Writer

In no time in history has there ever been a greater demand for writers—especially web writers! The Internet is generating millions of new pages of original content each and every day. The search engines hate plagiarized material and absolutely love original content. Because 9 out of every 10 Internet surfers finds what they are looking for by using a search engine, this means that original content is absolutely vital to the long term success of any e-business or online presence. Hence, the greatest need for quality writing and the writers to compile it that the world has ever known.

Let’s answer the big question first: Is it possible to make a good salary, say $100 a day with freelance writing? Yes it is. Of course, the only real catch is that you actually have to be able to write for hours on end—each and every day. But, by branding your name and creating your own website, the price you command will continue to rise so long as you continue to consistently deliver quality, well-researched, informative, and readable content in the timeframe agreed upon.

Indeed, even starting from scratch and only having a computer, Internet connection, credit card, and checking account—you can literally start freelance writing projects and be earning $100 a day.
Assuming you have the computer and other basics, the big thing you will need to have a legitimate chance of earning $100 a day by freelancing is to create an electronic portfolio of your writing. Now before you start picking out short stories and chapters from your great ‘unfinished novel’ … remember, this is business. People will not be paying you to write fiction, but concise keyword-driven articles and reports.

Most website content articles are between 350-500 words each and require a keyword density of 1-2% for search engines like Yahoo and MSN. Google, however, has more recently began adding ranking weight to articles written using latent semantic text, or LSI. These latent terms are related to the keyword and sprinkled throughout the article while the keyword itself is only repeated 2-3 times in the entire article. If the keyword were golf, for instance, latent semantic terms might include: tee, club, green, fairway, and Tiger Woods.

Your portfolio must demonstrate to a perspective buyer that you are familiar with web content and are able to generate it—and fast! Indeed, once you are known, you can even exceed your $100 a day goal with freelance writing because website owners can never seem to get their hands on quality content fast enough! However, be careful not to over commit yourself because if there is one thing that will cut your freelance writing career short, it is missed deadlines.

Again, this is a business and the website owners need to keep adding content to their site daily. Most have programs that automatically ‘drip’ content in but they need to keep their reserves built up and if you miss a deadline—then they might drop in the rankings or have committed people to posting content with nothing to do. Indeed, the consequences of missed deadlines are very real so be careful and learn to be more conservative in your time estimates in the beginning until you gain more experience.

If you have published any articles in online article directories, those are ideal for including in your portfolio. Be sure to include a range of different topics so your potential clients can see that you are flexible. Articles in your portfolio should be on topics popular to the internet.

Wikipedia.org is a great place to research most topics but be sure to completely rewrite any information that you find online or offline and use several different sources for each subject. Your clients easily can and will check that the articles you supply are not simply copied from another site.

Be aware that website owners often need batches of articles all on the same theme—so don’t be surprised to find yourself bidding on a group of 25 articles relating to constipation! The first few articles will be quick to do but you may find you start to go over your time estimate after the 10th or 12th article when you begin to run out of ideas—so again, be conservative when first estimating the time requirement to complete the project.

After you have successfully completed a few article writing projects, you can begin looking for higher paying work. In the previous section we looked at ebook creation which is often outsourced to freelance writers. If you want to write ebooks, then frankly you will generally make more money by marketing them yourself as described in Method 8. But if, for one reason or another, you do not want to be an ebook publisher making sales from your own website, you could be the freelancer that others come to. Again you can bid for these projects on sites like elance.com or guru.com, or advertise your services on forums.

Better still, train yourself to write sales copy. Experienced copywriters can command $1000 or more for a single sales letter. You will find ebooks that will teach you how to write successful sales copy but you should also study the sales letters for some of the best selling products at Clickbank and read the classic texts of advertising copywriting in printed book format.

Indeed, the opportunity for writers to make great money while working from the privacy of their own home has never been greater than right now. The insatiable need for original content and the dominance of the search engines on the internet ensures that there will be ample opportunity for the foreseeable future. Websites like elance.com, guru.com and rentacoder.com offer writers and buyers the opportunity to post and bid on projects while ensuring a stable platform by which to conduct business. These sites use ratings based off of variables like: adherence to schedule; adherence to cost; quality; communication; professionalism, etc.

