***Increase traffic to your blog by writing for a high ranked PR6 site***

Um, you have several flaws in your argument.

It is a blog, and the PR6 homepage backlink doesn't last long because once the newer posts come in that PR6 backlink is gone and your article is buried in the archives.

As far as Technorati, that's only good for traffic but the traffic to Mandarinmusing.com isn't so great judging by the Alexa rank:

http://alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=Mandarinmusing.com

I am not going to get into a debate here. To me, there are people who will see this as a great exchange and they can do whatever they please. I am merely stating my opinion.

 

Relax, take it easy, if you do not want to write for FREE, don't write, simple.

Why write for FREE here on this thread of mine? Do you have lots of FREE time to waste?

Sure, you are too BIG to write for a site like mine, but I am sure Google/CNN is not hiring you either

As much as you think backlinks from my site are not useful to you, non-stop writing on this thread will not improve your traffic either. Successful people don't have time to waste on petty arguments...with this said, you can continue shooting me down, if that's your claim to success, good for you.

If you are looking for people to hire your services, you might want to write on Shoemoney's thread instead, he has what it takes to hire you and you will get lots of traffic too, hope you would agree there!

Good luck!

 

People are merely posting their opinions. I think you are the one who might need to take it down a notch, I'm afraid.

Professionals learn to take constructive criticism or feedback on whatever they do. Don't continue the conversation if you don't like what people have to say.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

 

Where does Google hire writers? Gimme, gimme! j/k Haven't worked with CNN, b/c I don't do news writing, but I do business writing, and was hired by Business.com. Does that count? lol

Forum posting isn't so much "writing" as it is "marketing." That's why even highly paid writers write in forums, and also why they use article directories... it's a marketing tactic (and does bring a good bit of traffic btw).

Maybe that's the problem you're running into. Instead of looking for "writers" who are going to get offended at being asked to write for free for a temporary PR6 link, start a separate thread telling SEO professionals and others related to your blog's niche that you have a PR6 blog, you'll post their articles if they submit them to you, and it's "exposure" for them, rather than trying to sell it on "traffic." I'd be pretty surprised if people don't jump on it. You might not get them willing to commit to one post per day or whatever it is, but if you're open to "guest pieces", you may very well get more posts that way anyway, and from diverse professional perspectives, rather than just a writer who's going to have to research a variety of topics. Changing the marketing tactic might easily get you more posts, as well as higher quality that way. Good luck.

 

You're interesting. Could you send me links to the articles you wrote for Business.com, I'd like to see what's in there!

 

Check your PM.

 

jhmattern, I have a friend (English Major) who's probably going to end up doing something very close to what you're doing.

I don't care too much for writing (I'm a Computer Science major hence the username), but she's wondering how does someone get started in content creation, copywriting etc,..? Did you make your own blog and start from there?

I have always assumed writers didn't make much (unless you're a NY times best seller or something along those lines), but from the prices you have on your site you must rake in $$$$$ unlike the $5 articles I see on DP.

Hope you have a spare minute to answer this (and link me to the business.com article you wrote if you're comfortable with that).

 

No. I got started in writing through scientific and educational writing while I was studying Engineering. I got into copywriting, b/c of my degree in PR and background in studying marketing. Just jumping in to "be a writer" isn't the way to do it imo. Specialize in a field first, and let the writing come second. That's how you'll keep your skills in demand and earn a good bit more than most general content writers.

I write part-time (10-20 hours per week in addition to running my PR firm). Even if I don't come close to the 6 figure challenge goals this year, I'll easily make a decent full-time income with that part-time effort, on top of my "real work," so yeah... I do ok. And it just goes to show that you certainly don't have to slave away for crazy hours writing just to scrape by.

 

So, can I write just one article for you and have my byline posted on the article? I'm not interested in writing every day.

 

jhmattern, I had a similar situation. I got into copywriting full time while I was teaching full time and writing educational curriculums part time while ghostwriting educational articles. Then I began being offered instructional design projects and SEO projects and I work at my business FT today.

I would like to be close to the 6 figures as well and each year I increase my profits so it is def. a realistic goal from where I started. Thanks for sharing; its nice to hear how others got into the business. Lisa

 

jhmattern,

Got your PM. It's sad to know that Business.com pays so less. I was hoping reputed sites would at least pay 5 times more than that, per article. I won't mention the quote here for your privacy, but if that's what a reputed site pays, I don't understand what the fuss is about writing.

Not undermining you or your skills or writing as a profession, I know it takes a lot to create quality content... but there isn't much market for skilled writers and definitely going by your quote, asking to write (voluntarily) for FREE from (amateurs) isn't as bad as everyone here is making it sound.

Writing is not a well-paid profession, period.

Good luck to you.

 

Writing IS a well-paid profession.

What one website pays in regards to another does not make writing a poorly paid profession.

What people fail to understand is that writing can and is a very well paid profession if you know what you're doing and are serious about your craft. If you cared to understand the writing industry at all, you'd realize that there are more than enough high paying markets to go around.

 

The only reason I mentioned Business.com specifically is that it was a very well-known and general example of business writing, which is my specialty, as opposed to news writing, which was something you used as an example. Even though it wasn't close to my highest paying work per piece (it's the minimum I accept per article actually), with the rate I could complete them, it worked out to $200-400 / hr. As a writer, it's pretty hard to complain about that, especially with Web content. A few hundred per article is nothing to sneeze at for the vast majority of writers looking to work online. Unfortunately most business writing I do is under NDAs or other confidentiality agreements (such as company site content for employees only, industry reports, etc... most of that field is ghostwritten... I just tried to find something that was bylined as an example for you). Their business model of asking people to write for free is exactly why I wouldn't write for them anymore. The paid gig was nice for a few lazy summer days... but if I do business writing for free, it's for my own sites.

If you'd like some examples of how well-paying the writing profession can be for people who know how to specialize in a niche, look at some of this week's markets I posted to www.sixfigurewriters.com and www.allfreelancing.com (need to be a member w/ 20 posts though to access the highest paying markets there on the forum). It's definitely a nice industry, but like Denise said, it's all in whether or not you know what you're doing.

 

i am intrested PM me