Writing for the web can be a bit different than the writing your are used to. When people search the web there is a plethora of information to sort through. Articles on the web are usually scanned by readers for information they feel is interesting or useful. If they do not find anything they want to read quickly, they will simply move onto the next article.
Think about the last time you did a Google search. Did you start from the top and click on each link? Did you read each and every page and article from the pages that you did click on? Likely, you scanned through the titles and descriptions looking for the ones that you felt matched what you were looking for. If the title didn't grab your attention it didn't get a second glance.
Without even thinking about it, you were able to quickly eliminate several of the pages that came up, solely based on the title. The title tells us everything. Amazingly, even though we quickly sort through the results of our queries based on the title, we often don't realize how important it is that the title is straight-forward and describes the information in our content.
Everything is in the title. When deciding on the title for your articles, pick a title that clearly states what your article is about. When you are choosing a title for your articles, ask yourself if you would click on that title if it came up in a search query or would you skip over it?
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Starting a Blog
The time comes in any freelancer's career when they consider starting a blog. Many people have blogs on the net. The topics of blogs vary greatly. Some are used for making money through programs like adsense. Some are used to promote a company or product. Some blogs are used more as a personal diary.
Whatever your reason for wanting to start a blog, there are many resources available. If you are new to blogging, I suggest using a free blog service. I always suggest starting off your new ventures with free resources before taking the leap by paying for anything. This removes any feeling of regret in the long run.
There are many free resources for someone who wants to begin writing a blog. Blogger is one of my favorites. Wordpress is another free site for bloggers that gives you the opportunity to blog for free before you decide to pay a server. Blogger is also one of the easiest sites to monetize your blog if you so chose in the future.
If you wish to start a blog http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/how-to-launch-a.html provides good guidelines that you can follow for the first 90 days of your blog's life.
Starting a free blog is a way to get an idea of the time it will take to keep up with a blog. You will have the opportunity to hone your writing skills and learn how to gain readers and followers.
Whatever your reason for wanting to start a blog, there are many resources available. If you are new to blogging, I suggest using a free blog service. I always suggest starting off your new ventures with free resources before taking the leap by paying for anything. This removes any feeling of regret in the long run.
There are many free resources for someone who wants to begin writing a blog. Blogger is one of my favorites. Wordpress is another free site for bloggers that gives you the opportunity to blog for free before you decide to pay a server. Blogger is also one of the easiest sites to monetize your blog if you so chose in the future.
If you wish to start a blog http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/how-to-launch-a.html provides good guidelines that you can follow for the first 90 days of your blog's life.
Starting a free blog is a way to get an idea of the time it will take to keep up with a blog. You will have the opportunity to hone your writing skills and learn how to gain readers and followers.
Make Money for Free
One mistake that many people make when starting their freelance career is taking money out of their own pocket to get started. There are many legitimate freelance sites that charge, but why pay for what you can get for free. This is especially true for the beginning freelancer.
Everyone knows the saying. "You have to have money to make money." While you can pay to make money, you don't have to. The better alternative for a beginning freelancer is to start off writing for free content sites that share revenues. They don't charge you for submissions because they will make money off of your work.
So, how can these sites publish your work for free? When you publish articles with these sites, they will place ads along with your content. There are many companies out there with products they wish to sell. They will place ads through programs like adsense. Every time someone reads your article, they are a potential customer for the companies who have ads placed along with your content. When the readers of your articles click on these ads, the site makes money. Then the site shares their profits with you.
Some sites call this revenue sharing, some call it royalties, some call it performance payments. It all boils down to the same thing. They make money off ads placed with your content. Then they share this money with you. Without you and other content producers, they would not have a way to place ads. So, basically, everybody wins. You provide the content they need and they pay you part of what your content earns through the ads.
Eventually, you will probably realize that you can cut out the middle man. You can write content for yourself and start your own web page. Then you can use programs like adsense or find your own affiliates and not share your earnings.
Free content sites give you the opportunity to see what works for you. What do you enjoy writing about? What can you write about continuously? What articles earn the most money? Through experimentation, all of these things can be learned by starting off with these free content sites.
I would suggest starting off with free sites like Associated Content and Helium. Both of these sites not only share revenues but they offer upfront payments for your work. You will never have to pay anyone to produce content on these sites.
Once you start making money through sites like these, then you can begin looking into starting your own websites or blogs and you can actually finance your venture with money you have already made with your freelance writing.
