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How to Make Money Online Through Discussion Boards and Forums

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Online discussion boards or forums are frequently found on websites and blogs because they encourage reader participation and increase site traffic. Many online forums are set up as hobby sites centered on a particular subject matter and generate no increased revenue for their owner. However, it is also possible to sell products via an online forum. In fact, given a sufficient number of members, you can even market your online forum as a product in itself and make money strictly through paid memberships.

How to Start an Online Forum

Thanks to various software platforms, it’s not too hard to start a discussion board. If you own a WordPress-based blog or website, you can choose from many plugins (e.g., WP Forum Server) and install the one that best suits your needs.

There are also online forum vendors, including Yuku and Proboards, which offer free hosted forums that are ready-to-go. What’s nice about forum service vendors is that you don’t have to have a website or blog in order to start your own forum. You also get a little bit of free publicity from the vendor site and a spot in their forum directory. Should you eventually wish to link your website to your online forum, that option is also available (for a small yearly fee).

How to Manage a Discussion Board

It goes without saying that an online discussion board will need upkeep and periodic maintenance. Most online discussion boards are managed by one or several moderators who answer threads (i.e., topics), start discussions, handle inflammatory and/or inappropriate posts, etc. Additional software programs may be installed to scan for inappropriate language and/or uploads- especially if some of the members are known to be under 18 years of age.

Generally speaking, discussion boards run and police themselves. Most Web users have been on discussion boards in the past (some as far back as the newsgroup era) and know better than to “feed the trolls” or to personally attack other members. In most cases, members also know better than to post spam or promotional content- though you can never tell for sure. This is why moderators must use due diligence and not let discussion boards descend into complete anarchy.

How to make some money from an online forum

There are many different ways to monetize an online forum, from posting banner ads and in-text links to doing a product sponsorship complete with individual threads devoted to that sponsored product. There are also affiliate and CPA (cost-per-action) programs that pay forum owners per ad click or product sale.

In short, if you have an audience, there are advertisers and advertising networks that will gladly pay you for product placement. Online forum vendors are also not shy about generating extra money from their services, as noted by the recent partnering of Proboards with VigLink.

Banner ads and sponsored links may be fine when an online forum is just getting started; however, the older and more sophisticated sites don’t clutter up their spaces with overt advertising. Instead, these forums partner with companies and individuals whose products they can fully endorse, provide training for, and even expand.

Consider, for example, a discussion board on niche website development that strategically partners with and even offers product discounts through a hosting provider. Promoting the hosting provider makes sense when you consider the focus of this discussion board. Instead of coming off as spammy, such a promotion results in members being grateful for the information.

How to make big money from an online forum

Promoting the products of others is certainly a viable method for generating extra cash through an online forum, but that’s not where the big bucks are. To really harness the monetary potential of an online forum, you have to make your own products. Don’t think you have a product or two in you?

Think again.

Managing an online forum puts you in daily contact with a number of individuals, each of whom comes with his or her own wealth of knowledge and experience in your chosen topic. Over time, you and these subject matter experts learn from each other and become smarter as a whole. As a result, you probably have a thing or two to teach to newbie members just getting started in your forum. Why not offer paid classes and/or workshops to teach what you’ve learned? Or, if you don’t want to bother with teaching, create and sell ebooks, software programs, digital tools, etc.?

Alternately, consider the nature of the forum itself and what it offers. If you’ve already have amassed a good number of tutorials, classes, videos and podcasts on your site, this information can also be “sold” via paid memberships. Many top-notch forum communities, such as Copyblogger’s Authority, are private (subscription-based). Hey, good information ain’t free.

You can go even bigger than just building products and maybe start a company (or two) from your forum community and the ideas it generates. One great example is SitePoint; its forum resulted in the spin-off of two companies, 99designs and Flippa.

The Power of the Forum

Establishing and nurturing a community of members improves your website traffic and number of repeat visits- but that’s only the beginning. Online forums provide you with valuable market insight into the topics your members are interested in, what products they’re likely to buy, and even if they’d be willing to help you out with some initiative like a high-profile interview or product launch. Having such information makes for some potent monetization possibilities.

How to Get Free Money for Your Invention or Business Idea

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Got a great business or invention idea but not a lot of capital? Not to worry; the good news is that there are many federal, state and crowdfunding sites to help you out. There are also many contests looking for innovators just like you. The best part about all these sites is that they give you free money, not loans, in order to get started. You just can’t beat free money.

Federal and State Grants

The feds offer over 1,000 grants on their grants.gov website, which takes some time to work through and get the hang of. There is also the more user-friendly aggregator site, Federal Grants, which provides streamlined information divided up into different business categories and owner demographics (e.g., women, minorities). The site also gives you directions on how to qualify for and apply for federal grants as well as what to do once you’re approved. The U.S. Small Business Administration also aggregates and provides information about federal and state government grants; you can use the SBA Loans and Grants Tool to help you find money.

If your business or invention idea involves the commercialization of technology, then you definitely need to check out the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. These programs award money to small businesses that engage in R&D and/or high tech applications.

Contests

Many business schools offer business plan writing contests; for example, in MIT’s Business Plan Competition, semi-finalists present a 20-page business report and the winner gets $100,000. University of Wisconsin’s business school offers several business plan competitions; in fact, Chris Meyer of Sector67 (whom ITT interviewed) launched his hacker space after winning several UW business plan competitions.

If you’re not affiliated with a business school, that’s OK too. Lots of companies and foundations offer business plan, elevator pitch and other contests; BizPlanCompetitions is an online directory that lists over 400 business plan competitions offered by corporations and foundations. Ben Franklin Technology Partners offers a $50,000 prize to companies that submit the best business plan, while the Business Owners’ Idea Cafe offers a $1,000 cash prize to any business that simply submits an innovative solution to an everyday problem.

Crowdfunding

Sites like Indiegogo, Kickstarter, Peerbacker and GoFundMe enable you to pre-sell your finished product or service to your backers and raise capital quickly. You must raise your desired amount or the money goes back to your backers; in other words, if you raise only $800 of your desired $1,200 goal, you will not get that $800. Also, because your invention or business idea is made public, there is the risk that someone may try to copy it. As a result, some crowdfunders obtain provisional patents on their ideas before revealing them on a crowdfunding site. Compared to regular patents, provisional patents are fairly cheap and easy to file, and they give your idea one year of legal “identity” before expiring.

Showcasing your idea well on a crowdfunding site is essential to getting pledges (i.e., money) from backers. Think rich media presentations, with lots of audio and video files and maybe even some cartoons added in for good measure. The more you can show to your backers, the more likely you’ll get them excited about your project- and that means more pledges coming in.

Regional/City Grants

Many small towns and communities are acutely aware of the need to help develop local businesses and most have EDPs, or economic development plans (enabled by economic development committees) that make room for business grants. These grants may not be big- think $2,000- but they can get you going on your business idea, especially if all you need is a few tools or software programs and can perform most of your work at home.

Keep in mind that, because these grants are created from taxpayer money, there will probably be some requirement for you to go before a city council and report on your progress (or lack thereof). To find out if your local town has an EDP, just go to the city’s website and search on EDP. Click here for an example of an EDP.

Angels

Unlike the angels that you might be thinking of, these angels are more earthbound and loaded with investment cash. They can be located through various directories such as Gust and Go4Funding. The average angel investment is $600,000, so an angel is typically intended for a business that is already up and running but needs help with a new product idea.

