In our last post, we talked about how freelance writing can be an extra source of income for you or even be a full time income, giving you the chance to work from home. We talked about the basic aspects of freelance writing, some basics of SEO writing and some general pointers on how to promote yourself as a freelance writer.
In this next part of using freelance writing as a means of making money online, we will focus on some common mistakes to avoid, the pricing part of freelance writing along with some other stuff. Here we go.
What to avoid?
In the world of online jobs and ways of making money online, there are scams galore. That’s why, most people cringe at the very phrase of “making money online.” The world of freelance writing is no different. There are plenty of companies out there who would take your services as a freelance writer and then vanish in thin air when it comes to the time of payment. Although there is no foolproof mechanism to avoid such scam companies, here is what you can take care of to minimize your chances of getting duped.
- Choose a reputed company- When you are looking for freelance writing jobs, make sure you work only for the reputed companies out there. The hallmark of a reputed SEO agency or a content writing agency is a professional looking website and an active presence on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. You can go through the profiles of content writing companies and SEO companies on the web. The profile of the companies would give you an idea of what sort of company you are dealing with. A reputed company providing freelance writing jobs would also have a definite payment policy in place and would not avoid any of your questions, whatever they may be. In fact, a legitimate company who is offering freelancers a chance to make money online would always be ready to answer your e-mail queries promptly and even respond to your calls. Those are some good pointers to keep in mind when looking for legitimate writing opportunities for making money online.
- Avoid freelance.com - There are various web portals for freelancers out there where companies post their writing requirements for freelancers to bid on them. For every project that comes your way, the portal takes a certain amount from the total cost of the project. Freelance.com is one such portal; or at least, it claims it be. Numerous complaints have come to light against the portal where they have duped people off their money. Just Google “Freelance.com scams” and you would get plenty of proof to back that claim. If you are using freelance portals for making money online, it is best to avoid freelance.com. You would end up wasting your time on that one.
The pricing part
Most people, when they choose to work as freelance writers in order to make money online do not have a clue about the general pricing in the industry. Thus, they end up quoting too high and losing out on plum projects or they quote too low and end up working for peanuts. Although the price for freelance writing varies from project to project and company to company, the general thumb of rule is- anything less than INR 100 for an article of 400-500 words is a very bad deal.
Of course, you can quote as high as you want. But you must keep in mind your experience in the field and the quality you are delivering to justify the value to the company. Once you get the pricing part right, you are well on your way to start as a freelance writer and make money online.
But that’s not the end of the story. We have plenty more coming up for you in the world of freelance writing and other methods of making money online. Keep watching this space for more.
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