Write to Make Money Online

Expanding Creations Expansion

2010-02-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't been doing much writing lately, because I have been writing a business plan, so my Expanding Creations business can expand. Within the next month, the website: Expanding Creations will be allowing freelance writers to offer a profile on the page to get more business, offering an online training course on how to write articles that sell and will be offering face to face workshops on writing for the web (based in Sydney, Australia). There will also be advertising opportunities for small business owners and businesses offering resources to writers. Contact me if you would like to advertise on the site.

As you can see, my focus is on finding ways to monetise my website, without spending too much effort on it. This is the trick everyone who wants to make money online should follow - find ways of getting passive incomes from your work. The ebook "Sales Success on Constant Content" is an example. Once I wrote the ebook, I needed to sell x number of copies to return a decent wage for my work on the ebook. I've achieved that and now the ebook just keeps on selling. I get a passive income from that ebook now because I don't have to do anything else to sell the book.

There is a lot happening in this business and it is very exciting. I'm making heaps of friends in the writing world and loving every minute of it. For those of you who have been following this blog to find out how much a freelance writer can make, I still made $40 from IM Report Card, $220 from Constant Content, and a further $1500 from private clients. That's all the writing I could squeeze into the times when I wasn't working full time and wasn't working on building my business. I'm going to be able to concentrate on my business full time from March, so hopefully, those writing figures will increase even further. It is definitely possible to make money online from your writing!

Get a Quick $10 Today

2010-01-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

IM Report Card is offering TrialPay bonuses. You sign up to a free offer and get $5 credited to your IM Report Card profile. You can do this twice and effectively make $10 in a couple of minutes. You can cancel the offer at any time if the trial product does not suit you (or before fees are charged!). Now, you do have to write some comments on product reviews as well to cash your money, as you need $20 to cash out. However, you can do this quickly by writing 100 word comments after a product review. If you are interested in making money online, you have probably tried several of the thousands of products and services IM Report Card has reviewed, so it will be easy for you to make your $20 today with the $10 quick bonus. Sign up to IM Report Card today, before it is too late!

Fulfilling Your Dreams in 2010

2010-01-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

This is a good time to start working towards making your dreams come true. If you have only dabbled in writing before, now is the time to start a career as full freelance writer. You can start part-time or full-time, but why not take some action to move your dream of becoming a paid writer into a reality that changes your world.

Here are some ideas on places you can go to get started:

Join a Writer's Community
I am part of two extremely good writers' communities: Newbie Writers and Constant Content. Both help me a great deal by putting me in contact with other writers. Through these sites, I find information about the highs and lows of being a writer, I share my experiences, and I learn from others. There is no better way to start than to start posting and sharing comments with other writers in a forum.

Complete a Writing Course
You may always have wanted to be a writer, but there is a technical side to writing too. Most professional writers will complete a few writing courses in their lifetime. You may like to start by signing up to free courses or newsletters, or downloading an ebook, such as "Sales Success on Constant Content". Find a writing course that meets your needs. Make a goal to learn something new of the craft in 2010.

Follow Nike
JUST DO IT!
Get started today. Put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and start writing today! Make your dreams come true in 2010. You can only become a great writer by practising your art. Start writing today. Every time you write a post, an email, or a business letter, think about how you are framing your words to create an interesting experience for the reader. Practice makes perfect, so start writing NOW!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas and I am flat out! I haven't had any time for writing in days. However, I did compose a Christmas poem for my Expanding Creations newsletter (which you can subscribe to for free - Expanding Creations).

So far this month, it has been relatively quiet on the Constant Content front, but I have made $200 already, and I have a few articles booked for private requests for next week and January. One good sale was an article sold for usage for $40 for the second time, which was unexpected, but nice!

Anyway, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I'll catch up with you 2010 and show you how to really start making money from your writing.

Hayley

Make Money By Writing

2009-12-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

I keep getting people who sign up for my free newsletter from Expanding Creations writing and asking me how to get started. Well, there are some simple ways to get started as a freelance article writer. Here are my top 5 tips to making money from writing articles.