While angels don’t necessarily give you cash completely strings-free, they can wait years, if not decades, before asking for some kind of dividend on their investment. Another great thing about angel investors is that they don’t try to micromanage you or your business like venture capitalists. However, you will need to show a return on the investment amount at some point in time. Angels may also steer you towards selling your business, which frees up business profits (i.e., their payback).

What You Need to Provide

A plan: Most federal and state grant programs require in-depth proposals that outline every aspect of your business idea and organization. Therefore, you need to create a business plan.

A prototype: Business and invention contests assign major points to contestants that provide a working prototype. Because building a prototype takes money, you may first need to raise some capital using a crowdfunding site before submitting a contest application.

An employee: If you can argue that your business or invention idea will create at least one extra job (not counting your own, of course), you’re going to be much more likely to secure funding.

An LLC: To prove that you are a serious businessperson, you will need to incorporate your business. The easiest way to do this is to incorporate as an LLC.

A partner: It’s not an absolute necessity, but having someone else also invested in your business or invention idea gives you better credibility, which in turn increases your likelihood of getting money.

Is the Better Business Bureau Running a Racketeering Scam?‏

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I’ve Tried That is scamming consumers, and here’s why- check out its rating with the Better Business Bureau:

BBB

Google is also iffy; its BBB score is a “C-“. E-Trade, which I’ve been happily using for years as my discount broker, gets a grade of “D-“.

You may think that the BBB is some government watchdog group that looks out for the consumer and mediates complaints against businesses. You might also think that any business listed with the BBB is legitimate.

It’s time to rethink the BBB.

The 20/20 Exposé of the BBB

Back in 2010, the ABC News show 20/20 conducted an investigation of the BBB of Southland, which served the Los Angeles area. What they found was a “non-profit” business using tactics akin to those of certain New Jersey sanitation companies. In essence, businesses that didn’t “pay to play” with the BBB by forking over $425 in membership dues were assigned substandard grades even if they had few or no complaints. Conversely, businesses that paid for membership in the BBB were assigned grades of “A-” or higher.

In a scambaiting maneuver, several local businesses decided to pay the $425 membership fee for a fictitious business named “Hamas” which, interestingly enough, is also the name of a Middle Eastern terrorist group. Hamas instantly got an “A-” grade. Stormfront, which is a neo-Nazi skinhead group, received an “A+” rating from the BBB when an anonymous blogger used this group’s name to register with the BBB and pay its membership fee.

But it didn’t stop there. Apparently, businesses with lackluster grades could also pay to improve their grades. When a local business owner called the Southland BBB, she was told by its customer service department that she could raise her business’ grade to an “A” from its current “C” if she simply paid a $395 membership fee. When she provided her credit card number to the rep, her business’ grade became an “A+” the next day. Another L.A. business owner was able to go from a “C-” to an “A+” by paying the $395.

After 20/20 interviewed the BBB CEO Steve Cox about the sham businesses receiving high grades and legitimate L.A. businesses being able to buy their good names, the Council of Better Business Bureaus shut down the Southland branch and noted this decision in a large press release dated March of 2013. However, it still took over two years for the BBB to shut down a branch that was openly engaging in extortion. And even after the expulsion of Southland, there is reason to doubt the BBB’s commitment to, as stated by Carrie Hurt, President and CEO of the CBBB, “a strong, standards-based BBB that consumers can depend upon and that businesses large and small can participate in with pride.”

Why am I still skeptical about the BBB?

“A few bad apples” is a myth.

There is a common practice in the business world when a (usually large) company is ousted for scandalous or outright illegal behavior: Blame the problem on a few “bad apples” and make a public example of them. However, for such bad apples to turn up in the first place, there is usually a permissive/complicit business environment that spoils them. And in the case of the BBB, that environment is still in place. Why?

Pervasive conflict of interest

The BBB is not some government body that’s acting as a third party watchdog group to protect consumers. In fact, consumers have little to do with the actual BBB. Technically, the BBB is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that makes its revenues by selling annual memberships to businesses for a charge of $200 to $10,000, depending on the size of the company. Membership is synonymous with accreditation, by the way. National companies like Johnson & Johnson, Heinz and 3M are often invited to become CBBB corporate partners and pay up to $75,000 for this privilege.

That’s right- the BBB’s clients are not Joe-Blow Consumer or concerned taxpayers; they are corporations and firms that can actually afford to pay the annual BBB dues in order to become “accredited.” These facts are stated on the BBB blog.

However, if the BBB is making its revenues through dues-paying businesses, how can it remain objective when a client business receives a consumer complaint? In short, it can’t.

“Addressing” consumer complaints

Let’s say one of the BBB’s client businesses does receive a complaint from a consumer. In order to remain in good standing with the BBB, that business must demonstrate “good faith effort to resolve complaints.” However, the BBB does not explain just how this process should occur. A business could get away with sending a form email to the consumer saying “Sorry, try again,” and leaving the actual complaint unresolved.

If the consumer doesn’t provide a rebuttal within 10 days, the case is closed as “resolved.” Meanwhile, if a consumer truly wants to pursue a shady business via the BBB, she is charged a fee to use the BBB’s Dispute Resolution Services. Honestly, what consumer is going to shell out $79 to obtain a refund on a $29 item? In this way, businesses with a bunch of unhappy customers maintain their good grades with the BBB.

Living in oppositeland: I’ve Tried That is a scam (and so are Wolfgang Puck, Ritz Carlton and Disney)

As to why I’ve Tried That has a big, fat “F” rating, I may have a reason. On the BBB Code of Business Practices (BBB Accreditation Standards), there is the stipulation as to what a business in good standing with the BBB shouldn’t do:

Avoid involvement, by the business or its principals, in activities that reflect unfavorably on, or otherwise adversely affect the public image of BBB or its accredited businesses.

Since ITT regularly exposes scam businesses, it may have at one time inadvertently hit a BBB accredited business. Thus, for doing the actual work of the BBB, ITT gets slammed by this “watchdog” group.

I can live with I’ve Tried That being a scam.

Hackerspaces: Bringing Your Ideas to (Money-Making) Life

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How do you invent the next “big thing” without going broke in the process? Invention ideas are great, but they also cost a lot of money to develop; by the time you’ve bought the equipment and hired the skilled labor to generate your prototype, filed a provisional patent, and maybe even found a few interested partners, you could be several thousand dollars in the hole.

However, what if you could realize your invention idea by learning all the necessary skills yourself and paying a small fee to rent the equipment? By doing this extra legwork, your invention idea could cost you as little as a hundred bucks to develop. You could do this by working with a hackerspace, also often called a makerspace, to bring your invention idea to life.

What is a hackerspace?

To answer this question, I talked with Chris Meyer, the owner of Sector67, a hackerspace in Madison, Wisconsin. Chris has been running Sector67 for a few years now and was even involved in helping Alisa Toninato of the now FeLion Studios design cast-iron skillets of U.S. states like Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. Toninato’s business was later featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine.

“What does a hackerspace mean? Who knows,” says Chris. “What a hackerspace does mean is that you’re likely to find a set of people who have a similar mindset about creativity and collaboration and getting together and doing cool stuff.”

Sounds like a good start.

