You’ve heard of people who ditched their corporate posts to do freelance work. And now you’ve decided to join them and become a freelance writer. You read advice on how to start but you find yourself getting confused. You search for jobs on online job boards. But competition is stiff. What’s more, most clients ask for a portfolio, which you don’t have. [Read more…]
5 Tips for Building a Smashing Online Writing Portfolio
Every freelance writer knows that you won’t get hired if you don’t have a decent collection of writing samples. Understandably, prospective employers like to see what you can do before they commit to paying you.
You could send an email loaded with writing samples, but it’s much easier and more professional to build an online writing portfolio. These are becoming the current standard for freelancers, whether the proposed work is going to be online or not. [Read more…]
5 Creative Methods to Help Round Up More Professional Writing Opportunities
As a writer, you’re always looking for creative ways and opportunities to get that next assignment or to find that next client to work for. Because communications technology is changing so rapidly in modern context, the rules have changed for how to get work, who wants work to be done, what format the work needs to be in, and even where the work needs to be shared.
But, five general ways that you can up the ante on your personal writing goals would be to tighten up your online resume, create a portfolio website, read trending magazine articles, use hashtags wisely for self-promotion, and cooperate with other mediums to cross-promote whenever possible. [Read more…]
There’s a New Kid in the Freelance Writing Block: LolWot
LOL, what?
All kidding aside, LolWot may very well be the solution to remove a huge degree of uncertainty in your freelance writing career.
Uncertainty in terms of work and income is one of the biggest issues freelancers face. That is why we’ve talked about topics like getting new gigs even if you already have existing clients.
That’s where LolWot comes in handy.
LolWot is a promising new platform for freelance writers of all sorts. Now, you may be shaking your head thinking that it’s “just another of those content mills that pays pennies”.
Not exactly. Nor do you have to rely on page views and ads to make money.
More than adding a new stream of income, the platform can also serve as your online portfolio.
Let’s see how it works, shall we?
The How and the Why
Getting started is simple. You only have to visit the LolWot page and sign in with Facebook. You don’t have to worry about the service publishing posts on your Facebook wall without your knowledge, though.
But why should you even consider joining LolWot? Because it really does have interesting terms for freelance writers.
- Registration is free. You know how much we advise against paying to join a network so you can earn!
- There is no minimum work required, neither is there a maximum limit. You can write for LolWot when you want to. You can work for other clients when you want to.
- You can choose your own topics to write about – no forced writing here!
- They pay via PayPal and have a reputation for paying on time (every Monday).
A Closer Look at LolWot
To give you a better idea on how you can benefit from the LolWot writing platform, allow us to show you its inner workings.
Sign in page and dashboard
As you can see, you only have to click one button to get started. You’ll then have to authorize your account.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be redirected to your dashboard.
From your dashboard, you can immediately start choosing jobs.
Job types
There are three kinds of jobs you can pick from:
List – pays $2 per item
You can choose what topic you like, craft a catchy title, write an introduction that will hook readers, and add list items one by one. You can even add an image for each item to make your article looks great.
The interface has been designed to make it easy for writers to enter information so you don’t have to worry about formatting.
Video – pays $5
Writing a video article is even easier. Just enter the YouTube URL and then write the title and description. You can’t just write about any video, though. LolWot’s guidelines require videos to:
- be shocking
- wow readers
- have the potential to go viral.
News – pays $5
Have you stumbled upon breaking news that you know will absolutely spread like wildfire? If so, this is the job for you. The key here is that you choose a topic that is fresh and that appeals to the general population. Niche topics won’t cut it.
Making sure you get paid
LolWot does pay, but you have to ensure that your articles get approved first. While this may raise red flags with those of you who have had bad experiences with this kind of system, you don’t really have to worry.
The platform wants quality articles, so they give their writers everything they need to ensure approval. If you look at the screenshots above again, you’ll notice that there is a notification block that reminds you to follow their Guidelines.
Their Guidelines page is comprehensive, providing tips on how to write for each type of job. It also gives examples, so you know exactly what the LolWot writing platform wants.
If you follow the Guidelines, then your articles get approved, and you’ll get paid.
In conclusion
LolWot can be an excellent source of income, just like your bread and butter client. We know that some of you may have higher rates, but if you think about it, you are not strictly bound by word count and deadlines with LolWot. More so, you have control over how much you earn for list posts.
Even if you have lots of clients, having LolWot as a regular option gives you a sense of certainty that you will always have work when you need it.
Why not give it a try, and sign up now?
Let us know how this works out for you!
5 Online Portfolio Platforms for Freelance Writers
Are you looking for a place where you can display your work online and tell the story of where you have accumulated clips so that prospective clients can get to know you and your work? Every writer has a unique voice and you can apply for gigs, make cold calls and visit clients face to face, but the only way that someone can decide whether you are a good fit for the project they are currently hiring for is to read a sample of your writing. Show, don’t tell, a client what you can do – post your best work in one of the online portfolio platforms for freelance writers.
[Read more…]