1. Find a Market.
This is probably the hardest part at first. However, I find that Constant Content is a very good market for selling articles. My ebook Sales Success on Constant Content will give you all the information you need to sell articles and make money on this site. Other markets for your writing include Elance, Freelancer.com, and Ezine Articles (unpaid). Once you have found your market, or a prospective customer, discover what the submission guidelines are for the publication or market. Anything you submit that does not follow the submission guidelines will be rejected by the editor.

2. Plan Your Article.
The one thing most new freelance writers forget to do is to plan the article. There is an art to writing an article that people want to read. To avoid boring your readers by repeating comments, or confusing your readers by using an illogical structure, spend a few minutes thinking about what you want to say before you begin writing your article for sale. I find it easiest to come up with a title and then three or four subheadings for the article. These are the main points I want to discuss. Then, I just make bullet point notes about a couple of the things I want to write under each subheading. This gives me a basic outline of my article and I know the structure is logical.

3. Remember Your Reader.
Another big error is forgetting who will ultimately be reading your article. You are writing the article for a specific audience. If you are writing the article in response to a customer request, ask the customer where the article is likely to be published and who his or her readers are. This helps you to frame your article in a way that is likely to attract that reader group.

Remembering the reader also means writing in a clear way, so that the reader is not confused. To aid in clarity, always write in active voice, rather than passive voice, and write articles in plain English, cutting out all unnecessary words. Don't use formal English, awkward phrasing, or long, convoluted sentences with many subphrases. Remember the KISS catchphrase - Keep It Simple!

4. Write Your Article
Now that you have an outline for your article and know who your audience is likely to be, you can write the article. Always start with an introductory paragraph that tells the reader what the article is about and encourages the reader to continue reading. Then write two paragraphs under each subheading. Finally, end with a conclusion - a paragraph that brings together all the points you have written about and maybe points the reader towards further reading. You should be able to write articles between 400 and 600 words easily using this simple formula.

5. Proofread and Rewrite Your Article
Your article is written, but it is not finished yet! You need to proofread your article to check for errors, missed words, misspellings, and grammatical errors. You may need to rewrite some sentences within your article when you proofread your article. Polish your article before you submit it to a customer or your article marketing website, like Constant Content. If you are not sure how to proofread your own work, ask a writer friend or mentor for help.

It is not difficult to get started in writing articles and making money. Follow these five simple steps and you will find it easy. Visit my website Expanding Creations for a free newsletter with writing tips and author interviews with successful authors.

Tweet, Tweet, Any Twitterbugs Out There?

2009-12-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

You can now follow me on Twitter!

Author Interviews and Free Newsletters

2009-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

I'm getting FAMOUS!
I've just been interviewed for two websites as a successful author! My first interview was for How To Tell a Great Story, and my second was for the free weekly newsletter for Expanding Creations. Ok, so the second interview was for my own website, but it is the start of an exciting series of freelance writer interviews for the free weekly newsletter. You can read my interview for How to Tell a Great Story here.

I have enticed several of the TOP TEN writers for Constant Content to interview for the newsletter and to give out hints to new freelance writers. I have also enticed several other experienced freelance writers to participate, so this series of interviews will definitely make interesting reading. The next newsletter is due out tomorrow, so sign up today for your free email newsletter for freelance writers at Expanding Creations. Besides the author interviews, where the writers explain what gives them inspiration and tips for freelance writers who are just starting out, the newsletters contain at least one other article on the trials, joys, and challenges of freelance writing. If you want to know where to put those pesky commas, you'll definitely want to read this week's edition.

Hayley

November Report

2009-12-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, I am happy with my results for November, especially as setting up my Expanding Creations website and my ebook has given me less time for writing. Anyway, I just received $540 US from Constant Content and I cashed out twice from IM Report, giving me a total of $580 US from these writing sources. I also made about $450 from private freelancing clients, so all up it has been a great month.

