“The demand right now for business and marketing-oriented writers is huge.
The content marketing field has grown enormously.”
Brian Clark – Copyblogger.com
The internet runs on content. SEO integrates with content. Every person who wants to rank highly on Google focuses first on their keywords and then on their web content. The potential for web content writers and freelance writers are absolutely astounding.
What I love about the internet and the potential the internet provides is the fact that even if you don’t have the skills – you can make money online. When I first started writing online, I didn’t know the first thing about keywords, or SEO, keyword density. I had to learn through trial and error. Yet – five years later – my clients always commend me on writing copy that sells.
The internet is about MAKING MONEY. My customers are business owners who are selling specific services or products. When I write for them I need to represent them and their services in the best light. Yet – I have to do so much more than that. I need to actually SELL their products for them. While I’m doing this, a lot of my customers want me to focus on search engine optimization (SEO). I also have to focus on carefully integrating certain keywords into the sales copy. A keyword is what you rank for in Google: “kids bikes”, “making money online”. If you struggle to understand the concept, think about when you go into Google. You type for what you want. So you search for “greatest songs ever” … those are keywords.
Freelance writing is an entire world of writing opportunities. You can write so much more than web content or SEO articles. You can write eBooks as a Ghostwriter – or for yourself. You can apply to work for magazines that only take applications through the internet. Imagine being paid to blog about your favourite series. These are all possible. You just need to know where to look.
Qualifications to write online
When someone asks me if they can write online but say they don’t have any experience or qualifications, I assure them that it will be alright. You don’t need specific qualifications in English or Journalism to write online. Sure, as with anything in life, these will help but they’re not necessary. You need to be able to form sentences that engage your reader. You need to perfect your grammar and punctuation (something I am still working on). Just remain passionate and make sure that your reflect professionalism when writing. If you’re skeptical about whether or not you can do this, feel free to send me an email and I’ll help you out as much as I can.
Learning about Writing
You know you can write, now you just need to learn how to do it effectively for the internet. These are sites that I absolutely love and have an absolute treasure trove of information for improving on your writing skills. I’m subscribed to all of these and whenever I find an interesting article I print it and save it for the future.
Copy Blogger – Brian and his team of guest bloggers always provide pivotal information that helps you write compelling articles that sell.
Freelance Folder – Invaluable to freelancers who need to learn how to balance their time, energy and skills.
Men with Pens – Advice on how to write and write well.
Write to Done – As the site claims these are “unmissable articles on writing”.
Writing Job Aggregators
These are sites that over daily or weekly updates of freelance writing jobs around the internet. Check them every day to see if there are new jobs posted up that you can apply for. Start thinking about the type of writing you would like to specialize in. Do you want to write for blogs that target the health niche? Did you study economics? Maybe you want to write for blogs that focus on the economy. Use your own personal strengths and hobbies to create a successful writing career.
About Freelance Writing – Anne updates her site three times a week with writing jobs all over the internet.
Freelance Writing Gigs – This site is updated daily with new writing gigs. They also have their own job board section so go through that as well.
ProBlogger Job Board – This is a job board specifically for blogging jobs.
Well this is it for Part 1. On Friday I’ll be covering the following:
- Revenue Sharing Sites
- Freelance Bidding Sites
- Setting yourself up for international clients
- Content Mills & Why You Should Use them
- Setting up your pay rates
- How to protect yourself from online writing scams
- Creating a portfolio
Make sure you read:
Erm, ProBlogger mainly features jobs from Demand Studios which only takes US and UK citizens or is there a way around it?
That’s a good question, I’ve often wondered about Darren’s setup for International writers..
I’ve actually gotten a few jobs from Problogger’s dashboard.
MS: I don’t think there is a way around Demand Studio’s regulations. The only thing I can think of is “faking” a US citizenship… I know a few people who purchase US addresses/telephone numbers and just work like that. *g*
Take a look at this job: http://jobs.problogger.net/view/4042 < Try target those type of one's that are not set up by Demand.
I did some asking around and a few of my connections here in SA have also had success on the ProBlogger network.