Of course, nothing in life is completely free. You will have to put some time and efforts into your work. But if you're looking for ways to make money without spending money, they are out there. You just have to be willing to invest your time.
Everyone knows the saying. "You have to have money to make money." While you can pay to make money, you don't have to. The better alternative for a beginning freelancer is to start off writing for free content sites that share revenues. They don't charge you for submissions because they will make money off of your work.
So, how can these sites publish your work for free? When you publish articles with these sites, they will place ads along with your content. There are many companies out there with products they wish to sell. They will place ads through programs like adsense. Every time someone reads your article, they are a potential customer for the companies who have ads placed along with your content. When the readers of your articles click on these ads, the site makes money. Then the site shares their profits with you.
Some sites call this revenue sharing, some call it royalties, some call it performance payments. It all boils down to the same thing. They make money off ads placed with your content. Then they share this money with you. Without you and other content producers, they would not have a way to place ads. So, basically, everybody wins. You provide the content they need and they pay you part of what your content earns through the ads.
Eventually, you will probably realize that you can cut out the middle man. You can write content for yourself and start your own web page. Then you can use programs like adsense or find your own affiliates and not share your earnings.
Free content sites give you the opportunity to see what works for you. What do you enjoy writing about? What can you write about continuously? What articles earn the most money? Through experimentation, all of these things can be learned by starting off with these free content sites.
I would suggest starting off with free sites like Associated Content and Helium. Both of these sites not only share revenues but they offer upfront payments for your work. You will never have to pay anyone to produce content on these sites.
Once you start making money through sites like these, then you can begin looking into starting your own websites or blogs and you can actually finance your venture with money you have already made with your freelance writing.
Of course, nothing in life is completely free. You will have to put some time and efforts into your work. But if you're looking for ways to make money without spending money, they are out there. You just have to be willing to invest your time.
Friday, February 27, 2009
SEO Tool for Beginning Freelancers
Content writing is a good way for beginning freelancers to start their career. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the key to being a successful content writer.
Content for the Internet must be easily found and indexed by search engines. This means that content must be rich in the appropriate key words. It can take some time to master the art of placing key words into articles and keep it flowing naturally. It can also take a lot of time to figure out if your content has an appropriate amount of key words. This is where SEO tools, such as Textalyzer, can be very useful.
How frequently words are used in your content will tell a search engine what the article is about. You might be surprised how the over use of certain words can lead a search engine to categorize the article much differently than intended by the author. SEO will help to have the article read by the audience you are hoping to target.
Textalyzer is a text analysis tool that can be invaluable to a SEO content writer. It is simple to use and provides much information about the article. You can either cut and paste the content into the box on the Textalyzer webpage, or insert the address of the webpage and have the entire page analyzed by Textalyzer.
Textalyzer will tell how frequently words are used in the text. This will allow you to edit the article and ensure that it is rich in the key words that you want in the article. It will also check the spelling of the analyzed text.
SEO can be a much simpler process with the use of text analyzing tools such as Textalyzer. You may find yourself wondering how you ever wrote anything without it.
Content for the Internet must be easily found and indexed by search engines. This means that content must be rich in the appropriate key words. It can take some time to master the art of placing key words into articles and keep it flowing naturally. It can also take a lot of time to figure out if your content has an appropriate amount of key words. This is where SEO tools, such as Textalyzer, can be very useful.
How frequently words are used in your content will tell a search engine what the article is about. You might be surprised how the over use of certain words can lead a search engine to categorize the article much differently than intended by the author. SEO will help to have the article read by the audience you are hoping to target.
Textalyzer is a text analysis tool that can be invaluable to a SEO content writer. It is simple to use and provides much information about the article. You can either cut and paste the content into the box on the Textalyzer webpage, or insert the address of the webpage and have the entire page analyzed by Textalyzer.
Textalyzer will tell how frequently words are used in the text. This will allow you to edit the article and ensure that it is rich in the key words that you want in the article. It will also check the spelling of the analyzed text.
SEO can be a much simpler process with the use of text analyzing tools such as Textalyzer. You may find yourself wondering how you ever wrote anything without it.
Writing for Triond
Triond is another good content site for beginning freelancers to publish articles and receive royalties. The articles you submit to Triond, if approved, will be published on an appropriate site depending on the topic of your article. Triond takes care of the publishing of your submitted articles. Then you receive 50% of the royalties from your articles.
