Writing for Money

I’ve always loved reading and writing – even as a kid. Yet I never pursued writing as a career because I thought, writers don’t make a lot of money. But the pandemic has forced people to work from home, and many have turned to online resources to make a living. Writing for money seems a gig I can pursue.

I’ve written various blog articles in the past – mostly for content mills. They pay you per word or per article. Rates are measly (often starting at 2c to 3c per word). I did this route before I joined the corporate world and while I enjoyed writing, my body protested.

The hours were long. The pay small. And there were no security or benefits connected to the job.

Fast forward to today. I recently explored freelancing once again. This time armed with experience and wisdom. I’ve learned what it takes – and how to become – a premium freelancer. More so, I’ve discovered writers can earn 6-7 figures (USD) for their work without sacrificing too much of their time.

I decided to investigate further by joining the The Freelance Movement Tribe.

PREMIUM FREELANCING

It’s a different brand of freelancing. You don’t waste time searching and applying for jobs in freelancing boards where they pay measly rates at $5/hr. Instead, you treat freelancing as a business and approach it like any wise businessman would – networking.

Yep, forming real-world connections via networking. It can be through warm connections or cold pitches. The point is to go out there, hustle and forge those human connections with potential clients.

Since it’s a business, you need to know your (1) MARKET and (2) OFFER. Just like any traditional market.

So I went in. Armed with my knowledge of marketing and business, I started building my dream freelancing business.

It’s not easy. It’s a path not for the faint hearted. Most freelancers view themselves as remote workers. They deliver a job and get paid for it. It’s a job – a contract – at the end of the day.

As a freelance business owner, I need to think wider. What does my market needs? What skill sets do I have – or can develop – to address those needs? How do I make my business sustainable and scalable?

It’s tempting to fall back into the employee mindset. Just go out there, apply for a job and deliver the output. The end.

But this is not what I want to do. So forge ahead I must.

WRITING for MONEY

As I said in my intro, I didn’t think writing would be lucrative. And when I say writing I mean blog writing. I know businesses pay a lot for copywriters – including email copywriters. The founder of the Freelance Movement Tribe is a famous email copywriter earning 7-figures USD.

There’s money in writing. But the kind of writing I like (blog content) I’m not so sure of.

That’s why I ventured to SEO as a service. I know content writing and SEO goes hand in hand. Websites need to rank in search engines. To do that they need optimized blog content. Viola! I enter the picture.

But to offer SEO content, I need to learn SEO. And as someone who LOVES learning, I adored and absorbed the new knowledge I gained. I loved all aspects of SEO.

Pretty soon, I could explain it like a pro. Without experience, I knew the ins and outs. But it’s nicer said than done.

After gaining 2 clients to test out my SEO skills and immersing in the niche market I’ve chosen, I’ve decided I needed to go for more clarity and define WHERE I really want to head with my freelancing business.

Offering SEO was great but I learn too quickly that it’s something I can’t sustainably do on my own. SEO Service Providers evolve to build agencies. They hire people to do various aspects like keyword research, content gap analysis, backlinking, content strategy and content creation. Not to mention there’s the technical aspect of SEO to consider.

I promise my clients that I can make their websites rank. I can. In theory. In reality, I need to put in long hours on my own to make it happen since I’d need to handle all SEO aspects just to get their sites ranking.

And for someone starting out, I’ve placed such a high bar and charged too little. I overextended myself. It’s a position you don’t want to be in. Believe me.

GAINING CLARITY

So you must be saying, I should have pursued clarity when I started, right? Well, if you spend too much time gaining clarity for your business, you lose precious time to fail and learn fast. I believe FAILURE is the best teacher.

We need to fail more so that we learn faster. When I began (or reignited) my freelancing journey, I simply did what the coach said and picked a market and choose a skill.

It didn’t matter that I had close to zero knowledge on the skill. Or that I had no affinity for the market. The point was I needed to learn. I can’t spend too much time figuring out what I wanted to do or who I wanted to serve.

