by Bruno Somerset

Created on: February 05, 2007   Last Updated: July 13, 2010

Freelance writers are always looking for new opportunities and new markets for their work, and the Internet has provided a wealth of opportunities. There is also certainly money to be made writing online articles, just don't plan on quitting your day job anytime soon. I have been writing articles for online publication for roughly two years now, and while I have earned a respectable amount, it is by no means a giant sum.

However, those looking for a quick payday are missing the point. Even a small payment allows writers to accomplish something most have never achieved before: being paid for something we would do for free. For a writer, being paid anything for your work is a victory. Magazines only seem to care about celebrity gossip, newspapers are going out of business every day, and even most published novelists in America are never able to live solely off the income from their books. Therefore I am happy with what I've made so far, and while I hope to increase my earnings, my main goal is to improve my writing.

There are numerous sites that promise cash for articles. In my experience thus far, the one that pays for the widest range of topics is dcontent.com">Associated Content. They pay anywhere from $1.50 to $20 for articles, which is far better than most sites, and pay monthly for page views. Most writers earn $1.50 for every thousand page views, and you only need to have earned $1.50 to request payment, which is the lowest payment threshold I have seen. AC also makes it easy for you to promote your work through links to various search engines, giving you wider distribution.

Helium is a very good site that is poised to overtake Associated Content in terms of opportunities to earn. Payment can take longer because you must have earned at least $25 before requesting payment. However, Helium does have the advantage of your work being reviewed and rated by other writers. Helium also has numerous ongoing contests, requests from publishers, and now upfront payments that allow a writer multiple ways to earn.

Review Stream is a site that pays for reviews of just about anything, but the minimum amount that must be earned before payout is high. They also tend to be very arbitrary and inconsistent about what they accept and what they reject.

With any site that promises payment for articles, be sure to thoroughly investigate them before submitting anything. As with anything online today, scams are rampant. One advantage to both Associated Content and Helium is that they never ask for any personal banking information. All payments are made to your PayPal account using your e-mail address.

Whichever route you go, the key is to use each article to improve your writing. Pay attention to the comments you receive, and use any feedback, even negative, to make your next article better. It will take time to build a portfolio and a regular readership, but with luck and hard work, maybe someday the New York Times will call.

Learn more about this author, Bruno Somerset.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.