Some of you may be wondering how you might be able to make some extra money by writing online, or you might even want to start writing articles as a career. In any case, I’ve got some experience that you might find to be beneficial to where you are at. No, this isn’t going to give you a surefire formula that will get you filthy rich overnight. Instead, this article is going to show you the steps I took to find fairly quick success as a freelance writer, and I’m certain that, if you take the advice given below, you will have a good idea of how you can start earning some money by freelance writing on the internet.
About six months ago I made a decision. I said to myself… “For the rest of your life, you will work only on your terms.” I meant it. Now I don’t have anything against the people who work nine to five, in fact, I believe they are the backbone of this country. However, that life isn’t for me. I like a little bit of freedom and I don’t like it when someone is looking over my shoulder. So, I made the decision and, even though I hadn’t the slightest clue of how I was going to make money writing, I started exploring my options.
With no degree and very little experience, I concluded that I’d have to begin by writing cheap-paying assignment and that if I produced my best work, I could work my way up. It didn’t matter to me how little I would get paid, or how long I would spend writing… I was one-hundred percent sure that I was going to get to where I wanted to be… no matter what I was going to find a way to make money writing articles online. And this mindset I had was probably the most crucial component of finding successful early in my career. In fact, this mindset is something that can help anyone in any career or walk of life. You have to have faith. You have to know without a doubt that you are going to be successful in whatever it is that you are undertaking and you HAVE to be ready to give it your all. For the first time in my life, I had the mentality necessary to succeed…
In the first month I busted my ass writing 14 hours a day, writing 500 word articles for $3 a piece. Looking back now, it was kind of brutal, but I didn’t even notice. It was so exciting to me, I was actually making money! My enthusiasm to write blurred my vision to how badly paying this website really was. I think enthusiasm is also very important in any undertaking you do in your life. Here’s the bottom line, you’re never going to find a job where every little second is amazing and you love everything about it. However, by being enthusiastic, you can leap over those inconveniences that accompany any work you do.
So, as my attitude and faith in knowing that I would make it as a successful freelance writer, provided my support, I began searching for better opportunities. About one month after deciding to start freelance writing, I came across a site that was in beta testing. I figured that if this site was just starting, maybe I’d have a chance to get on something that would turn out to be more lucrative down the road. At first, the work available on the site was non-existent. In fact, in the first month writing for the new site, I had only written one article and it was on a topic that I knew NOTHING about. But I got paid $11.50 for completing it. (During that time period I continued writing my $3 articles to give me something to fall back on.) About a month later, I grabbed a couple more assignments on the same topic. With each assignment I took, I made sure that I was producing the best work I possibly could.
I don’t know what it was about this site, I just had a good feeling about it from the get go. After a few assignments on the subject I knew little about, I was contacted by one of the editors. She asked me if I’d like more work, and of course I said yes. This was my first big break (really, I’ve only had about two ‘big breaks’ in my short sixth month career… but it sounds cool to say ‘my first’ because I’m expecting a ton more in the future). So, I started getting regular work and this subject that I used to know little about, I was starting to learn a bunch more about. And whenever they asked if I could take on more, I ALWAYS said yes.
In my past, there was a few jobs that I had that I could have excelled at. However, I never had the attitude and correct mental state to do what it took to get ahead. Instead I always just did whatever was required of me to get by. With this new career, I am eager to say ‘yes’ to EVERYTHING that comes my way… and that take on this whole thing has helped me get off to a successful start.
As the work kept piling in from my one client, I became more and more efficient. After about two months, I was making about $1500 a month writing for them. Now, there’s a lot of people out there making a lot more than $1500 a month and that’s awesome for them, because that’s what I want. But $1500 now, from where I was six months ago, might as well be a billion dollars. I didn’t know how I was going to make money… not even the slightest clue. All I had was faith and enthusiasm.
Finally, my second big break came about two weeks ago. (About six months into my career.) I had just finished an article and I had an idea I wanted to pitch to my client. So, I did. Within a day I got a direct message from my client asking me to email her. Upon emailing her, she told me that she was looking for a single writer to build a database for a new client for their company. It wasn’t the idea that I pitched, but who cares! It was a better opportunity! The articles I would be writing would pay four times as much as I was currently making. Of course, as you can imagine, I accepted with enthusiasm.
It’s incredible to me to see what happens when you take a chance. You MUST take chances if you want to find success. Sure, what I pitched wasn’t considered, however, I was given a far better opportunity than I currently had. And that was HUGE.
So, to recap… the three things that have produced some success for me in my short career as a freelance writer are: have faith, be enthusiastic, and take chances when you see them.
I believe that no matter what kind of undertaking you come across in your life, be it a freelance writer, business owner, or food eating champion, those three things will always help you be successful. They are definitely how I’ve gone from nothing to something in such a short amount of time and they are definitely how I will continue to grow.
If you are seeking ways to gain writing success, continue reading.