A hackerspace is typically defined as a community organized and operated space where members can congregate, collaborate and work on individual or group projects. The projects themselves are member-defined; however, they often involve computers, electronics and scientific and manufacturing equipment. The nature of each hackerspace is determined by member interests; one hackerspace may be primarily biology-oriented, with members engaged in cell culture and cloning, while another hackerspace may be composed of members designing iPhone apps or Facebook games.

How does a hackerspace function?

Many hackerspaces are organized as non-profit businesses. Other hackerspaces are created when interested individuals come together and pool their assets into the venture. Those individuals become the founding members of the hackerspace. However, the hackerspace need not be a closed entity; in the case of Sector67, individual and business memberships are sold at the rate of $100 or $200 per month, respectively. These priced memberships help support the hackerspace in terms of expenses like its rent, utilities, new equipment purchases, etc. New members also help expand and shape the scope of the hackerspace.

Instructional classes may be another aspect of the hackerspace. Sector67 offers one-one-one classes for $50; one-on-many classes may run $10 0r $20. These aren’t snooze classes either; on the day I arrived at Sector67, there was a billboard advertising a cool-sounding “Lockpicking 101” class. Other classes include “Make Your Own Solar Cooker,” “WordPress 101,” and “Writing a Business Plan.”

Hackerspaces are often associated with a lot of cool-looking gadgets, toys and other equipment. At Sector67 alone, there is a massive 3D printer located in one corner of the facility. There are also many types of computer numeric control (CNC) machines including routers, mills, lathes, laser cutters, welders, saws, and injection molders. Sector67 also contains oscilloscopes, electronics testing equipment and a computer lab.

“The rest of it’s all boring,” says Chris.

For roughly 20 years now, hackerspaces have existed, albeit quietly and mostly at universities where members had to be affiliated with the school. Around 2006, hackerspaces really started taking off, worldwide and in the U.S. Currently, states like California and New York have many hackerspaces available. Even unexpected spots like Casper, Wyoming have a hackerspace (Firefly).

According to the HackerspaceWiki list, there are an estimated 176 hackerspaces in the U.S. More hackerspaces are in the works; for example, on the HackerspaceWiki list, the state of Wisconsin shows only two hackerspaces; however, Madison’s Sector67 and a newly formed makerspace in Whitewater are missing.

What makes a makerspace?

Many people instantly associate a hackerspace with cool equipment like 3D printers, CNC equipment, injection molders and welders. However, “it’s really not about the equipment,” according to Chris. “I never set out in my business plan to say, ‘I need a laser cutter or I need this thing or that thing.’  We’re not a soldering club or a knitting club or a CNC equipment club or a laser cutter club.”

“The principle here is to provide basic services that bring people in and get them excited about new things and meeting new people. That’s the important part. It’s not to re-create the tool set, and it’s not to re-create the facilities, but it’s to re-create the people. You have to find the right people.”

Chris talks about how hackerspace members generate a sort of “critical mind mass” by the simple fact that they gather in one space, collaborate, and bring about new ideas. If one member can have a great idea about building the next “big thing,” fellow members can figure out a way to materialize the equipment needed to bring the idea to fruition. That equipment may end up being purchased, rented or even built from scratch.

“The equipment is not important,” Chris says. “The equipment doesn’t matter. If you don’t have a CNC mill, you will figure out some other way of making it. You’ll have enough smart people around who will come up with some creative application that will do the same job. Or they’ll come up with a different design. Or, more importantly, maybe they’ll give somebody a call in the community and say ‘Hey, I know you’ve got a business doing this, would you be willing to help us out for an hour?'”

The bottom line here is that a critical mind mass of smart people will find a way.

How can you get involved in a hackerspace?

Hopefully, there is a hackerspace near you that you can join and take advantage of. Most hackerspaces are rather informal and simply seek out inquisitive, vibrant minds. Even if you don’t currently have an invention idea, you might soon find yourself with one after touring a hackerspace and speaking with some of its members.

Should You Work With a Freelance Agency?

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Freelancing has been a maddening business for me. Not only am I a full-time freelance writer, but I’m also a part-time accountant, lawyer, artist, marketer, reporter, videographer, programmer and salesperson. I’ve lined up speakers and engaged in contract negotiations. I’ve finagled the nuances of SEC law and formulated CTR goals for AdWords campaigns. I’ve given presentations in corporate board rooms and then gone off to play with Legos® at a client’s waiting room. And all this was done in the name of freelance writing, no less.

Sometimes the whirlwind of freelance “writing” activities tires me out. In the midst of querying my hundredth potential client or sending yet another LOI (letter of introduction), I consider whether working with a freelance agency would be better for my sanity.

What is a freelance agency?

A freelance agency is a type of business that subcontracts freelancers to do work that is found and negotiated through the agency. This work is then passed along to the freelancers. Clients typically know that their work is being performed by one or more freelancers when dealing with a freelance agency; however, in some cases, the agency may just be one person who hires other freelancers for his/her gigs and claims their work as his/her own. Check out the Custom Content Council (CCC) for examples of large, well-known agencies in the content marketing field.

Why do freelance agencies exist?

Many freelancers who have freelanced for years or decades eventually start accumulating so many clients that they can’t possibly keep up with the workload. Rather than turn away the additional work, these freelancers subcontract the work out to other freelancers and share in its revenue.

Alternately, an agency may be the result of a freelancer who is good at marketing to and attracting clients but doesn’t want to do the assigned work anymore. Such a freelancer is happier overseeing the day-to-day operations of the freelance business itself rather than getting involved in the work. As a freelancer, you yourself may eventually wish to start a freelance agency.

Why you should work with a freelance agency.

There are some good reasons why you may want to work with a freelance agency:

No more marketing- ever. 

Some freelancers truly hate the song-and-dance that is marketing. They’d rather focus their time and efforts on doing actual freelance work instead of emailing, querying, cold calling, etc. To that end, a freelance agency is the best solution because it does all the prep work for the freelancer and then simply “serves” the finished client to him/her.

No more payment issues.

Generating contracts and including multiple “what if” clauses regarding late and no payment from the client are a real pain in the a–. However, without that contract covering your a–, you have no legal recourse should your client decide to not pay you or skip out on your final installment. Freelance agencies understand contracts and take care of them for you so you can focus solely on your work. Agencies also have your back in case a client tries to stiff you on payment.

Steady work.

Freelancing can be a feast-or-famine business depending on how many clients you can snag and ensure payment from. An agency helps you even out your schedule by offering extra work when you’re low on clients or redirecting work when you’re overwhelmed.

Hard-to-reach clients. 

Government clients are notorious for being hard to win; many government contracts are also only negotiated through selected agencies that know the legal nuances of governmental bidding processes.  Thus, if you want to >bid on U.S. government contracts, you first need to buddy-up with a freelance agency.

Big name clients.

Microsoft, Verizon and other big corporations work with dedicated (e.g., CCC) agencies and will only answer through them. Alternately, if you are just starting out as a freelancer and don’t have the experience and credibility to win big name/budget clients on your own, an agency can help by making the necessary introductions. In either scenario, it’s a good idea to have the agency work with and recommend you to these big fish.

Why you should not work for an agency.

Of course, for every pro there is a con. Not every freelance worker wishes to work with a freelance agency. Here are some reasons why:

The middleman effect. 

When you have one additional layer between you and the client, that layer must take its cut before it passes the revenue to you. As a consequence, you end up doing the same work for less money. Furthermore, there is the risk that an agency may accept and distribute low paid work simply to keep clients happy and/or generate steady work for its freelancers.

