The mistakes content writers make: Read the directions

I'm always amazed at some of the foolish mistakes content writers make when looking for jobs. For instance, a lot don't follow the directions.

I see this a lot at the job boards and writing forums that I frequent. Someone will post a job and request that interested candidates either e-mail them directly or send them a private message.

Inevitably, a string of writers will post their own messages on the job board or forum. They'll write: "Hey, I'm interested," or maybe, "I'd like to do this."

Now, the job poster might not even come back to the message board. The poster asked for private messages or e-mails. Why would a writer post his or her response on the message board itself?

Besides, why would a content producer hire someone whose version of a cover letter and writing samples consists of "Hey, I'm interested?"

Content writers, here's some free advice: Pay attention to what you're doing. Read the friggin' instructions before applying for a job. You'll never get anywhere without doing this.

Giving Content Divas a shot

I'm constantly looking for new content-writing work these days. That's because it's getting more and more difficult to earn steady writing assignments at print magazines and newspapers. These clients still make up the majority of my freelance-writing income, but content writing has steadily accounted for a growing percentage these days.

I've built up a nice base of reliable content-writing clients. But I always need more. That's because a lot of content-writing clients need only enough writing to fill up a certain number of niche sites. Once they get that writing, they disappear for a month or two until they need some fresh copy.

This is partly why I applied last week to Content Divas. Much like AdAstra Traffic, which I've written about recently, Content Divas is a company that links freelance content-writers with content projects.

This evening, I heard back from Content Divas -- just two days after I sent in my application -- that I've been hired on as a writer. Now, the pay, as with most content-writing jobs, isn't stellar. But the service promises fairly steady work. And right now, with the struggles that the economy is suffering through, I appreciate any work that's steady and reliable.

I've heard from other writers, and read on other blogs, that Content Divas pays its writers on time. It has a unique set-up, too. Writers are hired to write keyword articles, blog posts, press releases or e-book material. Projects last a certain number of days, and writers are expected to turn in 1,000 words each day. If projects are short, and only last a few days, writers receive payment at the end of the project. If they're long, they receive partial part upfront, the rest when they finish the job.

I'm a fast writer, so I'm hoping that this will work to my advantage with Content Divas.

Meanwhile, today was an interesting day. A comic book biography I've written on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was officially announced at a number of comic-book sites today. The comic, published by BlueWater Productions, will hit comic stores in January. At the same time, I've been hired by BlueWater to write another comic biography -- I can't say who yet, but it's for the companies music-themed line and will focus on a very popular female musician -- that will be released in 2010.

Ridiculous content-writing offers at Digital Point Forums

We all know that content writers don't exactly fetch kingly rates. But if you're fast enough, you just might make a decent hourly rate, as long as you don't accept assignments that pay insultingly low offers.

Now, if you are looking for insulting offers, try exploring the forums at Digital Point. This forum, dedicated to Web site owners and the people who provide them services, has its own subsection where Web site owners request content writers for their sites.

Sounds like a good place to find work, right? Well, sometimes. Unfortunately, it's most often a place where site owners ask writers to provide them content for ridiculously low offers.

Here's an example: This guy needs an article writer for a bulk project. The pay he's offering? A miserly $1 for 300 words. But, the poster promises, the work is in bulk. What does this mean? That he'll end up paying writers $5 for 1,500 words. That's pretty damn bad.

This poster is willing to pay $2 for 300 words. Again, this is pretty lousy. What's even worse is the poster's attitude. The poster says that writers who provide three or more "bad" articles will be fired. That's right, fired from this terribly lucrative $2-for-300-word job. What will the poor writer do? Work at McDonald's for even more money?

Overall, Digital Point is a rather depressing place. It's filled with forum posters who can barely string together two sentences demanding perfection from writers for $1 articles. If you're looking for good content-writing work -- and there are good clients out there, even in the world of content writing -- skip Digital Point.

