A Guide to Making Money Online Through Writing

Below is my guide to how you can make yourself some money simply through using FREE resources available on the internet. I cannot say how much you will make but if you follow my guide and are willing to put the work in you WILL make money.

Sites that Pay You to Write Online

First things first you need to sign up to free sites that pay you to write online. These are known as Revenue Sharing Websites. I can recommend a few- there are plenty but don't join them all- you have to be realistic about what you can fit it. You will achieve better results if you update your content regularly and network on the sites so it pays to just stick to a few- or even just one to begin with. A further consideration is that many sites require you to reach a certain earning threshold before they will payout. If you are writing on several different sites you will take longer to reach the earning threshold than you would if you were concentrating your efforts on one or two sites.

Why Should I Join Two Different Sites?

You should consider joining two different revenue sharing websites if you have two distinct areas of expertise. You could then use one platform to write about your primary subject area and another platform to write about your secondary subject area.

The reason for doing this is that if you write about one area or niche you can establish yourself as an expert and key player in that online community. You want to look like an expert not a Jack of All- Trades. Keep your two areas separate and use different personas. 

Once you have joined a few revenue sharing websites get writing. It really is that simple- the money will start of slow but as you produce more quality content and network you will see it begin to increase.

I first joined HubPages and I have never regretted that decision.  For more information on HubPages click here. If you would like to join  HubPages for Free click on the link below:

Other Revenue Sharing Websites to Consider are:

• Infobarrel
• Squidoo 
• Bubblews

Set Up Your Own Website or Blog

You might be content to stick to writing for revenue sharing websites and if so then you can skip this section. However, there are many benefits to starting your own website or blog as well. Benefits are:

• You own all the content and are in charge
• You don't have to share what you make from advertising etc 
• You can use your website to link to your other online writing
• You can have your own domain name

Don't be daunted by the thought of setting up your own blog or website. There are loads of totally free web-building services out there that will help you build your own blog or website and host it for you. It is really simple and you don't need to know any html.

I use Weebly and Blogger and both are free, easy to use and produce a good final product. You can also monetize both by adding Google Adsense and affiliate links like Amazon. If your website really took off and become popular then the sky is the limit- you can sell advertising space to companies or join affiliate programmes and earn through those as well.

Should I do a Blog or a Website?

Remember once you have set up a website you can, in theory, leave it ticking away and maybe just update it every now and again. A blog works a bit differently and should ideally be updated several times a week. A blog is a work in progress and you can publish and start gaining a readership with just one post. A website requires you to do more ground work before you even begin. Think about which would work best for you and your time. Weebly is good as it offers a bit of both. When you create your free website you can add a blog to it-so you could have a website all set up and use the blog feature to occasionally add new content or updates.

What Should I Write About?

Once you have decided whether to blog or create a website (or do a bit of both) you need to decide what you are going to write about.Your blog or website needs to be about something you enjoy, are passionate about and know about. It can be the same as what you write about for the revenue sharing websites but do not use the same content on both. A blog or website that complements your other writing works well as you can link back to one another. So for instance if you blog about crafts you could create a blog sharing your family doing crafts and give away free resources.

Try to Find a Niche

You might think its a good idea to write about a really popular subject- it will get a lot of searches and there is a massive audience but remember the most popular subjects will all ready have thousands of people writing about them- why would anyone care what you've got to add to the mix? If possible find a niche you can write about and then narrow it down as far as you can. Yes you will have a smaller target audience but you might be the only one out there writing this stuff so who is everyone going to come to? Yep you. And if your niche isn't that specialist that you are the only one then at least you can make sure you are the BEST out there.

Writing About Bits and Bobs

So what if you have some areas that your not an expert about but that interest you or you know a bit about? I think Bubblews is the perfect outlet for doing what I call 'bits and bobs' writing. Why? Because posts don't have to be as long - only 400 characters- you can make fairly good money from it and it is a great place to go when you want to write something quick or something that doesn't quite fit in with your other writing areas. For more information on Bubblews click here. To join Bubblews for free now click here.

Be Friendly

If you go onto HubPages or Bubblews and find the top earners there is one thing they'll all have in common- well a few things really. One will be that they have a LOT of content. Another thing, hopefully, will be that their content is of a good quality. But the thing I want to talk about is their social connections. Most revenue sharing websites have a way of following writers. People who are making money from writing online will have a lot of connections.

The more connections or followers etc that you have the more you are going to become 'known' and the more page views you are likely to have, the more social shares you are likely to get- the more money you are likely to earn. Here is a quick list of things you can do to get lots of followers:

• Write quality content
• Write new content frequently
• Connect/ follow/ befriend as many people as you can
• Be a good friend- write comments on your connections work, like it, share it, praise it and people will do the same for you
• Follow people with similar interests to you as they are more likely to follow you back and actually read your work
• Follow people who you genuinely have an interest in- either because you like their style or what they write about- it will make it easier to be a good connection if you actually value and enjoy reading what they write

You'll be surprised how friendly and supportive the word of online writing is. Most people operate on a policy of if you help me out I'll help you out so give and you shall receive.

Get into the Habit of Sharing

Once you have written whatever it is you have written- a blog post, an article, a recipe whatever you should spend just as long- sometimes even longer- sharing and promoting what you have written. The internet is a big old place- getting bigger by the second so don't wait for people to stumble across your content- take it to them! This is probably another blog post so click here to see my guide to sharing your work. Suffice to say you have to promote your work to get it seen. The best way to do that nowadays is through social networking.

A Review

1. Workout what you are going to write about
2. Join one or two revenue sharing websites- keep your different areas of expertise separate
3. Join Bubblews to write any 'bits and bobs' writing
4. Set up your own blog or website
5. Make friends and connections
6. Share and Promote Your Work