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Go where the Work is

If you are looking to make some fast cash and are a decent writer there is a lot of opportunity online to work as a freelance writer. Even as little as a decade ago there were nowhere near the online writing prospects that exist today. There are literally millions of websites out there today and many of them are desperate for fresh content because having a constant flow of new content, particularly with specifically chosen keywords, helps to boost a site’s ranking. Higher ranking often translates into more customers, which means more money. The great part about this for freelance writers is that many of these site owners do not want to write their own content so they are willing to pay others to write it for them.

Make sure Your Skills are Up to Par

Before you embark on a freelance writing career, or writing side job you will want to make sure that your writing skills are up to date. Being fluent in whatever language you plan to write in is very important. You may also want to take some online grammar and spelling tests to verify your abilities. There are also plenty of writing courses and resources available, both online and off and some of them are even free. In addition, it is a good idea to become familiar, if you are not already, with some of the more common writing styles.

Know what Works Online

Much of the freelance writing that is available online incorporates SEO or search engine optimization. If you are not aware of what this is you will probably want to become familiar with it before beginning your online job search. Do not worry if you are unfamiliar with the concept of SEO; there are plenty of places online where you can learn about it and hone your skills. This site is one place where you can practice your SEO writing and make some fast cash while you are at it. It is really not as complex as it may sound. It basically just involves incorporating pre-selected keywords into your writing a specified amount of times.

Discover Your Strengths and know Your Audience

You may find once you start writing that you gravitate towards certain subject matter. Some people find it helpful to specialize in a certain topic area or specific type of writing and become an expert at that. Other writers enjoy the variety of writing on different topics and in various areas of writing. Also, you need to be aware that when you write for an online audience the pieces will tend to be short and, because of this, will need to be engaging and to the point. When people come to a website they usually want to find information quickly. If the information they are seeking is not readily available and easy to spot they will move on to another site. That is why you will often see articles like this one, with sub-headings to catch people’s eye and allow them to skim the article for what they are looking for.

Get Ready to Put Yourself Out There

If you do not currently have any writing samples you can set up a blog and start writing. Once you have a few posts on the site you can start applying for jobs, using your blog for writing examples. Be diligent in checking the freelance job boards and you will be on your way to fast cash.

Need Fast Cash Now? Apply Here!

Times are hard and people are losing jobs left and right. If you could use some extra cash, why not try writing freelance on the internet?

Yes, there are actually internet companies that will pay you $10 to $25 per article, provided your writing meets certain criteria. As a freelance writer, you sell articles to these companies to be posted on their web pages. If your articles are accepted, you can make a decent living just by writing from the comfort of your own home.

Can I really get paid just for writing?

Yes, you really can. You don’t have to have a degree in journalism to start freelance writing, but you do have to be able to write clearly and coherently. If you can compose a fluent email, are mindful of your grammar and spelling, and can easily accept critiques from an editor, you’re pretty much good to go!

Editors will reject articles that don’t live up to the standards of the website, but don’t let that stop you. Simply take it as a learning experience to improve your writing skills and keep submitting. If you’re able to write or at least willing to learn, all you  need is a computer, an internet connection, and a PayPal account.

What’s so important about content on the internet?

There’s a saying floating around the net: “Content is king.” Word content on a website is crucial because it draws readers to the site. Understanding how search engines work can shed light on the question. When you look for a topic on the internet, you pull up a search engine like Yahoo or Google and type in a word or a short phrase. These are called keywords. You hit enter and a list of your search results appears.

Internet companies go to great lengths to make sure their site appears on the first page of your search results, a process called search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is labor-intensive, but more cost effective than paying for advertisements. Internet companies don’t always have the time or manpower required to update the content of their sites, so they outsource the work to freelance writers like me, and hopefully, like you.  The continual need for new content — new words in new articles — is why freelance writing can be a lucrative business.

How do I get paid for freelance writing?

Internet businesses generally pay their freelance writers in one of two ways: upfront or residually. Upfront payment means you write an article with a certain number of words, and the website buys your article for an agreed price. For example, the company may offer $15 for a 300-word article. Residual payment means that instead of being paid an agreed lump-sum when your article is accepted, you are paid a share of the revenues generated as your article draws traffic and readers click on the ads surrounding it.

Where do I start?

Personal Money Store is a great place to get started. It’s easy to join, and the company offers several different payment options. If you’re just starting out, you may want to try the pay-per-post option first, and then build your way up to better paying gigs. Simply contact the site for more information and follow their guidelines. That’s all it takes to get started making extra cash as a freelance writer.

Commercials abound for credit repair services lately. Everywhere you turn, debt specialists and debt consolidation companies are hawking their own services. It does seem to be a recession-dependant business to be in. While these services do create a workable solution for many people who got into debt because of numerous possible reasons, you must be able to have a little extra money to work with in order to get out of debt and repair your credit.

Locating Extra Cash

Taking out a loan can help you temporarily, but then you have more debt to work at paying off. A better idea would be to find a temporary income solution, such as finding a second part time job or even earning money online. “What? I thought it was hard to earn money online!” That is the typical reaction for many people, because they know of someone who knew someone else that failed at earning money online. But what did the person try? More than likely, it was marketing, or trying to start an online business.

Make money online

If you are not a sales person, or are new to marketing, then of course this will not work. It reminds me of the great gold rush in the 19th century. Most of the people who did go out west to find their fortunes by finding gold either came back home disappointed and broke, or found other work out west to make back the money they wasted. Some enterprising people, however, set up shop to sell supplies to the gold miners. And these are the people who made their fortunes—not the gold rush hopefuls. The internet is the gold rush of today, and if you can figure out a way to sell to the internet gold miners, then you can make money online.

Online Tutoring

Are you a teacher, or do you have teaching credentials? Did you get laid off recently? If so, there are several sites where you can apply to be an online tutor. Tutor.com is one of the best places to work for, as they have a system where you can IM your student, and use a “blackboard” online in real time. This means that you can teach online, while working from anywhere you have internet connection. You can schedule the time you will be online, and get paid at least $10 per hour, even when waiting. Chances are, you will get about 2-4 students per hour.

The administrators handle all the marketing and billing, so all you need to focus on is tutoring. This will assist you in making great strides towards credit repair, and you get to do what you love as well. You are selling your services to those who already have set up an internet gold mine.

Freelance Writing

Another way to sell your services to the internet gold miners is to provide content at market prices. If you can write a decent paragraph, you can sell your writing and earn a nice living doing so. Many sites will pay you an upfront fee for your work, while others will pay you per page view. Each of these models work great for setting up income streams that will assist you in getting out of debt and repairing your credit. Searching for “writers wanted” will help you find the short term income sites, while searching for “get paid to write” will help you find the long term income sites. Setting up multiple income streams is a great way to shrink your debt, and provide a nice little nest egg for the future.

There are many more ways to earn money online, without having to take out a short term loan or destroy your credit so badly that you need a credit repair service. I have given you a couple of options to start with. It’s now up to you to take action…what are you waiting for?