Giving BrightHub another try

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a rather snotty post complaining that I'd been rejected by BrightHub. Well, turns out I may have posted a bit too soon.

You may know BrightHub: The site pays writers $10 upfront for short, explanatory stories on a number of topics. Authors can write about environmental science, investing, finances, engineering, etc.., Authors also earn residual income on the money that their stories generate over time.

Last month, I received a message from BrightHub saying that my application to write for the environmental sciences channel had been denied. I was a bit miffed. But last week I received another message. This one stated that I'd been accepted to write for investing channel.

I turned in my first BrightHub story last night. Now, I just have to wait and see what my editor thinks. It's true that $10 a story isn't much, but BrightHub, if I can write the stories fast enough, might be a good way to fill in the gaps during the slower months. And this month of October, unfortunately, is turning out to be one of the slowest I've experienced in more than five years.

The big content-writing mistake: writing about what you don't know

I've never been to Cornwall, England. It looks like a lovely place, though. Some even say it's the birthplace of the mythical King Arthur. If you're in Cornwall, you can visit the castle where he supposedly was born.

I didn't know any of this until this morning. That's because I agreed to write four content-writing articles on Cornwall.

The price was more than fair. And the assignment specs weren't onerous in any way. However, the assignment turned out to be a bit of a pain in the butt for me. That's because I committed the big sin of content writing: I took on an assignment writing about something I knew nothing about.

The key to making money as a content writer is to write as many stories as you can extremely fast. It's a bit of a grind. But if you know about exercise equipment, it's not too difficult to pound out five stories on successful weight training. If you're really quick, you can do those five stories in an hour to make a decent hourly rate.

It's when you take on topics that you know nothing about, though, that you run into trouble. It took me most of the morning to write my four Cornwall articles. That's because I had to spend valuable time researching. Every minute you spend researching is a minute you could be spending writing.

So don't be tempted, even if the pay per article sounds good, to write about something about which you know little. It never pays off.

AdAstra update

I recently discovered a new content-writing provider, AdAstra. Basically, the site will provide a host of content-writing jobs. AdAstra writers can then claim these jobs, if the price is right for them.

It's a nice system for a few reasons: First, writers have to apply to AdAstra as if they were applying for any freelance job. Secondly, the people behind AdAstra ask writers what rates they're comfortable writing at. This way, writers won't be asked to take on jobs with rates that are too low. Finally, AdAstra acts as the middleman here, handling payment.

Last week, I turned in my first job for them. Today, my payment showed up in my Paypal account, four days ahead of schedule. That doesn't happen often, so I'm thrilled.

AdAstra is having its official opening in October. So hopefully, there will be more jobs posted. (There are no jobs available at this moment.)

So far, I've been quite pleased with AdAstra. If you're interested in learning more about them, visit the company's homepage here.

Ad Astra's looking good for content writers

OK, so maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I think I've found a content-writing job site that may actually be worth working with: Ad Astra Traffic.

Like other content-writing sites, Ad Astra Traffic -- which is now in its soft launch; its official launch begins in October -- lists job offers from Web site and business owners who need quality written content. The people behind Ad Astra, though, have so far done a good job of ensuring that their site isn't clogged with insulting offers.

For one thing, the Ad Astra people don't take just anyone who applies to be a writer with them. You have to apply to Ad Astra just as if you were applying to write a magazine or newspaper. This is a big difference from sites like Suite 101 and Examiner.com, which take just about anyone who can string together more than two sentences.

Secondly, Ad Astra allows its writers to list up front how much they want to get paid per word. This keeps the folks behind the site from recommending jobs that don't pay enough to writers who want more lucrative work.

Of course, this being content writing, the payouts are still pretty low. But I've seen far worse at other sites.

My first assignment with Ad Astra is due on Tuesday. I'll provide an update on the payment and editing process -- Ad Astra pays through PayPal -- but so far, I'm impressed with this and hope to build a long-term relationship with Ad Astra Traffic.