Freelance magazine writing is an area of the industry that is not only high paying, but one of the most competitive.  Therefore, you won’t see many experienced writers or agents encouraging new talent to pursue article writing for magazines.  There’s just too much competition, and the odds of getting steady pay are quite slim because of this.

Most freelance writers who have magazine publications on their resume don’t do it for the money.  If they were fortunate enough to get staffed, then that’s a different story, but 9 times out of 10 they are doing it more for hobby purposes than anything else.  They submit articles to magazines on topics that they share a passion for, or publications which they truly enjoy and read frequently.  Getting and article accepted to one of these magazines would be a bonus because of their genuine enjoyment of it’s content.

Don’t go giving up on your dreams to be published in a magazine, but know that unless you are a staff writer, freelance writing for a major publication is a cut throat industry.  Be sure to diversify your writing mediums and don’t rely on magazine submissions to pay the bills.  Spread out your income before you go chasing the magazine dream!

First off, you will definitely attract people from within the Internet marketing circles and forums.  These people are constantly bouncing around different niche markets and need ebook writers that can keep up with them.  Secondly, bloggers are always in need of opt in reports – so offering a report writing service can be very profitable for you.

If you are interested in making money online by writing ebooks, here are a few tips to help you write faster and better:

1. Combine and re-write related PLR content – This is one of the most common ways to create multiple fresh, unique products without doing any research.  Private label rights products can be either ebooks, articles or bundles.  Find a handful of niche related PLR content, combine the best parts of each, then re-write the content to create one final ebook package.  Combining PLR products usually works best for this method.
2. Don’t accept projects that are out of your league – Let’s face it, if you writing an ebook on PHP hacks and programming tricks, yet you don’t know what a hyperlink is, how great is that ebook going to be?  Sure, you can definitely tackle niches that you aren’t an expert in, but try to set a standard of set of niches that you will not touch.  This will avoid long and painful projects.  Remember:  if you love something, you can write about it much faster.
3. Set a defined structure before you start – Conduct your research, make your notes and structure the ebook before you even begin typing.  This will enable you to write much faster and maintain a level of focus without getting sidetracked every 7 minutes to double-check something.  Also, try not to edit during your first draft.  Type away and save the formatting and editing for the second time around – this will definitely speed up the creation process.

Providing blog writing services is a great way to make steady income as a writer, as well as diversify your portfolio.  Hundreds of companies, bloggers and online magazines are searching every month for realiable content creation services for their Web 2.0 properties.  Search engine friendly content is king, and it’s important for these prospective clients to acquire fresh, targeted content on a regular basis.  Why not be the person who can satisfy their needs?

Professional blog writing services can be extremely lucrative.  For starters, you will most likely be charging your clients on a monthly basis i.e. $97/month for 10 blog posts.  If the blog is doing well and your content is engaging their target audience and regular readers you will be well on your way to becoming a known “expert” in that particular niche.

Many people who start off as blog writers make the mistake of  operating under a ghost writing status – meaning that the content is not getting published as yours, but that of the blog owner(s).  If you want to be getting the recognition for your work, it’s essential that you make clear arrangements which state that all content you provide must be published under your name or pen name.  Taking this step this will guarantee that your reputation continues to soar along side the success of the blogs you write for – potentially opening up salary-driven opportunities to write for large web corporations like Smashing Magazine or Mashable.com.

All in all, if you’re looking towards soliciting your blog writing services there are a few great places to start looking for work.  The ever-popular Elance.com is one of the best places to start.  Be sure to fill out your complete profile and state your objectives, blog writing samples and preferred rates.  Sift through the marketplace daily being sure to respond to every and any blog writing gig that appeals to your interests.  Tip:  don’t take on a writing gig for a php website if you know nothing about programming.  Stick to what you love, know and enjoy and success will be right around the corner.

Article Writing for Business

Sure, there are plenty of SEO article writing services that claim to take your business website to the number one ranking in little time, but the truth is that they’re either lying or using questionable techniques to achieve this outcome.  SEO and SEM (search engine marketing) are very important aspects of traditional e-commerce applications.

Remember that it’s more than just generating random traffic for your business – you are using optimized content to send targeted prospects to your service or product.  More and more fortune 500 companies are using the services of SEO article writers to promote and spread word about their business.  This also seems to be a popular solution for small businesses because it is extremely low-cost and provides a great medium for home-based entrepreneurs to begin making money online.

Article Writing and Keywords

In a nutshell, keywords, also known as search terms, are what individuals use to gather information on a particular topic on the internet.  This creates an appeal towards the purchasing habits of your target audience via different keyword optimization techniques.  If your article holds rank for the keywords and phrases you are optimizing for, then you will be in prime position to receive free, organic traffic from the search engines.

