The client who I wrote the wedding articles for paid me a bonus for my work! There was no discussion of the possibility of that happening, it was completely out of the blue. That made my day!
I am also discussing the possibility of writing a wedding blog for another woman who is starting up a series of websites with different topics for women. I told her that I was interested, and she looked over my writing and said she'd love to have me write for. I will get 75% of the profits that my site earns and I will write a blog entry 2 -3 times per week on different wedding topics. It sounds like a lot of fun and could turn out to be a good stream of income for me.
My day was pretty darn successful! I completed my first draft submission for the "take control of your finances" project. I wrote five eHow articles, one article for Associated Content, and gained the possibility of a long-term writing job. I got some chores done around the house and snuggled with my Tori-baby and played with Lucas. Good day!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
And my freelance career is getting off the ground!
Yahoo! I completed my first actually writing project on rentacoder.com and the client absolutely loved them. I wrote sixteen articles on wedding planning. I finished two days ahead of the deadline and asked if she needed anything changed or edited in my articles. She told me that they were absolutely perfect and she has more work for me in the future. I'm so excited!
I am working on my second writing project, a 750 word article on taking control of your finances. So far my rough draft is only 450 words, so I am going to have go back through and bulk it up a bit. I have seven more days, I'm not worried!
I've been looking at some more freelance sites but so far I am not impressed. Rentacoder averages $3-4 for 350 words. The other sites I've been looking at average only $1.50 for 350 words. I just don't think that's worth my time! I have to keep looking but so far, I am sticking with rentacoder - there are new projects posted constantly. I think I can stay busy just on that site for now.
I also have earned more money from Associated Content. That site frustrated me at first because it takes a week or so to find out what they are willing to pay for your article. But what I've come to realize is that if I submit one article every day, I should continue to get paid every day - AC payments go through immediately. I've got to start submitting at least one article per day.
I've been slacking on eHow. I need to really focus on eHow the rest of the week. Tomorrow I will finish that one article and then eHow my heart out all weekend. I really wanted 100 articles done before we leave on our trip and that isn't going to happen if I don't get on it!
I have set a goal for January of brining in a total of $1,000 from all my sources, including ChaCha. I plan to limit my ChaCha to $20 per day so I have more time to focus on writing. That means I need to make $400 writing in January. I think that is a reasonable goal for my first full month. I've made $94 already this month writing and I only got really serious about it over the weekend. If I submit one article per day to AC, I should make at least $100 on that site alone. My eHow earnings will hopefully grow to about $25 for the month. That means I need to land $275 worth of freelance work. That should be easy enough, I hope.
I am working on my second writing project, a 750 word article on taking control of your finances. So far my rough draft is only 450 words, so I am going to have go back through and bulk it up a bit. I have seven more days, I'm not worried!
I've been looking at some more freelance sites but so far I am not impressed. Rentacoder averages $3-4 for 350 words. The other sites I've been looking at average only $1.50 for 350 words. I just don't think that's worth my time! I have to keep looking but so far, I am sticking with rentacoder - there are new projects posted constantly. I think I can stay busy just on that site for now.
I also have earned more money from Associated Content. That site frustrated me at first because it takes a week or so to find out what they are willing to pay for your article. But what I've come to realize is that if I submit one article every day, I should continue to get paid every day - AC payments go through immediately. I've got to start submitting at least one article per day.
I've been slacking on eHow. I need to really focus on eHow the rest of the week. Tomorrow I will finish that one article and then eHow my heart out all weekend. I really wanted 100 articles done before we leave on our trip and that isn't going to happen if I don't get on it!
I have set a goal for January of brining in a total of $1,000 from all my sources, including ChaCha. I plan to limit my ChaCha to $20 per day so I have more time to focus on writing. That means I need to make $400 writing in January. I think that is a reasonable goal for my first full month. I've made $94 already this month writing and I only got really serious about it over the weekend. If I submit one article per day to AC, I should make at least $100 on that site alone. My eHow earnings will hopefully grow to about $25 for the month. That means I need to land $275 worth of freelance work. That should be easy enough, I hope.
Week #3 - eHow summary!
