Just a quick tip today: open up a PayPal account. No, this isn’t something that is going to make or break your burgeoning freelance career, but it can make things easier. Since you are working in an online arena, people are going to expect to do all the transactions online. And that includes payment. So, go sign up for an account.

It’s simple, though I will admit that it’s been many a year since I have signed up for my well-used account and the details have changed more than once. I’ll leave it up to you to go to the PayPal website and check out the fancy details. The basics are simple. Provide an email address, along with your personal information (name and address) to set up an account. In order to transfer the money out of your PayPal account into a real bank account, further information will be required. Trust me, it’s painless.

Be aware that there are some fees, depending on the dollar figures involved in your transfers and the level of account you have. Even so, it’s a worthwhile tool to have as an online writer.

The point here isn’t how to do it, just a recommendation that you do. PayPal is preferred by companies because it cuts down on expenses, and it’s instant. They just “email” the money to the address you use for your account. That’s it. It’s a benefit for you as well, because you can get paid immediately. Because of the instant nature of the payment, you can insist on getting paid BEFORE submitting your completed work. You can really cut down on the “lost cheque” problem that way.

If writing on an ongoing basis for a site or network, this may be the only way they issue payments. Be ready ahead of time by getting your account active.

There. Plenty of reasons to have a PayPal account. Go sign up. And no, I’m not earning anything here by suggesting them.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 18th, 2007 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Online Writing 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.