Make money writing online

If you want to get rich quick - then sorry this is not the hub for you, I do not have the answer to that one (otherwise I would be on a beach somewhere right now). There may be people better equipped to put you on the path to instant riches - if you do find them, please let me know too.

If on the otherhand, you would like to make a steady income online then please read on. I am relatively new to Hubpages, but I have been making money through various methods over the past few years (all legal!).

I would like to give the following guidlines to help you start you online earning career.

Join many paid to blog / paid to write sites

Don't put all of your eggs into one writing basket (although the best basket is hubpages). Sign up to a few sites and experiment to see which site suits your style of writing. Concentrate on one main site but don't neglect the others. Maintianing a good reputation on other sites will help you to drive traffic to your main site.

My hub on Paid to write sites will give you a few to join if you are stuck for ideas. It's a shameless plug for a previous article of mine but demonstrates the point that I am trying to make here.

It's a career not a get quick rich scheme

Always remember this. The internet is awash with people promising you untold earnings, I can't put a figure on it but I am sure the majority of them only take money from you with little return. Earning money is possible but it requires your own initiative and hard work.

Writing takes time and all too often the fruits of your writing may take days, months and sometimes years. A lot of people join sites like Hubpages and Squidoo and get frustrated when their articles do not bring in revenue. As a result they lose heart and quit. The more determined flourish and some even make a handsome income

Research your work thoroughly

This is an absolute must. Well written articles are likely to be bookmarked and referred to / forwarded to others. If you take the time to research an article, it goes without saying that you are more likely to write more accurate and informative piece than if you didn't do your research.

Research takes time, but remember - the article you are writing will be online forever. If it constantly attracts hits, it will potentially earn money for you forever.

I've done my research but I don't know how to write

LEARN.  Read other articles online, join forums - if you desperate to spend money then buy some books (only if you really want to buy books, all the info is available freely online). Start by writing things in your own words.  Run a spell & and grammar check and read it to someone, ask their opinion.   Post it online and check the feedback. Your work will improve the more your write, so practice, practice, practice!

Don't Cheat

Ever heard the saying honesty is the best policy? Well it is 100% true. Plagarism is not clever and faking articles (spreading lies) will just lower the quality of your work - if that doesn't deter you, think of your self respect.

Niches smiches!

If you are new to this game, and you've been googling, you may have come accross advice about niches. People are always advising you to pick a niche and write about it. They may go on to advise you that legal and medical niches pay the highest, so you find yourself writing about Abestosis and Accident claims in the hope that you can hit the bigtime.

Although this theory has it's merits, I don't fully subscribe to it. I am not trying to discredit proponents of the niche theory, all I am saying is embrace it with a little common sense. Variety is the spice of life - so write about anything you like. Trips to the museum, the new vacuum you just purchased or the movie you watched last night.

In a nutshell, the more things you write about about, the wider you cast your net. Remember, you are trying to drive constant traffic to your work. The problem I have with niches is that they are niches, people rarely need to read about them constantly. Unless you are a seasoned pro, narrowing your work to 1 niche may lead to dissapointment.

Monetize your work

Join add programs such as Kontera, Infolinks, and Adsense and place adds on your page. Join affiliate schemes too and use them to advertise things relevant to your article. Don't go crazy with affiliate schemes though, read around to find out which ones are good and which ones are bad.

Never part with your cash

There are people out there that will claim they can boost your page ranking and drive traffic to you. Others will claim that by being a premium member of their particular affiliate scheme, you will have a better chance of making money. DON'T believe them. This is about making money not spending it.

I've done all this but nobody is seeing my pages

Promote yourself. Join sites like Twitter and Facebook and tell others where to find your work. Add urls to your email signature and forum signatures. Being helpful on forums will help you get noticed. Post comments and links on other site. All in all, this will require a little hard work from you but it will pay off.

Make friends online and exchange links, ask your friends and family to participate in online writing. These are also good ways of promoting yourself.

Important note Don't spam your address by email or forums, this will just annoy people and put them off visiting your work


Be patient

Success rarely comes overnight. Consistantly writing new material and promoting it will pay off in the long run so keep at it. Always be realistic, I keep saying this is not a get rich quick method of earning so don't be dissapointed if you have not made a heap of money in your first few months online. Simplestuff has written an excellent hub for those of you who may be losing heart, you can read it here.

What am I getting out of writing this?

Well, my success depends on yours. The more quality content that is out there the better it will be for all of us.