The Write for Pay Online Primer

by Tara M. Clapper

(queen.guinevere@gmail.com)

http://www.tarawrites.com

Writing for pay online is ideal for anyone looking for extra income. Writers can work from home at all hours of the day or night. Many stay at home parents or individuals with disabilities limiting their work abilities find themselves able to make a decent amount of extra income online.

After finding what works for them, many writers have a ‘daily routine’ of sites to check and update for their writing endeavors.

There are a few basic rules to keep in mind before beginning:

• If a site looks shady or it hasn’t been discussed on forums, it’s likely best to avoid giving personal information to them.
• Never pay to gain access to freelance gig information.
• Do not write “sample articles” specifically for an application unless you do not have a relevant portfolio or article handy.
• Be sure to read all guidelines specifically per site applied to—each has unique style and content guidelines.
• Never plagiarize.
• Understand FTC disclosure guidelines.
• Know your earning potential up front.

Writers need:

• A professional email address.
• At least an hour per day to check up on things, even if writing infrequently.
• Paypal account (free).

To get started, it’s important to understand the three different types of writing that you can find online:

• Regular freelance work (website content writing, product descriptions, side jobs).
• Pay to blog jobs.
• Content production sites.

Regular freelance work is best acquired online through the reputable freelancewritinggigs.com. This site offers daily job postings, discussion, and a lot of help for writers of all ability. Instead of sifting through sites like craigslist individually, FWG picks out pertinent posts for writers (though it is still best to check local craigslist listings). Regular freelance work can include temporary, contract, part-time, steady, or one time work all done on a freelance basis.

Pay to blog jobs can be acquired in several ways, though some pay to blog communities open and close in a short amount of time. Bloggers choosing to go independently have more advertising options, but receive less support. Writers posting for different sites should have a main blog hosted on a free site such as WordPress where they can post and tag their latest published pieces. This facilitates additional promotion. You can also choose to have a professionally-hosted site with a custom .com URL over at GoDaddy. Their rates are pretty reasonable.

Content production sites pay in two ways (or combine both for a combination payment). Content sites purchase or make offers for articles up front, purchasing rights to exclusive articles, or offer PPV (per page view) bonuses. Demand Studios, which hires freelance writers, video producers, title proofreaders, and editors, offers up front payment OR revenue share for their content—however, the up front payment tends to be high in comparison to some other content sites. Associated Content (AC) offers about a third as much as Demand or less for original content, but offers their content producers to earn an unlimited amount based on page views. AC is typically not as high paying, but other content sites generally accept an AC profile as an example of a writer portfolio. Sites such as Helium have unique payment structures, so writing must be tailored to each site. These sites also offer referral bonuses (consistently or from time to time). The trend is also to have higher paying ‘zones’ which authors can apply to and write more lucratively for clients via the content production sites. Another prime site for writers looking to build or demonstrate a professional reputation in an area of expertise is known as Examiner.com. (If you apply to become an Examiner, please use referrer ID 38743 – yep, Examiner offers a hefty referral bonus for qualified writers.)

Promotion Tip: Blog revenue (whether advertising only or on a pay to blog site) and per page view payments/bonuses are generated almost entirely based upon the popularity of a blog. This means that users should be familiar with social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. They can also use the LinkedIn app for blogs with professional content. No blogger should be without the following services: Digg, Technorati, and Buzz. Content specific sites like Fark are also excellent traffic boosters.

Contracts: Generally, online content writers work as independent contractors. Large content sites will require content writers to fill out information for an I-9 form. Content writers are paid a gross sum. Taxes are not taken out, but they are responsible for paying them when it’s time to file taxes.

Networking: Promotion and networking is a large part of the job, especially if income depends largely on PV (pay per page view). Writers should network within their niche as well as within the larger content writer/blogger community in any and all ways possible. Online networking should always include forums on content production sites as posts there frequently point to other moneymaking sites. Remember, networking happens on and offline. Writers can generate a lot of referrals by offering seminars at libraries and pointing other writers and students in the right direction.