Freelance Jobs At Publishing Companies

Freelance writing jobs are strange. They seem at once everywhere and inaccessible to a writer who is just starting out. When you are trying to break into the business of online writing, it can be difficult to wade through the glut of information out there to find exactly the information you need to know to start writing this week. Here is everything you need to know to start making money online right away.

1. Write a killer resume. If you're a writer, you already have writing experience. No matter how small that experience seems to you, put it all on a resume dedicated solely to writing. Think creatively. Administrative assistant jobs often require copy-writing and editing. Do put your personal and professional blogs on your resume. Do list non-writing licenses, degrees, and awards that show you have expertise to enrich your writing. Don't fabricate. Employers will soon find out if you've padded your resume. Don't worry if your experience is light. It is about to grow.
2. Put together a stellar portfolio. All articles should be SEO and keyword-rich. Take an online course or do some research until you are comfortable with what it means to write to SEO guidelines. Some tips: use the title in the first sentence of your article, use a main keyword phrase at least twice and some alternate keyword phrases at least four more times. Don't stuff your keywords. Most importantly, write an article you would want to read on the subject. Quality matters. Use and cite research. Use quotes, references, and links to enrich your article. For your portfolio, put together a sample blog entry and a couple of sample articles. Keep the tone engaging and friendly, but not humorous. Write in the second or third person for articles and first or second person for blog entries. Put together examples of copy writing if you will be marketing yourself in that sector. Those could be examples of brochures, advertising copy, or other advertising or business writing you have done. It is okay to make up sample work that showcases your talents, as long as you don't try and pass it off as a real job on your resume.
3. Create an account on a freelance outsourcing website. Websites like odesk.com and elance.com offer great opportunities to writers who are just starting out. Create a complete profile, remembering to upload your resume, portfolio, and a photograph of yourself. Then, search the listed jobs. There will likely be many listings for article writing and blog posting. Start out by bidding for writing jobs in the $4/article range if you have some experience or in the $1/article if your resume is very short. Write a courteous cover letter that shows you have read the job posting and lists your relevant talents. Make sure to link to an example of your work.
4. Apply for content writing jobs. Once you've got your foot in the door, push it wide open by applying for content writing jobs. The studios listed below all pay between $5-25 per 500-word article and create a wide net of work opportunities for the dedicated freelance writer.

• content current and textbroker.com have listings of articles waiting to be written that can be claimed by any writer. These are good sites where you can log on, write an article, and submit it right away. These sites pay between $4-8 per 500-word article.
• Break Studios, Demand Studios, and Valley Direct Media are a little harder to break into than textbroker is, but they offer regular pay-by-piece articles where you retain authorship. This is different from many other sites that simply buy your articles to publish under the pen names of their choice. These studios pay between $8-25 per article.
• Suite 101, Constant Content, and Yahoo Contributor Network are the cream of the crop in revenue-sharing sites. They are highly respected and require an application to get in. While some do offer a few pay-per-piece articles (maybe three per day total), they are best for publishing on speculation. You get to publish articles for these companies on subjects of your own choosing, you retain authorship, and you have the possibility of greater profits than from the pay-per-article sites. With Constant Content, you place your own articles up for sale to buyers. With Suite 101, you get a share of the advertising revenue your article generates. With all of these sites, you get to work closely with editors and tutorials to make sure you are putting out the best quality work possible.
• Quality Gal pays between $12-25 per article. Groupon pays $22 per short advertisement. Writing World dot com pays $.05 per word. These sites, and others like them, take serious experience to break into, but they come with serious pay. Consider them when you've been working online as a freelance writer for a few months and have a great portfolio to prove it.
• Respond to private ads. Go to sites like Freelancewritinggigs.com, Craigslist, Online Writing Jobs dot com, and 4 Writers. These sites will allow you to interact directly with your clients, set your own price, and never pay a commission.

Now you have exact directions to getting started in the world of online freelance writing. You have no more excuses. Are you going to do it? The only thing stopping you now is...you.

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