WHEN TO WRITE FOR FREE

WHEN TO WRITE FOR FREE Anyone who has known me for very long, recalls that Im all about writing for money. And Im vehemently opposed to writing mills. Writing Mills = Sites known as Content Aggregators. They pay pennies. You earn based on quantity of articles, not quality. They always advertise for new writers (mainly because of the turnover once writers learn the deal). Granted, they are enticing. You dont really answer to an editor. You rarely get rejected. But those clips mean nothing in your portfolio. Why? Because people in the industry recognize writing mill work for what it is. Words thrown together to grab searches in hopes the people searching happen to click on the advertisements. However, blogs have changed everything. You write free on your own blog. You write free when you guest blog. You write free on major website blogs. Yes, there are a few blogs that pay, but most dont. Blogs can be opportunity, even though they do not pay much if at all.Just remember the rules. Write for free if you are breaking in to a well-known blog. Carol Tice is a freelance copywriter making a good living at it. Look at what shes published, and note that many of them are blog posts. caroltice.com/articles When a market is competitive, offer a sharp blog post for free, to get your foot in the door. Maybe even two, three,even ten posts. Get them used to you, then ask for compensation,or maybe even a regular gig. Write for free if you are breaking in to a magazine. Today many magazines have a sister blog. Pitch the editor of the blog. Your resume will still say you wrote for Family Circle(or fill in the mag name). And once they learn to love your posts, you can pitch to the print. Write for free if you are selling something else. Blog tours/virtual tours for books can generate income via book sales. Just make sure the post is good and a stand alone even if you didnt have a book. Or else write about a subject thats in the book, but dont hard-sell the book. Just show youre an expert in what you do. See? There are times to write for free. Just be smart about it. PAYING BLOG SITES bloggerjobs.biz/ makealivingwriting.com/why-i-pay-writers/ therenegadewriter.com/2012/06/21/the-renegade-writer-blog-is-now-paying-for-guest-posts/ http://readlearnwrite.com/guest-post/ http://jobs.problogger.net/