Make Quick Cash Freelancing †Content Mills Not Included

Make Quick Cash Freelancing – Content Mills Not Included You’re eating ramen noodles for the third night in a row, stopping between bites to nervously run your hands through your hair. You haven’t seen the inside of a Starbucks in months and you’re pretty sure dust bunnies and moth balls have moved into your wallet. As freelance writers, we’ve all been there. . . at least once. The money keeps going out, but somehow it’s stopped coming in. At this point, many of us turn to the content mills to earn some quick cash, grinding out dozens and dozens of articles for a pittance in the hopes that we’ll somehow manage to come crawling out of the red. I know that’s what I used to do. But, friends, there is another way. Yes, there is another way to make quick cash freelancing. So, you – yes, you! Step away from the content mill. And try these tips instead. 1. Tap your networks. Let people know you’re a writer looking for work. Tell your friends, your family, your Twitter followers, your Facebook pals, your dog. . . Someone’s bound to know someone looking for a writer (okay, maybe not your dog). Why shouldn’t that writer be you? When I published my very first writer website, I placed the link in my email signature and thought nothing else of it. The next day, my mother had plastered the URL all over her Facebook page. â€Å"My ba Until representatives from two different companies emailed me about doing some copywriting work for them. Can you guess how they heard about me? My mom’s Facebook page! One of the contacts actually ended up becoming a client. 2. Get in touch with former editors. Be they from magazines, websites, online publications, newspapers, not-for-profits, or anywhere else, tell them you’re available to take on assignments. I’ll let you in on a shocking secret: Reliable, easy-to-work-with freelancers are hard to come I recently tried this tactic the last time I was short on cash and got four assignments as a result. 3. Sell reprints of articles you’ve already written. Find publications that accept reprints, then look through your portfolio to see if you have anything they might be interested in. Because it’s been published elsewhere, you won’t get full pay. But then again, you’ve already done the work, so anything else is just icing on the cake (or this month’s electricity bill). 4. Repurpose old articles and blog posts for new markets. Not all publications accept reprints, but you can rewrite the material to create something â€Å"new† for other markets. If you quoted in the original article, paraphrase in this one. Where you paraphrased in the original, use quotes for the new piece. You can’t copy and paste word-for-word, and you may have to contact one or two additional sources, but for the most part, it’s just a matter of going back to your notes and coming up with a unique piece for the other publication. The next time you’re strapped for cash, resist the urge to make a beeline for the mills and try these tips instead. You’ll be amazed at the amount of money that will roll in without having to chain yourself to your desk.