Limited negotiations.

Not happy with your assignment or hourly rate for assignment X? Too bad. Even if you’re a brilliant negotiator, many an agency will not let you contact the client in order to raise your pay. Even if you are allowed to discuss compensation directly with the client, you still have to involve your agency during negotiations, making the process much more cumbersome.

Not seeing the big picture.

Many freelancers start feeling like a cog in the freelance machine after a few years of working with an agency. This is because the agency negotiates and deals with the clients, not you. As a result, the agency ends up creating and planning the work and all possible future work with the client. Meanwhile, you are at the end of the chain and can only fulfill what was promised by someone else. It’s kind of like being employed- something you sought to escape when you became a freelancer.

So…should you or shouldn’t you?

There are many reasons to consider using the services of a freelance agency, as highlighted above. Speaking from personal experience, I have used agencies and later decided to go it alone. My biggest reason for initially using agencies was to gain experience and clips in certain fields. After a few years, I felt certain enough about my own skills to pitch clients directly. I was also able to pick up former agency clients on my own terms.

If you just want to do the work you were hired to do and not worry about accounting, taxes and rate negotiations, working with an agency can be a real boon. An agency also offers steady work, something that may be missing when you first start out as a freelancer. As you gain confidence in your abilities and want to charge top dollar for them, breaking out on your own makes more sense.

How to disappear (i.e., take a vacation) if you’re a freelancer

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Summer just started as of last week, shifting my thoughts towards camping, hiking, swimming as well as taking a well-deserved vacation. However, as a freelancer, I don’t just accrue paid time off like a regular employee. My time off goes unpaid. And even if I didn’t mind taking unpaid time off, the fact remains that I have so many deadlines to meet that I can’t see when (if ever) I’ll be able to get away from it all.

Many freelancers simply end up working through their vacations. These working vacations are easy to do, especially when all you need is your laptop and an Internet connection. This has happened to me on more occasions than I care to admit; for example, I recall sighing with relief last year when I found out that my “rustic” campsite had an electrical outlet that would accommodate my laptop. I even know of one freelancer who worked during his honeymoon!

How do you, as a freelancer, manage to take a vacation when you’re always on call with clients and have endless assignments to finish? Here are some sage pieces of advice I’ve picked up along the way:

Accrue work instead of hours

Employees accrue a certain amount of paid time off while they work their 9-to-5 shifts. Likewise, you need to start accruing what I call “paid work off.” Instead of just completing your assignment for this week and letting future assignments languish, do a little of next week’s work now- say 25%. The following week, finish that 25% complete assignment and put in 50% on the following week’s work. In just four weeks, you’ll have an extra assignment ready to go when you’re ready to take a week off.

Alternately, start generating an extra assignment that will cover you for a week or two should you leave on a vacation. You need not finish this assignment right away; instead, just work on it when you have a little extra time. You’ll soon have a good stockpile of extra work to throw at your clients while you’re sipping a daiquiri in Cozumel.

Scale back during vacation months

If you habitually take a few weeks off during the months of June, July and August, start scaling back now on finding new clients or engaging in new projects. Maintain status quo and get your current deadlines under control. And perhaps most importantly, don’t get involved in rush jobs, no matter how tempting.

What happens if a really lucrative job offer comes up or a really juicy client appears? In my experience, I’ve had the best outcomes by simply stating that I’m due to go on vacation soon but will be happy to help out when I return. Most reasonable clients understand the need for a vacation, and hardly any job is a real rush job when you think about it.

Outsource- if you can

I find it really hard to outsource my tasks and am known to be a bit of a control freak. You may have the same problem with outsourcing (or not). But if you can find it at all possible to have someone else email project updates to your clients or publish your blog posts in your absence, by all means get that person on board. You may even consider tag teaming with another freelancer who can perform your work while you’re MIA and then have you return the favor while he or she is on vacation. Likewise, consider hiring a virtual assistant who can perform essential tasks during your hiatus.

Don’t go AWOL on your clients

It’s OK to take a vacation. Really. And your clients should be able to understand that. Thus, even if you plan to take your laptop and check your email daily, let your clients know that you’ll be at least partially away from your desk and/or out of Internet reach. Its better that they know ahead of time rather than swamp you with email messages such as these:

6/24 Deadline project due tomorrow

6/25 Reminder: Deadline project due today

6/25 Hello? Where are you?

6/26 You better pray I don’t find you…

Don’t forget to turn on your email “out-of-office” auto-responder and generate a similar “out-of-office” voicemail on your phone because your clients may forget about your upcoming vacation. You can also leave your emergency contact phone number with your clients; this way, if something really dire pops up, they’ll know that they can reach you.

Disappear!

Once you’ve planned everything out and notified your clients, it’s time to go away and take an actual vacation. Forget about work and truly enjoy your time off. That work will be back all too soon.

If you absolutely must…

Work, that is, then just do the bare necessities. Don’t fire up your laptop to send a few quick press releases just to find yourself checking and responding to your emails hours later. Stay away from any time-wasters (ahem, Plants vs. Zombies) and keep to work-related matters only. If all else fails, have your spouse, vacation buddy, bartender or even a stop watch on hand and ready to remind you of how long you’ve been at work while on vacation.

Breaking Freelance Rule #4: You Gotta Be An Expert

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Back when I was hired to do technical support for a major biotech firm here in town, I was really worried about being exposed as a fraud. Sure, I knew a thing or two about science, but to knowledgeably discuss and (gulp!) troubleshoot through nearly 2,000 biological products, assays and even instruments? C’mon! You had to be an expert to do that.

And yet, just a few weeks later, I was doing exactly that. And just a few months later, I was even getting bored because the questions weren’t challenging enough. That’s not to say that certain customers didn’t stump me- but the work became easier and more predictable even after a month of time. I stayed in that company for over five years until I went full-time with my freelance writing career.

So, what did I learn from my time as technical support scientist that can apply to any freelancer who does not consider himself/herself a “subject matter expert”?

Stop thinking of yourself as not an expert.

Unless you’ve been living under the rock, you already have expertise in a wide range of topics. Do you think you know nothing about retail business? If you’ve worked as a cashier at Walmart, you’ve had some exposure to business topics like inventory control, branding, sales cycles, etc.

If you’ve worked part-time as a line cook at McDonald’s or as a waitress at Applebee’s, you probably know a thing or two about the restaurant business. I myself started becoming very knowledgeable about work-at-home job opportunities and making an online income because I was always hustling to make some side cash while in grad school.

If you keep your eyes peeled and ears open, you will hear all kinds of expert topics discussed by your bosses, colleagues and customers. All you need to do is look, listen and learn. For example, here’s how I became an expert in crowdfunding.

Master the Pareto Principle

Known also as the 80-20 rule, the Pareto Principle proposes that 80% of the outcomes are the result of only 20% of all possible causes. Thus, if you can pinpoint and learn about that vital 20% of expert information, you will be able to resolve 80% of the questions, issues, etc. that you encounter as a bonified “expert.”

I saw this occur during my own tenure in biotech technical support; although my company sold numerous products, most of my calls were on 20% of them. As a result, I became very proficient on those 20% of products.

Know just a little bit more…

I currently do a lot of SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) work with several of my clients. Between keeping track of the Google zoo (e.g. Penguin, Panda) and figuring out how to tighten my ad groups, there’s a lot to absorb. I still don’t know everything about the e-commerce world- and I doubt I ever will.

