Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Tips for Working with Article Writing Sites

Online article writing sites are great ways for part-time freelancers and parents working from home to grab extra work and stay relevant while you raise your kids. However, not all sites are created equal.

Working for pennies isn’t worth it. Content mills and crowdsource sites where you bid on jobs such as freelancer.com, odesk, elance, Demand Media, and others don’t value the time and expertise writers bring to the table. Plus, your kids give you very little time to work; you want to make the most of every minute.

Tips to get started


Choose sites best suited to your experience and availability. Check out the list of sites on freelancewriting.com to find one that best suits you. Some are good for certain niches, while others are good for beginners who want to expand their portfolio. You can sign up for sites that look for proofreaders and copyeditors as well.

Don’t undervalue yourself. You’re at home because you want time with your kids, but you want to keep up a resume. It doesn’t feel good to give up time with your kids to make pennies. If a job seems too low, don’t take it. I think less than $0.10 a word is a waste of time; however, if the subject is something you can crank out quickly, it might be worthwhile to you to take less money to have a recent sample added to your portfolio.

Calculate your value. How much experience do you have? What are your costs (preschool, internet, a new computer, Word, etc.)? How little is too little to make it worth your time? How long does it take you to write a 500-word blog post? I aim to pay myself an average of $35 an hour. Anything less than $20 an hour doesn’t cover my costs. Lori Widmer recently posted a series on determining your worth as a writer, which may help you get started.

Consider how much communication you want. Interaction with the final client varies. Some sites list mostly one-off jobs. You write the article, submit it through the site, and you’re done. You never interact with a person. Others have a closer interaction between you and an account manager, while other sites connect you directly with the client. Some jobs ask that you interview people, and others let you write from online research only.

Keep an accessible list of your best samples or write some new ones. When you apply to these sites you have to demonstrate a basic understanding of English. Then, you have to share your work. Some give you a prompt and ask you for original writing, but most want you to share links to published work. If you don't have any or anything recent, now may be a good time to start a blog. Either way, keeping a list of your best work from different specialties will make applying much faster. 
 
Starting any freelance business takes a lot of trial and error to find the best work/life balance for you. What have you found that fits your family? How do you find new work?