The truth about online writing is that it is hard. One has to have the discipline of a Balanchine ballet and the perseverance of Jesus Christ to succeed. However, before you even start to think of how you will practice discipline, you have to be looking at the right sources and reading the write pointers so as to land any online job, let alone writing. In this article, I will list down several pointers that will propel you in the right direction of writing online and getting paid on a regular basis.
First things first:
What exactly is Online Writing?
Online writing is simply creating non-plagiarized articles and posting them online for yourself or anyone else to use. Writers often do assignments for students overseas for a certain pay, because the students would rather pay for that service than do their assignments. Other writing jobs include transcribing audio or images, content writing for websites, proofreading articles (which is nearly impossible to get) and blogging, which I would rank as the best way to get started in online writing.
What should you do before looking for an online job?
Improve your language
There is no denying that English is the most used language on the planet. The majority of your clients will want their work done in English, or any other language that they prefer. You don’t want to write content like a kindergarten kid. No one will want to employ you for your services.
All readers love writers that have mastery of language. Don’t get me wrong. I am not asking you to use difficult words as many readers will get bored with your content. Just make sure that your language is grammatically correct and understandable. Make sure that you can write a piece that has ideas flowing effortlessly. A reader should not struggle to organize his thoughts for you. That’s your job.
To do this, you have to be a reader. No one is born with skills. Everyone learns. You need to teach yourself by reading from other established writers in your niche. If it’s writing about news, read newspapers. Similarly, if you are interested in writing content for a real estate website, bury your head in real estate books and understand the right jargon. Do this and you are destined to be successful at writing. Remember that writing is aimed at convincing a reader. If you can’t do this then writing is not meant for you.
Understand that writing online is not a walk in the park
This is a no-brainer. You already know this and that’s why you’ve read this far. You will sweat before you land an online writing job, and definitely sweat more trying to earn from that job. Irregular tasks and payment are major determining factors in the world of writing.
Below are areas to look at if you want an online writing job
Which are the best sites to look for online writing jobs?
Star Classifieds
The Star is a news and media publisher in Kenya. Apart from this, they also list down jobs on offer through their classifieds page.
On this page, you will find online writing jobs such as:
- Royal Media Services correspondents for areas such as Kwale etc.
Writers here will be required to shoot visual content, report, write, edit and pronounce stories on deadline for multiple forms including Tv, Radio and Newspaper.
- Speech writing and advocacy.
- Content writing for websites.
- Intern/Junior project management jobs
- UX copywriter (Read here to understand what is copywriting)
- Writing jobs at activity.webnovel.com.
- Content Creator at Zandaux
- Content creator at writers.co.ke
On the Star classifieds page, you will find more than 300 writing jobs. There you will find and choose what works for you.
Also Read: Top 20 Online Jobs in Kenya
Glassdoor online writing jobs
This site is more diverse as compared to star classifieds, with job opportunities from across the planet. Note, however, that getting a job opportunity from this site is more difficult as compared to Star Classifieds. Nevertheless, this should not stop you from applying for an online job here.
Jobs available at Glassdoor include:
- Creative Publishing for eGlobal.
- Freelance writing for compose.ly.
- Static Media Web Stories freelance writing jobs.
- Content writer for United Staff Source.
- Counselling content writer.
- Tv and Movie list writer in Collider.
- Remote sequential writing job/screenwriter for comics at ‘The Third Cartel’.
- Literature and study guide writer at Super-Summary.
LinkedIn Online Writing jobs
LinkedIn is a social media platform that is centred on the corporate world. People meet opportunities and jobs altogether. If you are looking for an online writing job, having LinkedIn is a must-have on your phone. You will get notified if any writing opportunity comes up. It’s even better because the app has the ability to link you to employers within the same geographical region.
Opera News & Scooper
Article demands are not as high as in academic writing. In these platforms, all you need to know is how to grasp a reader’s attention.
In Opera News, writers are required to write articles with not less than 150 words. Yes, that is really simple. On the other hand, Scooper News requires a minimum of 300 words for an article to be approved for publishing by editors.
In Opera News, each article pays according to the number of views. Averagely, 1000 post views will result in a payment of Ksh.20($0.20). This value may vary time-to-time.
Scooper news pays its authors relatively better. An article of 300 words will result in a payment of $0.8. in cases where the author rating drops, payment also drops to either $0.6 or $0.4.
In some instances, an author may choose to write in-depth articles, that contain 1000+ words. These articles receive a payment ranging between $1 to $1.8.
More job search websites
Other top job-searching websites include Google for Jobs, Zip Recruiter, indeed.com, Monster, Simply Hired, CareerBuilder, Snag, LinkUp and Craigslist jobs.
Above is a list of top websites that will enable you to search and apply for online writing jobs in Kenya and any other country you may be residing in.
The truth about online writing is that it is hard. One has to have the discipline of a Balanchine ballet and the perseverance of Jesus Christ to succeed.
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