However, as I’ve learned, I don’t need to know it all; I just need to be one step ahead of my clients. Thus, when I pick up on the latest news about corporate blogging, I’ll casually mention to my clients how blog posts need to “soft-sell” a company’s products. And you know what? Everyone thinks I’m a genius for making that suggestion, despite the many published articles on the topic.

If you’re about to teach a class on a given subject or just meet someone over lunch to talk about X, Y and Z, don’t sweat it that you don’t know everything. Just read up on the latest news surrounding that topic and carefully incorporate the newest and snazziest buzzwords that the “real experts” are using. Adopt a “niche-within-your-niche” that you can learn about and know quite well; this narrowed expertise can help you if you are suddenly called upon to provide an example.

Control your exposure

I noticed long ago how many subject matter experts rarely teach “live” classes where students can just ask any question and obtain an immediate response. Many courses, especially those offered online, are prerecorded, and the submitted questions have often been hand-picked (and answered) ahead of time. It’s not that these experts are faking it; however, crafting careful and insightful responses to questions on a range of topics is a challenge. And it’s a challenge that’s far better addressed if the expert has had some time to think of and look up additional resources.

If you are concerned about being asked a question that you don’t know the answer to, consider providing your audience with written and/or recorded information ahead of time. Have your audience submit its questions to you so you have the time needed to formulate a good answer. Once you’re more confident and know what kind of questions to expect given the Pareto Principle, going “live” won’t be as intimidating for you as before.

Craft your message

Most of us are experts at something if we examine ourselves carefully enough. And typically, our expertise is in a very defined subject matter. As such, if you are going to tout yourself as an expert in warm water fly fishing in ponds and lakes, don’t start talking about salmon. In fact, don’t even answer questions about salmon because that’s not your niche. Knowing what you don’t know is just as important as talking about what you do know.

If you know just one area of a really large topic, establish your expertise in that niche and take advantage of it. That’s what your clients will be looking for anyway. Also, by establishing yourself in a very defined area, you won’t have to worry too much about competition. Your clients, though small in number, will know whom to reach out to for additional work, information and products.

The Bottom Line

As a freelancer, every new project or client you take on puts you in a “non-expert” position, forcing you to learn and grow. I was trained to be a scientist, not a writer. I have no journalism degree, yet somehow I’ve become a newspaper reporter. I didn’t even know what SEO stood for back when I started talking about it.

Face it: if you wanted to be comfortable and do only what you’re good at, you would’ve stayed at your old (employed) job. In the process of becoming an expert, you must dive into the discomfort of not knowing. To grow (as an expert, a person, or just about anything else) is to be uncomfortable. And when you’re too comfortable, you’ve stopped growing.

Interview with Carol Tice: How to Make an Online Income as a Writer

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My inglorious beginning as a low-paid content mill writer

When I first started writing online, I was ecstatic when one of my clients paid me 5 cents/word to generate e-commerce content that kept me up until 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. I’d turn in my 1,000 word article and beam at the $50 I’d made for literally 2 straight days of work. Then, I’d “punch in” a few hours at Associated Content (now Yahoo! Content Network) and eek out another $20 for expert content that would take me 3-4 hours to write.

Back then, I had no idea that my e-commerce content would’ve easily fetched 10 times the amount I was earning had I started marketing my expertise and querying companies. I didn’t even know what the words “content mill” meant, although I was writing for at least three of them on a weekly basis. Over the years, this ignorance cost me an untold number of dollars. Even worse, the hours upon hours I spent generating low-paid content prevented me from learning how to find better paying “real world” clients, networking, or simply enjoying myself with my friends.

My Introduction to Make A Living Writing

Luckily, while surfing the Web one day I came across a freelance writing blog called Make A Living Writing. The blog’s owner, Carol Tice, stated in many of her posts how writers get sucked into low paying or otherwise disadvantageous work situations with their clients. Perhaps what struck me the most about why writers need to stop writing for low paying clients was Carol’s following statement:

“If that’s all I’m going to make, I’d rather go out on the lawn and play Frisbee with my kids.”

Time is an asset and, unlike money, you can’t make more of it. Thus, at least in my mind, time is more valuable than money. And if a writer is going to spend his time writing for someone else, that someone else should pay a living wage.

Because time is not replaceable, it’s imperative that aspiring writers do what they can now to obtain the training and resources needed to succeed in this business. Sure, if a writer stays in the business for 10 years, eventually she’ll figure out that content mill writing is a dead end. Or that negotiating for better rates is not only normal, it’s expected. Or that a query letter should include a call-to-action. But is it wise waiting those 10 years and losing out on high paying clients, notoriety and career advancement?

To help writers achieve their writing ambitions and grow their income quickly, Carol Tice started The Freelance Writers Den. In this den, writers can take e-courses like Break Into Business Writing and How to be a Well Paid Blogger. They can post questions on the den’s forum and have them answered by a team of established freelance writers, including Carol Tice herself. They can scour writing gigs on the den’s junk-free job board. They can also participate in weekly live trainings that feature bloggers, journalists, book authors, copywriters, etc.

My interview with Carol Tice, owner of Make A Living Writing

Recently, I interviewed Carol Tice about what writers can do to make more money writing. Carol explained how she got her own start in writing and how much she made as a full-time freelance writer (spoiler alert: it’s a six figure amount). For I’ve Tried That readers, Carol and I discussed the following topics that are critical in the success or failure of any would-be writer who wishes to make an actual living from his writing:

  • Why content mills don’t pay well- and why they never will.
  • Why content mills don’t lead to better paying work.
  • Four places where you can easily gain clips to show to editors, bloggers, publishers, etc.
  • How you can use your own blog to win clients.
  • Which industries/topics pay writers well- and which ones don’t.

Carol also talked about some of the major psychological stumbling blocks of many writers- and how to get over these hurdles:

  • Not being “good enough”
  • Not being an “expert”
  • Query letter rejection

Carol’s interview is posted below as a video file that she was kind enough to generate for me during our recorded Skype call. Carol’s voice comes through crisp and clear; my own voice, unfortunately, is too loud for the call. I apologize for that technical boo-boo. Fortunately, I edited most of my yelling out of the file, so you’ll hear Carol the majority of the time.

For those of you who would prefer reading the interview, I’ve posted the transcript of my interview with Carol Tice here.

A critical question that many I’ve Tried That readers might have is, can I be a freelance writer and work from home? Absolutely. In her interview, Carol Tice mentions how she currently has no in-town clients and does all her work online with the help of her phone, email and Skype. So yes, it is possible.

If any of you would like to learn more about The Freelance Writers Den or even sign up for it, you can go to it directly by clicking here. Please note that, at this time, you will need to get on a waiting list in order to eventually join the den. Den openings occur roughly every few weeks.

Breaking Freelance Rule #1: You Must Make Cold Calls

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Back in my undergrad years, I remember reading a career book called something like “How to Get a Job in 30 Days”. I was about to finish my junior year in college and sit out my summer months with no job and thus no money. The idea of finding work in a month sounded very appealing so I decided I would thoroughly read and follow every piece of advice this book gave me.

As it turned out, most of the book’s advice centered on making cold calls to potential employers. The idea was to make contact with the hiring manager and, before this person could even say no, schedule an appointment with him/her.

