Don't get me wrong - I am happy and contented with being a freelance writer and having clients thank me for an awesome piece.
However, with the unbelievably low-priced job offers found in freelancing sites like ODesk and Elance, I, probably along with other freelance writers out there have alternative ways to supplement our freelance writing income (yup, I think even the best freelance writers out there also have "lean months.")
Aside from that, freelance writing can also become very boring - holed up in the house, facing the computer all day, and researching keywords and topics and writing and researching keywords and topics and writing and...well, you get the idea.
So here's what I usually do whenever I need a break from writing, which also happens to be great alternative sources of income for freelance writers who need some extra cash.
Visit JV Notify, JV Zoo, and Clickbank
Internet marketing is a great way to earn some passive income, and provide distraction from the monotony of writing about the same topic again and again (After writing 50 articles about podiatrists - which is a fancy name for foot doctors - I terribly needed a break.) Affiliate marketing is no mean feat, by the way, but it is not rocket science either.
I usually start off by visiting JV Notify, JV Zoo and Clickbank and browse through the available products which I can promote. Then, when I have chosen one, I sign up as an affiliate and go over the product, looking for reviews before writing my own. I post it in my blog if it is appropriate or create a free blog on Blogger or Weebly or Wordpress. And then I promote that review through my friends and followers on Twitter, Facebook, and those who signed up for my email list.
Now, this gig can either earn you some big cash or none - depending on a variety of factors which are too lengthy to discuss here. I'll go over affiliate marketing in another post in the future.
Monetize Your Blog
If you still don't have a blog, it's high-time that you build one. It's not that difficult after all, with many free blogging platforms out there like Weebly, Blogger or Wordpress.
Monetizing your blog is another great way to earn passive income. There are several ways to do this, and one is by displaying advertisements on your blog's headers or sidebars, which will earn you some money when your visitors and readers click on them. The most famous pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-click (CPC) would have to be Google Adsense, although there are other alternatives like Chitika and Infolinks. The money here is not that big, unless you've got thousands of readers who click on those adds, but still, a few hundred bucks a month is worth the few minutes you used in embedding those adds.
Besides, it's a good way of livening up a bland web page.
Look for Paid Guest Posting
If you don't have a blog and you don't care about monetizing it, then why not go back to writing, but this time, instead of writing for clients, why not try writing for yourself and your readers on another person's blog? You can write about any topic you want, and the best part is that you get paid doing so.
One of the tricks of many website owners in order to gain traffic into to their sites (as well as have regularly updated blogs) is by paying people to guest post. Here, you'll have to get in contact with the site owner and submit a proposal or a topic that you would like to write about. Now if you've got something that interests the site owner, he or she may just pay you to post on their blogs - not only do you get paid, but you also get to have your name and website with the blog - instant advertising and exposure, huh?
This is actually pretty good for you since you do not only get paid but there is the chance that the readers of those blogs will be one source of traffic for your website.
Oh yeah, the price. Post Joint pays $100-$200 per post, while Your Online Biz pays $100. There are of course others out there, but these two are the highest payers I've seen so far.
Got other ideas for alternative sources of income for freelance writers? Do share them in the comments section below. Cheers!
However, with the unbelievably low-priced job offers found in freelancing sites like ODesk and Elance, I, probably along with other freelance writers out there have alternative ways to supplement our freelance writing income (yup, I think even the best freelance writers out there also have "lean months.")
Aside from that, freelance writing can also become very boring - holed up in the house, facing the computer all day, and researching keywords and topics and writing and researching keywords and topics and writing and...well, you get the idea.
So here's what I usually do whenever I need a break from writing, which also happens to be great alternative sources of income for freelance writers who need some extra cash.
Visit JV Notify, JV Zoo, and Clickbank
Internet marketing is a great way to earn some passive income, and provide distraction from the monotony of writing about the same topic again and again (After writing 50 articles about podiatrists - which is a fancy name for foot doctors - I terribly needed a break.) Affiliate marketing is no mean feat, by the way, but it is not rocket science either.
I usually start off by visiting JV Notify, JV Zoo and Clickbank and browse through the available products which I can promote. Then, when I have chosen one, I sign up as an affiliate and go over the product, looking for reviews before writing my own. I post it in my blog if it is appropriate or create a free blog on Blogger or Weebly or Wordpress. And then I promote that review through my friends and followers on Twitter, Facebook, and those who signed up for my email list.
Now, this gig can either earn you some big cash or none - depending on a variety of factors which are too lengthy to discuss here. I'll go over affiliate marketing in another post in the future.
Monetize Your Blog
If you still don't have a blog, it's high-time that you build one. It's not that difficult after all, with many free blogging platforms out there like Weebly, Blogger or Wordpress.
Monetizing your blog is another great way to earn passive income. There are several ways to do this, and one is by displaying advertisements on your blog's headers or sidebars, which will earn you some money when your visitors and readers click on them. The most famous pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-click (CPC) would have to be Google Adsense, although there are other alternatives like Chitika and Infolinks. The money here is not that big, unless you've got thousands of readers who click on those adds, but still, a few hundred bucks a month is worth the few minutes you used in embedding those adds.
Besides, it's a good way of livening up a bland web page.
Look for Paid Guest Posting
If you don't have a blog and you don't care about monetizing it, then why not go back to writing, but this time, instead of writing for clients, why not try writing for yourself and your readers on another person's blog? You can write about any topic you want, and the best part is that you get paid doing so.
One of the tricks of many website owners in order to gain traffic into to their sites (as well as have regularly updated blogs) is by paying people to guest post. Here, you'll have to get in contact with the site owner and submit a proposal or a topic that you would like to write about. Now if you've got something that interests the site owner, he or she may just pay you to post on their blogs - not only do you get paid, but you also get to have your name and website with the blog - instant advertising and exposure, huh?
This is actually pretty good for you since you do not only get paid but there is the chance that the readers of those blogs will be one source of traffic for your website.
Oh yeah, the price. Post Joint pays $100-$200 per post, while Your Online Biz pays $100. There are of course others out there, but these two are the highest payers I've seen so far.
Got other ideas for alternative sources of income for freelance writers? Do share them in the comments section below. Cheers!