Make Money Online at Home

Freelance writing is one of the many ways to make money online at home. If you can write well and have an Internet connection, you are on your way. You just need to find writing opportunities.

There are MANY ways to find jobs, and where you look depends on what kind of jobs you want and where you are in your career. I’m going to do a series of posts on getting freelance writing jobs. Today let’s focus on some of the content companies you can write for.

Benefits of Writing for Content Companies

Content companies usually have a ton of available work, so you can write all you want. Plus, because these companies hire a lot of writers, they don’t usually expect you to write a certain amount per day or per week. You’re free to work from home, choose your hours, and the amount of writing you do.

The Drawbacks of Content Companies

There are drawbacks, of course. The pay is usually much lower than if you were to write for a private client. Notoriously low. And some content companies are known for their crabby editors or other ridiculous rules to follow. Content companies are not for everyone. But they can be a great way to get your foot in the door and start your freelance writing career. And if you write fast, it can be pretty decent pay.

Content Companies to Check Out

Demand Studios

Those who write for Demand Studios (DS) have multiple article topics and types to choose from. Article length is generally around 300-400 words, and the pay goes from $7.50 – $20 per article. Most articles pay about $15 a piece. The work there is fairly easy once you get the hang of their style guides, and they pay by PayPal twice a week (which is nice!). A word of caution with DS – this is one of the companies with interesting editors, so working there can be frustrating at times.

That said, if you like to write “how to” type articles and can write fast, DS is an easy way to earn cash. I know writers who earn the bulk of their income from DS – earning $2,000 – $3,000 a month. It is possible to make a living doing this. I used to write for DS occasionally, but the strict style guides just don’t work for me, so I stopped writing for them.

Tips for getting hired with Demand Studios. Be sure you let them know in your application any web writing experience you may have. If you’ve written a good “how to” article at eHow.com (or elsewhere), use that as a writing sample. They want to know that you can get their writing style and have a little web experience. If you don’t, sign up for eHow.com right now and write a couple of articles there (make sure they’re well-written) and use them as samples. If DS rejects you at first, prepare a couple more articles and apply with a different email address.

Textbroker

The pay at Textbroker is more dismal than some, but they are less picky about who they hire, so if you’re just getting started and need some experience before trying out other, more lucrative gigs, you may want to give Textbroker a try. Writers who apply here must write a sample, which is then judged by the editors and given a rating. Your rating determines your rate of pay, though each writing job your complete there can help your rating go up (or down.) Textbroker pays on the 10th and the 25th of every month, though your account must have at least $10 and you must request a pay-out.

A rating of “2″ will get you 0.7 cents per word (not 7 cents per word, 0.7. See what I mean about dismal?), and a “5″ rating garners 25 cents per word, though most articles aren’t in that price range. Most of the articles there go for about 1 cent per word. Not a way to get rich, but it can be a starting point. Plus, you can work with clients for “Direct Order” and can ask for a better per word rate once you’re established. There is almost always plenty of work there, and some people report great success there.

How to get hired with Textbroker. All you have to do with Textbroker is go to their author registration page and sign up. After you activate the account, sign in and complete a short writing sample assignment. They rate that sample and then let you know where you stand.

eCopywriters

I’ve noticed that eCopywriters works a lot like Textbroker. The pay is a little better, but it doesn’t seem to have as many available assignments. Pay for articles starts at 2 cents per word. It goes up the better your rating gets, but I don’t know for sure how high the pay goes. They pay on the 1st and the 15th, but some people have reported a more haphazard pay cycle.

I have not personally written for eCopywriters, but it seems to be an ok company that actually does pay its writers. They hardly ever seem to have any open jobs available, but it still may be worth getting hired on with them, in case another company doesn’t work out.

How to get hired with eCopywriters. Getting hired here is about the same as with Textbroker. You sign up on their registration page. Then after activating your account, sign in and complete a writing assignment. If a week goes by and you don’t hear back from them, go ahead and send an email to them. They are sometimes slow with getting back to their new writers.

Bright Hub

I signed up with Bright Hub but never worked for them, so my knowledge is limited. They pay $10 per article (300-750 words), and article topics are technology oriented. The pay isn’t a lot, but they also do revenue sharing, which means if your article is popular, it will earn you more money. You are also paid for backlinks. They pay once a month, once you reach the minimum payout of $20.

How to get hired with Bright Hub. Fill out the writer registration page. They ask for your writing experience and credentials as well as an optional (but recommended) writing sample.

wiseGeek

I’m not as familiar with wiseGeek, so I’m going to share a little info I found on a fellow writer’s site, The Freelance Homewriter. She is another good resource for finding jobs. Anyway, she says that the articles pay $10 each, and she mentioned that the editors are very helpful and nice, which is always a plus!

How to get hired with wiseGeek. From the FAQ page on their site: From time to time, wiseGEEK seeks out additional freelance writers to regularly contribute to wiseGEEK. If you’re interested, you can send some writing samples (in the body of your email, not as an attachment) to catherine [at] wisegeek -dot- com. Writing samples don’t have to be similar in format and style as wiseGEEK articles, although they are preferred. If the samples are something we’re looking for we’ll get back to you with more details about the job and let you know your next steps.

LoveToKnow

I don’t have any personal experience with LoveToKnow, but I know that it’s a legit site. Here’s what they say on their website:

“Talented, experienced writers with a strong expertise and interest in any of our channel topics may apply to write for LoveToKnow. Pay for approved writers starts at $20 per 650-word article, with a minimum of 20 articles required each month, pending acceptance.

Writer requirements:

Extensive experience with the chosen topics

At least one year of professional writing experience; editing experience a plus

Minimum of six months writing Internet content, including work with a web-based content management system

Access to computer, stable high-speed Internet, telephone service and Yahoo! Instant Messenger”

For me, the minimum 20 articles per month would be too much of a commitment. But others might be happy with that. It looks like payment starts at 3 cents per word, which isn’t bad at all.

How to get hired with LoveToKnow. Looks like you need to fill out their application page, which includes a resume, two writing samples and other information about you.

There are many more companies I could write about, and I definitely will if there’s interest. I love to help people find ideas to make money and find a way to make money online from home. Please feel free to leave a comment or drop a line if you have any questions or if there’s something you need help with.