Breaking out of your comfort zone

June 15, 2010

One of the challenges that many freelancers face is breaking out of their comfort zone. This is especially true for freelancers who depend on Freelance Marketplaces for their work. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of not being willing to expand your horizons and do work that isn’t through a freelance site. (Disclaimer: I do some work through oDesk).

Freelance writers have a lot of opportunities to earn more money. This does however require commitment and it also requires thinking outside the box. While it is great to have a base of clients that you can depend on, how about if suddenly they start dropping like flies, or they find other providers who charge less and do the same work? What happens if you have a disagreement with them? Do you really want to be left out in the cold with nothing to fall back on?

Blogging

Blogging isn’t going to allow you to live high off the hog. However, if you work steadily and add good quality content to your blogs, and you use AdSense, Kontera and Amazon affiliate programs to your blog, you’ll see the pennies roll in. AdSense has a $100 payout minimum, Kontera a $50 payout minimum and Amazon terms of service indicate they pay out on all sales (watch out for charge-backs).

Depending on the rate that you charge your clients, you can replace upwards of a weeks income by being aggressive in your blogging and promotion and earn enough money to comfortably have one week of pay per month from blogging alone. Remember something, blogging isn’t for the faint of heart! You have to be consistent, you have to write high quality content and you cannot just post for the sake of posting! The higher the quality of your blog, the more traffic you will see and the higher your earnings will be. These Blogging Articles can help fill in some of the blanks.

Article writing sites

If you are a strong writer and enjoy writing about a variety of topics, there are article writing sites where you can supplement your income. The income does not come in overnight. It takes time, patience and persistence to build a portfolio of work. Sites like Helium, Factzoid and Bright Hub are just a few of the sites that you can utilize to add to your freelance writing income. Each sites offers something a bit different for freelance writers, so make sure you read them carefully and find out what their terms of service include. The added benefit of these sites is that you are building a strong portfolio while you are earning money. The time that it takes you to earn money from articles depends strictly on your individual commitment to making them work for you. Take a look at them and you may be surprised how much you can earn from these sites.

Other options

Sites like Xomba (where you can add bookmarks or article) pay through your AdSense account. The posts do not require you to do a ton of writing, in fact the minimum word count for a “bookmark” is 50 words and the minimum word count for an “article” is 150 words. Once again, you get out what you put in.

HubPages and Squidoo offer the freelance writer additional earnings opportunities through affiliate programs and AdSense accounts. Take advantage of these Web 2.0 sites to help boost your monthly earnings.

Summary

It is hard to think about breaking out of the trap that you’ve fallen into using freelance sites or depending on the same clients over and over to provide you work. The more you spread your wings the more diversified your income becomes. Why limit your income possibilities? Remember, none of these options are get rich quick schemes, but working hard can (and does) pay off.

About Doreen Martel

Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.