Content Writing- Side Income Journey

Deadlock1985 · Dec 16, 2019

Hello all,

I recently joined to the forum after lurking for a long time, that I also mentioned about the details in the "Introduce yourself" section.

I have a full time job at logistics-supply chain at Turkey. And although it is paying decent amount of money, after getting married, expenses skyrocketed

So I need a side income and when I weigh my skills and weaknesses, I came to conclusion of writing would be the most time-effective way for my target.

Target: 250 $ per month

Constraints:

Time. (I am/will be available only at weekends)
Money. (I read lots of methods regarding to different methods but I cannot afford to make serious investments)

Strengths:

Native Turkish speaker, a decent English that may provide a decent output by using some apps like Grammarly.
I have a wide range of interests & information about different contexts that I can write about.
People generally admire my sense of humor, so I can be creative when I write.
I learned basic-intermediate Yoast SEO & Wordpress thanks to the forum. Plugins, Widgets, Meta Description, Image Attributes, External&Internal Linking etc etc.

Weaknesses:

PayPal is banned at Turkey. Too many sites and apps for content writers all over the world, use this method for payment.
I am not specialized in anything pertained to IM.
I have to find international colloboration since payment in local currency(Turkish Lira) is ridicilously low.
Getting new jobs as a newbie is more difficult than climbing Kilimanjaro.

Actions Taken:

I registered to Upwork. They say it is very difficult to get accepted there recently, but luckily, in a few hours they accepted me. (1.5 weeks ago)
I got my first client as of today

The payment is like a donation but I intentionally got it by emphasizing also to the customer that, I will be doing that for building my portfolio. When the job is done(which I completed %70 already), I will be paid 10 $ and 2$ will be taken by holly(?) Upwork.

So let's say to motivate ourselves: 250 - 8 = 242 $ to go

)
Ahhh by the way, I am out of connects at Upwork, so some of that 8 $ will be gone to buy new connects, but let's still keep that equation above

)

In addition to all these; if you experienced gurus have anything to add, any directions to show; I am all ears open

Thanks for reading the long post and setting time aside for my super newbie journey

Cheers

Zera Api · Dec 16, 2019

Good Luck , you can also try fiverr gigs

Liam Hopkinson · Dec 16, 2019

Good luck man!

SimonBC · Dec 16, 2019

Deadlock1985 said:
Hello all,

I recently joined to the forum after lurking for a long time, that I also mentioned about the details in the "Introduce yourself" section.

I have a full time job at logistics-supply chain at Turkey. And although it is paying decent amount of money, after getting married, expenses skyrocketed So I need a side income and when I weigh my skills and weaknesses, I came to conclusion of writing would be the most time-effective way for my target.

Target: 250 $ per month

Constraints:

Time. (I am/will be available only at weekends)
Money. (I read lots of methods regarding to different methods but I cannot afford to make serious investments)

Strengths:

Native Turkish speaker, a decent English that may provide a decent output by using some apps like Grammarly.
I have a wide range of interests & information about different contexts that I can write about.
People generally admire my sense of humor, so I can be creative when I write.
I learned basic-intermediate Yoast SEO & Wordpress thanks to the forum. Plugins, Widgets, Meta Description, Image Attributes, External&Internal Linking etc etc.

Weaknesses:

PayPal is banned at Turkey. Too many sites and apps for content writers all over the world, use this method for payment.
I am not specialized in anything pertained to IM.
I have to find international colloboration since payment in local currency(Turkish Lira) is ridicilously low.
Getting new jobs as a newbie is more difficult than climbing Kilimanjaro.

Actions Taken:

I registered to Upwork. They say it is very difficult to get accepted there recently, but luckily, in a few hours they accepted me. (1.5 weeks ago)
I got my first client as of today The payment is like a donation but I intentionally got it by emphasizing also to the customer that, I will be doing that for building my portfolio. When the job is done(which I completed %70 already), I will be paid 10 $ and 2$ will be taken by holly(?) Upwork.

So let's say to motivate ourselves: 250 - 8 = 242 $ to go )
Ahhh by the way, I am out of connects at Upwork, so some of that 8 $ will be gone to buy new connects, but let's still keep that equation above)

In addition to all these; if you experienced gurus have anything to add, any directions to show; I am all ears open

Thanks for reading the long post and setting time aside for my super newbie journey

Cheers

Good luck and best wishes. I will follow this with interest

Deadlock1985 · Jan 5, 2020

Upwork is not going very well.

I bought additional connects as it is written above and try to spend them as wisely as possible; but the thing is; the only topic that i can avoid competition is possible, by being fast on proposals and also using the keyword “turkish” as a filter criteria.

Otherwise, things are getting wildly crowded and the amount of people apply , is like fatboy slim’s brighton beach gig. (Keywords used: data entry, seo content, logistics, supply chain,newbie)

So, still no progress. If i can find a way to get connected with someone that i can work for a long term contract, things will change a lot.

Although it is too early to come to a conclusion, just Upwork trials and waiting for it “to happen” wont get me there. Either more IM related technical stuff rather than writing(which i have no skills), or someone to pay for a long term for certain amount of articles weekly/monthly, or something regarding to logistics/supply chain/container terminal operations as a part time would lead me there. I feel it, but the question is:

How?

Jeepy · Jan 5, 2020

You should better get Jr.Vip Here and sell here, you will get that 250 in a week if you want

But if not, good luck!

helmutsander · Jan 5, 2020

Have you considered creative translation instead? Being a native Turkish speaker could give you a competitive edge there.

