Advice for New Freelance Writers

If you are just venturing into the world of freelance writing, there are some things that you should do to prepare yourself.

The first thing you should do is figure out how long it would take you to research and write an article, both 300 words and 500 words. This will be just so you can know how many articles you would be able to write in an hour. Make sure that you give yourself enough time when applying for writing jobs. I had a job offer today where they were expecting me to write 4- 350 word articles in an hour. Yeah, I'm sure I could do it, but they would be shotty articles because I wouldn't have the time to do the proper research and proof read everything a few times.

The next thing you should do, is figure out what the smallest amount is that you are willing to take for your time and effort into writing an article. I am bringing this to your attention because I am seeing too many writers selling themselves short. When you are applying for jobs on freelance websites such as elance and odesk, be sure to know what your hourly rate would be. I've seen job posts where some clients are only offering $1 for a 500 word article. Seriously? My time is worth a lot more than that, and if the topic is something that needs researched, it is going to take even more time to search and read through material. I can't believe that so many people are willing to work for such a tiny amount, or that clients or buyers expect writers to put all kinds of work into an article, for mere pennies. If you are a good writer, you are worth more money!

If you are going to try out one of the freelance websites I have posted about, make sure that you know what to say when you apply for a job. Unfortunately, there are lot of other writers out there who are applying for the same job and are willing to work for pennies per article, however their articles may not be of very good quality. When you apply for freelance jobs, be sure to list any experience that you have, whether it be blogging, guest blogging on other blogs, other freelance writing gigs you have done, any college courses you may have taken, and what your areas of expertise are in. Also, always make sure to give them an example of your work. If you have never done any freelance writing, go practice by writing a few articles. Pick a subject and then write about it. Always have something to show in your portfolio. Most freelancing websites provide a way for you to upload articles to put in your portfolio or profile. Also, if the job listing includes what subjects they need articles about, or how many hours per day, be sure to include something of the same nature in your application letter.

Also, never write a specific article for someone as a test. I've had people contact me telling me, "write a 300 word article on Ohio Real Estate (ok, I made the Ohio Real Estate thing up, just as an example), for a test and then I will decide if I want to hire you." Errrrrrrrrr, hit the brakes! This is a great way for them to get a free article out of you. Don't waste your time on something you don't even know if you are going to get paid for.

Once you begin producing quality articles, clients will begin noticing you. Don't expect to get a bunch of jobs immediately, it may take time; just be patient and write your butt off!

My Other Blogs and More

Just a quick post to let any of my  new readers know that I also have 2 other blogs.

Rants In My Pants is my venting blog. This is where I complain and vent about things going on in the world that I don't agree with or things that just straight annoy me. I do curse in many posts, so don't bother if you are easily offended.

Madam Sarcasm is more of a personal blog. This is the blog where I just write about whatever I feel like writing about. I write about things going on in my personal life or things that are bothering me. Again, don't bother if you are offended by curse words and vulgar sarcasm!

Also, don't forget to "like" my facebook (link on the top left) and add me on Google + . Since Google Friend Connect is going to be phased out soon, I guess Google + will be taking its place. I don't mind, I actually like Google + and thinks it gives me a chance to interact more with my readers and other blogs.

Merry Belated Christmas!

Here's to hoping that all of you had a great holiday weekend and spent it with your loved ones! Anyone care to do some bragging? Tell us what your best gift that you received for Christmas was? Come on, you know you wanna brag!?!?!?

Bring Santa Into Your Home!

Imagine your child's or children's faces when they wake up on Christmas morning to find a photograph of Santa in their house! With icaughtsanta.com you can upload a photo of your home and insert santa into the picture, then print out the photograph and have it ready for your children on Christmas morning! This is such a neat idea and my kids would be soo excited to see a photo of santa in their house!

You can also share the photo via Twitter and Facebook and even purchase gift certificates for your friends, so that they can print a custom photo out for themselves. If you don't have children yourself, you can purchase e-gift certificates to give to your family and friends as a gift. I mean, how cool is this?:

Ok, so this isn't really my house, although I wish it were! haha. You can even take a photo of your child sleeping and put santa in his/her room! Woah!!

icaughtsanta.com

Microworkers Anyone?

Does anyone have any experience working for Microworkers? I signed up with them a few weeks ago. They have lists of various small tasks you can do to earn money. Some of the tasks include writing a review on an amazon product, "liking" a Facebook page, following and re-tweeting someone on Twitter, commenting on youtube videos, posting a comment on a blog with a specified link, commenting on different forums, signing up for various websites, and downloading things. Personally, I won't download anything because you never know what you are putting on your computer that way. I work on this site sparingly, and most of the jobs only take a few minutes. As it sits, right now, my total earnings are $36.69. When I first signed up, I saw the paypal logo, but apparently they are not paying via paypal at the moment. They did for a short while, but stopped (not sure why), so now they are only paying via moneybookers and alertpay. So, now I have to go sign up for an alertpay account. I was expecting to get paid this week from them via paypal, but that's not going to happen.