The numbers:
Total articles written: 62
Total Views: 5881
Total Articles that have been rated: 21
Total Recommendations: 11
Total Friends: 51
Total Points: 6558
Total Articles Earning Money: 19
Total Money Made: $8.10
So I only wrote 8 new articles but my earnings have doubled, and my views have close to doubled. At this rate it seems that I will definitely make pay out my first month, which is super exciting! I haven't written nearly as much as I wanted to, though. Partially because I have been sick and partially because I've been working on my freelance writing projects. But that's another post!
Total articles written: 62
Total Views: 5881
Total Articles that have been rated: 21
Total Recommendations: 11
Total Friends: 51
Total Points: 6558
Total Articles Earning Money: 19
Total Money Made: $8.10
So I only wrote 8 new articles but my earnings have doubled, and my views have close to doubled. At this rate it seems that I will definitely make pay out my first month, which is super exciting! I haven't written nearly as much as I wanted to, though. Partially because I have been sick and partially because I've been working on my freelance writing projects. But that's another post!
Monday, December 15, 2008
My second freelance writing job!
What a good day for me today. I received my upfront payment for my first two articles on Associated Content for a total of $6.55 - not a lot, but still exciting. I have three more articles pending with them and if they are approved, I will get a $10 bonus for publishing five articles this month.
I also just put in a bid on rentacoder.com for writing articles about weddings. They need someone who can write about beach weddings, and well, who better? I sent them my article on eHow about my wedding. The coolest part was that bidding was open until Saturday but right after I sent my bid, I got a response within an hour that I'd been chosen and the deadline had been cut short! It's a lot of work - sixteen articles at $4 each. But it's all about building my status on the site and getting a good reputation. And in the end, it shouldn't take me all that long to write them and it's $64 I didn't have before. Probably less time than it would take me to earn that much money on ChaCha these days, anyway. I'm thrilled!
I also just put in a bid on rentacoder.com for writing articles about weddings. They need someone who can write about beach weddings, and well, who better? I sent them my article on eHow about my wedding. The coolest part was that bidding was open until Saturday but right after I sent my bid, I got a response within an hour that I'd been chosen and the deadline had been cut short! It's a lot of work - sixteen articles at $4 each. But it's all about building my status on the site and getting a good reputation. And in the end, it shouldn't take me all that long to write them and it's $64 I didn't have before. Probably less time than it would take me to earn that much money on ChaCha these days, anyway. I'm thrilled!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Two dollar days in a row!
Two days in a row, my eHow articles have earned over a dollar. This is very exciting! If I stayed at this rate and never, ever wrote another article again, I'd make $350/year for doing absolutely nothing. Now that's cool.
It's also a reason to keep writing so that my daily average goes up!
It's also a reason to keep writing so that my daily average goes up!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Ehow Week 2 update.
Here's the numbers:
Total articles written: 54
Total Views: 3,379
Total Articles that have been rated: 16
Total Recommendations: 7
Total Friends: 37
Total Points: 5718
Total Articles Earning Money: 9
Total Money Made: $4.07
It looks as though I will get paid after my first month at eHow! This is incredibly exciting since it's not that usual for someone to get paid only one month in. In fact, some of the biggest earners on eHow say that they didn't make enough the first month to be paid. I posted on the forums about my excitement that I think I will just barely squeak by with the ten dollar minimum and one of the experienced eHowers told me that my articles are well chosen and well written and I just may double that amount. It's cool to have that kind of support and encouragement. I'm really enjoying the entire community of eHow. When I first started writing, I didn't think I would jump into the forums and all of that, but they are all so helpful and nice. It's a very encouraging place.
As far as earnings go, there is still no pattern. On Wednesday I had absolutely no new earnings but then today my earnings jumped by over a dollar. I'd love it if I continued to earn a dollar each day but I know that I am not quite to that level yet. I'm just excited to see where this is all going. For so long now I have been searching for more ways to work from home. ChaCha has been a godsend but obviously it's not a perfect plan. I've never really considered writing for pay before. I don't know why. I mean, I did minor in English in collge. I taught English for two years. And yet, writing as a career has never crossed my mind. I feel like an idiot for never trying this before!