The conversation was supposed to go like this:

“Hello, my name is Halina, and I noticed you have a job opening in your forensic sciences department. I’m a perfect candidate because I’ve watched numerous episodes of CSI and have also appeared on COPS. I have the first of April available for a meeting; how does that work for you?”

Figuring that anyone who had actually published a book on how to find a job (in just 30 days!) knew what s/he was talking about, I dutifully started making cold calls. Half the time the employer’s voicemail picked up my call; I gave my shpeel and, with a sigh of relief, never heard from that person again. On occasion, I would actually reach the hiring head; luckily, I had my pitch written down on several crinkly notebook pages and that helped me as I recited my stage lines.

After about two weeks of making cold calls and having no one return my requests for a meeting, I gave up. I guess I’ll never know if, having put in the full 30-day cold calling effort, I would’ve been rewarded with a job. However, I did  realize something: I am not cut out for cold calling. And also, after spending the last 15 years of my post-undergrad life receiving cold calls from everyone from insurance salesmen to career coaches to mortgage refi experts, I’ve realized that no one is really cut out for cold calling. There are three reasons why:

1. Cold calls put clients on the spot.

When you cold call someone, you never know just what s/he was doing right up to receiving your call. If that person is having a lousy day, you can bet that your call isn’t going to make things better. Alternately, that person may be having a great day and is about to head out for drinks- just when the phone rings. Out of sheer politeness, that person will pick up the phone (especially if colleagues are watching)- and then try to get rid of you as fast as possible.

Even if the person hears you out , s/he can’t just agree to meet you or hire you without at least first consulting with colleagues. Furthermore, taking on a new person, even on a contract basis, requires careful consideration that cannot be completed in the space of a single phone call. Thus, you often get stuck making an average of five calls to the same person in order to score just one lead.

2. Cold calls waste time.

The consensus amongst professional cold callers is that you’re lucky if you get even 10% of respondents to not instantly say no. Gee, that’s encouraging. In other words, 90% of the time you spend researching potential clients to cold call is wasted. Indeed, you shouldn’t even bother researching potential clients and what they do because, 90% of the time, you won’t even get beyond “Hello, my name is-” before you’re told to #%$! off.

Even proponents of cold calling such as Mike Schultz of the Wellesley Hills Group state that, when “done right”, cold calls bring in just 13% of new business. Maybe I’m just not easily satisfied, but I get a higher percentage of clients by using LinkedIn and in much less time.

3. Cold calls put you on the spot.

I’m not saying all cold calls won’t work. Admittedly, cold calls, just like door-to-door salesmen, have had their place in history as a way of making customers aware of businesses and products. And sometimes those door-to-door salesmen do get into the customer’s house. But once that point is reached, what then? At least that salesman could quickly look around the house and assess whether the homeowner needed a new vacuum cleaner. What can you really assess from your end of the phone?

As a freelancer, you’re probably dealing with complex businesses with complex needs. Your job is not as simple as just providing content, or writing a software program, or fixing a leaky faucet- at least not if you want to keep your clients and have repeat business. To truly understand your clients and their needs, you must look beyond the “one-and-done” job and find out where the problems really lie and what you can do to decrease losses or raise profits. That includes even something as “simple” as fixing a leaky faucet. And that kind of in-depth analysis is not going to happen instantaneously, such as during a 5-10 minute cold call.

How can you generate sales leads and win clients without making cold calls?

You can generate strong sales leads and have potential clients approach you- yes you- without making a single cold call. There are many strategies involved:

1. Write warm emails.

Do some careful research on your potential company or client and find out what issues and crises are at play. Then, find the hiring manager/client and write him/her regarding your observations and what you can do to improve the business’ bottom line. Give specific suggestions for improvement, then follow up with examples. If posible, back up your suggestions with your personal work experience. I provide an illustration of this technique on my LinkedIn post.

2. Network-strategically.

Traditional networking events where everyone gets too drunk too fast on free booze may not work for you. However, you can achieve a far higher networking success rate by actually joining your prospective client’s network. How does this happen? Use the power of Google and LinkedIn to research your prospects, then get involved in whatever organization or cause they’re involved in.

Yes, this is a back-end strategy and it also takes more effort- but it’s a great excuse to become more involved in your community. Just make sure that you actually like the organization you join because it’s hard to fake long-term sincerity. You’ll also find out that your prospective clients typically share connections with other likely clients who are also involved in the same organization or cause. Coincidence…or not?

3. Work/help/teach for free.

Many freelancers shy away from doing free work, fearing that it will result in never getting paid work. However, in many cases, you can use free work to make prospective clients aware of you and the types of services you offer. In the course of time, when these prospects have a need for your services, they’ll be more likely to hire you than someone whose work they haven’t seen directly and whose personality may clash with theirs.

For example, if you’re hoping to get hired as a staff writer for a magazine and you know that a given organization regularly publishes with this magazine, it would be wise of you to volunteer your writing efforts to this organization. Alternately, you may wish to give a free seminar or class at a school or company you’re trying to crack into. Just make sure that your freebie item relates to the skill set you’re trying to sell; in other words, don’t offer a class on brewing beer -however tempting that might be- if you’re trying to sell your C++ programming skills.

Even offering to help someone out can sometimes land you in that person’s good graces. I honestly suspect I landed one of my clients simply by helping him unsubscribe from Facebook.

4. Conduct interviews.

As a writer, I have a natural excuse for interviewing people; in fact, some of my work demands it. However, it has occurred to me that interviews themselves can be used as another back-end or extended networking method. Let’s face it, people love to talk about themselves and will typically agree to your request for an interview. And once that interview is completed, that hour or two of feel-good face time is bound to be remembered by the interviewee.

Interviews need not always be work-related; maybe you’re considering changing careers and would like some advice. Maybe you’ve always been fascinated by a potential client’s work and just want additional details. My natural curiosity about other people’s work has landed me in some interesting situations including the following: getting a furniture store tour (plus a killer offer on a dining set), having a top-to-bottom tour of the “W” hotel, being treated to a private candy kitchen tasting, running the movie projector at a D.C. theater for an evening, and engaging in melanoma research. If I play my cards right, I might soon be conducting neuronal electrophysiology experiments.

In none of these situations was I actively considering landing the client or business; I was merely curious about the people and their jobs. But I could easily have transformed the information I gathered into an easy job opportunity or three, now that I think about it.

Don’t be a mercenary- don’t make cold calls.

The bottom line with cold calls and why I don’t believe in them is that cold calls place you in a mercenary role; i.e., you must make this sale/land this client/score an interview- or else. The person you call ends up feeling manipulated and used. You fail to establish a personal relationship with the client or business, resulting in you losing out on follow-up business even if you do get the initial sale/job/interview.

Instead of being a mercenary, be an ally.

Approach your clients or businesses by first seeing things from their point of view. Try to help first without thinking about money or making that sale. Taking this approach will require some effort (and a change in mindset) and will not be achieved in the space of a 5-10 minute cold call or even several cold calls. But the end result of your extra effort will be worth it. And should all else fail, you’ll have gained a friend.

10 Totally Free Educational (and Other) Resources for Freelancers

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The world is full of freebies- if you know where to look. And that also includes the online world; nowadays, there is more free stuff online and on the Web than ever before. Part of the reason has to do with simple supply-and-demand economics- having more people online also means more competition for traffic and page views.

