3 Easy Ways to Supplement Your Freelance Writing Income

3 Easy Ways to Supplement Your Freelance Writing Income All it takes is a willingness to do some writing projects that may not be particularly well-paying, exciting or creative, but can bring in enough extra dollars to keep you going between projects. Outlined below are three ways you can explore temporary and one-time jobs. Utilize Craigslist in Multiple Cities Search for one-time writing gigs on Craigslist, and search for jobs in cities outside of your geographical area. Here is a simple way to bookmark the classified pages for jobs listed in any city, using the city of Chicago as an example: 1) Type Chicago craigslist in your browser bar2) Click on Classifieds: Jobs. Bookmark the page (I have 22 major cities bookmarked.)3) Scroll down the â€Å"jobs† category and click on â€Å"writing/editing.† If you don’t find anything of interest, go back to the jobs page, scroll to the bottom of the category listing and click on â€Å"Gigs.  Ã‚     Craigslist is free; try posting your services under â€Å"Resume† and troll for jobs in major cities.   Create an Account at Amazon Mechanical Turk Sign up to be a â€Å"turker† on the Mechanical Turk Welcome Page. This division of Amazon.com employs people to do a variety of tasks, including writing, for hundreds of clients. The easiest way to learn the ropes, get advice and learn shortcuts is to join Turker Nation. This free forum provides great tips about which writing and editing tasks to choose. The downside to turking is that you forfeit all copyrights to what you have written. However, most writing tasks involve nothing more than a few paragraphs describing a place or a product. You choose to get paid via PayPal or an Amazon.com gift card. The other appealing aspect of turking is that there are a variety of non-writing tasks you can do- some can even be done while you watch television. I sometimes take several short surveys a day, and Collect brochures, business cards, fliers and marketing materials from local businesses. Review the documents. Note editing suggestions, or rewrite any text that is grammatically incorrect or just plain clunky. (Don’t edit or rewrite the entire piece; do just enough to illustrate how a professional touch can make a difference.) Go to the business owner and present your ideas; suggest that you would be willing to edit or rewrite portions that would help them advertise their business more profitably, or that would help present their business to the public in a more professional light. Be willing to do the work for less than your normal fee. Many small business owners don’t have polished advertising materials because they couldn’t afford it in the first place. Ask that your services be recommended to other local businesses.