Total articles written: 54
Total Views: 3,379
Total Articles that have been rated: 16
Total Recommendations: 7
Total Friends: 37
Total Points: 5718
Total Articles Earning Money: 9
Total Money Made: $4.07
It looks as though I will get paid after my first month at eHow! This is incredibly exciting since it's not that usual for someone to get paid only one month in. In fact, some of the biggest earners on eHow say that they didn't make enough the first month to be paid. I posted on the forums about my excitement that I think I will just barely squeak by with the ten dollar minimum and one of the experienced eHowers told me that my articles are well chosen and well written and I just may double that amount. It's cool to have that kind of support and encouragement. I'm really enjoying the entire community of eHow. When I first started writing, I didn't think I would jump into the forums and all of that, but they are all so helpful and nice. It's a very encouraging place.
As far as earnings go, there is still no pattern. On Wednesday I had absolutely no new earnings but then today my earnings jumped by over a dollar. I'd love it if I continued to earn a dollar each day but I know that I am not quite to that level yet. I'm just excited to see where this is all going. For so long now I have been searching for more ways to work from home. ChaCha has been a godsend but obviously it's not a perfect plan. I've never really considered writing for pay before. I don't know why. I mean, I did minor in English in collge. I taught English for two years. And yet, writing as a career has never crossed my mind. I feel like an idiot for never trying this before!
Ah, the joys of working from home!
We are all sick in this house today. Everyone has taken turns vomiting. It's been one of the least pleasant days in my entire parenting career. I remember one point late at night when I was throwing up into a bucket while Tori was begging me for comfort as she threw up next to me into her own puke bucket. Jon was passed out in the bedroom, too sick to even sit up. What fun!
But I was still able to work, somehow. As soon as I could sit upright again, I was back at work. Maybe that's good, maybe it's not. But I was at least able to meet my minimum ChaCha goal for the day which is a plus. I wrote two articles for eHow, submitted two articles for approval to Associated Content and put in a bid on a freelance writing job. Not bad for a day when that started with me curled up on the floor screaming in pain.
What a day!
But I was still able to work, somehow. As soon as I could sit upright again, I was back at work. Maybe that's good, maybe it's not. But I was at least able to meet my minimum ChaCha goal for the day which is a plus. I wrote two articles for eHow, submitted two articles for approval to Associated Content and put in a bid on a freelance writing job. Not bad for a day when that started with me curled up on the floor screaming in pain.
What a day!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
How I chose my name...
I named my blog High Heels and Baseballs but I never really explained why. My two kids are night and day opposites. My girl is all girl. She spends her days dressing like a princess, playing with her doll house and dancing. My boy is all boy. He spends his days making noises, breaking things and getting dirty. He can already throw a ball almost as well as his big sister. So my life is a world of extreme opposites. Thus, high heels and baseballs. If I ever have my own business, I think that is what I will call it!
Milestones and frustration!
I have written my first fifty articles on eHow. That's a big milestone, especially in only two weeks! I didn't write anything yesterday, though. The night before, my poor baby boy was up sick the entire night and there was no way I could put together a cohesive thought! I'll be back at it today, though.
So far, it's frustrating. I know that everyone says it's frustrating the first few months and I know that I'm no different than anyone else but it's still frustrating. One day I get over one thousand views, the next day only two hundred. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason so far. One day I made over a dollar. Some days I don't make any money at all. I can't quite figure it out. But then, that's what everyone says when they start writing for eHow. And they also say that after a few months, it gets much better.
I have been learning so much from eHow. There is a whole world out there of getting paid to write. It's truly fascinating and overwhelming. I want to dive in all at once but at the same time I am terrified to try at all. I figure that I really have nothing to lose, though. Rejection over the internet doesn't sting nearly as much as rejection in person, afterall! I do have the technical training, what I lack is real-life experience. Although that is what I am learning about eHow - it is real life experience. It's a way to get paid to write and to get my writing out there so people can see it. I have actually put in five bids for small writing projects on rentacoder.com and I'm anxiously awaiting the results of those bids. Most of them aren't much money but at least one of them sounds like a lot of fun. The more reading I do, the more I find that landing the first job is the hardest part. I keep hearing that I should bid, bid, bid. But all of the projects that I have looked at so far would be due at the same time, and that wouldn't be good at all!
There are so many other options, so many sites that pay for writing work. I can't wait to test some of them out!
So far, it's frustrating. I know that everyone says it's frustrating the first few months and I know that I'm no different than anyone else but it's still frustrating. One day I get over one thousand views, the next day only two hundred. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason so far. One day I made over a dollar. Some days I don't make any money at all. I can't quite figure it out. But then, that's what everyone says when they start writing for eHow. And they also say that after a few months, it gets much better.
