Making Progress with Examiner.com

In my last post, I mentioned that I had been reading a lot about freelance writing and how to get started. I am happy to report that I have actually been making some progress in that respect, and learning a bit more about the world of blogging in the process. 

If you've been following me from the beginning, you may notice that my blog has a few more gadgets than it did before. I've added links to my Facebook profile and my Gowalla passport, a search bar, pageview counter, a list of blogs I'm subscribed to, and some other nifty stuff. I have also figured out how to include links in my posts, and have added some new labels as well. 

Perhaps more importantly, I discovered that I did not actually have an option to subscribe to my blog using an RSS feed (and I learned what exactly that is...) or to subscribe by e-mail. Both are available now though, so feel free to take advantage if you are so inclined. Pretty straightforward stuff, I know, but I'm new at this! ;0)

Having come a bit further along in terms of configuring my blog, I feel more confident in my ability to maintain it. However, there is still a lot that I know very little about, as I've learned from reading other blogs - specifically those about freelance writing, though I am sure there are many other applications. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes to mind as one of the most confusing issues. Before I jumped into the world of blogging, I had never even heard of SEO. The point of this process is to move your website up in the rankings of search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, in an attempt to generate more traffic for whatever it is you are promoting. In my case, I guess that would be myself! Or more specifically, my writing, though I haven't gotten to the point of "branding" myself just yet... (Thank goodness!)

The most common methods of SEO appear to include linking content and adding strategically chosen tags to your posts. While I am attempting to do both of these to a certain extent, I readily admit that I have no idea what labels will make my blog more likely to be searched, and I'm okay with that. I choose the links and tags in my posts based on what I think is the most relevant information and hope that at least some of it is helpful to my imagined readers.

Of course, I realize that getting my name out there is important if I expect to be successful as a freelance writer, and while it would be great if my blog had millions of followers, I happen to think that artificially inflating your pageviews is somewhat slimy. I would much rather people discover my blog because it has a good reputation and is well written than simply because it appeared in a search for popular, but unrelated, content. I think when it comes to SEO I will take the advice offered by Brian Nelson, a freelance writer with ArticLlama, who suggests that Professional Writers Should Forget SEO and Just WRITE! 

In his blog, Nelson also offers some useful (though somewhat disheartening) thoughts about how to make money writing online. It seems that most clients are looking for short articles of approximately 300 words, and additionally, that the ability to write and post quickly is key. Frequent postings, deliberate efforts to self-market and efficient job searches are also necessities. 

Considering my tendency to be slightly verbose (read: extremely wordy) and the fact that I am somewhat of a perfectionist, it seems logical that writing short and sweet articles without multiple lengthy edits is quite unlikely to happen. And yet, if I want to succeed as an online freelance writer, that is exactly what I must force myself to do. I promise that I will try. (After this post, that is!)

So how do I get started?

I was originally inspired by an article I read in the latest issue of Westword, the magazine of the Writer's Guild of Alberta (WGA), called "Can We (Finally) Make Money Writing on the Web?" by Toby Welch. The article explores some of the most popular freelance writing sites on the web, such as Demand Studios, Suite 101, Associated Content and Examiner to name just a few. Welch recounts experiences of those who have written for the sites, explaining how they work and listing pros and cons of each. After reading her article, I was convinced I should start signing up for some of these sites to see for myself how rewarding they might be for me. 

My first step was to read through all of the information I could find on each site, in terms of copyright retention, privacy policies and other legal requirements as well as rates of pay, expectations of quality, variety of assignments, etc. I also looked at reviews from freelance writers to see which sites were the best to write for and which to avoid. I chose Demand Studios as my first experiment, because it had seemed to fit many of the criteria I was looking for: lots of titles to choose from, high standards for content and writing, decent (though not spectacular by any means) pay, and moreover, good practice for someone just starting out.

Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of Demand Studios is that you can only apply once, and if you are not accepted, you are unable to reapply. Since I am just starting out, I haven't exactly mastered the art of marketing myself as a freelance writer, because quite frankly I'm not one... yet... 

After revising my c.v. and filling out the online application as well as I could, I hit send, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best. My efforts were rewarded with the following:

Dear Katie Gillespie,

Thank you for submitting your writer application to Demand Media. After careful review of your resume and writing sample, we are unable to offer you writing assignments at this time.

Due to the increased interest in freelancing positions at Demand Media, the approval process has become quite competitive, and we have had to turn down many high-quality applicants.

We sincerely thank you for your interest.

Best regards,

The Demand Media Team

Yay, my first rejection letter! Argh. At least it was polite. I'd also like to note that my application was submitted at 2:40 am (yes, I am a night owl) on March 20. I received this response only three and a half hours later, at 6:10 am on March 20. A very "careful review" indeed, I am sure...

Anyway, my slightly bitter disappointment aside, I refused to let that initial roadblock discourage me. After all, there are literally thousands of other opportunities out there for writing online, not to mention all the potential newspapers, magazines, newsletters and other printed sources I could try. All writers, regardless of who they are, have to start somewhere! And I'd be willing to bet the number who have never been rejected is probably less than 1%.

My next attempt turned out better, at least so far, though I have yet to actually publish anything. After reading freelance writer Jennifer Escalona's post, Get Paid to Write at Examiner.com, I thought becoming an Examiner might be a good way to test the waters of freelance writing. Although I will probably never make any money from Examiner.com, I am intrigued by the opportunity to become an "expert" of sorts. I also like the fact that Examiners can choose their own topics, within a given field, rather than choosing from a list of specific assignments as on Demand Studios. 

I should note, however, that Escalona rescinded her recommendation of Examiner.com after a few months of writing for the site. She didn't think that it was worth the time, because of the extremely low pay, and many others seem to agree. Even so, I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a try for myself. I certainly don't expect to get rich as an Examiner, but I want to get some experience, so I filled out another application.

This time, I put some more work into my writing sample and made sure that I listed all of my relevant (though limited) experience. My application was approved, and I was told they think I "would make an excellent Calgary Creative Writing Examiner". 

I can't offer any statistics on how many writers apply to and are typically accepted or rejected by either Demand Studios or Examiner.com, or what criteria they base their decisions upon, so I'm not really sure if this is reflective of my qualifications and writing ability. I'd like to think I was selected because I wrote well in my sample and my ideas for possible topics were interesting, but maybe they approve anyone who applies to be an Examiner. 

Anyway, now that my account has been set up, I am all set to write and publish my first article for Examiner.com. I've been informed that my content will be displayed on the Arts & Entertainment channel, and that once I have submitted my first article it will be reviewed by a member of my category team. If it is appropriate then it will be activated, and if not, I will be contacted for discussion. Either way, I look forward to receiving some feedback and the chance to practice being a bit more concise in my writing. 

So, that's about all for now! I will post links to my Calgary Creative Writing articles for Examiner.com as soon as possible, provided they are published. Here's to taking the first step toward being a "real" writer!