Triond offers low payout to members using paypal. You can offer receive payment through western union or you can choose to receive a paper check via snail mail. Though payout for these options is significantly higher.
How fast you reach payout will depend on how many articles you publish with Triond and how popular they are. Triond does not offer upfront payments but it is a good way to gain exposure. All of the articles you publish through Triond will have your byline.
Triond also offers new freelancers a friendly and helpful community to assist you on your way through your freelance career.
Triond offers low payout to members using paypal. You can offer receive payment through western union or you can choose to receive a paper check via snail mail. Though payout for these options is significantly higher.
How fast you reach payout will depend on how many articles you publish with Triond and how popular they are. Triond does not offer upfront payments but it is a good way to gain exposure. All of the articles you publish through Triond will have your byline.
Triond also offers new freelancers a friendly and helpful community to assist you on your way through your freelance career.
Why Write for Associated Content?
Associated Content is a freelance writing site that pays its members based on how their articles perform. The more page views an article gets the more money the article will make. There are other sites that are similar to Associated Content. So, why write for Associated Content?
Straight-forward Payment Policy
Straight-forward Payment Policy
Associated Content pays $1.50 per 1000 page views for beginning authors. This may not sound like much, but through time it will likely prove more profitable than many freelance sites that are available for beginners. There are sites where freelancers can bid on writing jobs. It is not uncommon for these jobs to pay a mere 50 cents per article.
On Associated Content is is easy to see which articles perform well. Each article has it's page views listed along with its earnings. You will be able to see the lifetime earnings of the article and the earnings since your last payout. This also allows you to see when an article performs well. Some articles are seasonal. They may get more page views at certain times of the year.
Low Payout
One of the benefits of Associated Content is that the payout is very low. You only need to earn $1.50 to receive payout. Upfront payments are also paid out quickly. Once an offer for upfront payment is accepted, the money will be deposited into your paypal account within a few days. Other sites add upfront payment to your balance and require that you wait until your total balance reaches a preset amount before you receive any payment.
Creative Freedom
On Associated Content you can write about anything that you please. This is a great way for beginning freelance writers, and even those that have been writing for a while, to hone their writing skills. Some writing jobs may require that you write about topics that you don't know much about. It is easier to remain productive and enthusiastic about your freelance career if you have a place to write about what you know.
With Associated Content's straight-forward payment policy, low payouts, and freedom to write about whatever you choose, it is easy to see why many beginning freelancers have chosen to write for Associated Content. It is also easy to see why so many content producers on Associated Content have found success with their freelance careers.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Upfront Payment: Helium vs. Associated Content
Helium and Associated Content are both sites that new freelancers can publish their articles. Each site pays their members based on the performance of their articles. They also both offer authors upfront payments for their articles, though each site's version of upfront payments don't have much in common. Read more...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Freelance Sites for Beginners
With so many sites on the Internet for freelance writers, it can be difficult to decide which sites are the best ones for a beginning freelancer. Helium and Associated Content are two great sites for beginning freelancers because they allow you to publish articles on any topic that you choose, they pay you for your efforts, and they are free to join.
Many sites on the net provide an opportunity for freelancers to view jobs that have been posted by people in need of a freelance writer. These sites can be a good opportunity, but if the site charges for membership, it may not be the best place to start. If you begin your freelance career by paying money to these sites, you may find yourself quickly discouraged. There is no reason to pay when there are so many free opportunities available to freelancers.
Helium and Associated Content are both free to join and are ideal for the beginning freelancer. Both sites allow you to write about any topic you desire are ideal for the beginning freelancer. You can write about any topic you choose. It is often easier to begin writing about what you know well. This will allow you to develop your writing skills.
Helium and Associated Content will pay you for your work depending on how often your article is viewed and even offer upfront payment for your articles. Receiving upfront payment for your efforts may encourage you to keep writing. Seeing how much you make from page views will allow you to see which articles are profitable and which topics bring in the most page views.
Associated Content is a great place for a beginning freelancer to test the waters. Associated content offers upfront payment for articles (between $3 and $20) and also performance payments (based on how many times your article is viewed). Jump right in and start writing. Some say that you should pick one topic that you know well and stick with it. I like to take a different approach. Write about anything and everything you can think of. Don't just stick to one topic. Try writing about any topic that you know about. This will let you to experiment with different topics and see which topics perform well for you. You may be surprised at which articles do well and which ones don't. As you experiment with different topics, you will be able to see what type of articles are popular.