Goals for December:
With Christmas, I know I am going to be busy with other things and I won't have heaps of time for writing, so I need to tone my goals down a bit. I'm hoping to make $350 through Constant Content and another $40 from IM Report. Watch this blog to find out if I make it! Meanwhile, check out my author interview and new articles on Expanding Creations.

Don't Do it Alone! Free Resources for Freelance Writers

2009-11-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Freelance writing can sometimes be quite difficult. It can be hard to know what jobs are worthwhile to take, procrastination is easy to achieve and challenging to avoid, and those pesky grammatical rules such as comma placement can give you regular headaches.

This is one reason why I believe that every freelance writer needs a support group. It helps to get advice, tips, and ideas from other writers. We can all feel very much alone, especially when you work from home and are alone in the house. While writers actually need this quiet to effectively tap into the creative processes of writing, we also need the friendship from other people. When you chat to other people who are in the same position as yourself, suddenly you do not feel so alone anymore.

With the internet, writers who sit at home in their own private, creative space, can joyfully communicate with writers from around the world through writers groups, forums, and chatrooms. Even receiving a newsletter from other writers with tips and ideas about freelance writing can help!

(That reminds me... sign up for my newsletter today! It includes free articles every week on different aspects of freelance writing and interviews with successful freelance writers. If you want to be interviewed for the newsletter, please contact me! The newsletter provides information about great resources I find for freelance writers too.)

I love being an active participant on several forums, especially the Constant Content forum. This really helps me to feel like I am part of the international writing community. You can learn so much from writer forums and participating in forums has improved my writing skills. I strongly suggest you give it a go.

I've added some links to this blog on great resources for freelance writers and I hope you will find these links useful. Let me know if there are any other links you think will be helpful to other freelance writers.

Meanwhile, if you would like to read some articles on different aspects of freelance writing, including writing SEO articles, proofreading articles, and what webmasters want in articles, head over to my expanding creations website!

Expanding Creations Website and Ebook Launch

2009-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

My new website: Expanding Creations is now ready for viewing. There are free articles and resources about how to write freelance articles that will actually sell. Best of all, I have just released my exciting new ebook: "Sales Success on Constant Content" which will provide help and advice to anyone who wants to start writing for Constant Content. The ebook comes with a three times your money back guarantee of success, because I KNOW you can make money by writing for CC if you follow the advice in the ebook. The ebook includes a whole section on the submission guidelines and provides a simple checklist you can use to ensure every article meets the submission guidelines. There is information on how CC works and tips on how to make money from writing articles for the site. If you want to write for Constant Content, download "Sales Success on Constant Content" today.

Hayley

WOOHOO 5 articles sold in 24 HOURS!

2009-11-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

Just needed to celebrate - I've just sold 5 articles in 24 hours on Constant Content. 4 of the articles were for usage licences and a couple of those were articles I had already sold. One was for full rights for $50! My total CC earnings so far this month are now over $450!

Mid Month report for November

2009-11-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

I've been on holidays, so I haven't been writing much lately. However, I'm currently sitting on $360 for Constant Content and have cashed out on IM Report twice in November. This brings the total for the month so far to $400USD, with a couple of private requests still to do. I've got several articles in review for CC at the moment and have a few reviews ready to post for IM Report, so I should make a few more sales in the last week or so of November. Meanwhile, I have been working on an ebook with information on how to succeed as an author at CC, which I will release for sale as soon as my new website: http://www.expandingcreations.com/ is ready to launch. Watch this space for further updates at the end of November.

Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Articles For Publication

2009-11-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

So, you want to write articles for publication? Good for you! Writing for publication isn’t as easy as it may seem to an outsider looking in, but it’s definitely not impossible if you’re willing to put in the time and work. Here are four tips to get you started on the road to publication:

Do: Study your market

Writing the articles is a good start, but there is more to writing than the actual writing. You also need to find the best publications for the articles you’ve written. This does take some time and energy. There are many publications to study. And to get to know them, you have to do more than look at the cover. You want to study the content to get a feel for the magazine. Who writes for them, the style of articles they publish. You also want to read back copies to discover topics that the publication has done recently as you don’t want to send in an article on a topic recently done. You may think that your parenting article would suit any of the many parenting papers out there, but that’s a big misconception.