I have been learning so much from eHow. There is a whole world out there of getting paid to write. It's truly fascinating and overwhelming. I want to dive in all at once but at the same time I am terrified to try at all. I figure that I really have nothing to lose, though. Rejection over the internet doesn't sting nearly as much as rejection in person, afterall! I do have the technical training, what I lack is real-life experience. Although that is what I am learning about eHow - it is real life experience. It's a way to get paid to write and to get my writing out there so people can see it. I have actually put in five bids for small writing projects on rentacoder.com and I'm anxiously awaiting the results of those bids. Most of them aren't much money but at least one of them sounds like a lot of fun. The more reading I do, the more I find that landing the first job is the hardest part. I keep hearing that I should bid, bid, bid. But all of the projects that I have looked at so far would be due at the same time, and that wouldn't be good at all!
There are so many other options, so many sites that pay for writing work. I can't wait to test some of them out!
Monday, December 8, 2008
A new home...
I had a blog forever ago but I can't remember what my name or password was so I'm starting fresh. Plus now I have a bit more focus to my writing instead of just babbling on about the wonders of my children - although I do still plan to do plenty of that!
A lot has changed for me in the past year. I've found several new passions but when I really take a look at the big picture, they all just stem from one big passion: staying home with my kids. I really feel that there is nothing more important in the world than being here with them, day in and day out.
It's been three years, six months and ten days since I quit my job. How do I recall that? Easy. The day my daughter was born, I quit! Over the years, I have picked up a temporary job here and there when money was tight but was always able to find a job opposite Jon's hours. My kids have never been in any kind of childcare and that's something I am awfully darn proud of!
Anyway, onto those new passions of mine!
My first discovery in the new year was coupons. Yup, totally a new concept, right? I'd used them now and then in the past but I had never taken the time to really learn how to truly take advantage of them. I read an article about the Grocery Game in a magazine and decided to give it a shot. The initial fee was only $1 to try it out for a month and I had a dollar to spare! Wow! My eyes were opened to a whole new world, a world of free items, getting expensive beauty products for just pennies, and the concept of stockpiling!
Ah, stockpiling. That would be obsession #2 on my list. I'd always wanted to stockpile but was scared of the money spent up front. Thanks to coupons, that issue was wiped out. It's a simple thing, really. If an item is normally $2.00 and will a sale and coupon you can get it for fifty cents, buy as many as you can. If you have four coupons, buy four! Then it a month when you are out of the item, you won't end up running to the store and paying full price.
The Grocery Game also led me to another passion, one that I feel could really lead me to a future career (someday in the very far future when my kids are grown!). Dave Ramsey. I'm obsessed with Dave Ramsey. It's OK, Jon already knows. We are officially kool-aid drinking crazies who actually believe it's better to drive a ten year old car than to have a $300 car payment! This past year we have skimped and saved and paid off all of our medical bills that had been haunting us for years. We paid off a loan, a credit card and are almost done paying off another credit card! We can't wait to scream it loud and proud, "We're debt free!"
Perhaps by chance, a friend mentioned to me a work from home job that actually fit my lifestyle. And so I was introduced to the wonders of ChaCha. Since the beginning of my ChaCha journey, there have been ups and downs. But overall, it has been fabulous for me and my family. Some days I have made $70. Other days, only $5. At the end of the year, my earnings have topped $5,000 since mid-June which is pretty darn good for not leaving my house - or my kids.
But ChaCha is going through a slow time while they being a new phase of their business. I have faith that ChaCha will again be busy but in the mean time I have begun researching other options. Through my research, I have come across several ideas and one of the biggest terms that kept coming up in my searches was "create passive income." And the number one way to create passive income from writing seems to be through writing for eHow. I did some research and decided that it was a good fit for me. I have a lot of random knowledge, I have a minor in English and a major in Business. All the right ingredients to become an overnight eHow success!
Well, not quite overnight. The whole point of writing for eHow is to put in the blood, sweat and tears NOW so that down the road, my writings are making money and I don't have to write any more new articles if I don't want to. Since it's winter and we're lazy and taking turns being sick, it's a fantastic time for me to spend a few extra hours at the computer. I am hoping by summer that I will really be seeing the payoff for all the time I am putting in now. My reasearch has led me to find that many people didn't even reach $10 until their thrid month but now make $1,000 or more every month! I'm already on track to make the $10 mark my first month so I am hoping that's a sign that I have what it takes to succeed at thie eHow thing!
