Is freelance writing a lost cause?

[CoreCellar]

In terms of making a sufficient amount of money?

For me, that would be around $350 per month, as it would completely cover all my expenses: rent, utilities, food, etc.

I had intended to make freelance writing my side gig to accomplish this, while dedicating my time to another project that I love doing, and that would probably pay off in 2 years. I do get a couple of writing gigs from time to time, and had no complaints so far, but they are not nearly enough.

It seems that this market is inundated with writers from the third world, so I don't think it's feasible. What do you think?

I really need to make $1700 by the end of this year, so that I can really start working on my other project(it has nothing to do with the topics of this website).

Anyway, I have downloaded a couple of Udemy lectures on affiliate marketing, so I'll see how that goes.
But from everything I've read so far about affiliate marketing, it would take at least 6 months before any significant money comes in. And that is if you are lucky.

 

[NoHypeNeeded]

I wish my expenses were $350/month but I'm sure you're not in the U.S anyway.

Seriously though, no it's definitely not dead and I would highly recommend you to try Fiverr. You can absolutely make $350/month there.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

But from everything I've read so far about affiliate marketing, it would take at least 6 months before any significant money comes in. And that is if you are lucky.

Keep reading as there are methods where you can start making money inside of a day posted here on BHW.

 

[CoreCellar]

I wish my expenses were $350/month but I'm sure you're not in the U.S anyway.

Seriously though, no it's definitely not dead and I would highly recommend you to try Fiverr. You can absolutely make $350/month there.

Yup, I'm from central Europe.

I'm surprised you mentioned Fiverr, the most inundated marketplace of them all. Completely useless.

P.S.
Could a moderator move this topic to "Associated Content & Writing Articles", I think it would be more appropriate.

Keep reading as there are methods where you can start making money inside of a day posted here on BHW.

Can you point me to just one method?
I've already bought a couple of domains and a hosting service in preparation for this eventuality.

 

[MisterF]

If you're a decent writer you can earn enough to pay your bills, there's plenty of other platforms other than Fiverr.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

This has morphed tremendously but is still very viable - https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/i...n-a-day-using-facebook-you-surely-can.760255/

Another viable opportunity - https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/h...-easy-repeatable-and-scaleable-method.799416/

Gold - https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/easy-100-a-day-perfect-for-noobs.359445/

There are 3 for you and there are a ton more out there.

 

[CoreCellar]

If you're a decent writer you can earn enough to pay your bills, there's plenty of other platforms other than Fiverr.

I don't find that to be the case:
1. I have systematically applied to over 20 content mills(that's pretty much all of them) and other platforms. Most of them rejected me outright because I'm not a resident of USA/UK/Australia. Those that did not reject me for that reason have a very small job pool.

2. It's not the quality of the writing, as I've had no complaints so far. It's finding the writing jobs, a regular inflow of work to do. Not scavenging sites all the time before someone beats you to it. The whole process of scouring the internet for writing gigs actually makes me more mentally exhausted than if I had written 10 articles.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

To me, writing for a living would be one of the worst paths to take to earn online and I'm not that bad a writer and can write 5,000 words a day.

It is inconsistent and the path of least resistance thus drawing in anyone who has a keyboard.

Building out sites and driving traffic to them using a variety of methods and monetizing using any one of a dozen processes is so much more in tune with building a sustainable business model online.

In fact, almost anyone can make a six figure income doing exactly that and not have to work their backsides off.

 

[Sherb]

Your writing ability is impressive from your post content.

Charge more.

People thought I was out of my mind for charging what I charged in my content sales thread. But I charged it and got customers who were willing to pay what I wanted for my writing. And that was without any samples.

I made on average $1,800 per month from just the writing gig for a little over three months, and probably put 10-15 hours a week into it max.

Charge more.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

Charge more.

Tell that to my wife and I'll have to go back to work to pay off the Mastercard bill.

 

[NoHypeNeeded]

Yup, I'm from central Europe.

I'm surprised you mentioned Fiverr, the most inundated marketplace of them all. Completely useless.

P.S.
Could a moderator move this topic to "Associated Content & Writing Articles", I think it would be more appropriate.

Completely useless? I make far more than $350/month with Fiverr so I'm not sure I'd call it useless. It certainly works well if you know what you're doing.

 

[PlofAtayuga]

The most successful writers don't work for content mills or any sort of platform that encourages price dumping. But yeah, getting direct clients can be difficult when you're starting out.

Offline marketing? There may be people in your area who many need someone who can write good English. Keep an eye on local networking events, etc.
SEO? Build your own website, find a couple of easy keywords to start with and scale up.
LinkedIn has been working better and better for me in recent years for B2B. Get a strong profile, join groups, interact, etc.

 

[Servin Laypa]

I haven't attempted this but after reading the thread it just occured to me. Perhaps if someone is good at writing and they cannot find clients starting out then just start making sites on any topic and just write thousands of words a day and as the site builds up just put adsense on it. If there is value in the articles then the money should flow especially if user engagement is good. This could be about a topic that can rise easily in the serps due to little or no competition. That would bring in organic traffic.

 

[Jiung]

PM me a sample of your work and your prices
I need 10 articles

Oh your new
So cant PM
Make more posts or
Give me your skype name

I’m pretty sure this is against the rules. It is similar to selling outside the marketplace, pretty sure you can’t purchase either.

 

[CoreCellar]

Completely useless? I make far more than $350/month with Fiverr so I'm not sure I'd call it useless. It certainly works well if you know what you're doing.

Yes, I'm familiar with this line of argument. You must have been there for a long time in order to not be drowned in a sea of hundreds of identical offers.
Only established people on Fiverr are able to float on the surface.

 

[damagesmith]

I think your goal of $350 per month is very doable.

 

[CoreCellar]

To me, writing for a living would be one of the worst paths to take to earn online and I'm not that bad a writer and can write 5,000 words a day.

It is inconsistent and the path of least resistance thus drawing in anyone who has a keyboard.

Exactly, this is why I intended it as a method of stopping the financial bleeding($350 per month accounts for all my expenses) while I dedicate myself to my other long-term project.
I figured that freelance writing would be the most efficient method - still leaving me with plenty of work hours to use up.

 

[NoHypeNeeded]

Yes, I'm familiar with this line of argument. You must have been there for a long time in order to not be drowned in a sea of hundreds of identical offers.
Only established people on Fiverr are able to float on the surface.

Well, no, not really, this account I'm using I've had for a year. It's legit been up for a year. And again -- it doesn't matter if you know what you're doing. Just because you DON'T know what you're doing doesn't make Fiverr useless.

 

[CoreCellar]

Well, no, not really, this account I'm using I've had for a year. It's legit been up for a year. And again -- it doesn't matter if you know what you're doing. Just because you DON'T know what you're doing doesn't make Fiverr useless.

Can you PM me on how you managed to do that, I've been on Fiverr for a week, and it's like I don't even exist there. Just like before.

 

[Servin Laypa]

Can you PM me on how you managed to do that, I've been on Fiverr for a week, and it's like I don't even exist there. Just like before.

He's obviously offering something where the market is not flooded with lowballers.