Are You Ready to Start Writing for Profit?
Whether you’re a high school kid who needs to scrap up a few bucks more than the weekly allowance or a "full time mom", you must have come across the online business hype. You tried Get-Paid-To’s and found that you can barely make enough to cover the electricity bill. Then you got fried with get-rich-quick schemes that promise you zillions in no time, with hardly any work. Finally, you ended up in the Buy, Sell & Trade section on DigitalPoint and finally think you’ve got it: people there actually make some money. The $50-ish you get for a pack of 10 articles finally looks like something worth working for. If this scenario fits you, then you should keep reading.
Do you think you’ve got what it takes to start writing for profit? If you can honestly answer YES to all these questions then you could be fit for the job.
Are you ready to spend hours doing research?
As fun as it may sound to write about topics you are familiar with, you won’t always be hired to do stuff you like. Your customers will need content on a huge range of subjects, so be ready to spend hours reading up information to come up with a 500 word articles that will bring you five bucks. As you grow a consistent customer base, you will be able to be selective with the jobs you get, but, until then, you will have to take whatever you can get.
Can you keep up with deadlines?
Your customers won’t care if it’s Saturday night and you want to go clubbing, or that you have to go to school. Missing deadlines isn’t exactly advisable if you’re a startup writer. If you lack personal time management skills, then this business is probably not for you.
Can you write in English?
No one is perfect. I know. I also know that this job is even harder if English is not your first language. A couple of months ago I was hiring freelance writers to outsource some of my projects and I was getting candidates that were sending lines like “hi m keen to work with u let me knw if u want me to send sample articles”. For crying out loud, if you think writing like this makes you cool, this field is not for you.
Are you willing to learn and continuously improve your skills?
Starting off as a freelance writer is not that hard, but you will need to keep learning. Otherwise, you will find that younger writers will gradually take over your share of the market and you’ll find yourself back to square one. Are you willing to invest (part of) your earnings into training seminars, books and memberships to sites that will help you become a better writer?
So, have you answered positively to these questions?
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Tags: Business, freelancer, writer
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