Make More Money from Your Writing

Making Money. Don't kid yourself, the only real reason you got into freelance writing was to increase your income. Of course the wise new writer doesn't immediately quit their day job, expecting to latch onto a lucrative contract complete with book signings. Nor do they go expecting the publishing of their first book to be immediately listed on the Best Selling list. Hey, don't laugh. I personally know of one writer that chose that route. The Best Selling novel part sort of fell through for him, but he struggles on.

The point is all writers write with the hope of improving their lot in life to some degree. If there were no financial gain, the pens would become silent in pretty short order.

A number of articles have been written highlighting such methods as writing to a number of websites such as, of course, Associated Content. But also Helium, Demand Studios, and an assortment of other sites that may or may not make up front payments or payout determined by the number of hits, or views of your work. They also refer to sites like Stumble upon, Digg, and others as ways to solicit traffic to your articles too. Don't forget entering contests, though the odds are not in your favor and by in large you may very well be putting out a lot of work with absolutely no return for your effort.

All well and good, these ideas are all legit. Personal experience has show me a much more effective way to maximize the returns on your writing efforts.

The first step is to pick a vague subject matter. Something that an ongoing portfolio of material can be written about. Hopefully it will be something that you have at least a rudimentary knowledge about as that will make the writing of ongoing articles much easier.

By vague I mean a one or two word subject matter. Examples: Bicycling, Motorcycle Travel, my choice was The Stealth Van Dweller.

The next step is to create a blog on the subject. Google Blooger offers web space, easy to use templates, and even a tracking service that will inform you of where and what traffic is making use of your site. All of this provided at no charge. That's right it's absolutely free with no strings attached.

Once you have established your blog, it's time to start writing articles and submitting them to Associated Content for up front payment. You'll find with a set general subject matter dreaming up new angles to take your articles will come much easier. Be sure to include a link back to your Blog somewhere in the story line of each article.

Once they're published, then go to your blog and write short lead in entries with links to the real complete article. Be sure to include a picture for each entry on your blog as the saying "A picture is worth a thousands words" is absolutely correct. Flickr Public Domain pictures is a large library that may not be accepted by Associated Content, but is completely fine for your own blog.

By grouping your articles together on a blog when someone reads one article they are many times over more likely to read more then one article.

Now here's the big secret. What really works, and it works immediately, is to join a Yahoo Group concerning your subject matter of choice.

Spend some time reading what other people are saying, what kind of information they're looking for, and what their interests are. Maybe even write some more articles on your blog answering some of their needs. Then start making posts on the Yahoo Group Forum and get involved in the conversations.

Of course when you sign off from each of your entries always close the same way.

Your Name

Your Blog Name

Link to your Blog

Guaranteed other members of the Group will immediately click over to your blog site and your hits will take a dramatic jump. As you write new articles and link them to your blog, readers from the Yahoo Group will return on a regular basis looking for your latest articles. They may even sign on as Followers of your work and will be notified when an article is added to your blog.

Having your PPV hits double or triple almost immediately is not an unrealistic expectation. This is the best possible exposure for your work. It can easily be used to link multiple blogs and groups of articles together bringing people from many walks of life into new and interesting types of information.

Before long you will start finding your blog listed as a link on other blogs. Others collecting information on your chosen theme will want their readers to see your material as well.

Above all maintain a professional appearance at all times. Forget the cutesy clever nicknames, use your real name. Yes, there might be a small amount of risk in today's identity theft world, but if your hopes are hinged on becoming a PAID Journalist, your portfolio of articles is your best sales material.

Don't be too surprised when the day comes that you get an e-mail from someone looking for you to write material for their website. If you produce good quality material it will happen.