Through eHow, I've been learning about all sorts of things - both while writing and reading other people's work. I've learned that there are many more ways to earn money from home and little by little, I plan to try some more of them. For now, ChaCha and eHow are taking up plenty of my time. I moved my computer to the living room so I can now watch TV, play with the kids and work all at the same time. Mommy multi-tasking. Gotta love it!
A lot has changed for me in the past year. I've found several new passions but when I really take a look at the big picture, they all just stem from one big passion: staying home with my kids. I really feel that there is nothing more important in the world than being here with them, day in and day out.
It's been three years, six months and ten days since I quit my job. How do I recall that? Easy. The day my daughter was born, I quit! Over the years, I have picked up a temporary job here and there when money was tight but was always able to find a job opposite Jon's hours. My kids have never been in any kind of childcare and that's something I am awfully darn proud of!
Anyway, onto those new passions of mine!
My first discovery in the new year was coupons. Yup, totally a new concept, right? I'd used them now and then in the past but I had never taken the time to really learn how to truly take advantage of them. I read an article about the Grocery Game in a magazine and decided to give it a shot. The initial fee was only $1 to try it out for a month and I had a dollar to spare! Wow! My eyes were opened to a whole new world, a world of free items, getting expensive beauty products for just pennies, and the concept of stockpiling!
Ah, stockpiling. That would be obsession #2 on my list. I'd always wanted to stockpile but was scared of the money spent up front. Thanks to coupons, that issue was wiped out. It's a simple thing, really. If an item is normally $2.00 and will a sale and coupon you can get it for fifty cents, buy as many as you can. If you have four coupons, buy four! Then it a month when you are out of the item, you won't end up running to the store and paying full price.
The Grocery Game also led me to another passion, one that I feel could really lead me to a future career (someday in the very far future when my kids are grown!). Dave Ramsey. I'm obsessed with Dave Ramsey. It's OK, Jon already knows. We are officially kool-aid drinking crazies who actually believe it's better to drive a ten year old car than to have a $300 car payment! This past year we have skimped and saved and paid off all of our medical bills that had been haunting us for years. We paid off a loan, a credit card and are almost done paying off another credit card! We can't wait to scream it loud and proud, "We're debt free!"
Perhaps by chance, a friend mentioned to me a work from home job that actually fit my lifestyle. And so I was introduced to the wonders of ChaCha. Since the beginning of my ChaCha journey, there have been ups and downs. But overall, it has been fabulous for me and my family. Some days I have made $70. Other days, only $5. At the end of the year, my earnings have topped $5,000 since mid-June which is pretty darn good for not leaving my house - or my kids.
But ChaCha is going through a slow time while they being a new phase of their business. I have faith that ChaCha will again be busy but in the mean time I have begun researching other options. Through my research, I have come across several ideas and one of the biggest terms that kept coming up in my searches was "create passive income." And the number one way to create passive income from writing seems to be through writing for eHow. I did some research and decided that it was a good fit for me. I have a lot of random knowledge, I have a minor in English and a major in Business. All the right ingredients to become an overnight eHow success!
Well, not quite overnight. The whole point of writing for eHow is to put in the blood, sweat and tears NOW so that down the road, my writings are making money and I don't have to write any more new articles if I don't want to. Since it's winter and we're lazy and taking turns being sick, it's a fantastic time for me to spend a few extra hours at the computer. I am hoping by summer that I will really be seeing the payoff for all the time I am putting in now. My reasearch has led me to find that many people didn't even reach $10 until their thrid month but now make $1,000 or more every month! I'm already on track to make the $10 mark my first month so I am hoping that's a sign that I have what it takes to succeed at thie eHow thing!
Through eHow, I've been learning about all sorts of things - both while writing and reading other people's work. I've learned that there are many more ways to earn money from home and little by little, I plan to try some more of them. For now, ChaCha and eHow are taking up plenty of my time. I moved my computer to the living room so I can now watch TV, play with the kids and work all at the same time. Mommy multi-tasking. Gotta love it!
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