Don’t: Forget grammar and spelling

If you rely on your word processor’s grammar and spell check you might not be catching some of the little typos you’re making. Sometimes our fingers work faster than our brain, so though we spelled a word correctly, it might have been the very wrong word. For example, you’re typing away and you mean to type “may,” but your quick little fingers are so used to hitting some keys you end up typing “many.” Well, that’s not something spell check will catch, so always, always reread your articles a few times before submitting.

Do: Research

Even if you’re writing an article on a topic that you are expert at, you want to double check your facts. Even if you don’t want to use a quote or reference in your article itself (though as long as you‘re doing research why not add in a little expert quote), you want to make sure that the tips or advice you’re giving is the best it can be.

Don’t: Give up quickly

No one sells everything they write the first time they submit it to a publication. It can take many tries, but that’s all part of the writing job. Sending out submissions until a publication snatches it up. Don’t give up. Usually it’s not a reflection of your work. It could possibly be the magazine has done the topic recently or has already bought something on a similar topic for an upcoming issue. Don’t take rejections personally. Dust yourself off and get the article out to another publication. And always be writing new articles. The more articles you have making the rounds, the better.

Quick Update - Just sold two more articles!!!

2009-11-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Since posting the last blog post 2 hours ago, I have since sold two more articles for Constant Content - usage rights for $20 each. This brings my total CC earnings for October to $480! That has definitely made me happy.

End of October Report

2009-11-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I almost made my goals for Constant Content and IM Report! I made $453.20 from Constant Content and $87.40 from IM Report in the month of October. I could definitely have made the $100 from IM Report, but I ended up with other private freelance jobs that took up my time. Also, the 7 articles for $50 job was only half needed in October, with a few articles being requested by the client for November. In all, counting Constant Content, IM Report, and my private freelance jobs, I made $1010.60 as a part-time job this month.

Therefore, I did meet my total goal of earning $1000 USD for the month. This is working an average of 2 hours a day on my writing ventures, while maintaining a full-time job and my household. If you need a part-time income from work that is immensely satisfying, try your hand at writing articles for websites. Constant Content is definitely the place to go to write for big $ returns, while posting comments on IM Report gives you a sweet supplementary income for those treats. In the past two days at Constant Content, I sold two articles for $75 and $50 for full rights, while three of my articles that had all previously sold for usage sold again for $25, $25, and $30 respectively. Not a bad weekend really!

My goals for November: Make $600 from Constant Content (Christmas is coming and I want cash to spend on presents!) and a further $100 from IM report. Watch this space to see if I reach my income goals! If you need additional income for Christmas, start writing for Constant Content or posting comments for IM Report today! Clicking on these links will lead you to sign up pages on either site. You can start making income today.

Expanding Creations Website Launch Soon

2009-10-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make my business, "Expanding Creations", expand! I've been writing as a freelancer for quite some time, but now my business is expanding. I am currently creating an e-book on how to write successfully for the freelancing site "Constant Content" and will be launching the e-book on my new Expanding Creations website really soon - within the next few weeks. The website will also include FREE articles on how to make money from writing articles, and how to write articles that website owners want to buy.

Keep your eyes posted for more details on this exciting phase in my freelance writing business.

Why Write for Free?

2009-10-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me how many people spend a lot of time writing articles for very little reward. Some people who are beginning in the web industry just don't realise how to make money from writing articles. Even people who have been using articles to drive traffic to their websites will often find that some articles are useless. If no-one reads your article, you have effectively wasted your time in writing or researching the article.

There are many article directory sites out there offering free articles. Now, this may be good for website owners who want to build up website traffic by putting good articles on the website. The trouble is these articles are usually not good in quality. The articles may not be SEO optimised, or have grammatical or spelling errors. If you are trying to build up a reputation as niche writer, these "free" article directories are a total waste of your time. Finding a good quality article in these directories is like finding a needle in a haystack - an exercise the Mythbusters proved was not completely impossible, but certainly extremely difficult.

