Are you a writer who loves the city you live in? Do want to help other locals learn more about their home town? About.com, a subsidiary of the New York Times Company, is currently expanding its Cities & Towns channel and is seeking professional writers to cover a number of metro areas, including Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Columbus, OH, El Paso, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, writing as a sort of “friendly neighbor” by providing in-depth resources that appeal to residents or prospective residents of the area (not tourists).
To become a Guide (our name for our writers), you’ll need to be a resident of the city or live within 50 miles of one of the cities above and have published writing experience, preferably relating to local content (journalists, for example, make a great fit for this position). As a Cities & Town Guide, you would create original content that covers topics like restaurant reviews, neighborhood profiles, calendar of events, and other areas of interest to locals in your area. You’ll also be responsible for a blog that showcases your unique writing style, a discussion forum where you act as community leader, and a bio page that highlights your personal expertise.
All About.com Guides are considered freelancers who set their own schedules, giving them the flexibility to log on from anywhere in the world to work at their own pace. There are no timesheets to fill out, so working for About.com gives you the flexibility to write when you want, allowing you to work around a full-time day job. Compensation is based on page views; the more traffic you get, the more money you’ll make. All Guides in their first two years make a minimum of $725 a month, and the average Guide makes at least $1,000 a month.
Want to know more? Visit http://beaguide.about.com to learn more about About.com, see a full list of available topics, and to submit an application.
