Juggling "real" writing and content writing

Content writing isn't real journalism. I don't care what anyone says: Content writing is pretty much the a weekly shopper while real journalism is the New York Times.

That being said, I have no problem contributing to that shopper. Content writing is making me some nice side money, especially during these trying economic times when print publications are struggling mightily.

But it's not work I'm proud of.

Now I'm facing a different sort of problem with content writing. I've gotten so many assignments from small publishers -- nickel-and-dime stuff that I don't want to turn down in this economy -- that I'm struggling to get my "real" journalism done.

For this month, this "real" writing includes a story for the jobs section of a major newspaper, a story for a medical trade magazine and two stories for an environmental publisher. These stories take real effort and thought: I have to interview people. I have to research facts and studies.

Of course, they pay well, too.

It's hard to get this work done, though, when I'm spending my daytime hours pounding out 15 short posts on visiting New York City or playing Bakugan. (Yes, Bakugan. I'm a grown man writing about Bakugan. Sigh.)

How do you juggle all your writing assignments? How do you make the time when you also want to spend time with your family? Does the arrival of summer vacation -- which started here yesterday -- through off your routine?

Let me know your thoughts.

How much can you say about one island?

Sometimes this content writing thing gets a bit ridiculous. I've been hired to write a series of short, easy-to-write posts for a client who obviously runs a travel site devoted to Maui.

I know this because I've now written 50 blog posts about Maui for this client.

That's right, 50.

I didn't know there was so much I could say about Maui. I think I've covered every major, minor and shouldn't-be attraction on the island. I've written about every sport you can play on Maui, every scenic road you can take, every beach you can get sunburned on.

I think I've used the words "amazing scenery" or "stunning scenery" so much, the "s," "a" and "z" keys on my keyboard have worn down.

Still, I can't complain too much. The work from this client is steady. And he pays well and on time.

I just wish he'd build a site for one of the other islands.

Trying Project Wonderful

The key to succeeding as a freelance writer today is to have a large variety of revenue streams going on at once.

Here's what I have: I edit a real estate trade magazine in Chicago. That provides an annual, steady salary. I freelance write for print and newspapers. That used to make up the majority of my yearly income. In today's economy, though, that's changing. I also write for six different blogs, some of which are pay-per-post and some of which I operate on my own. Finally, I've entered the world of content writing, which, despite its generally low pay for each assignment, has boosted my monthly revenue quite nicely.

Now I'm hoping to add more ad revenue to this mix. I do have AdSense on the blogs that I run myself. The money from that comes very, very slowly. It's hard to get people to click those ads. But I have made some money. I'm not at the $100 that Google requires for payout yet, but I should get there in two months or so.

I'm also trying Project Wonderful. This ad-revenue option is popular among Web comic artists, but can be used for most any Web Site that isn't pornographic.

Basically, you sign up and wait. Project Wonderful staffers look over your site and then either approve you or tell you "no thanks." Once you're approved, you add code to your Web site -- this is very simple to do -- and wait for companies to bid on advertising on your site.

When you start, you'll get very little bidding action. And if your site isn't that popular, that probably won't change. My first Project Wonderful ad paid out exactly $0. But one day later, I had a company paying 1 penny a day to advertise on my site.

Whoopee! That's $3.65 a year! However, as I build up visitors, I hope to see that per-day figure rise.

And if it doesn't? It costs me no work to have Project Wonderful ads running on my Web sites.

Exploring Creative Weblogging

You might not have heard of Creative Weblogging. But it's another blogging service, one that has blogs focusing on business, technology, digital media, sports, family and other topics.

Last month, I began writing a blog for them. It's not a lot of money, but it is a set payment every month that I can count on.

I'm glad I began working with the company, too. A residential real estate blog I wrote for ended my contract last week. Again, it wasn't a ton of money each month, but it was steady pay that I could look forward to.

The problem wasn't the writing, the real estate company told me. It was the visitors. There weren't enough of them.

The blog had existed for about eight months. The real estate company was hoping for 10,000 visitors a month. I never felt this was a realistic goal, even though I tried to help out by posting messages on related forums and using Twitter. But the company wasn't paying me enough to promote the site as much as it needed to be.

Which brings me to this question: Why do blogging networks expect their writers to do all the work involved in promoting their blogs? Many of the networks I've worked with have asked me to Twitter for them, or promote them through services like LinkedIn. I'd be happy to do this if the blogging networks weren't paying me peanut money each week.

I mean, what are the blogging networks themselves doing? Are they doing any work, or are they just collecting money?

We'll see, then, how Creative Weblogging goes. So far, it's been hassle-free. Let's hope it stays that way.

Follow-up: I did get a bit more money

Yesterday I wrote about asking a content-writing client for a bit more money to write three stories that I felt would take more research than usual.

Well, after a brief e-mail exchange, I will be getting some extra money for the stories.

I didn't get everything I asked for. Basically, we agreed to split the difference: I'll get extra money on the stories, but only half of what I originally asked for.

That's fine. There's always room for compromise, even in the speed-and-volume-at-all-costs world of content writing.

The lesson here, then, is an obvious one. Don't be afraid to ask your content-writing clients for a little extra every once in a while. Sure, most times they'll probably beg off. But you may get lucky. In this economy, every little bit of extra money helps.

You can ask for more, even in content writing

As content writers, we often undervalue ourselves. I'm guilty of this, too. Sometimes you have to really look at what you're doing. Does it make financial sense?

I'm currently working with a client who runs several business-themed content sites. Last week, I provided him with several stories relating to subjects such as power tools, window tinting and workshop safety.

This week, he wants me to write thee insurance-related posts. These posts need to be from 500 to 600 words, and they must cover certain subjects in depth. I'm happy to do it, but I've asked for a bit more money. These posts are simply more work: They require more research, and their longer.

I'm not asking for a fortune, just $5 more for each story.

Even content writers need to be paid fairly for their time. I'm not sure what the response from my client will be. This is only the second time I've written for him. But I imagine he'll be OK with my request. And if he's not? Then I don't want to write for him anyway.

Why doesn't Twitter help me?

I know everyone seems to love Twitter. It's one of those things that has caught fire.

Fine. But I want to know one thing: Has anyone reading this blog ever found a job from Twitter? Has anyone reading this blog seen the number of visits to their own blogs jump significantly thanks to Twitter?

I sure haven't been able to accomplish either of these tasks.

I'm not complaining too much. I do use Twitter a bit. But it too often seems like a jumble of random thoughts that have nothing to do with anything important. It's nice to know, I suppose, that Greg77 just had a sandwich and some milk. But really, I'd rather hear that EditorFred is looking for writers.

Maybe I expect too much from Twitter? Maybe it is just supposed to be a fun little tool for gabbing with friends you don't like enough to call on the phone.

What about you? Has Twitter ever helped you as a writer?