For website owners, you are better off if you purchase higher quality articles that can be optimised especially for your website by either a freelance writer or from a reputable article site, like Constant Content. You want unique articles too, because search engines credit the first website to display an article with the article and will direct people to that website. Free article directories will often have the same article published several times, and you have absolutely no control over the uniqueness of the article.

As a writer, you shouldn't waste your time in submitting to free article directory sites, even if you are trying to build up your reputation as a writer. You can definitely make money by writing for the web, but you won't do it if you do not value your own work. Writing a 500 word article for $1 is also useless. There are many ways to make more money for your writing. Remember, writing is a valuable skill, and not everyone can do it well. This is why website owners who do not have the time, skill, resources, or inclination to write will actually pay people to write for them. Smart website owners are avoiding the free and useless article directories and are looking for people who can write quality articles particularly for their business.

At Constant Content, you can make much more for your article. I have sold a 600 word article for $120 there, and many others for between $50 to $100 USD. Even when I write a post in a forum for IM Report card, I make an average of $2 for every 100 words. While Constant Content offers more money in the market, IM Report is a guaranteed income and is extremely quick to build up money. Either way, my writing makes more money than writing for a free article directory, or writing for an article farm at $1 an article. You can also freelance write and make money by writing directly for particular clients, and you can make money by blogging - (Click on one of those ads please!) and by directing traffic to your website where you sell your writing.

For people out there who are just starting in the article writing business, my advice is "Don't sell yourself short!" Writing is a very valuable skill, and you deserve compensation for that. There are certainly ways to make money by writing articles for websites, so don't write for free!

Mid Month Report for October

2009-10-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wanted to let you know how I was going on both Constant Content and on IM Report, to show that it is definitely possible to make money on both websites.

My Constant Content earnings:

So far in October I have $195.50 USD sitting in my account (which is after CC's cut), but I have received a private request for another 7 articles at $50 per article, and I have several articles sitting in review. Once approved, I am sure a couple of the articles will sell quickly, as the articles are on topics that are on the recently searched list daily. I'm hoping for at least $500 this month, and it looks like I am definitely on track to make that goal. I'll keep you posted as further articles sell. Constant Content is a great site to make big money per article - I have only sold five articles this month so far to make that $200, with at least one of my articles selling at $70. For the amount of time you spend writing an article, CC is definitely providing a better hour per pay rate than many other article websites out there. If you can write unique articles, give it a go. You can see that I'm making decent money there, especially considering that writing is just a part-time hobby and is my fun, so I don't write every day.

My IM Report Card earnings:
I've cashed out twice (you need a minimum of $20.00 to cash out) and that's in two weeks. I am spending no more than 20 minutes a day posting comments and grading products on this site. Some days I don't do anything. I can see this is a definite money making tool. You do have to be careful to ensure your comments are 100 words, though, as I missed out on some payments due to a short word count. However, for writers it is not difficult to research and write a quick comment on the products. You earn $0.60 per comment, but I am finding it easy to make more by commenting on the reviews no one else comments on. You can make up to $2.00 for your 100 words, which is easy to spit out in a few minutes. You also get money every time someone likes your comments and money when your affiliates make money too. I won't get rich on this site, but I am sure making some easy "pocket" money - paid into Paypal whenever I need it! You should give IM Report Card a try.

I think you can easily make $20 a week, which $80 - $100 per calendar month, with little time or effort. I figure if I make $100 a month from IM Report Card and $500+ a month from Constant Content, I am doing ok for a part-time job. If I spent more time on these websites, I could definitely make even more!

Five Ways to Increase Your Article Sales on Constant Content

2009-10-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Constant Content is THE best place to sell your articles. I make hundreds of dollars every month, just by selling a few articles. The reason you can make so much is that articles sell for so much more than you get from article websites that offer $0.50 to $2 per article. I sold one article today for $65, and a customer who recently bought $600 worth of articles from me has come back for two more articles!

