If you are professional blogger who has taken the first hard step of setting up your own blog and seen some traffic in the process, the next thing to look for is freelance and guest writing opportunities to sharpen your writing skills and become popular in the process.
There are many places around the Web where you can look out for opportunities to write and get paid in the process (not always!!). I have tried to identify a few of those in this post, where you can showcase your writing skills.
Write for Mashable
Mashable is a very popular blog focusing on Web 2.0 and Social networking news. With about 196k subscribers, one can hardly question about the reach and popularity that Mashable can offer.
If you are Web savvy and have a lot to share with the world, then you can right away apply for a Guest writing position with Mashable. Details on this can be found here – http://mashable.com/writers/
But the major downside is that – the guest posts are unpaid for and it is really hard to get noticed if you are an amateur blogger. But once you get an opportunity to write, then the other benefits (read Popularity) might overcome the monetary ones.
Write for NETTUTS
Are you into Web Design and Development? Do you have handful of techniques to share with like minded folks? Then NETTUTS must be your popular destination!
Their primary focus areas are – Web Design, CSS, jQuery, PHP, CMS (like WordPress, Joomla) and Ruby on Rails. So if you are proficient and interested in any of these technologies, then NETTUTS is a right bet. Head right here for more details on the writing opportunities – http://net.tutsplus.com/about/write-a-tutorial/
Some nice things about writing for NETTUTS are:
- It is NOT an unpaid position. For every post published, they pay you $150 via Paypal
- If they see you a good fit for their web site, then you can become a regular writer and get paid for each of your posts
- Being a popular site, NETTUTS can provide you the much needed exposure and possibly better traffic to your own blog
Write for MakeUseOf.com
makeuseof.com is a technology website that focuses on reviewing applications and web sites that are COOL, FREE and USEFUL. Also, you can find a lot of “How To” guides, if you are a regular reader of their blog.
If you feel this a good fit, you can apply for a writing position with MakeUseOf.com. Follow the instructions on this page for more details on how to go about this – http://www.makeuseof.com/write-for-make-use-of/
Some points about writing for MakeUseOf.com are:
- This is a PAID position, where you will be paid about $25 per post via Paypal (again this is subjective)
- Links to your website or blog at the end of each post, that can boost traffic
- If you are an active writer for MakeUseOf.com, you can qualify to be listed among their ‘Authors’
- You get full editorial support for writing your articles
Write for Javalobby
If you are passionate about Java and have few things to share, then I would strongly suggest you to consider writing for Javalobby.
Word of caution – this is an UNPAID position!! But getting to write here is very simple. Just register yourself with Javalobby and start posting articles immediately. Once you gain popularity with your posts, you can start receiving the much needed popularity and attention, which can be converted as traffic to your blog/website.
Other Freelance Writing Resources
There are a wealth of Freelance writing resources around the web. Here are a few to mention:
Freelancewriting.com – Articles and Resources to get started with freelance writing
Helium.com – A place to showcase you writings, participate in writing contests and also enter the marketplace for professional writing
Jobs.problogger.net – A jobs board to know about quality freelance job opportunites
Online-writing-jobs.com – Offers all kind of freelance writing opportunities
eHow.com – Write How to articles and get paid in the process
You can also refer to this post by Mashable for a resources on Freelancing – http://mashable.com/2009/03/03/freelance/
Few words to Prospective Writers
- Before you apply for a Writing position with a Blog or a Website, make sure to know about their niche, topics and popular posts. A best way to do this, is to Subscribe for their blog/site via RSS and keep a vigil for sometime (say 1 or 2 weeks)
- DO NOT just look for paid positions. Unpaid positions may be less attractive, but the exposure and the resulting traffic might complement the compensation. Also, once you establish yourself, then paid positions will be easy to come by
- Almost all popular blogs/sites are on Twitter. Make sure you follow them on Twitter, to get regular updates on Writing opportunities, contests and vacancies
Good luck to all writers out there and have fun writing!!
Photo Credit: Wendy Piersall
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Article by Ashwin Chandrasekaran
Founder of Thoughts Unlimited. Loves Technology, Mobile Web, Blogging and Internet Marketing. Runs another Blog on Web Business and Internet Marketing at Power Web Business
Ashwin has written 175 awesome articles.
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