Internet marketers and subscription sites are more willing to give away educational and other resources for free. Likewise, by giving away some free stuff, these businesses hope to entice you into eventually purchasing the full package deal. For freelancers just starting out in the freelance world, having access to free online courses, ebooks, magazines, etc. can be a real help.  Here is a list of 10 totally free resources for freelance workers:

1. Online courses from top universities

If you think you can’t afford a Stanford or Harvard education, think again. Sites like Coursera and Udacity offer various courses from different state and private schools as well as through leading industrial experts. Khan Academy is well known for offering free online educational courses to some of the most remote geographic locations around the globe.

MIT offers a huge selection of courses on its MITOpenCourseWare website, where you can learn about topics as diverse as cognitive robotics and game theory. Of course, as a freelancer, you might just be looking to enhance your web design or editing skills or pick up some medical terminology for a white paper you’re writing. Not to worry- these websites offer basic undergraduate-level classes as well.

2. Legal documents

Whether you’re a freelance business consultant, web designer, writer or something else entirely, you are well advised to create and sign certain legal documents before undertaking or paying for any work. With Docracy, you can access a wide selection of free legal documents such as contracts, work agreements, employment offers, etc.

Docracy also allows you to e-sign the document and then generate a .pdf version to send to your client or employee. For freelancers and business start-ups, having documented proof of a business transaction is imperative if you wish to ever take legal action against client non-payment, intellectual property theft, etc.

3. Magazine editor information

For freelance writers trying to write for or even become employed by magazines, finding editor information can be tricky. At Mastheads, you can quickly browse through a plethora of magazines such as Seventeen, Good Housekeeping and Guns and Ammo to find out who is editing what. Mediabistro offers informational posts on how to pitch writing ideas, which magazine is looking for new blood, and how much certain publications pay per word.

The site also has a job board; however, most of the jobs, even those listed as freelance, are location-specific (i.e., not work-at-home). Finally, if you want to know the scoop on which editor has been hired or fired, what jobs may soon be opening up at XYZ magazine (via the trademarked WhisperJobs site), and the probable contact email formats of major magazines, check out Ed2010.

4. Photos and images

You can obtain completely free photos and other images at Pexels. When using this free content, be sure to comply with the originating site’s rules and regulations.

5. Work timers

There are many work timers out there, helping you keep track of your billable hours and better stay away from time sucks such as Facebook and Angry Birds. One of the simplest and free time trackers out there is SlimTimer, which allows you and other members of your project team to input tasks and maintain timers on all of them.

All work data can be backed up and imported into an invoice. Another free time tracker is Tick; the no-cost subscription option comes with one project tracking, project reporting and exporting (including RSS). Tick projects can logged into and used by an unlimited number of users.

6. Audio recording and editing software

At Audacity, you can create, convert and edit audio files from the comfort of your own home office without needing to purchase any software (although you may wish to invest in a microphone if you’re creating podcasts). This is because Audacity offers open source audio software that is completely free to download and use.

7. Photo and image editing software

Love PhotoShop but can’t afford its price tag? GIMP is an open source PhotoShop-like software program that you can download and use for free.

Just like PhotoShop, GIMP allows users to upload and edit images, changing such features as exposure, contrast and color saturation. Users can also utilize the advanced scripting functions (via Basic Scheme) of GIMP to add in images or create new effects.

8. Web development tools

While you can view the source code of almost any web page by simply going to its “View” tab and clicking on “Source”, you cannot perform very much editing or debugging work unless you really know the code. Plus, most web pages are such a mess, script-wise, that it’s a headache trying to get anything done with them.

With Firebug, you can more easily see and edit a site’s code, whether that code be in CSS, HTML or Java. Furthermore, Firebug will even point out certain scripting errors to you, streamlining your editing. The free open source software will also monitor your network, reporting where sluggishness is occurring and why.

9. Keyword tools

Sure, there’s always the free Google keywords tool to help you figure out which keywords are the most commonly searched. However, the Google keywords tool was developed with PPC advertisers in mind, not folks trying to create searchable content for blogs or business websites. Likewise, the tool doesn’t report on keywords that your competitors are using to become #1 on the SERP (search engine results page).

To this end, sites like KeywordSpy are much more apropos. Although accessing all the site’s features requires a paid subscription, you can gain many of the tool’s benefits by signing up for a free subscription and plugging in some candidate keywords. WordTracker is another useful keyword tool that you can use for free (although for a very limited time) to check on your competition.

10. Magazines

For several years now I’ve been receiving an absolutely free subscription of Website Magazine. This publication offers timely e-commerce news and advice that has served me well with my online (and even offline) clients.

I also receive a bunch of other free (or really cheap) magazines like Money, Forbes, The Economist, Martha Stewart Living, etc. through ValueMags and Mercury Magazines, both of which periodically offer free trial subscriptions of 6 months to a year to some very well-known publications. These free magazines are a veritable font of writing inspiration as well as information for me. And they sure give my mail carrier a workout!

Bonus freebies!

Go to any well-known website and you will invariably be “encouraged” to sign up for its email newsletter by being offered a rather chunky educational product (e.g., e-course, e-book). These products were likely sold at-profit some time in the past but are now available for free.

Sites that offer some rather hefty sign-up products include Marketo, Smart Passive Income, Make A Living Writing, The Extra Money Blog, etc. They are great instructional products and packed with useful information.

Writing for Content Mills – Revisited

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Recently, I pitched the following article idea to WritersWeekly:

“Unexpected Sites Where You Can Market (and Profit from) Your Freelance Writing Skills: “Content Mills” (e.g., Squidoo)”

The response I received back was a bit of a shocker:

“I’m sorry but we never suggest writers write for content mills. They are horrible.”

Needless to say, I didn’t win that article pitch.

What I had failed to realize was that content mills are a big source of debate and contention among freelance writers. Some writers’ organizations refuse to even speak about them. Other freelance writers take a difference stance and view working in content mills as a kind of internship.

What are content mills?

In essence, content mills are low-paying online writing sites that either pay you an up-front free for your submitted content and/or make you a part of their revenue-sharing program (based on your content’s page views).

Some example content mill sites include HubPages, Yahoo! Voices, Infobarrel and, as mentioned above, Squidoo. Other sites, such as Textbroker and Constant Content, post specific writing requests from individual clients that are paid on a per-word basis. Unless you are writing 20+ articles/day for these sites, you will probably NOT get rich from content mills. At most, you’ll be able to purchase groceries or holiday gifts from earnings deposited into your content mill kitty. Oh, and don’t forget that even these piddly monies are still considered taxable by the IRS.

Why write for content mills?

While many freelance writers would disagree, there are several benefits to writing for content mills, especially if you are just starting out in your writing career:

  1. Practice, practice, practice. You get to practice on your writing, make your mistakes and learn from them. You see what works- and what fails- in terms of reaching your target audience and getting page views. You certainly become a better writer.
  2. Learn. Content mills like Examiner offers tutorials and lessons on how to write better through its Examiner University. HubPages asks writers to produce content on demand with the “30 Hubs in 30 Days” challenge. Obviously, improving the quality of your writing is of benefit to the content mills since they achieve higher traffic and ad revenue by doing so. However, these same benefits also trickle down to you, increasing your up-front pay and page views over time.
  3. Benefits. When I first started writing for Associated Content (now Yahoo! Voices), I had to be satisfied with earning $5 per article or fewer. However, as my seniority with the site increased, so did my opportunities to write for specific content niches such as personal finance. This increased my pay rate substantially. I was also offered partner assignments that were published on big-name sites like The Huffington Post, Oral-B, AT&T and CreditCards.com.
  4. References. As my content mill library grew, so did outside interest in my work. I gained one full-time client because of my work with Textbroker. Another client liked the fact that I was submitting content to sites like Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money and asked me to write financial articles for him too. In short, although content mill work wasn’t paying me all that much, it was certainly getting my name out there.
  5. Confidence. I knew the kind of praise some of my best work had won for me and I used that praise as impetus to approach potential clients. Thanks to various partner assignments, I also had actual “outside-of-mill” work that I could show off in my resume. Clients starts noticing- and hiring.