So, here are my best five tips for selling articles on Constant Content. I published this article in the Constant Content forum too (one of the other reasons I love this site is the friendly and helpful community of writers).

1. Keep an eye on the recently sold list and the newly created recently searched lists on Constant Content. It gives the trends of what is selling and what people are looking to buy. I notice that articles seem to sell in batches or in groups at different types. At present, a number of business related articles have sold recently, so that is an area I am writing articles in right now. A few weeks ago, zodiac and dating articles were selling like hot cakes.

2. Write articles in a variety of topic categories and in varying lengths. Although I don't normally write less than 400 words, I have found that some articles of varying lengths sell well at different times. I have sold articles from 400 words to 2000 word articles. I have written articles in a variety of topics, so I am not only writing for one niche market. This gives me plenty of scope to write what I feel like writing and to build up a broad portfolio. I now feature on several expertise group lists.

3. Submit articles regularly. The more often customers see my name as an author on current articles, the more customers know I am active on the site, and therefore available to write specific requests for them. Also, just generally, the more you submit, and the oftener you submit, the more you sell. I am sure there are customers who search only for latest articles - plus with the new RSS feeds and latest articles showing first when searched, the more often you submit, the more likely customers will see your latest article.

4. Price. This is a tough one and I am not sure it always works. However, I price my articles at a fairly high rate and then click the best offer button. This shows customers (I hope) that I value and take pride in my work and believe my writing is good enough to command the high rates. However, if a customer is unable to afford the high rates, they have the opportunity to negotiate. I reject about half of the offers I receive that are too low. I aim to get between 3.5 cents and 8 cents per word for each article, with an average of 5 cents per word. This is AFTER the CC cut!

5. Respond to some public requests, work to build relationships for private requests, and have other article ideas to write about when neither sort of request catches my eye. I keep a folder with various ideas, clippings from newspapers, magazines or websites that caught my eye and may start a train of thought for new articles or start the research on an article. Writing for a mix of customers, and having a wide range of articles on different articles is the best way to succeed at Constant Content!

If you have not already joined Constant Content, here are three more reasons to click on the link and join right now:

1 - It is Free to join.
2 - You get paid through Paypal (including currency conversions)
3 - I give help and support to any affiliate who signs up under my link, including proofreading of articles to help you get through the gatekeeper. Sign up to Constant Content right now!

Join IM Report Card NOW - I made $20 yesterday in 30 minutes by posting comments on reviews!

IM Report Card - Internet Marketing Reviews and Discussion

2009-10-09T01:52:00.001-07:00

IM Report Card - Internet Marketing Reviews and Discussion

Posted using ShareThis

A New Discovery to Make Money

2009-10-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

I found something exciting today: IM Report. It is a free website to join and you basically get paid to add your comments to reviews of popular money making sites and scams. Tell others what works and what doesn't and you will get paid for it.

The site pays through paypal once you have reached $20, which is easy to do, because you get $0.50 for a comment you post on a product, and $0.20 for rating a product (a simple click of a button). Jump on the site IM Report and start making money now. You'll have $20 quite quickly and can make money anytime you want to on this great site. There are literally thousands of products, websites, and marketing services to rate, so even if you have just tried a few of the money making schemes available online, you should be able to succeed in making money quickly.

My First Blog

2009-10-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

My First Time!
I've been writing online for about a year, selling articles on Constant Content. However, I am actually a blogging virgin. Well, not any longer. I want to share the great news that it is really possible to make a lot of money, if you can write well.

Constant Content is a terrific website, and accepts writers from all over the world. All you need to do is be able to write interesting, unique, and quality articles for the web. Webmasters come and purchase the articles for a variety of different licences, and you get paid - simple!

You do need to follow the guidelines for submissions, but the website is terrific. Any journalists or even university / college students out there who have a good grasp of the English language will be able to make decent money. I've been writing there - only PART-TIME, mind you, for just on a year now and have made over $5000 US.

If you want to know more, post a comment to this blog. I'll finish now, but I'll let you know how I am going with sales, etc soon.

Hayley