Saturday, February 4, 2012

My Story: How I Started to Earn from Copywriting

I used to work in a bank. Not naming which one, because quite frankly it does not matter and quite frankly they are all the same, more or less. Just some are worse than others. I won’t lie. I hated my job, which stretched far beyond 9 to 5 and it had some ridiculous amount of workload. For a person who is never afraid to work hard, not being able to perform in an area can be really painful for the allegation that you are not working properly. That was the sort of experience that I went through and though I wanted to keep my job, I was forced to resign in circumstances completely out of my control. Lived on credit, still do sometimes, but more frequently then.

A friend told me about content writing on the internet. Yes, sometimes, knowing people actually helps you, especially if they are willing to lend you some money, but don’t make it a habit. It can even get you killed these days, and homeless for sure. Don’t worry about me, I’m single. Only idiots procreate in a recession. But back to copywriting jobs. I cannot say I am the richest man on earth but hey, I am making a living. At least enough to get my bills paid and enough to see me through comfortably in the period between the payments. For those who want to be Steve Jobs, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. But that’s precisely what I am doing. Duh!

I think people looking for magic wands for making them instantly rich are the part of the problem, instead of the part of the solution. It is they who are making that small minority rich, in terms of internet marketing. In terms of finance and economy, well. Believe me, I have been there and worked for them. I know how they think and I know exactly what they are after, But enough of banks.

Getting back to millionaire internet marketing products, I am yet to meet a man in flesh and bone who became a millionaire using them or through internet marketing. I don’t know a lot of people though, apart from the ones on Wikipedia. I have just heard of Mark Zuckerberg of facebook and I know he never used an internet marketing product. Hate him or love him, the guy is a genius and has achieved all what you and I can never achieve. Maybe it’s because he went to Harvard.

But hey, you may condemn the corporates and the banks for being responsible for the mess that you are in. But here is the deal. No one can do ANYTHING to harm them. Actually, we need them. True. If there were no banks, even if there were no PayPal for that matter, from where would you be getting your salary or commission income or sales or whatever it is that you receive for the products or services you provide, whether in an individual capacity or as a business.


There has been a lot of talk in America about the oppressive 1% and the oppressed 99%, yes. Some agree with it, some don’t. Screw the politics but nobody has been concentrating on the fact that it is the very 99% that is strengthening the 1% they complain about. So I would say, while you guys are right in getting outraged, it’s more productive to try to get some work and get both ends meet and maybe you would stumble upon something that could offer you a touch more financial freedom, if you are not already unemployed. But do protest where you feel it is necessary, totally up to you. It’s a democracy.

If you are one of the people who like to earn online, then first of all, don’t quit your 9 to 5 job for it. That is the worst possible thing that anyone could do to themselves. Unless you are working full-time and on contract for internet organizations and websites, it is simply not worth it freelance. Because there is never enough revenue right away, if at all, and not everyone may have the patience for it. The fastest and the most effective and the highest way of earning money is not affiliate marketing but doing writing jobs and designing web pages and the other technical stuff that computer savvy people can do.

If you are not a computer expert knowing all the HTML coding and all that, then web designing and related fields are easily eliminated. Because quite frankly, you would not be interested in writing if you had those skills. That leaves you with writing and everyone who has no other skills, especially useless people such as failed bankers, can AT LEAST TRY their hand at it. What’s the worse that could happen? Maybe you won’t be able to write a word. But that will not be true. You speak, don’t you? Even if you are dumb or deaf-mute, then that would make writing come naturally to you, believe me. If you really are physically impaired, that’s a good way of saying to the world that treats you in a rough way: Take that.


If you are doing nothing else, then writing is the thing for you. Don’t worry internet writing is not movie scripts or Shaw’s plays or a Kafka novel, it is plainly promotional articles for websites of internet marketers, sometimes technical writing and if you are lucky, you could even possibly be picked to write for a top blog, depending on what you know and how effectively you can research. But since I do it, I believe anyone can, if they apply themselves correctly. Because if you feel that initially you can’t do it right, then you are most probably not thinking in the right direction.

There are marketplaces on the internet to explore like the Digital Point forum and Warrior forum, so you can go and see if you can find buyers, but it takes a long time to build contacts and to get leads to the right consumers. There are other websites like Freelancer and Scriptlance, but believe me, it is even harder on those websites. Most of the time, you will find experienced but so-called “expert writers” who would be hiring you and eat commission out of your work, earning as much as you do on a project. The only difference is that the “expert writers” would be lying on their backs, watching TV and maybe munching popcorn while you will be working your ass off.

This profession can take a toll on your private life, considering how hard you work and how much you need to get by comfortably. Since they can find a lot of cheap writers from countries in the Far East and South Asia, it is actually absurdly true that most internet marketers would go for that sort of crap content instead of relying on native English speakers, who could ask for more you know. But hey, some of them are really good and I know some of them too. But it really helps for starters to find leads, and even better to find writing jobs, so that they can at least ensure themselves and their family a steady income till the time they hit another job of their choice. But I won’t give you my leads of course, you have to struggle a bit too, like I did. Law of nature, folks and I don’t want to starve myself because, let’s face it, I don’t know too much about internet businesses. I guess if it works for you, you would get used to its comforts so much that you may not need another job.

There is a great program called Real Writing Jobs, which can actually prove useful to people with no leads and no writing projects when they try to get into the business. Linking it because I think it is worth it to promote it. Don’t click if you think that is wrong. Morality is not really the subject of this blog. It comes for a price, which if you cannot pay, you can always turn to the marketplace of the forums that I mentioned and find your own, but if you can afford to, it can be useful as far as opportunities are concerned, but strictly not more than that. No guarantees, except the fact that you can refund it. Works but if you have other leads, even better. Don’t fix it, if it ain’t broke.

But can be a good start for the beginners. Sometimes, you can find a really good employer willing to pay more for less, but quality, words. Sometimes not. And quite frankly, it doesn’t get better than this no matter what you try. But a lot of things depend on availability. A lot of time you write crap. My advice? Gulp the money and shut your mouth. Leave morality and aesthetics to the people who have time for it. It may not work for everyone, so analyze before you invest in such a thing, but it is fairly decent. Again, it’s not magic, you have to do all the work. It can be back-breaking and tedious depending on the project and especially your employer, though most reliable online entrepreneurs are pretty liberal employers. At least more than your brick-and-mortar ones, mostly. At least more than your bankers, I can tell you that. I’d rather say Osama Ben Laden was liberal if the other choice were bankers.

But do have a go. It may help you. It is realistic. The rest of things out there is pretty much, the favorite word on the internet, scam. Not saying that those internet marketing products are frauds, but I am yet to meet someone who actually made money out of that. People do from affiliate marketing occasionally, but that is even more difficult. I salute those who enjoy a steady income out of that. The only online income that I know of comes from copywriting or content writing or blogging for someone or writing news releases, sales copy or working for a publication. The rest, I would really like to know about.

I wouldn’t write about it if I were not earning out of it and I don’t earn a lot. Not that I used to earned much in the bank. I was not a very high profile professional. Just another loser and I still am and am OK with it because I am realistic at least. If you are not a part of the 1%, you are a loser. I get tired of copywriting too as I gradually age, but when you have the risk of running broke and would rather do without jobs with physical labor, I shut my mouth, stop complaining and get to work. Better than begging.


Also, never underestimate your ability to fight a recession.


Adios.

Starving Copywriter