Think Outside the Book: Earn While You Learn

My first five years as a writer I felt like a complete failure. I had enough rejection letters from publishers to paper my walls with plenty left over to carpet the floor. I just didn't get it. I followed all the rules, subscribed to some good newsletters and even paid nearly two thousand dollars for a copywriting course from one of the nation's "leading copywriting programs." So what was I doing wrong?

As it turns out, I was not doing anything wrong, I was just starting too big. I was trying to begin the journey from the destination and missing the whole point... Writing IS a journey.

Now, five years wiser I'd like to share some tips that gave me a taste of success and paid the bills before my first book deal.

1.) First keep in mind that writing is subjective. Everything from your style to the words on the page is open to interpretation. Be yourself. When your writing is an extension of your personality you reach the reader at a whole new level. There is no guesswork. It just works.

2.) Increase your name recognition. A writer's name is their brand so get busy branding. Write articles about your area of expertise and submit them to your favorite newsletters for possible publication. Enter writing contests. Join online writer's forums and become more active in the community. Just get your name out there.

3.) Build your credibility. This is an important step if you ever want to have a book published and it does not have to be difficult. Here are some instant credibility builders. See if one or more is applicable to your situation:

3.a.) Get certified. A well recognized certification is huge in any field. Do some research and see if there is a certification available related to your field or writing topic. If nothing seems obvious, look for parallel interests that your readers might relate to. For example if you write about fitness, becoming a certified personal trainer is a good option. More generally, CPR certification is very important for hundreds of topics from home-based activities to vacationing abroad. If nothing comes to mind, read up on the qualifications of your favorite authors and see what they have.

3.b.) Teach a class. If a title such as "professor" is important, go down to your local community college and see if you can become an adjunct instructor for night school, teaching adult education in your field of choice. The requirements are typically different from schools educating grades K through 12 so you likely will not need a teaching certificate or advanced degree as long as you have the experience they need.

3.c.) Start a blog. You can earn a great deal of respect as an expert in any field by creating an online resource that people like. Consider starting a blog covering your area of interest.

4.) Become a professional writer. This has less to do with talent than a technicality. You see, once you earn money doing something, you are considered a professional. And when it comes to writing the money can be quite substantial depending on what you write. Here are three avenues I took, listed from least profitable to most:

4.a.) Freelance Writer: Native English speakers and writers earn decent fees on freelance sites like http://www.RentACoder.com and http://www.Guru.com. This is where I got my start. It's good for building experience and learning to deal with paying clients but not great for earning the big bucks. And adding your projects to your portfolio is sometimes questionable since most assignments have you contracted as a ghostwriter.

4.b.) Copywriter: This takes a lot of practice but is well worth the effort. You can find hundreds of local and online courses but I would stat with reading a book first. One that taught me a good deal is "Hypnotic Writing" by Joe Vitale. Just remember if you decide on copywriting as a career you might want to lean toward email or Web copy since that has become the new standard. And again, Rent A Coder and Guru are great places to find copywriting assignments.

Note: Up until six months ago, the majority of my income came from SEO copywriting (search engine optimization.) I then expanded into a more profitable niche business that decreased my work time while increasing profits. Talk about a lucky break!

4.c.) Niche Business: Writing plays a major role in just about everything and good writers are always in demand. Unfortunately most writers don't realize it. I did not have a clue until I fell into this one by accident when I needed to get more visitors to my Website. In SEO today, it's all about link building and these guys make a fortune. I could not afford to hire someone so decided to try a system called "Link A Minute" (http://www.LinkAMinute.com) written specifically for writers. It was a small gamble at $40 but paid off big. After building some nice links to my own site I decided to do it for others and my business is booming. As long as people use Google I will be in business.

4.d.) Affiliate Marketing: This is not one of the big three mentioned above because it is still new to me. When I got that link building program it included a bonus training guide called "Monetizing Your Links." I didn't even read it at first but decided to give it a try a few weeks ago. And I can tell you that affiliate marketing looks to be an area custom made for writers. I use no-cost methods ideal for any writer and earn as much for two hours work as I did for a whole day's work as a professional copywriter. Again, my experience here is limited but I can at least assure you it is worth keeping an eye on.

Good luck!

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