Deadlock1985 · Jan 5, 2020

Jeepy said:
You should better get Jr.Vip Here and sell here, you will get that 250 in a week if you want

But if not, good luck!

wow this is tempting

not quite well informed about the terms and conditions of being a jr vip, can you please kindly send me a link or thread for me to check the details?

Deadlock1985 · Jan 5, 2020

helmutsander said:
Have you considered creative translation instead? Being a native Turkish speaker could give you a competitive edge there.

forgive my ignorance please, but what exactly you mean by “creative”? Cause generally what the clients ask and the contents are technical stuff within the strict boundaries.

ıf you mean “creative translation” as a marketing weapon for myself at upwork, not quite sure if it works since rising talent, top-rated perks are quite powerful on the platform. So i am afraid general perception would be” an unknown guy with one 10 dollar job review asks for X amount of money for being “creative”?”

did i sound too pessimist?

)

helmutsander · Jan 5, 2020

Deadlock1985 said:
forgive my ignorance please, but what exactly you mean by “creative”? Cause generally what the clients ask and the contents are technical stuff within the strict boundaries.

ıf you mean “creative translation” as a marketing weapon for myself at upwork, not quite sure if it works since rising talent, top-rated perks are quite powerful on the platform. So i am afraid general perception would be” an unknown guy with one 10 dollar job review asks for X amount of money for being “creative”?”

did i sound too pessimist?)

Quoting from a translation company's website:

"Translation generally refers to transferring the words and phrases of the source text into another language while being careful to retain the meaning and content as much as possible. Creative translation is not merely substituting words in language A for words in language B. Creative translation requires a flexible approach that suits the target audience.

For example, creative translation includes advertisements with attention-grabbing taglines for products or marketing material. Translation that catches only the literal meaning will not convey the message appropriately and might not even make sense. Creative translation will make the content have the same effectiveness and convey the same impression as the original source text."

It's the combination of translation and copywriting, basically. There's a ton of resources about it on Google. You can charge quite handsomely for it.

4ContactUK · Jan 5, 2020

Hi Deadlock1985, how did the delivery go for your first client?

Have you looked into Fiverr as they do bank transfer for payments and you won't need to pay for connects.

We've been on Fiverr for 5 years and is a great place to start and succeed. The marketplace is crowded so you have to find something of value to offer that's different. For us, it was targeting client's who needed bulk content at discount in our own country. It took a few years to find our feet as we didn't take it seriously at first. The attached graph shows you our 2019 earnings where June and July were bad due to having to cancel a few jobs as clients didn't fit with us, which made us disappear for a while. So if I were you, I would read the Fiverr Forum first to see what not to do.

The other thing you could do is get some samples of work together and then approach existing content writers or agencies for a trial run. Facebook has quite a few copywriting groups to learn, connect and apply for jobs. Send me a pm with any work you have done so I can give you some feedback.

Deadlock1985 · Jan 6, 2020

4ContactUK said:
Hi Deadlock1985, how did the delivery go for your first client?

Have you looked into Fiverr as they do bank transfer for payments and you won't need to pay for connects.

We've been on Fiverr for 5 years and is a great place to start and succeed. The marketplace is crowded so you have to find something of value to offer that's different. For us, it was targeting client's who needed bulk content at discount in our own country. It took a few years to find our feet as we didn't take it seriously at first. The attached graph shows you our 2019 earnings where June and July were bad due to having to cancel a few jobs as clients didn't fit with us, which made us disappear for a while. So if I were you, I would read the Fiverr Forum first to see what not to do.

The other thing you could do is get some samples of work together and then approach existing content writers or agencies for a trial run. Facebook has quite a few copywriting groups to learn, connect and apply for jobs. Send me a pm with any work you have done so I can give you some feedback.

Thank you so much for your time. So detailed, great!

I keep hearing about Fiverr, and for sure gonna check it this weekend. As I mentioned, since time is the "level-ending boss" at this game for me; I went with Upwork to start, to prevent dividing my restricted time into different platforms. But seems like, alternatives will increase opportunities.

Btw, I tried to send you a PM to give more details, however I think I am not qualified yet to send a PM since the "start conversation" did not pop up

BabyJaneJ · Jan 6, 2020

You should definitely register with more services.

Like someone else said before definitely register with Fiverr.

Then there are freelancer.com, guru.com and peopleperhour.com I think they are less popular than Fiverr, but you could give them a try.

Brandimate · Jan 12, 2020

From my personal experience, you will be better off sticking with upwork. But you should apply for jobs on as many platforms as you.

To reach your goal of $250 faster, try and register for jr. VIP here. Also, create a professional LinkedIn profile and your services.

Deadlock1985 · Jan 14, 2020

Brandimate said:
From my personal experience, you will be better off sticking with upwork. But you should apply for jobs on as many platforms as you.

To reach your goal of $250 faster, try and register for jr. VIP here. Also, create a professional LinkedIn profile and your services.

I am about to give up on Upwork. The "connect" structure and amount of jobs, and the time for searching and applying for a proposal is not efficient and logical at all.

There are two kind of jobs: Either bid to the lowest ones, or the fierce competition ones. Both side of the plate cannot be my taste for that 250.

I got a new profile at Fiverr, could not have chance to check it thorough. But, I totally agree with you, just Upwork, or just one platform won't get me there.

By the way current update:

Money-wise: Nothing
Time-wise: I go to where I need to go in much more quicker way
Network-wise: I met an awesome person thanks to this forum. This individual is helping me a lot, and leading&assisting me with experience and feedback.

Patience and consistency will take me there...Soon

Content Writing- Side Income Journey

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