I think once the pay gets straightened up, this could be a good way to make some spending money. Wouldn't pay all the bills, but would definitely help!

One thing, for bloggers, there are offers there to write a blog post for pay however the pay is rather low; usually only a few dollars. Honestly, you can make a lot more money other places (I do most of my paid posts via blogsvertise), but for a blog wanting to get a start into writing paid posts, this would be a good place to begin.

Would love to hear some input from other microworkers? Such as how quickly do you get the payment once you request a withdrawal?

More Opportunities for Freelance Workers of All Trades

As I said in a previous post, I have been diligently searching for more ways to make money from home especially after the demise of Demand Studios who was my main source of income. This is one reason why it is a good idea to have more than one egg in your basket. With freelance work, you never know when a company may either go under, or change things completely, leaving you out in the cold.

 oDesk offers many projects for freelancers. oDesk is not just for freelance writers, it is for freelancers of all sorts. They have job postings available for all kinds of writers, web designers, virtual assistants, researchers, customer service reps., and more. You read through the job listings and apply for the ones that you are interested in. You also bid on the price that you are willing to work for. When you first sign up, you are limited to 3 application submissions per week. Once you take the oDesk readiness test and pass it, that number goes up to 15 per week. They have other skills tests available such as English tests, office skills tests, helpdesk tests..etc., which will then showcase your skill level on your profile.

Guru.com works in much the same way. You make a profile and bid on jobs. If you win the bid, you will then be paid to do the job that you applied for. Guru also offers skills tests to go on your profile. Guru even offers jobs for interior and fashion design, photography, and videography. So again, these freelancing websites are not limited to just writing projects. You may easily be able to find something that you can do!

eCopywriters. My question is simple, has anyone worked for them? I ask because they request a writing sample when applying, and say that they will review your sample and let you know within 2 weeks (I believe) if you have been approved or not. I applied 3-4 weeks ago and have heard nothing. Even a rejection letter would be better than nothing! Anyone have any information on these guys?

I'm working with some other freelance writing websites and will post about those in the future.  Good luck to anyone looking for freelance work. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know who you are having the best luck with or if you have experience with any of these places!

November Update on Sweepstakes/Freebies

Did anyone else have a good sweeping month in November? Not I. I did not win one single thing, nothing. I DID however receive my prizes that I won the month before, which were the fleece blanket and the freebie coupon for Bob Evans. November was already a depressing month for my family, doesn't help when I don't win a damned thing, either, ha! I still have yet to win any blog giveaways, even though I've entered hundreds. Again, I've been entering blog giveaways, along with finding sweepstakes on Facebook sweepstaking apps. I know there are a ton more out there, but I just don't have time for all of them.

Don't forget, "like" my FB page (link on the top of the left hand column) for more freebies and sweepstakes to enter. I try to post them on FB as much as I can to pass them along to my followers.

Since I didn't win any giveaways in November, here's a pic of the freebies I got:

The black thing in the middle is an oven mitt from Private Selections. I received it along with some coupons via Bzzagent. I also received like 6 packs of different brands of crayons for a test/survey. Of course the kids got all of them after I did the survey.

Have you had any luck getting any freebies or winning anything fun? Tell us about it and where you entered through!

Pardon Me While I Fix This Mess...

Is it just me, or are all of my photos/graphics missing? Last night when I checked out my blog, my header banner thingy was gone with just a big blank triangle thing? I uploaded the banner again, just so it didn't look so scary if someone checked out the blog. All of the photos or graphics I have posted in blog posts or in my side columns are gone. Everything. I thought maybe it was just a blogger mishap and was hoping when I checked it today, everything would be back, but it's not. I post a lot of photos on my other blogs and they are all gone, too. What the crap, Blogger?? Where did all of my stuff go? Do you realize what a pain in the butt this is going to be to have to go through and re-upload everything?? Is it just ME this has happened to???? I'm already having a bad day.. Hell, a bad week.. this just takes the cake. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Looking to do product reviews and more giveaways

I know this blog isn't huge, but I am very interested in doing more reviews and/or giveaways along with my regular posts. If you have a small business that you would like to promote, I would love to sample one of your products and/or possibly host a giveaway on this blog. I have done quite a few sponsored reviews and a few sample reviews. I always give my 100% honest review. If you choose just to have me review your product, I will post your website url in the review a few times. If you would like to do a giveaway, I use rafflecoptor, and would offer entries for facebook "likes" and Twitter follows...etc..

I have a Facebook page for this blog where I promote many of the different things I post on here, as well as the few giveaways that I have hosted in the past. I also use Twitter to promote my links and giveaways where I have over 2,000 followers.

If you are interested in working with me on some sort of review or giveaway, please send me an email and we can work out the details.