Writing For The Web-Ten Ways To Make Money

The Web is a writer’s medium. If you’re looking for your next writing gig, look on the Web. Hundreds of thousands of Web sites are only too eager to pay writers to write for them, so finding buyers for your writing is easy.

One point: while there are many paying gigs for writers online, and you should (usually) aim to be paid for your writing, there are also many sites which will ask you to write for “exposure”. In some circumstances, this can work – perhaps you’re promoting a Web site or a book, and want to be published by a particular site because it’s a great credit.

In general though, if you want to be paid for writing for the Web, ignore those who want you to write for free. There’s an easy way to find paying gigs. Just type “pay” into the search query field in any search engine (Yahoo, Google, MSN), with the kind of writing you want to do. For example, if you want to be paid for writing reviews, enter “paid reviews” with quotes, into your favorite search engine.

Let’s look at ten EASY ways to make money writing for the Web:

One: Articles And Essays

Whatever your interests, you can get paid to write articles and essays about those interests online. When you write an article for the online world, remember that you’re writing for the Web, so your writing should be less dense than it would be for print.

Two: Reviews

You can review books, DVDs, services, electronics, vacations – whatever your interests, you’ll find sites which will happily pay you for reviews.

Three: Blogs

If you haven’t yet discovered the wonderful world of instant publishing, get acquainted with blogs. Some blogging gigs pay very well. Freelance bloggers, also known as pro bloggers, make great incomes blogging for a variety of sites – I’ve heard of a couple of bloggers with 30 blogs for which they write. Their income? Excellent.

Four: Ebooks

From a slow start in around 2000, ebooks have become a commodity that’s in high demand in 2007. Most ebooks are short, around 30 pages, although some can be 150 pages. In word length, they vary between 5000 and 25,000 words.

Everyone wants ebooks – companies, marketers, Web site owners… If you enjoy writing longer projects, get into the ebook writing marketplace.

Five: Reports

Reports are baby cousins to ebooks. They’re shorter, usually only two to three thousand words in length, and are easy to write. As with ebooks, reports are in high demand.

Six: Short Stories

A variety of sites publish short stories for their site visitors. If you like writing fiction, you can write stories which are published in full, or stories which run as episodes, and which will be sent out to readers.

Seven: Tutorials

What do you know how to do? Whatever your skills, you can teach them to others by creating tutorials. The sky’s the limit here, so let your inspiration be your guide.

Eight: Tips

Some sites publish thousands of tips, others send out tips as email messages. As with tutorials, whatever your skills, package them as tips and sell them to eager buyers.

Nine: Affiliate Sales Materials

Affiliate marketing is big online. (Google the term if it’s new to you.) Because it’s such a big industry, Internet marketers hire writers to write marketing materials, ebooks and reports.

Ten: Opinions

Got an opinion about something? You can express your opinions online and be paid for the privilege.

There you have it – ten EASY ways you can make money writing for the Web. I’ve only scratched the surface here. I haven’t touched on those Web writing gigs which require copywriting expertise, like writing Web site content and Web sales pages. The above are gigs that any writer can scoop up.

The gigs are out there. Go get them.

Coaching Certification – It’s Not Important, But What Is?

In the coaching profession it is not necessary to get a coaching certification. In other words just about anyone can begin coaching without prior certification from any school or institution. Although there are some places that are making moves to regulate the profession, getting a coaching certification is not a requirement to be great at what you do.

What makes a great coach?

Having a coaching certification is not the basis for one to be considered an amazing coach. If you have prior experience in your field of expertise and you have the zeal and passion to support others then you may have what it takes to be a successful professional coach. You know the ins and outs of the business because you’ve been there done it. Anyone can start their own coaching business with virtually zero training or certifications.

However there is one “training” activity all successful coaches partake in consistently. They are always being coached themselves by a coach who is ahead of where they want to be. It makes sense right? If a coach wants to help their clients grow they must be growing themselves. This is where the true learning comes from. Being coached regularly is the best way to improve as a coach and a mentor.

But in case you’re wondering why there are people who want to get certified, they were indoctrinated by coaching organizations and schools. They believe it’s essential and that’s why these institutions exist to certify them.

Many people want to get certified because they want a validation that they are good coaches. But the truth is, it is highly possible to be certified even if you are not that good of a coach. In the same way that there are many great coaches that exist out there without coaching certification.

There is nothing wrong with getting a coaching certification, but then again there is no guarantee that a certified coach can deliver better results than an uncertified one. In fact, anyone with a printer can claim that they are certified coach-and I mean anyone who may not even have experience in business or in other fields. Who knows right?

If a coaching certification doesn’t matter then, what does?

Experience, ability, a great system-these are just few of the elements that matter when it comes to choosing a business coach. Clients want to invest in people who can help them; a person whom they believe in. And coaches must have a solid background in business or in other fields in order for them to gain the respect and trust of their clients.

Experience in their field can speak for itself. Bill Gates, for example, does not need to be certified in order for him to become a successful business coach. Ask yourself, does he need a certification?

What’s also important is whether or not the he or she was able to deliver desirable results for her or his previous clients. Was she or he able to improve a business, achieve goals or improve relationships? This is an effective way to measure whether or not a coach has a system that works for their clients.

The most important reasons why certain coaches succeed in their field is their irreversible passion for what they do. Coaches can make a great difference in people’s lives only when they have a heart for coaching. And having a coaching certification cannot replace passion, experience, real and raw skills.

Useful Tips on Distance Learning

There are lots of benefits of distance learning that many people are not aware of. It is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to learn new skills, improve your credentials and speed up your future earning potential without investing too much money and time. It gives you the freedom to earn a degree in any field of your choice. You can get distance learning degrees in fields such as accounting, computer science, programming, business administration, etc. The fact remains that if you can imagine it, it is quite possible for you to earn a degree in it through distance learning.

The major medium of distance learning is the world wide web. The internet brings together the students and teachers from different locations. This means that students can submit their home work, ask questions and attend lectures through a PC without leaving their location. Programs vary from one institution to another, but the same method is employed in imparting knowledge. Thus, with distance learning, it is quite possible to do other essential things with earning degrees.

This next statement should gladden the heart of many people who do not have enough funds for their education. Listen up, there are many companies out there these days that are more than willing to pay for your distance learning programs. The reason is because the knowledge you will gain will be valuable to them. In other words, the company will be the better for it if they sponsor your education. So, that is one source of funds that you should explore. Try talking to your boss and let him or her see the benefits that the organization will derive from it.

One of the benefits of distance learning is that it enables you to work full time. Combining work with earning a degree has been a major obstacle for many people. But distance learning gives you the room to attend classes while still keeping your full time job. You don’t have to leave your work to go back to school.

However, contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, there are downsides to distance learning. This does not often come up on the internet or in magazine where the advantages are highlighted while leaving out the drawback. On of its drawbacks is that you will not have contact with fellow classmates. In other words, you will not have a physical contact as you get in traditional campuses. This means that it may be very hard making friends. Also, it is often hard to get scholarship for distance leaning programs. Moreover, many people are not comfortable learning without an interactive environment like those obtained in traditional classrooms. Hence, it is highly recommended that before choosing a particular learning degree program, you should ask yourself if it is compatible with style of learning.