Wednesday, November 07, 2007

5 Reasons Why There Should Not Be Such Thing As ‘Starving Writer’

Love writing but hate being poor? There is no reason why you should not be able to make some extra money by writing. Just look outside traditional venues, like writing a novel or becoming a local reporter.

Here are some ideas for you.

1. Come up with cool domain names.

Some web services, like PickyDomains.com, will pay you to come up with domain names for them (I believe the current rate is $25 per name). However, this is one niche where you can work for yourself as well. There is a big demand for ‘Web 2.0 names’, like Yahoo or Google, so if you can easily think of meaningless but cool names, register domains in your own name and then resell them on Sedo.Com, BuyDomains.Com or any other ‘second-hand’ domain marketplaces for huge profit. The average domain price on Sedo is mid $XXX to low $XXXX, so you only need a few sales each month. And it costs only $8-$9 to register a domain name, so you don’t need to much money.

2. Become AdWords copywriter.

It may look like writing a short AdWords ad is easy, but trust me, it’s not. Especially since the limits are pretty strict. That’s the bad part. The good part is that text of the ad has a HUGE impact on its performance. The best thing about Google AdWords is that it lets you test different ads side by side in order to determine which ad performs better. Why is this important? Because it’s the key to getting a client. All you have to say – hey, test my ad(s) side by side with yours and hire me only if mine get higher CTR. Make it risk free. And finding clients is brainlessly simple – just click any ad that you think sucks and contact a website owner directly.

3. Write descriptions on eBay for foreigners.

This is a nobrainer either. Go to eBay and look through descriptions. Some of them are horrid. And bad descriptions kill sales. This is what you should tell foreign-based eBay sellers. Important – target only PowerSellers – these are folks who make a living selling stuff on eBay and have money to pay for your services. Don’t bother with a single item sellers. And make sure you check their reputation to make sure you are not aiding Romanian scammers, who sell notebooks for fifty bucks. The great thing about this idea is that eBay sellers all have PayPal accounts, so international payments won’t be an issue.

4. Shareware Localization.

Most shareware sold online today is not developed in US. And you can often tell that by looking at interface or reading a manual. When you come across such a program, contact developers directly, pointing out mistakes and offering your services. Where to look for shareware? Go to Download.Com and browse through listings.

5. Writing Personal Ads And Profiles Of People On Dating Sites

This is not an original idea, I read about in The New York Times. The article profiled two websites that charge 50 bucks to write profiles for others on dating sites that would attract attention. Unfortunately, I don’t recall URLs, but if you look into it, you’ll probably find them sooner or later. Personally, I think it’s a great idea, since the market is there. Just become a member of several dating sites and build a portfolio.

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