It seems like each day we turn on the television, there is more dire news about the economy. It can all be so depressing, that it’s tempting to log off your computer and put down your pen in defeat. However, I believe that writing for websites could be one field that’s relatively recession-proof. The web is vast and in constant need of new content. While lots of newspapers and magazines are folding right now, new websites are springing up every day. With a lot of hard work and a little ingenuity, an online writer can definitely carve out a thriving career as a content provider, even in the middle of a recession.

Here are a few tips for maximizing your revenues and finding work as an online writer.

Publish Your Writing on Several Websites

With the state of the economy, this isn’t the time for the online writer to put all of his or her eggs in one basket. Publishing all your content on one website could be a recipe for disaster; if that website folds due to financial problems, then your entire online income stream will dry up. In my opinion, it’s much better to diversify your writing across a few websites.

I currently write regularly for Associated Content, Triond, and Xomba. I intend to build up a substantial body of articles on each of these websites, and I’m looking into new places to grow my online income, like Hubpages. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin as an online writer, but in my experience, it’s best not to focus all your writing efforts in one place. I hope to build passive residual income streams at each of the sites I write for that will add up to a full time living as a freelance writer.

Branch Out Into Writing for Magazines and Newspapers

It’s true that many newspapers and magazines are floundering right now and closing their doors due to the economic downturn, but there are still lots of print publications out there that will buy your writing. It could be a good strategy to branch out into writing print articles while you continue to work as an online writer (just consider writing a few print articles as yet another income stream).

Take a look at your local and regional print publications, and pitch the editor a concept for a column or a few possible article ideas (local newspapers sometime hire writers as “stringers” to write freelance articles). Buy a copy of Writer’s Market (or subscribe to the online version at WritersMarket.com) and browse the listings for places to query your article ideas.

Specialize and Become an Expert

It might seem like the generalist, who can write about anything, would have the jump on getting more writing jobs. However, the specialist who is an expert in one topic often becomes the go to writer of choice and receives a lot of work in their field. Do you have any passions or hobbies that you feel qualified to write about? Perhaps you work in a specific industry in your “day job” or have expert knowledge or training in a certain field. Trade magazines and specialized websites that focus on specific industries seek out experts to write articles for their publications. By specializing as an online writer, it is definitely possible to pick up more steady work and increase the demand for your services (and your revenues).

Network With Writers and Editors

Networking with peers and getting your name out there to those who can hire you is one more way to survive the recession and increase your writing revenue. Mediabistro.com, the Writer’s Market online community (at WritersMarket.com), and other online writing forums are great places to make connections with other writers and editors. Join a writer’s group or association, and consider attending some writer’s conferences. The more you network and increase your visibility as an online writer, the more your writing career will grow.

Develop Some New Skills

Learning some new skills that complement your online writing is a great way to recession-proof your career. I recently saw a job online that got me really excited; however, the position involved skills I didn’t have (such as working with Wordpress blogs, Photoshop and HTML skills) in addition to top notch writing ability. I see more and more jobs like these that call for computer skills and writing skills.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to beef up your graphic and web design skills if you’re interested in writing for websites. Other in-demand skills for online writers include photography, copy editing and proofreading. These types of skills could even be developed into a complementary business that increases your overall revenue. Investing some time to learn some new skills could definitely make you more marketable as an online writer.

Create a Blog or Personal Website

The greatest product in the world will just sit on the shelf if no one knows how to find it. You could be the most talented and capable online writer out there, but if editors and buyers of your work can’t find you, and you’re not proactive enough about finding work and promoting yourself, you won’t earn enough income to survive as an online writer.

Showcase your work online and get your name out there to people who could hire you. Fortunately, places like Blogger.com make it easy to set up a blog that could be a vehicle for promoting your writing and all your professional experience. A personal website is also a great platform for promoting your writing; hire someone to create a killer website to show off your skills or investigate the many free resources available to create your own homepage.

Keep Writing

Listening to all the doom and gloom about the current recession can lead to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness that can be really bad for your writing. Try to limit how much you read newspapers, surf the internet, or listen to TV news reports about the downward spiraling economy. Instead, brainstorm new article ideas and make a list of what you want to write about. For example, I’m trying to publish 200 articles on Associated Content, but I only have 121 published pieces right now. I just spent some of the morning brainstorming a list of article ideas that will be my next 50 articles!

Once you have an article list, develop a writing plan. Set aside time to write every day, and make a commitment to publish as many online articles as you can (without sacrificing quality for quantity). Writing is like a muscle, and you become a stronger writer the more you actually sit down and write. Regular writing keeps you sharp and motivated, and helps avoid the dreaded writer’s block.

Also, sticking to a regular writing schedule helps defeat the sense of powerlessness that is created by the depressing economy. It’s empowering to keep on writing. When publishing on websites like Triond or Associated Content, building up a library of published work can really help increase your revenues and create residual passive income streams. Some writers on these sites have thousands of articles in their published libraries. That may not be possible for all writers; however, every piece you publish is one more step toward achieving the goal of earning substantial monthly revenue from your articles.

Even though the dismal economy shows few signs of immediate improvement, there are still ways you can stay positive and grow your revenues as an online writer. By following a few simple strategies listed above, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying a nice passive income stream from your online writing.