Few people would turn up their noses at a job where they can work from home. It’s one of those things just about anyone would love. And rather unscrupulous people have always taken advantage of that. So how do you know when an online writing job is a potential scam?
One of the quirks about writing for the web instead of print, is the way you have to choose your wording. The most important aspect of your writing work is to make sure your articles are found and read (whether you work for yourself, or are writing for others). And so you need to always keep your thoughts on search engines when you write. Your work isn’t going to do anyone any good if no one can find it. Even when writing for a well-known content network. The trick is to optimize for good keywords. (more…)
I’m just looking at the calendar and realized how long its been since I applied for a couple really great online gigs. Sigh. If nothing else, my likely rejection has given me motivation for this post. Don’t get discouraged by a lack of response to your writing applications. (more…)
A booming form of online writing is the “keyword article”, also known as “SEO writing” or “SEO articles”. The idea is that people with websites on whatever topics (and usually selling whatever product) are always looking for ways to improve their search engine rankings. Everyone wants to be at the top of the list on Google or Yahoo!. But websites filled with products aren’t usually that successful. Because they lack content. You need lots of words and text for search engines to really sink their teeth into, so product-sellers are always on the lookout for articles that they can add to their sites with minimal effort.
And that is where you, the online writer comes in.
And yes, I’m writing this from personal experience. There are days when writer’s block is looming over the horizon, and my brain is looking for a way to not deal with it. Those days, I find myself poring over every category on Craiglist, and hitting every freelance job board I can find. And once I’ve checked all the usual places, I start wondering if something new has been posted in the past hour, and start the whole cycle over again. Next thing I know, the afternoon is gone.
It may seem like an unlikely way to make any decent money, but getting hired to produce regular blog content is fast becoming the newest way to earn money for online writing. Blogs may strike you as the domain of chatty teens with nothing better to do than ramble about their lives, and I suppose that is how the blog concept began.
But today, blogs are the hottest form of website content and can be found for any subject matter that you can think of. They are no longer just personal rants and opinions, either. Blogs can present articles, news and helpful information.
This can be a pretty fundamental question when you start thinking about becoming an online writer, though it’s not unique to the writing biz. Do you want to get hired (either full-time or contract) by someone else, or do you want to launch your own website and be the master of your own domain?
Well, the issues involved are pretty much the same as in any business when you start thinking of going independent. Online writing is no different. Independence vs. risk.
I don’t think any issue in the freelance writing world gets people angrier than this one. With so many people out there launching new magazines, websites, blogs and e-zines, there is no shortage of folks looking for the written word but who aren’t able or willing to pay for it. And the ones who offer mere pennies for an article aren’t much better.
The rants are long, heated and usually have the same thing to say each time. Something along the lines that writers are professionals and we should be treated as such. Nobody else works for free, so why do people expect us too? (more…)
I figured I’d start off on the ground floor here with my first post. What exactly am I talking about when I say “online writing”?
Well, the rather obvious answer is: “Writing that is published on the Internet.”
Nice and simple.