After two months, I believe I’ve gained clarity. I was not successful with the 1st market. Neither did I like the 1st skill I chose. BUT I learned a lot.

I learned that my primary passion is WRITING. And I don’t need to compromise offering too many complimentary skills just to say that my WRITING is valuable. On its own, my written articles are worth every dollar a client pays. I’m glad I’ve stumbled upon the Freelance to Fortune blog which provides proof that writers can earn 6-figures USD too.

I learned about SEO – a lot. And how it actually shapes my writing. Even defining my tone, the words I use and how I come up with a content strategy. My SEO knowledge is solid. I’m proud of that. I’ve learned the basics and the foundation as well as some great techniques. I can use all of these with my writing.

I learned about the SaaS market – and how wide and in need of content writers they are. I like learning about how tech fits our day-to-day lives. And I love telling people about it. I love to share the knowledge I’ve gained in ways that readers would actually understand and be compelled to act on.

Combining my PASSION FOR WRITING and my LOVE FOR EDUCATING, I believe I am cut out to be a B2B SaaS Writer. For what exact niche, I am not yet sure. There’s a lot to choose from.

But as I dive deeper into this market, I love what I’m seeing. And I’m excited. I’m excited to start exploring the new opportunities in store for me.

SO, WHERE DOES THIS BLOG FIT IN?

I’ve written about a lot of different topics in this blog. I’ve strived to be consistent but in reality haven’t been. I’ve divulged personal rants, political views, romantic hang ups, spiritual beliefs along with reviews, scientific explanations and what nots in this blog.

This blog is a hodgepodge of content.

And I love it for that. After all, the title accurately captures what it’s all about.

BUT I am about to end there. From the time I’ve started blogging in 2009, I’ve matured a lot as a person. The desire to keep sharing my personal life to the world has waned. I’ve become a more private person (or simply have too much in my plate to keep ranting).

So I am keeping the name but archiving the content. They’d be available just as they were but be buried deeper in the site to favor the new content I would like to write about.

What new content? I’ve decided I would write about my freelancing journey, the boom in the online / digital business industry, SEO best practices the way I understand them and anything about business, personal finances & productivity.

I’m excited to go in this journey, and I hope, dear reader, you stay with me through the ride.

the last 24 hours

Or should it be the last 48 hours? I really don’t know but it felt like it’s been so long since I’ve last posted something here. So what have I been up to? Writing and learning – a lot.

Lately, I’ve been given the chance to write my own articles based on topics I care about that are generally interesting. Well, it’s harder than it looks apparently but after the finished product, I can’t help but feel proud. Not to mention the countless times I had to research these topics. Sometimes I wish I could affix my name to the articles. I would really love that. Although I cannot breach copyright laws. Once I submit the article, it is no longer mine to keep.

***

During one of my research, I came upon the dangers of blogging. I wanted to write an article about it but apparently a lot of people beat me to it. So what I learned was that blogging breeds online stalkers. It is possible that they do not leave comments but none the less read through your blog and stalk you. Scary. To think I have linked my facebook account here and although I post my articles using my web name, my facebook is enough to validate my real name. Maybe I should remove my FB widget. Just to be on the safe side.

But everything else aside, I still love blogging. And I still have no qualms divulging who I am and what I think. Truth be told though that I have also learned that there are a lot of people fired over what they wrote in their blogs and in some cases even imprisoned. Given the time, I may just write an article about it and post it here, that is, if I don’t intend to sell it.

New Moon is set to be released on Nov. 20. Although I haven’t been as excited about it as I was about Twilight (New Moon is my least fave of the books), after writing an article about the new comers in the cast, you can say that I am definitely looking forward to watching the movie and seeing all those hunks act out their stuff. Particularly handsome new comer, Tyson Houseman. When I was researching him on the net, there was not enough material about him which is understandable since he has only high school theater experience to his credit. But thanks to an interview, I learned more about him. Maybe I’ll make a post about that too.

