I run a business and earn a full time living writing for affiliates and studios around the world. I started this after leaving a career in the security industry. Within 6 months I was earning more in 5 hours than I was earning on 12 hour shifts. Yes, it takes a lot of work, and a lot of dedication, but I'm now in the process of expanding my business and will be seeking to take on more writers in 2014. My point is that there are plenty of opportunities out there for those who think outside of the box. If you have an entrepreneurial mind and can recognize opportunities you can make a good career out of almost anything. Relying on gaining work within a highly competitive environment (like the sites mentioned in this thread) will not do it for you. People need to offer something the competition cannot. How many people who write for others on those sites ever gain business contacts? How many of them follow up? How many of them actually run a serious business rather than taking on a job here and a job there? From my perspective, it seems that there are a lot of part-time writers who do the job and get paid, then move on looking for the next opportunity. They don't promote their services or have any recognizable brand or business. That's not the way to create a good income. Just my opinion, of course.
well you earned only $200 in the space of 5 years. i think you don't the importance of time. it will be much better if you write for suiddo. for both exposure and decent money.
I don't mind, I had loads of fun finding interesting topics to learn about. It was in no way meant to be a full time job. And I don't write on those types of sites anymore, but its still earning me money even though I haven't written a single article on it for years.
I think its great that you've made a real career out of your writing. Many go into it with the wrong mindset though.
I agree, I think many just see it as an opportunity to make a little extra money. That's fine of course, but it seems many also complain that they're not making enough. I guess it's all about basic business skills. I never studied business, but I have a common sense attitude and a drive to be successful. It doesn't take a lot of intelligence to realize that only having an avatar and taking on a project here or there does not build a business. There needs to be consistent work to build something, create a brand, develop contacts, deliver more than expected, appreciate the client, develop future leads... all of these things will naturally build a sustainable business over time, rather than merely giving someone a couple of writing jobs a month for a little extra money. It's not like these things are even that difficult to do. A site costs $10 a month or less. Posting on forums and replying to emails takes minutes. Building a Twitter and Facebook following of business people who may need you in the future takes only a little time each day. All of this adds up to create a proper business with a client base able to support you.
My advice: target local and native language clients. Your writing isn't good enough to compete for well-paid work in the English language arena, so you'll be stuck with low-end pay if you aim for English-speaking clients. No offense intended. The alternative would be to find a good editor and split the pay. That can work very well - I do this with a Nigerian friend, and he can make several hundred dollars a month when he puts in the effort (even after the middle-man costs and splitting the money with me). They all want to be spoon-fed an easy money-maker. This is, in many ways, caused by the enormous number of idiots who spam their "article writing is easy money!" schemes all over the place and try to convince people that no skills or effort are required. Like you, I've spent several years writing content and slowly gaining reliable clients. My goal was different, though: I now work part-time and earn a full-time salary from two major clients. That leaves me time to do stuff for fun, write for charity and to think up crazy new projects.
I do much the same these days, which has allowed me time to start focusing on the creation of the secondary writing business for 2014. My work has previously been specific to the adult industry, but thanks to the clients I now have I can afford to expand and create this second project to cover more widely varied subjects with a more diverse client base. I had reached my limit on the number of clients I could manage on my own, so the expansion this coming year should allow me to grow and hire too
My friends have been earning a lot from articles. However, They are familiar with SEO. We can earn huge money from article. thats true.
Try freelancer.com, elance.com or others. A lot of admins or company owners hire writers on these sites. You have to register an account and update your profile (your portfolio/experiences/wards)
I consider there are several online platforms that you can use to make money writing. However, It's all about your talent and time to write. You can get access to sites such as Freelancer.com, Elance.com, Workana (for Spanish market) and any other places. I recommend you to make a plan about how you can produce as a writer, so that you can find the right place for you.
Just as a bit of extra info: Freelance and vWorker (was rentacoder) are the same now, since Freelancer bought out the latter. Elance and oDesk have also just announced a merger, so they'll be the same company as well. The Big Five have become the Big Three (Freelance, Elance/oDesk and Guru).
I make money writing. I have 11+ blogs I write everyday for adsense, and then I write for several private clients, fiverr.com, and it's a struggle. December is the worst month too. This month I can't even pay the rent with my writing. I'm hoping it gets better though. People don't want to pay top dollar for writers, they will pay writers overseas $1 or less for a stack of poorly written articles.
A bit of forward planning can really help there: produce your Christmas articles early in November, get them posted, poke your clients to remind them the holiday season is coming, etc. I always forget to do that, so I'm having a tough month, too! No offense, but it sounds like you're targetting the wrong clients/markets. I currently write for two main clients and edit for another (and get paid when he sells work). The main clients work out at $17.50 and $30 an hour, the editing less but it brings in some extra cash on occasion. Lowball clients are always a dime a dozen (as they say), but there are still good clients and decent markets out there.
If you are just starting as a writer, then it is better that you first join sites like bubblews, wikinut and expertscolumn. helium is the best site which helps a writer build expertise. Brighthub has tutorials for a writer but I am not sure if they are accepting new writers now.
Don't ever let anyone discourage you. As long as you are passionate about writing, you should do well. You can start with fiverr and other freelance sites, you'll do fine. Keep improving your skills and keep challenging yourself. Eventually, you should reach the stage where you're producing your own products.