Make Money Online as a Writer

If you can string grammatically correct sentences together in an engaging fashion, you can make money online as a freelance writer.

The internet has opened a door of opportunities for all types of writers. Whether you like to write prose, non-fiction articles or fictional stories, it is possible to make money online as a freelance writer. Here are a few tips on how to get started.

• Decide which type of writing appeals to you the most. Because there are so many writing opportunities on the internet you can quickly become overwhelmed. Therefore, before you start looking around, decide what type of writer you are. Do you prefer to write poetry? If so, then a site like Blue Mountain (always in need of poets for their greeting cards), is a site worth investigating. If you like to write instructional How to type articles, then sign up for a site like eHow. Do your research to find out the type of writing you feel most comfortable with.

• Sign up for a few internet writing sites. To make money online as a writer, it is wise to sign up for more than one writing site. Never place all of your writing eggs in one basket. Check out No Job for Mom for a listing of legitimate writing sites for freelance writers.

• Learn the difference between up front paying sites and residually paying sites. Sites that pay up front will pay a set rate for your article. They outline in the beginning how many words the article must be and they will pay you accordingly. With up front paying sites, you trade your time for money. An example of an up front paying site is Demand Studios. They generally pay $15 per article, so if you want to earn $150 you need to write 10 articles. The other type of site is the residually paying site. You don’t always know how much each of your articles will earn. The up side is that you only have to write the article once and it will earn residual income month after month. The down side is your article can potentially earn nothing. There are advantages and disadvantages to both earning methods.

• Learn the ropes. This means that if you’re going to write on the internet you have to learn how the internet works in relation to writing for money. To earn money writing online you need to learn how your articles get traffic (via search engines or links to your article) and how to encourage the search engines to send traffic and people to link to your articles. To do this you have to learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and writing quality content (to encourage links back to your articles).

• Hone your writing skills. Every writer who has been successful in earning money online has had to hone her skills. It doesn’t happen over night but if you are serious about earning money online as a writer, it is in your best interest to continually hone your skills.

• Understand the success formula. The formula to success is consistency and patience. To be on the safe side, don’t even consider how much or little you’re earning until you’ve written at least 100 or more articles on the internet. Once you reach the 100 article mark, you are just beginning to get your feet wet.

Tips & Warnings

Writing on the internet is not a get rich quick endeavor. If you stick with it, eventually you can quit your day job, but it doesn’t happen over night.

Filed in: Freelance Writing