Comments on: How Can I Make Money Writing at Home?

By: Halina Zakowicz

Halina Zakowicz — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:01:12 +0000

I recently decided to do freelance writing full-time. The most important thing I’ve discovered is the need to let go of content mills and public sites like oDesk and focus on finding private clients ASAP. There are many ways to find private clients, from commenting on blogs to querying companies directly. It’s also best if you (at least initially) focus on your field of expertise when you send query letters, since your portfolio may be a bit limited. Describing specific ways in which you can improve a client’s content and help him/her gain clients is a great way to gain new business without having to show writing samples.

By: SammieClemmons

SammieClemmons — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:38:29 +0000

The freelance work site that I like the best is VWorker. The employers seem more reasonable than on some of the other sites, and it is easier to get established than on the megasites like ODesk and ELance.

By: Angie

Angie — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:13:30 +0000

In reply to Derek J. Maak. Thanks for the recommendation, Derek.

By: Derek J. Maak

Derek J. Maak — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:54:49 +0000

Hey Angie,

I think Iwriter is also a great place for newbies to get started. Your pay might not be as great as it would be if you privately found people, but if you’re new to the internet and don’t know how to find people who might want your services, Iwriter is a great place to dive in and start writing immediately. Also a great place to attract a loyal following who loves your writing skills. Once you get your feet wet, you can always branch out to increase your income.

By: Neil | Butterfield

Neil | Butterfield — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:55:36 +0000

Thanks for sharing this with us Angie. I would like to suggest odesk as another forum to source work or workers for that matter.

By: Patti Hale

Patti Hale — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 00:27:21 +0000

Outsourcing marketplaces like Elance and Odesk are also a good way to get started writing. There are also several freelance writing job boards that advertise freelance writing jobs. The best way to find freelance work however, is to do a search in Google for ‘write for us’ to find sites that are asking for writers to contribute to their site.

By: Connie Brentford

Connie Brentford — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:40:34 +0000

When I started out, I was not a trained writer and I took the time to read about how to write online content properly. I taught myself how to write SEO optimized content and I brushed up on my grammar with Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl podcasts. I started out with the broker sites, then did some pro bono to get clips and finally moved on to private clients within a few months time. It’s doable!

By: c @ annuary chit

c @ annuary chit — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 13:14:16 +0000

Thanks for ideas. I’ve done a few posts for TextBroker in the past though haven’t really thought about doing freelance as a full-time thing. But I am submitting short stories and use https://duotrope.com/ to look for fiction publishers.

By: Angie

Angie — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:34:05 +0000

In reply to Adeline Yuboco. Thanks for sharing your story, Adeline. Reading those contracts is a must.

By: Adeline Yuboco

Adeline Yuboco — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 09:32:20 +0000

Going through websites that serve as a middle man is one of the easiest ways for beginners to start earning by writing from home. Hiwever, it is important that before they join, they really go through their policies, especially when it comes to getting paid. When I started out, I experienced a lot of instances doing writing jobs for clients, and end up only being paid a fraction of the amount we initially agreed. There are a lot of those kinds still out there; so it’s important to always to check carefully how will you be protected as a writer.

By: Angie

Angie — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:27:07 +0000

In reply to Connie Brentford. Great tip, Connie. Thanks for sharing!

By: Connie Brentford

Connie Brentford — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:15:23 +0000

Another great way to see if you enjoy creating content and still get paid is to list writing gigs on Fiverr.com. It’s easy to stipulate what type of writing you’d be willing to do and the business comes to you. It is relatively low pay like the writing service providers you mentioned but it is painless to sign up, no writing samples or testing required.