The higher your ranking, the more you tend to command and the more trusted you are by potential clients. Thus, be sure to conduct yourself in a professional manner when accepting and completing projects and once you have some good feedback, you should have no trouble meeting and exceeding your goal of $100 a day.

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Your Writing Questions Answered by Georganne, founder HomeWorkingMom.com

Question: I really want to write articles, but I don’t have  any confidence. Deep down, I don’t think I am qualified. How can I overcome this feeling, and exactly what qualifications do I need before I can start to write?

Answer: You don’t need formal training or even a history of  getting an A in high school English to write effective articles. There is a way to seem like a great writer, right from the first time you try.

If you can read an article, you can write an article. Here’s how to get a quick start:

1. Decide the type of article you would like to write and  then read every article you can find on your subject. You can search your topic on search engines or go to article directories.

2. Choose the writers with a style you admire. Read everything they have ever written. Then read your favorite articles again.

3. Take some of the best articles you can find and type them word-for-word into your word processing program. As you type the writer’s words, you will get the “feel” of the way he or she writes. 

4. Choose your topic and then just start to write. Don’t try to make corrections while you write. Just let the words flow. 

5. Edit your article using the same format that your examples used. 

I know this system can get you started writing articles because it worked for me. That’s why I created Article-A-Day Easy System.

I grew up reading magazines like Seventeen and as a young wife, Family Circle and Women’s Day were my weekly companions.  I read articles almost everyday. 

When I had my first opportunity to write an article I was ready. The rhythm of article writing was already in my soul. It was enough to get me started and I eventually had articles published in Family Circle, Woman’s Day, the magazines that 

I had spent hours and hours reading. But, I didn’t stop there.

I wrote my first two articles and then read every book I could find on writing and selling articles. When I switched to writing for the Internet, I read everything I could find on that subject and made adjustments.

I never did get an A in English, and I’ve never taken a course on writing. Everything I ever learned about writing articles and books I learned by reading great examples and books on writing. 

You can too.

My Article-A-Day Easy System can get you started today.

 

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Should You Be A Ghostwriter?

Ghostwriting may sound mysterious, but it is a profession that you are probably very familiar with. You have, undoubtedly, seen many books written by celebrities. Well, the celebrities name may be on the cover, but a ghostwriter is the actual author; for instance, Clay Aiken’s autobiography “Learning To Sing” was actually written by Allison Glock.

Ghostwriters are by no means limited to writing books for celebrities. They can find work in any venue – anything that involves the written word qualifies. A great market for ghostwriters is the internet. Website owners need content to attract visitors and search engine traffic. Most often, this takes the form of informative articles, newsletters, and sales letters. However, anything that is “written” can be outsourced to a ghostwriter, including blog posts, emails, and more. Ghostwriters can also find work offline. A local business may hire a ghostwriter to write anything from marketing materials to an employee handbook.

Typically, the person hiring the ghostwriter will contact the ghostwriter and explain what they need written, the price they can afford to pay, and when the deadline is. The ghostwriter may request that half of the payment is received upfront and can expect the other half when the work is completed. The pay rate for ghostwrites varies with the amount of experience they have and which market they are writing for. 

Ghostwriters need to enjoy writing and posses basic grammar skills. Being able to work independently with little direction also helps. Ghostwriters generally spend many of their working hours alone. They also need to be good researchers, have the ability to manage time well and meet deadlines, and be willing to take a back seat and let others take the credit for their work.

Getting started as a ghostwriter is surprisingly easy. Start contacting website owners and offer to write a few articles for them – for free. In exchange, ask for a testimonial or recommendation. Some of your first contacts may prove to be your best customers. If they do not offer you any paid work, ask for referrals. Approach other website owners and let them know you are available. Eventually, you will find paying clients.

The market for ghostwriters is growing every day. If you are looking for a way to make money from home and the basic job description sounds appealing to you, you should definitely try ghostwriting!

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