So those, I guess are the latest since the last time I wrote anything. I haven’t been out of the house for 2 weeks now, thanks to the constant influx of articles to write. I miss having a social life really and my sister warned that I never took a day off. But how can you want a day off when you love what you are doing? Besides, it’s not like I am not resting and I have learned not to overly stress myself despite all the deadlines. The downside though is that I am as pale as the Cullens and I meet no new person except those I encounter online. Then again, I know I will adjust to this – adjust so that I would still have time to go out.

why is it so hard?

I thought being a freelance writer will be an easy thing. I though being my own boss will be easy. I thought I’ll have more time to do the things I want. I thought wrong.

Writing, as with any other jobs in the world, also require a sort of discipline to make it work for you. Discipline which I completely lack. When I think about it, it’s a good thing I did not do this job together with my regular employment jobs else I would have sacrificed excellence in one or the other.

How I long to read a book or curl up and think of nothing in particular but I have so many things to write! Or make that re-write as well. It’s really cool in retrospect. I get to do what I want – which is write. Write all day long. But the deadlines, they are the real killers.

My biggest detractor is distraction itself. Although it is true that I can create articles, rewrites and originals, in a really quick time especially if all the resources are given (which is the usual case) still I take such a long time to even finish one or that is finish a batch. Why? There’s the internet, enough said.

Then again, I should not be distracted lest I have little time to meet my deadlines which is what is happening now. I am behind, as always.

And of course no one wants a repeat of yesterday’s events. That was horrendous. All day long I thought lack of sleep was the cause why my head was spinning constantly. But I rationalized that I have slept at least 6 hours though it was from 4:30AM to 10AM. As it turned out, yesterday, my blood pressure was down to 85/60! No wonder I was so dizzy. Yet I managed to write 7 more articles, submit them, then sleep at 12MN. To wake up refreshed at 10AM and with a BP of 100/70.

I should seriously alter my habits.

That’s it, enough for now. I have more articles to write.

it’s beginning again

whew! For the first time I am using the QuickPress feature because I just need to make a quick post. Again I am swamped with a large load of projects because for some obscure reason another client decided to give me the first batch of files the same time that I work for the really big company who assigns me a large number of articles every weekend.

So here I am beginning another big set of articles. But I am happy even if I am tired and swamped with a number of projects. Why? Because I am a writer.

I get to explore and develop different writing styles. For example right now I am rewriting news article. So I get to brush up on my news writing skills.

Indeed work, though more hectic and more toxic, is a whole lot better now a days. I’m glad I discovered freelancing and gave it a try.

not as easy as it looks

Before I formally start another round of sleepless writing frenzy, I would like to make a post about one of the projects I’m working on right now.

When I first took up the job, I thought it would be easy. But like anything in life, we should not judge at face value because nothing is really as easy as it looks. I thought posting comments on 200 blog posts would be quite easy. Apparently, it isn’t. Even though I have tweet deck to generate for me the latest blog posts in the internet (or at least a percentage of them) still the posts generated are not enough. Even though I do not have to read each post word for word (sometimes skip reading will allow you to read through blog entries real quick) still it is hard to generate a really intelligent and not generic comment.

I thought the job would be easy because I was a blog hopper myself. I understood the importance of blog hopping to increase the traffic to your site. But the fact remained that the site I was attaching to the name I’m using for the blog posts was a commercial site, and so blog owners who have the privilege of removing the URL attached to the name makes full use of that advantage. So I have seen a lot of good comments go to waste – that is the name was devoid of the URL and as such losing the whole purpose of the endeavor. But funny thing was, since I also comment using my own name and URL, the blog owners, after checking out my site, would leave the URL untouched. So the tide turns in in favor of my site but not in favor of my goal of 200 blog comments.

