earnmoneywriting

AbsoluteWrite is an excellent resource for writers, no matter what sort of writing you do – fiction, non-fiction, content writing or anything else. The forum has tons of valuable information, ranging from how to improve your writing skills to how to go about putting together a book proposal, finding an agent, marketing, promotion, and more. There is also a warning section about writing-related scams and less than desirable services.

For those of us trying to earn by writing, AbsoluteWrite forum has a section where writing jobs are posted and discussed. It is called Writers Wanted: Paying Markets. I checked it out yesterday and found something I might start doing next week – not a full time job, of course, but a welcome addition to my sources of income.

I have noticed that my articles at Bukisa perform better (bring more money) each time I upload a new one. When I just let my old articles sit there, they still earn some, but at a considerably slower pace.

I think what creates the boost is that every new article gets featured in Recent How-Tos Added; it may be only for a short time, but you get on the spot light and draw some attention, plus those who read your recent article are likely to check out your other works as well.

Keeping this in mind, I think it would be a good strategy to add a new article, say, every other day. It will keep your database growing at a steady pace, and you will continuously boost pageviews = earnings.

I was pleasantly surprised to suddenly receive a payment from Constant Content several days ago. I have not been very active on the site, so my earnings of a little over $30 had been sitting there for months, waiting to reach the required $50 payout minimum. When the money unexpectedly showed up on my PayPal account, I went to investigate and found out that the payout threshold has changed to only $5. This might not affect writers who work a lot for Constant Content and earn far more than $50 per month, but for someone like me, it’s a good thing. Now I can get paid even if I only sell a couple of articles per month through CC.

Technically, mystery shopping is not a writing job, but since it includes writing a report, I thought I would mention it here in my blog.

Most of us have heard about mystery shopping. It is working as an undercover agent of sorts: you go to a store or a restaurant, use their services, take mental notes of everything, and then submit a report to the mystery shopping company; they reimburse your expenses and pay you. Some people claim to make a living doing it.

Well, I have tried it, and in my experience, it was not worth the effort. The company I worked for would only reimburse my expenses, paying nothing or very little (like $2) for the time I spent writing reports and sometimes taking photos of the product I purchased. While getting an occasional free pizza through this was nice, I needed more than that; I needed income. So eventually I had dismissed mystery shopping as an income opportunity.

Spucer.com must be new, I have just learned about it. It is another website where you can earn money writing articles. While it is good to see new sites like that coming up, after reading their FAQ, I don’t think I’ll be writing for Spucer any time soon.

The requirements are: 100% original content, 500 words minimum, perfect grammar and spelling. The pay is $1 per article. Yes, only a dollar for an original, exclusive article of 500 words. If I go through the trouble of writing one, I will submit it to Associated Content and get around $4-5 for it. As far as I understand, Spucer offers no pay for pageviews, either.

Digital Point forum is a good place for a content writer to know about. I would not say that it’s packed with tempting offers, but if you are looking for freelance writing work, I’d recommend to occasionally check it out.

The forum is dedicated to everything Internet and content related, and they have a spot where writers can offer their services and clients who need content can post their job offers. First, you will need to register at the forum as a user, then go to Business > Buy, Sell or Trade > Services.

The offers are usually not very well paying, and there is a lot of competition between the writers, but, as I said, the place is worth an occasional shot.

From my experience with paid forum posting, I can say that in addition to good writing, proper grammar and spelling, there is another key to success, and it is Interaction. Forum owners want their forums to grow – that’s why they use posting services to begin with – so posters who create engaging discussions and encourage other members to post more are greatly valued.

Instead of just sharing your thoughts on a given subject, reply to a specific member’s post, quote what they said and comment on it, answer a question, or ask a question of your own. Write in such a way that will prompt other members to respond. This will build your reputation as a valuable poster; forum owners will single you out and ask for your participation when they place repeated orders. You won’t be out of work!

I have found another get paid to post company called BestForumPosting. The website does not say how much they pay to writers, but content writers and forum posters are invited to apply, which I did. To do so, you fill out a brief questionnaire about your writing experience and email it to BestForumPosting. I had received a reply on the same day, asking me to go to a specific site, register as a writer and answer some more detailed questions; I was also required to submit a sample post. The second questionnaire asked how much I would charge for posting and article writing, so I got to set my own prices. Shortly after I sent in my sample post, I got a response stating that I am accepted as a writer, and BestForumPosting will now notify me via email when new posting jobs are available. We’ll see how it goes.

As I said in an earlier post, I have recently joined Bukisa, a website where you can earn money by posting articles, starting at 250 words. One thing I had not mentioned before is that Bukisa also pays you a percentage of what people you refer earn. If you build a network by inviting friends, you can increase your income. I am not particularly good at getting referrals, but it turns out I’ve already got two people who joined under me. One of them has uploaded several articles and earned some money, which means I have earned some through him as well. So I have a network, and the network is working! I like that.

My own articles at Bukisa perform quite well, too. Once uploaded, each article keeps earning. The money on my account grows every day. I recommend this site!

I see this question asked very often: How should a freelance writer working online handle their income tax? Should they report their earnings? The answer is yes. All websites I write for do not withhold any part of my payments as taxes, so it is my responsibility to report these earnings. They are considered self-employment income.

If you write for several different sites, as I do, you do not have to report each one separately as a separate source of income; I don’t. I report everything I earn online as self-employment freelance writing income. Since all the sites pay me through PayPal, the earnings are easy to track: everything deposited to my bank from my PayPal account is my freelance writing income.