Writing Articles for Freelancer.com

lucky_me_2

I work for a magazine and we pay our freelancers anywhere between £100 - £300 for articles depending on the length of these - we are a specialist magazine.

It wouldnt hurt for anyone who has experience in a specialist area - say craft, art, bikes, cars etc to find out the editor or assistant editor's email address or phone number and drop them a line with some previous work examples. I know our editors are always willing to give people a chance to write for us.

Also a lot of the people that write for us are not experienced writers so anyone can do it - afterall that's what the editors are there for!

Superheavy

I've been having a look over a couple of the ads on this, and put in a few bids, but I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on what Search Engine Optimisation is? Is it just density of keywords or is there more to it? Also, a lot of them mention passing copyscape for plagiarism, I assume this is quite a good tool that isn't going to just randomly declare articles copied?

Superheavy

I've won a couple of projects on this site so far, and have been bashing out 450-500 word articles at around 3-4 per hour, and I hope to get my rating up so I can go after more lucrative work. One thing to bear in mind is you can't withdraw until you have at least £30, and your first payment has a 15-day clearing for fraud checks. As long as it arrives eventually I'm not that bothered about that, but not great if you need the money fast.

*LoveBug*

Wow 3-4 articles per hour, how do you manage that? I do freelance writing as well, but as I am a perfectionist I take way too long over one article. When you are only getting $3.50-$4 per one you can't take hours over one article.

So what are your secrets? Are you just doing private work or are you with a content company?

I have no job at the moment that is bringing in anything like a full time wage and really need to start earning good money. Am looking for a outside job until the writing takes off fully but need money now.

I have only ever had good things said about my writing and never had any rejections which is good I guess.

Good luck everyone

Kiramanic

Longwinded, unsolicited info about freelance sites incoming:

Freelancing job sites like the one mentioned by the OP are where those with few skills or no portfolio go to find terribly paid jobs in a number of freelance industries. I started there myself making an entire WordPress theme for a grand total of $40...it's shocking really.

Of all these sites, Freelancer.com is probably the worst, due to the sheer numbers of people on there willing to work for basically nothing.

Of all the job types posted on these sites, writing is both the most contested and the worst paid, so combined with using Freelancer.com it's definitely not a lucrative endeavour.

HOWEVER. There are plenty of other freelancing sites, Elance and oDesk are a bit better re: quality of buyer. You still have to wade through tons of crap jobs and unreasonable buyers, and you're still bidding against ridiculously low amounts, but it's slightly less horrific than on Freelancer.

I've worked through most of these freelancing sites at one time or another when client work has been thin on the ground, thankfully not in the writing category since that's stupidly competitive whichever site you're on, but I do have a few wise words.

1) Learn to recognise serious buyers - there's no point bidding on a job that you know is going to go to the first person to bid $1 per hour, instead take your time and choose the projects that sound like they're posted by a reasonable human being.

2) Personalise your proposal - it doesn't have to be rewritten for every job but keeping something a bit more "you" on hand and just filling in the blanks for each project goes over a lot better with serious buyers than a simple "Ready to start, I can complete this project" cut and paste jobbie like you'll see most people using.

3) Charge reasonable rates - realistically you'll have to bid low to get your first couple of jobs but as soon as you get some feedback, put your rates up to a reasonable level. When one sensibly-paid job is worth the same as 20 crap ones you might as well just concentrate on winning that one.

3) Get your own site - use the same name for your domain and your freelancer site profile. You'd be surprised how many buyers Google a provider, whether to check your experience or to be naughty and contact you for work outside the site and bypass fees.

I've had quite a few clients from these sites that have turned into years long repeat work outside of the site so it's definitely a good idea to have a web presence other than your provider profile...makes you look more professional and anything that could sway a decision in your direction has to be worth it.

Superheavy

*LoveBug* wrote: »

Wow 3-4 articles per hour, how do you manage that?

I have only ever had good things said about my writing and never had any rejections which is good I guess.

Good luck everyone

Hi Lovebug. To be honest the articles I've been writing are specifically designed to present a certain density of keywords in a fairly pleasant way. They don't go into much detail and include a fair bit of fluff in there.

And for the rewriting work it's just paraphrasing and ensuring that the words don't match in strings of three or more to pass copyscape.

Meredith

Hi everyone - I'm a professional freelance writer and have been for the past 8 years (employed in staff jobs for 12 years before that). I can tell you right now that this is not a quick and easy way to earn money - it is hard work that takes time and practice.

These "content farm" sites are a complete rip-off for writers. Think of it as a modern day sweat shop.

Also, please bear in mind that when you write for the internet, you will be legally responsible for any mistakes, libel or copyright infringement. If you get sued you will be on your own in court, as these publishers usually require you to indemnify them against any claims in the standard T&C.

If you do want to make a little cash, though, I would recommend writing snippets for your favourite magazines. For example, Private Eye pays a tenner here and there for "lookalikes" and "Colemanballs". Some women's magazines pay for top tips like how to clean your windows or stay beautiful on a shoestring.

If you want to get serious about writing then I think it is the best career in the world. There is a lot of freedom and it's fun - as long as you have nerves of steel because cash flow makes life a constant rollercoaster ride. You can start by writing for smaller publications and websites, and build up a portfolio. As you get more work published, you can go for the higher-paying assignments.

You'll advance quickly and have higher earning potential if you specialise. Start writing about what you know best - gardening, aircraft, a craft, your profession, whatever you love - and you will always find a market.

msph321

Thanks for the helpful information. I have a full-time job but am looking for work to do on the side to increase my income. I'm going to look into this further. You've all been very helpful.

kevanf1

Is there any money or even jobs in proof reading? I see so many grammatical and spelling errors in various written work that I could weep at times.

tmrick

The hardest part of sites like elance is landing your first job, and to do that you need to bid real low