QUOTE OF THE DAY
“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”
Edwin Land
Obviously we now know what today’s blog post is about….creativity in freelance writing.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. (that was for Leslie)
How do you make money in freelancing if you do not write for content mills? That question was asked of me last Friday, and my article today tackled that question….and we are going to tackle it in this blog as well.
There are very few limits in freelance writing. If you do not like what the content mills pay then don’t write for them. Get out and find your own work and get paid what you are worth.
But how, Bill? I can hear the whining from here. How do we do it, Bill? Where do we start?
Just start! Get business cards, set up a website and/or blog, go out and cold-call for jobs, apply for online jobs that actually pay what you are worth, network, set up contacts and above all, use your sense of creativity.
A friend of mine….Sydney….just created a website for tourism in Austin, Texas. You can find it here. She is going to sell advertising on it and build that writing gig from scratch. She saw a need and now she is going to fill that need. In other words, she used her imagination and her creativity and God bless her for having the courage to risk failure in order to possibly succeed.
Where is there a need in your community? How can you fill that need? What are the latest trends in society? How can you use those trends to make money?
TIP OF THE DAY
I am going to pound this concept until the cows come home in hopes that someone starts listening…..FIND A NICHE AND DEVELOP IT, AND PRESENT YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT IN THAT NICHE!
I used capital letters to show you how serious I am with this point.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Content mills would not be able to hire you for $5 for a 500 word article if there was nobody willing to do it for that pay. This is simple Supply and Demand. There is a huge demand for online writing, but unfortunately there is a glut of writers willing to do that online writing for practically nothing.
There once was a day when writing was considered a craft, and people had to pay craftsman wages for that craft. Today it’s all been watered down because people are just looking for a warm body who can fill in keywords and write decent grammar, and do it for five bucks.
I say to hell with that!
Establish a niche, give quality work, and do not settle for less than your time and effort is worth. Got it?
SITE OF THE DAY
When I am looking for extra work I always go to Craigslist for local listings for writers. There I find local companies who I can establish a rapport with, and there I can pick and choose depending on how much money is being offered. You don’t need a link to Craigslist, do you? Good because I’m not supplying one. J
SUBMISSION OF THE DAY
Cape Cod Life is a regional magazine that obviously deals with lifestyles in the Cape Cod area. They pay quite well and no, you do not have to live in that area to write about that lifestyle. Check them out here and then use your imagination and creativity. Give it a go; what do you have to lose?
CONTEST OF THE DAY
NANO Fiction contest…..short stories of 300 words or less….deadline September 1st….you can find the guidelines and submission information here. Seems like a cool contest to me.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
You really don’t need me to explain this any longer, do you?
ALTERNATIVE THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Get creative! How about some YouTube to supplement your writing? How about starting your own writer’s forum? How about putting together a writer’s group in your town and meet on a regular basis? How about doing interviews on a local radio program? How about….how about….how about……
MORE TOMORROW OF COURSE
I hope you at least got something out of this to think about. I really want you all to succeed, but it is going to require you to step outside the box and do the extras necessary. I have a ton of ideas but you have to do the work.
Have a great day and thank you for visiting.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
Again preaching to the choir and you know that I am in total agreement with you on content mills. Seriously, thank you for all your thoughts on this and hoping you are enjoying your Monday now!!
Always, Janine, and if I can ever be of any help to you,, just let me know.
GET THAT KID AWAY FROM THE FURNITURE!
I was thinking of your darling daughter when I saw that picture, Lizzy. LOL
just stopping by to say hi. 🙂 completely swamped with work but m.loving it. sorry for the typos…on my tablet. see you more in about two weeks.
Good luck with all those projects and jobs and such..thanks for taking the time to visit.
WOO HOO! I bet you’ve gotten 10,000 more ‘fans’ from that GRAND opener of a line, eh? haha..
I adore austin, Texas and wish your friend all the best. How does one ‘sell advertising’? exactly other than sign up for stupid adsense?
as far as a fear of failure? Isn’t it the exact same thing as fear of success?
Have a wonderful tuesday, dear Bill-bro!
As far as that kid goes, my first thought is: DEFINITELY left handed! HAHA…
Leslie, you and I both thought left-handed when we saw the picture. LOL
Advertisers will pay for their ad on your website or blog….a little per month doesn’t hurt, right? You just contact them and make your sales pitch…something to think about.
Have a great Tuesday my southpaw friend.
bill
Thank you Bill for your continued motivation and for your words of wisdom in those emails a few months ago. I have revamped my online writing website – http://www.melaniechisnall.com (if you wanted to have a look) and am thrilled with it. Much simpler and to the point. I also started applying for jobs today and got an interview this week! Writing jobs….no more content mills for me, no sireee! Have a super day!
Mel, that is music to my ears. Great job my friend. You have the talent to make it in this business, and you have the heart to continue through the tough times. I’m rooting for you from 6000 miles away.