Writing on the internet for money is not an easy way to make a living. In fact, most people only use this type of writing to supplement their income, not to support themselves. Can you make money writing web content for a living? Probably, but it will take long hours and lots of patience. If you stick with it, you can build a great portfolio with lots of links. As you do, your name will become associated with your writing skills and areas of expertise, and you might even get noticed by someone wanting to hire you to produce web content solely for their website or sites.

There are a few things you should think about before deciding that you are going try to make income producing articles on the internet. Ask yourself these questions. Is there a niche market you can provide continuous content for? How do you intend to promote yourself? How much time will you spend promoting yourself? How much time can you spend writing? Do you have time to research information you are not familiar with? When will you do your writing, and how will you accommodate for unexpected interruptions?

It's important to know what you are going to write about. If you know a lot about a particular subject, you've already got a platform to write from. You know what topics need to be covered, and you can do simple searches to find out what isn't being addressed properly by articles already currently on the web. This is one way to build your portfolio in a hurry, and it will definitely increase your page views if people begin to think of you as an expert in any particular topic.

Promoting yourself can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be. You can start a blog or snippet to provide links to your articles. You can link to social networking sites automatically. You can ask your friends and family to help you too. Again it needs to be stressed that if you start a blog, it's a good idea to focus on one topic, creating more blogs as the need arises to promote articles in other areas. Another good idea is to make business cards with your website information on them. Then you can strategically drop them wherever you go.

The best way to build up your portfolio is to block out several hours each day that you devote strictly to writing. Manage your time wisely, avoiding pitfalls like getting bogged down in poor research. If the research isn't easy to understand, write the article that clarifies the topic. If you can't do that, switch topics so you can produce an article without taking too much time doing so.

Accommodating unexpected interruptions depends on each writer's personal circumstances. Some writers need to work in the middle of the night, while others can pop in their earplugs or ipod and be able to work in spite of background noise and chaos. Mom's with little ones may find more time to write during quiet time and after the kids go to bed, while Dad's may get up extra early to do the same thing.

Earning money as a writer on the internet is not hard. Earning enough money to pay all your bills is not easy. It's up to you to determine how much you will earn as an internet writer. If you put in the time, build up your portfolio, get lots of links, start blogs to help drive traffic to your work, and manage your time wisely, you can earn a fair amount as a writer on the web. How much is up to you, and it probably won't be very much at all until you have created lots of quantity that is linked and promoted well.

Learn more about this author, M. J. Joachim.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Earning money on the web as a writer?
We want to hear your view. Write now!