Method #12: Associated Content,
Helium, Constant-Content
As I mentioned in earlier sections, working as a freelance writer can be highly
lucrative; however, what I did not mention originally is that there are several other
possibilities when it comes to freelance writing. You don’t always have to look for
a buyer; and then create a project that matches her specifications.
Rather, there are other models of freelance writing that don’t involve you using
Elance or forums to find customers. In particular, sites like
www.associatedcontent.com, www.helium.com, and www.constant-content.com
permit you to participate in such alternative freelancing approaches.
Within this class of sites, there are two important additional categories: 1) the
category of sites that facilitate direct sales of your writing; and 2) the category of
sites that permit you to post content—and then pay you according to how
frequently it is viewed on the site.
Category 1 Sites
Sites like www.associatedcontent and www.constant-content.com will permit you
to post articles on their site. Publishers will then browse the site for topics of
interest; and purchase your articles if they think it would be a good match for their
site’s content.
One benefit of using this category of freelance site is that your articles will usually
sell for a high price (i.e. for $15-20/each, rather than $5/each). Additionally, if you
truly enjoy writing, the higher prices will permit you to create something requires
research and careful thought, rather than something that simply requires you to
write as quickly as is possible.
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The major downside of this type of freelancing is that there’s no guarantee that
anyone will buy your articles at the end of the day. This means that you could
invest hours in your articles; and could ultimately never make any money.
Category 2 Sites
Unlike category 1 sites, category 2 sites, such as www.helium.com, do not match
you with a buyer. Instead, you give the site your content; and, in return, you gain
revenue whenever someone views your article. Usually, this amounts to
something like 1-3 cents per view.
In general, if you plan to use category 2 sites, you should be careful about which
topics you pick. Since these sites usually generate revenue through Google
AdSense, they often pay accordingly. This means that you should write about
topics that businesses spend a lot of advertising money on.
It might not initially be obvious what these topics are, but if you spend some time
on Google Adwords searching for keywords, you should be able to scrape
together some keywords that people pay a great deal to advertise for.
Summary
Ultimately, neither of these methods provides a lighting-fast way to make money.
If you need money today or by the end of the week, you definitely have other
options that are better (such as using Elance.com or Guru.com to find freelancing
projects); however, as a form of supplementary income, these sites are not a bad
option.
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