a little sunshine in the backyard...

And most of all, don't forget to sing!



Sarah Allen

P.S. Why yes, I did take those pictures myself. I'm letting myself think it took more than just dumb luck.

Also, don't forget the $15 Amazon gift-card easy-peasy Christmas giveaway going on here at the bloggy blog. There's only two days left, don't miss out!