Though there are companies who use more questionable SEO article writing tactics, such as integrating hidden keywords/phrases on a website, sticking to the proven practices will ensure longevity and stable relations with the search engines.

There are various ways of promoting the website and doing it through SEO article writing is an important one.  This is why we take great care to ensure our SEO article writing is infused with facts and how to information that educates customers.  SEO article writing is about more than just writing; sometimes it is about making your old stuff better than it was.

Let’s take a look at a few different ways writers can boost their business into a profit-pulling machine by implementing a few tweaks and suggestions:

Make sure your rates are right

This is probably mistake number one with regards to new or struggling writers who are seeking freelance writing jobs.  If you’re charging too much compared to your direct competition, your potential clients will be seeking services elsewhere rather than fork up %20 more than various other talented writers in the marketplace.  On the flip side, if you are being overly modest with your rates interested clients might not take you seriously or be expecting some sort of “catch”.  Balance is important with every business, regardless of the industry.

The going rate seems to be between $6-$15 per 300-500 word article.  If you’re going to start off charging $15 per article, be prepared for the possibility of more demands from your clients.  At $6 per article most clients won’t even bother to ask for a change or revision.  I suggest starting off somewhere in between, for example you could start your rates at $6 for 200-300 words, $9 for 300-500 and $12 for 500-700 etc.

As time goes on it won’t be that difficult to introduce a standard rate for your work within a more broad per word range.  Do you really think it will be that hard to get people to pay $25 per article for anything between 500-1000 words?  Not at all.  Your clients will pay for quality, reliability and rapport.

Daily marketing is an absolute must

When you’re beginning to search for freelance writing jobs you must market yourself on a daily basis.  Visibility is crucial from the get-go and you should be taking full advantage of the many online writing communities which allow clients and writers to interact, find each other and secure business relations.

There are two great places to start:  elance.com and odesk.com.  Both of these communities receive thousands of targeted clients each and everyday who are looking for high quality, affordable writing solutions.  Set up your profile and make it a routine to search the marketplaces first thing in the morning, sending out response to any and every job posting available within your writing medium, niche or style.

Before marketing yourself, I would highly suggest setting up a website that you can send potential clients to.  Have pieces of your work, contact information, and a blurb about yourself/company/objective.  It’s equally important these days to also maintain a blog – because believe it or not this is where business oriented traffic will look first.  They want to see what you’re about, what type of community you have and how you’re using it to promote your services.

Follow these guidelines and you should be on your way to a $100/day freelance business in no time.  Remember, customer service is crucial, so brush up on your email etiquette and don’t be shy to make the occasional phone call to let your clients know that things are moving along well with their project.

Regardless of when the ideas pop into your head – like in the shower or driving to work – you need to harness these opportunities and maximize the creative energy in a constructive manner.  Many writers carry around a voice recorder or punch notes into their iPhone or Blackberry.  What matters is when you’re struggling to come up with creative platforms on demand, be sure that you are prepared to document those sporadic bouts of literary genius!

Here are a couple of tips to keep the creative juices flowing and find inspiration from nothing:

Think of a Scenario or Social Backdrop

This is one of the oldest methods in the how-to books of writing – and it is still as effective today!  To start, take a look around you and observe the people, what they are doing, how they look and what their expressions are.  For example, begin with the attractive but stern women who just stepped off the escalator;

Her hair is wet from the rain, yet she appears to be at peace with the world and her current state of being.  She walks through the lobby with the confidence and determination of a spartan general.

This is your opening scene.  Now ask yourself questions like where is she going?  Is she married?  Does she have kids?  Expand on your initial observation and before you know it you will be pages into a very compelling story.

Combine Potential Stories Together

This has to be one of my favorite methods for generating fantasy/fairy tale/science fiction based story lines.  Take the last really great movie you watched and throw it in the blender with the latest headline on the Sunday newspaper.  For example, the last great movie you watched was Angels and Demons, while the Sunday newspaper headline reads: Boy rescued from well after being stranded for 72 hours.

The story starts with this boy, who is known by secret scientifically driven organization to be the last living blood line of Jesus Christ.  His parents were murdered and he has been captured by this cult for the purposes of collecting a ransom and destroying the reputation of the world’s most powerful organized religion.

As you can see – there were a million possible directions I could have went with those two methods given.  These exercises will also improve your ability to “freestyle” topics, characters and ideas on the spot, strictly based on existing stories and your direct surroundings.