Helium is another good site for beginning freelancers. Helium offers upfront payment, performance payments, and also has a marketplace. In the Helium marketplace, you can find writing jobs that offer more significant payment. Some articles will pay $8 and some will go up to $60 or more. Helium is a great place to start if you have difficulty coming up with writing ideas. In Helium the topics are picked for you. Many members of Helium write articles about the same topics and the articles compete against each other.
Associated Content and Helium are great places to get started writing for the beginning freelancer. It will give you the opportunity to write, write, and write some more. Once you get comfortable writing with these sites, you will find it easier to explore the other opportunities for freelancers on the net.
Many sites on the net provide an opportunity for freelancers to view jobs that have been posted by people in need of a freelance writer. These sites can be a good opportunity, but if the site charges for membership, it may not be the best place to start. If you begin your freelance career by paying money to these sites, you may find yourself quickly discouraged. There is no reason to pay when there are so many free opportunities available to freelancers.
Helium and Associated Content are both free to join and are ideal for the beginning freelancer. Both sites allow you to write about any topic you desire are ideal for the beginning freelancer. You can write about any topic you choose. It is often easier to begin writing about what you know well. This will allow you to develop your writing skills.
Helium and Associated Content will pay you for your work depending on how often your article is viewed and even offer upfront payment for your articles. Receiving upfront payment for your efforts may encourage you to keep writing. Seeing how much you make from page views will allow you to see which articles are profitable and which topics bring in the most page views.
Associated Content is a great place for a beginning freelancer to test the waters. Associated content offers upfront payment for articles (between $3 and $20) and also performance payments (based on how many times your article is viewed). Jump right in and start writing. Some say that you should pick one topic that you know well and stick with it. I like to take a different approach. Write about anything and everything you can think of. Don't just stick to one topic. Try writing about any topic that you know about. This will let you to experiment with different topics and see which topics perform well for you. You may be surprised at which articles do well and which ones don't. As you experiment with different topics, you will be able to see what type of articles are popular.
Helium is another good site for beginning freelancers. Helium offers upfront payment, performance payments, and also has a marketplace. In the Helium marketplace, you can find writing jobs that offer more significant payment. Some articles will pay $8 and some will go up to $60 or more. Helium is a great place to start if you have difficulty coming up with writing ideas. In Helium the topics are picked for you. Many members of Helium write articles about the same topics and the articles compete against each other.
Associated Content and Helium are great places to get started writing for the beginning freelancer. It will give you the opportunity to write, write, and write some more. Once you get comfortable writing with these sites, you will find it easier to explore the other opportunities for freelancers on the net.
Mylot
Mylot is a site that pays for its members to start discussions and respond to discussions. You can start a discussion for just about anything and other members have the opportunity to participate in your discussion.
The site doesn't pay much and I wouldn't recommend it as a regular source of income. It is a great place to take a break from your work and to meet others with similar interests.
Minimum payout on the site is $10.00. Depending on how much time you spend on the site, it may take quite some time to reach minimum payout. There are some people who spend quite a bit of time on mylot and are able to make payout each month. If you are merely on the site to make money, you will likely be disappointed and quickly feel that it is not worth your time. You would get much more compensation for your time elsewhere.
Sites like http://www.helium.com/ and http://www.associatedcontent.com/ will probably offer the best payout for your time investment for a beginning Internet writer. http://www.mylot.com/ would better serve as a site to start discussions on a topic and get some feedback before you write an article for another site.
Mylot is a great place to meet people, practice your writing, get a feel for a topic before you begin writing, and a place to just relax with a supportive group of friends.
The site doesn't pay much and I wouldn't recommend it as a regular source of income. It is a great place to take a break from your work and to meet others with similar interests.
Minimum payout on the site is $10.00. Depending on how much time you spend on the site, it may take quite some time to reach minimum payout. There are some people who spend quite a bit of time on mylot and are able to make payout each month. If you are merely on the site to make money, you will likely be disappointed and quickly feel that it is not worth your time. You would get much more compensation for your time elsewhere.
Sites like http://www.helium.com/ and http://www.associatedcontent.com/ will probably offer the best payout for your time investment for a beginning Internet writer. http://www.mylot.com/ would better serve as a site to start discussions on a topic and get some feedback before you write an article for another site.
Mylot is a great place to meet people, practice your writing, get a feel for a topic before you begin writing, and a place to just relax with a supportive group of friends.
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