Why you should NOT write for content mills

So, if “working in the mill” helped launch my own writing career, why are content mills looked upon as “horrible” by many freelance writers? Here are a few quite valid reasons that I’ve received:

  1. Slave wages. Content mills ask for stellar, SEO-qualified and interesting content- and then pay you a penny per word or even fewer for something that takes all day to produce. Many writers end up earning below minimum wage for their work. Others work 12+ hour days in order to eek out a somewhat decent living from their writing efforts.
  2. Low quality writing. Let’s face it: You simply cannot hope to produce your best work when you’re hustling through 10 or more writing assignments each day. The quality of your submissions will suffer- and so will your reputation as a writer. High paying clients may pass you by once they review your articles and see them riddled with spelling errors and/or mindless drivel.
  3. Wasted time. Writing for content mills uses up the time and energy you could’ve put forth to attract big name clients and budgets. Many content mill writers never send out a query letter that might help them land a better job. Others never have the chance to write for charity and other free publications that at least build up their writing resume. “Penny-wise and pound foolish” becomes the underlying motto of many content mill writers as they chase after a few dollars here and there and miss out on five- and six-figure writing incomes.
  4. Lack of respect. The French author Jules Renard stated, “Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.” Some writers won’t work in content mills simply on a matter of principle. In essence, they view writing as a job, and no recruiter in this day and age would expect an employee to work for 50 cents an hour with no benefits. If corporate writers receive $30-$50/hour, then so should freelance writers doing the same type of work. Settling for anything less sets a bad norm for writers and makes other professionals lose respect for them.

The Bottom Line

In the end, is working for content mills a worthwhile venture or a waste of time and effort? It depends. If you can look upon your “time at the mill” as a proving ground for honing your skills and talent, then your efforts are not in vain. If you make sure to allot some of your time towards sending out query letters and courting potential clients with free articles and blog posts, then at least you are making some headway into a more stable and lucrative writing career.

Unfortunately, the biggest mistake that most content mill writers make is to have no exit strategy in place. Year after year, they settle for less money than they’re worth and miss out on valuable job opportunities. Some content mill writers who have sent out query letters and been rejected feel that “the mill” is the only place that they’ll ever find work, a feeling that becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy once they stop making plans to find anything better.

Personally, I never had an exit strategy in place during my time at “the mill”. In fact, I still submit content to various mills from time to time- especially now that I have clients willing to pay me additional money for that option. However, had I started reaching out sooner to private clients, I would be much better situated today. I also would’ve been able to quit my “real job” sooner to start my freelance writing career. Knowing what I know now, I certainly would’ve taken a different approach earlier on. Alas, my hindsight has always been about 18/20.

Our Top 10 Recommended Work-at-Home Websites

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Obviously, I’ve Tried That is the premier work-at-home website; however, there are other websites out there that provide lots of useful information about making money at home and avoiding online scams. Most of these sites not only offer realistic ways to make money at home, but the recommended methods have been tested by the webmasters or their followers. Thus, you’re not just getting inane suggestions on how to make money; someone has actually tried and been successful at making a legitimate income from his/her proposed methods. So, without further ado…

1. Work at Home No Scams

Since 2003, work-at-home Dad and affiliate marketer Eddy Salomon has been offering everyday folks the opportunity to replace lost income, make extra income and become their own boss. Work at Home No Scams lists many different money-making sites, the type of work involved with these sites, and how much money can be made at a particular job. Some of these sites (e.g., paid survey) enable one to make a few extra bucks a month, while other sites (e.g., Wealthy Affiliate) can lead to a full-time career with comparable income. Work-at-home scams are also highlighted.

2. Work at Home Truth

Paul Schlegel offers a no-nonsense approach to finding work-at-home job opportunities and avoiding scams. Additionally, he lists work-at-home opportunities that aren’t scams but also just aren’t worth your time. Best of all, the money-making products recommended on WorkatHomeTruth are personally verified by Paul to be legitimate or your money back.

3. Smart Passive Income

Pat Flynn makes an incredible five figure monthly income from his work-at-home ideas including affiliate marketing, selling instructional ebooks, building iPhone apps, and of course blogging about making a passive income. Pat’s money-making techniques are a bit more advanced than answering online surveys or selling tchotchkes on eBay- but his advice is well worth it to those who want to dream and eventually earn big.

4. Real Ways to Earn Money Online

Arguably the most organized and comprehensive work-at-home site I’ve perused, Real Ways to Earn Money Online offers a huge directory of money-earning opportunities, with everything ranging from answering questions to writing. The site’s webmaster, Anna, also provides many opportunities to save money at her sister site Real Ways to Save.

5. Entrepreneur’s Journey

Yaro Starak, the webmaster of Entrepreneur’s Journey, shows readers how they can start and be successful at an online business. His content, much like Pat Flynn’s, addresses the larger aspects of running an online business rather than just making a little cash on the side. Yaro also offers several instructional and money-earning programs like Blog Mastermind and Cranky Ads.

6. The Four Hour Workweek

Timothy Ferriss, the author of a set of books by the same name, created a blog that not only addresses how to break free of the rate race but also how to take charge of your own life. His content is at times more inspirational than instructional, but you can’t fault a guy who is passionate about his career/life calling and challenges people to live up to their full potential.

7. Rat Race Rebellion

Admittedly, it was the title that first attracted me to this work-at-home site run by Christine Durst and Michael Haaren. What kept me coming back to Rat Race Rebellion was the many work-at-home opportunities that the site advertised. Perhaps the most valuable resource that the site offers is its daily updated job lead board, which offers a plethora of prescreened telecommuting positions including editing, customer service, management, blogging, transcription, IT, etc.

8. The Penny Hoarder

Kyle Taylor, the webmaster of The Penny Hoarder (whose site design oddly resembles Cracked.com), offers many work-at-home or just-outside-of-home job opportunities that you may not have even considered. With article titles like “9 Ways for Slackers to Make Money Playing Games”, “The 7 Highest Paid Political Mistresses (+ Should You Become One?)” and “Get Paid to Spy on the Mailman”, it’s hard not to get drawn into this site and spend a good hour or two reading its posts.

9. Freelance Switch

This site offers some hearty advice on how to create, run and advance your freelance _____ business. Freelance Switch also posts an extensive job board as well as links to outside job boards. Furthermore, the site offers many useful business resources such as invoice creators, client contracts, accounting software, tax advice, etc.

10. All Stay at Home

Job boards, blog posts, articles, business opportunities- if you can think of it, this site has probably got it. Traci Dillard, the webmaster of the All Stay at Home family of websites, offers work-at-home job seekers numerous methods by which they can earn money, start a home business, and obtain information on topics such as choosing the right stay-at-home job and dealing with work-at-home job stress. And, just in case this top 10 list was not enough for you, her site also provides a page linking to even more work-at-home websites.