#1 Writing Mistake Freelancers Make Online

Writing online can be a profitable career choice. There are a wide array of opportunities that cover ever aspect of the writing market. The more you learn, the more you do then the more you will discover. Just don’t make the mistake that most online writers make today.

There are plenty of places that offer you the chance to write for the experience. Some will only offer you a few dollars per job. Most would quit doing both is writers valued their own work more. It doesn’t matter what you are writing or where you are writing (or even how fast you are writing) – $2 for a 300 word article is just not enough.

In the real world, giving pay that low would be illegal in the United States. That is less than the minimum wage – even for a skilled typist. The internet – as many writers have discovered – is not the real world. So what can you do to keep from undervaluing your work and to find the opportunities to make the higher pay?

1. Learn to surf the web you are interested in writing on. If you must take the “low end” jobs for income sake, then look for some that are a bit more reasonable. There are several sites that offer writers ghost writing jobs for low – but fairly reasonable – payments. Do key word searches for “freelance writing jobs” or “article content.” You should also join forums that have other writers and start making connections with the people in the industry.

2. Learn to say NO! If you wouldn’t accept the pay in the “real world” for a job that you were going to do then don’t accept it in the internet world. Have an idea of how much time will be involved in a possible writing job and how the pay would break down per hour.

3. Ask for more pay. If you are just starting out and have no publishing clips, then it may be hard to be bold. Taking the lower (but not $2) jobs is a good way to get some experience under your belt. Starting your own blog and learning ways to build the readership, visitors and subscribers is another strong selling point for your writing. Where ever you are in your writing, you can’t be afraid to ask for more – the very worst that can happen is that someone else gets the low paying gig and you end up finding something that pays more and is more suited to your writing style.

4. Search for jobs on a daily or weekly basis. There are several newsletters that you can subscribe to that list some of the top writing jobs on the market.

a. http://aboutfreelancewriting.com/jobs/currentjobs.htm (free site)

b. http://www.freelancedaily.net/ (paid site, but offers a free trial)

c. http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/ (free site)

5. Visit some of the top websites for freelance writers and for bloggers. Sites like Performancing and regularly list jobs on the site AND Problogger offer great advice for building your own websites along the way.

The worst thing that a freelance writer can do it underestimate his or her value. If you expect more then you will find more – it may just take a bit of digging to find those jobs. There are jobs that pay $.10 per word or even $150 per article – ONLINE! The key is to put in the effort to find the job, create and amazing query letter and then follow up with writing that is more than worth every penny.

Don’t make the #1 mistake most online freelancers make. Put a price tag on your work and create work that is worth it.