Get Paid To Write
Fans of my website may have read my post "Get Paid For Blogging" may feel that blogging is the same as writing and there is some truth to that. But when you get paid to write you have many more avenues to explore than just blogs.
It's a common belief that writing, especially on the web, is where the easy money is. There could be nothing further from the truth. Writing takes practice, time, and experience, to make any kind of living out of it. And the proliferation of the web comes with increased competition. None of these factors are going to lead any budding writing to become rich easily or quick.
But you can carve out a niche for yourself if you follow the right formula. The first task is to figure out what area you want to concentrate on. Just simply stating that you are going to write for anything that comes you way proves to cumbersome and more focus is required to really make it your own.
The following are many of the vehicles that can be used to showcase your writing (click each icon to open in a new window):
Blogs
I bet you find it a tad ironic that I said this article is not the same as blogging but there are differences. Still web owners will need to write for their blogs. There are methods that you need to be aware of when trying to get search engines to consider your blog. It takes practice and although there are direct ways to get paid from blogging (see the article above) this is typically more indirect in that you have to get traffic to your site. Then you need a way to monetize that traffic. This is all covered below.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon makes it pretty easy to publish on their platform. And you don't need to produce volumes the size of War and Peace either. There are plenty of pamphlet-like guides that are sold on Kindle.
You will have to decide whether you want to sign up for their KDP Select program. This essentially gives you more of the commission and also the opportunity for various promotional methods that can give you more exposure for your book. The downside is that you must be exclusive with Amazon for a 90 day period.
Barnes & Noble's Nook
This option is not much different than Kindle but just a different platform. It's also not as popular as Kindle. But that doesn't mean you can't get sales here.
Guest Blogging
Part of my article Get Paid For Blogging covers the subject of guest blogging. It's gaining a lot of attention lately but not all of that attention has been good. It's important to understand the latest developments with it along with the risks.
iWriter.com
The pay for quality writers on this platform is pretty good but you have to write pretty well to get those rates. But you have to start somewhere and if you are aggressive you can get to the Elite status pretty quickly. This is when the pay rates increase.
They also have an acceleration program which as the name implies can serve to get you to a higher status earlier but it comes with a hefty fee of $150 so you have to figure out if that fee is worth it in increased commissions. In other words, how many articles even at the higher pay rate will it take to make back that investment? Would it be the same amount as you starting from the bottom at the lower rates and just gaining your way to the higher status?
Fiverr.com
As the name implies Fiverr is a platform where people perform tasks and services for five dollars. The typical going rate for writers is 500 words for five dollars. Sometimes it's more words and sometimes it's less. Now before you write this off (no pun intended) as being too low a fee, remember that part of a writer's success comes from showcasing his or her portfolio. Fiverr can be a great way to get many gigs under your belt quickly. It really can be used as a stepping stone for higher paying gigs.
The one caveat that you should be aware of with Fiverr is that the service takes a dollar for each gig. So you really are only going to get four dollars. Also, there is a feedback system so you want to make sure you do a great job - which you should be doing anyway :)
Craigslist
Craiglist.org can be a great place for people to drum up writing gigs. The going rate is about the same as Fiverr except that you don't have to pay Craigslist anything whereas with Fiverr you are giving up one of those five dollars to them. But the big difference with Craigslist is there is no rating system. You have to decide for yourself whether that is a good thing or not.
Warrior Forum
This is more of an indirect way to get paid from your writing. Essentially, if you create a product, like an eBook, you can use the Warrior Forum to sell it. The advantage is you will get a lot of exposure to your sales page because there are a lot of members on the forum. The disadvantage is the forum has become littered with spammers lately.
Magazines
This is a more traditional avenue for writers and the pay is one of the best. But getting the gig takes some finesse. You will need to pitch your idea to editors and it's not always easy to get in touch with them. Your local library can help as it has resources for writers on where to find leads for this.
If you are going to go this route, click on the icon or here for Who Pays on scratchmag.net
Mechanical Turk
This is an Amazon.com owned site. You will need to get approved and they have a lot of jobs. But they are generally low paying ones. The jobs that are higher paying require a lot more work. It's worth checking out but don't expect much money.
LEARN HOW TO GET PAID ONLINE
It's Not Difficult -- But You Need To Learn The Correct Methods. It's Free Too!
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