This project is due in a week’s time. It is at the bottom of my priorities though even if it pays 30 bucks. I’m a writer first and foremost. And so my writing assignments comes first. In any case, I will not mind too much if I don’t get to finish the project and I’m not paid. I gained a whole lot of new websites to look into because of it. 😀

That’s enough. Time to work. 😀

blogging blues

Disappointed. But still hopeful I presume.

It is true that I could never quite sit still. For the last four or five days I have joined the ranks of the unemployed. Or maybe I shouldn’t say that because I am affiliated with a freelancing company. Still, since the company job orders arrive only during the weekends, I pretty have nothing to do for the rest of the week days. Judging by the state of my farm in Farmville though one would think I am pretty busy. Well, yes and no.

No. I am not busy with any job or any project mandated by any company. I am not busy with any work as of the moment.

Yes. I am busy none the less. Busy finding ways to occupy my time. Do something productive. Something that could earn me something in the long run.

I am currently on the process of creating blogs (plural) in Blogger. Knowing that this blog site offers more customization of sites as well as opportunities to earn from AdSense ads or Pay Per Post opportunities, I ventured to create several informative sites using Blogger. The sites are set-up. Their domains mapped out. Their looks customized – thanks to hundreds of free templates from Blogger (otherwise it would take me eons doing my own custom CSS). Then again there are features of WordPress I sorely miss. Like the ease of adding pages which I don’t know if it is possible with Blogger and even the ease of using the Dashboard and available features.

Yet push on I must. I must keep on exploring, patiently building these sites. Why? For one, I want to really earn from them but more than that I know I need to get some third person, informative and factual sort of writing done. Writing that is not opinionated but more feature-article like. And what better way to start writing well-researched articles than by starting with the topics I know best of. Besides, on my recent forays into the internet, I learned that most companies asks for sample articles that are not of the the first person voice and are not based on opinions. Since this blog has mostly focused on my opinions on a plethora of matters, and rightly so for it is a personal blog, I need to create outlets where I can practice writing feature articles.

Then again, who is on a rush? I am determined to enjoy as well as learn and earn in this new career phase I have entered.

happy with freelancing

Freelancing.

I have heard of this before and I have been fascinated by the industry but I have always been hesitant to try it out. My hesitation stemmed from the fact that there is not much assurance of stability in the work I will enter. What if there are no jobs to be done or what if I am not able to sell my skills properly? And so even if I knew the advantages of freelancing, I never had the guts to try it out.

Until now.

I left my medical transcriptionist job, not because I hate the job per se, on the contrary I love it, but because I can’t take the company policies. Besides, my mom made a very valid point that I would fare better if I stay at home first, rest quite a bit (no one is forcing me to work, after all) and finish my ever-delayed thesis (and as such my hopelessly delayed graduation). Besides the pay for freelancing, whether it really would be stable or not, is way better than what I am currently earning.

So I made the switch. I must have had 3 job experiences already within the year! So much experience for someone barely out of college (technically).

But I am not complaining. By the “explorations” I’ve made I formed a pretty much clear picture (or goal) in my head on how to get rich without engaging in business (which I am not so keen to enter just now) or doing illegal stuff (which I will NEVER do).

For one, I found out that MT’s, really good ones, earn at least $9 an hour and some are even paid per line such that they earn really ludicrous amounts. Since I saw during my 4 weeks training that I have the skills to become a good (even excellent) MT (and I’m not bragging), I know that I could earn as much as several thousands a day doing home-based transcription work. But of course that’s a long way off because I would need proper training and perhaps a license to boost my credentials. Then perhaps I could pursue that application I have with RareJobs for online Japanese English Tutorials. Then I could continue my current freelancing writing jobs and maybe look for more.

In the end, I realize that employment opportunities for me are never endless. I just need to be brave enough to seek out the right ones and leave the wrong ones. And of course, there is no higher paying job than the job I once had with NuSkin. Perhaps in the future I will go back but for now I am content to remain where I am.