Posts Tagged ‘ writing business ’

You can make real money online

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You can make real money online

One bright note in the ongoing financial recession in the United States is the opportunity to earn money online. Since more companies are cutting back on full-time staff members to save money, they are turning more and more to outsourcing work that used to be done in house. Before you decide that you are going to earn money working from home however, it is important that you understand that there is no method of “getting rich quick”. Work at home opportunities are numerous, provided that you know where to look and you can avoid getting scammed. For most people, the…

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Content Mills: Like it or not they are valuable

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Content Mills: Like it or not they are valuable

I recently read a very well written blog post from a freelance writer who made the argument that freelancers should not start off their careers using a content mill. The theory is these sites encourage poor writing, encourage writers to accept lower rates of pay and stunt the growth of most writers. However, in my personal experience, this is simply false in many ways. Experience matters For many freelance writers who are just getting started (myself included), they may have not written anything since their school days. While there is some truth to the fact that many graduates who have…

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How to Create Online Income to Pay Bills

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How to Create Online Income to Pay Bills

Internet marketing, freelancing, article writing and blogging are all possible ideas to earn money online. Can they really help pay bills? The economy is in difficult shape, this is no big secret to anyone. For many, this means looking at additional means of earning income to help pay bills. Chances are that if you are like thousands of other people, you are searching online for opportunities that will allow you to earn additional income. While it is true that there are ways that you can earn income from various online activities, it is important that you know what you are getting…

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Cheap business owners

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Cheap business owners

Just when you think you have seen everything, something happens to really make you wake up and pay attention.  Now before I get accused of not knowing my facts let me be clear about a couple of things: (A) I don’t work for low rates on freelancing sites and (B) I’ve never been “invited” to take part in one of these assignments. However, that does not change the facts that they are out there. I always have pointed out to freelancers that they are working mostly at odds with clients. After all, a freelancers primary goal is to make as…

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Writing Site Review Update: Squidoo

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Writing Site Review Update: Squidoo

Generally I enjoy Squidoo but I’ve noticed some disturbing things that have caused me to pull back my submissions to the site. In fact, I have removed all of my lenses from the site. Earlier this year I had pursued putting a lot of my work up there as a way of highlighting topics that I felt were well done, provided solid information, etc.  However, I quickly discovered I was really wasting time with no hope of recovering much at all from the time I invested.  In January, I had only three lenses left in my “reserve” area because I…

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Smart Money: Time Management Tricks

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Smart Money: Time Management Tricks

We need to be honest with ourselves when we are self-employed and make sure that we are making the most of the hours that we invest in our business. There are some tasks that simply do not provide a good return on our investment of time and in some cases, they will never provide a good return for the time that we invest. In order to make the amount of money that you need to make, you need to make sure that you are managing your time well and investing the hours that you have well. First set income goals…

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Freelancers not welcome!

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Freelancers not welcome!

I tripped over a fascinating website today doing my usual perusal of online work options. I actually found a site that encourages companies to hire people to work from home but with a couple of fascinating twists included. First of all, they are not interested in freelancers, they are actually searching for people who are interested in being employees.  The site is very clear – they do not contract out any short term assignments, they are ONLY there to provide long-term full-time opportunities. But then it gets squishy from there.  Here’s why: First, I started going through the sign up…

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Preaching to the choir

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Preaching to the choir

I had some time to review some of my posts both here and on my other blog No Scam Work at Home. In the process, I decided to take a look at some of the statistics of these blogs and I have to admit to being not only stunned but seriously disappointed! The first post on this blog was made in November of 2008 and it it now March of 2012. Over that time I have exactly 23 subscribers! Holy smokes! I have 20 subscribers on the other blog. Where did I go wrong? I try to write relevant content…

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Defending content writers

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Defending content writers

While some people bash those who write for sites like Demand Media, Crowd Cloud and Textbroker as being “unprofessional”, I’d like to defend those who elect to use these sites to earn money.  After all, this IS about earning money and not always about the level of professionalism that is displayed by the writer. There are many excellent writers who depend on these sites to earn their weekly and monthly income.  The fact is that not everyone can write for the Wall Street Journal or other “high profile” publications. Like it or not – immediate payments Textbroker, Media Piston and…

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Myths about online freelance writing

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Myths about online freelance writing

If you take a look around the Internet you are going to find a ton of commentary about freelance writing. You can find numerous blogs about freelance writing ranging from those writers who specialize in online writing, those who are highly educated journalists and from those who are still trying to get their feet wet.  Chances are that you are going to find a lot of talk about what online writing does and does not entail as well as numerous suggestions about how to make more money from freelance writing. Here are some of the myths about online freelance writing.…

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Career challenges and goals

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Career challenges and goals

At some point or another every person faces challenges in their careers. These challenges range from demotions to promotions, battling middle child syndrome or considering a career change. Not everyone handles these challenges the same way and in some cases, they are more challenging to overcome the older you get. Having the tools and information that you need to make the most of the challenges that you may be facing during career changes can be helpful. This series of articles provides some general tips that can help you better deal with career challenges and help you set goals. [SlideDeck id='3134'…

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When failure is not an option

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When failure is not an option

One year ago at this time I was averaging about $1,100 a month from freelance writing online – mostly on content sites. This month, I’m well on track to earn a whopping $500.  This is a staggering drop in income and some of it I have no control over; other aspects I do have control over. Failure is simply not an option.  Part of the problem is that nearly all of the writing sites were hit during Panda. The other problem is that many of these sites have changed their strategies making it harder than ever to earn money. Therefore,…

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Meeting new guidelines

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Meeting new guidelines

Perhaps one of the bittersweet results of Google’s Panda update was the need to change how our writing impacts our page rating and our ability to earn money. Regardless of which content mill you are working for (and as I’ve previously stated most of us are working for one or more content mills), chances are that requirements have changed. One of the challenges is that each site you work for has its own set of guidelines. As freelancers, its hard enough to meet the needs of clients when we are hired for writing jobs, it is almost amusing to keep…

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Freelancing and ethical treatment of non paying clients

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Freelancing and ethical treatment of non paying clients

Unfortunately, not every freelance job is going to result in that often long awaited day – the day you are paid for your services. This is a fact that most freelancers accept as part of their commitment to running their own business. The Slow to Pay or No Pay Client The Right Path All too often, we allow our emotions to get the best of our better judgment when we are attempting to be paid for a job that we did according to our clients instructions. It’s often difficult for us to step back, take a deep breath and make…

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Preparing for work in 2011

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Preparing for work in 2011

The end of the year is now upon us and it is time to start thinking about our goals for 2011.  Most people hate setting new goals, but the reality is that this is one of the most effective ways of growing a business and growing personally.  It is important to remember that as freelancers that setbacks are a part of development. Even if freelancers have not met their 2010 goals it does not mean they should ignore setting new goals for 2011.  In fact, not setting goals could set a freelancer back a step or two in their development. …

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