How to Get a Real Virtual Writing Job

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By Becca
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Getting a real job writing from the comfort of your own home is easy with Get a Freelancer.

Getting a real writing job can be difficult if you don't know where to look. While writing for ehow and other similar websites can earn you some money, anyone can sign up for these websites so they are not typically respected by the writing world. If you are a talented writer that wants to work on solid writing projects worthy of your portfolio or resume, Get a Freelancer is the place for you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

The first thing you need to do to get a real virtual writing job is create an account on Get a Freelancer. This website hooks writers up with people all over the world so you need to really stand out if you want to win a bid. Your biography needs to be descriptive and unique since you will be bidding for projects against many other talented writers who may have more feedback than you. Include your native language as well as any other languages you may speak, your college degree(if you have one) and some brief points about your writing career. While Get a Freelancer offers projects for other types of skills, the main category we will be looking at is the section for Copywriting. Once you have your account set up you can now start to bid on real writing jobs.
Step 2

Once you click on the copywriting tab you will see a screen pop up full of projects related to writing, rewriting, SEO and the like. These are all real writing jobs that you can bid on and if you win, will be able to complete virtually from the comfort of your home. Many of the project owners are looking for inexpensive writers that do not necessarily have much talent so be careful about which projects you choose to bid on. There are many people on GAf that run writing "factories" and churn out low quality keyword heavy articles for pennies. You want to look for the projects that require native English speakers and state that they are willing to pay for superior quality. I never bother bidding on a project that offers $1 for an article since I feel my skills are worth far more than that, and also since there are people willing to pay more why should I settle?
Step 3

Once you find a writing project that you think you might enjoy it's time to place your bid. I always bid according to what I feel my work is worth and I never write the details publicly where everyone can see them. I typically place my bid then write, "Please see your PM for more details". The PM is a private message box that only the project creator will see. In this box is where I pitch myself.
Step 4

In the PM you will want to really say something that sets you apart from the other writers. I always talk about why my bid may be for more than the others and state that it's because my writing is worth it. I also make sure I specifically address the project and why it sounds exciting to me. I find that if the project owner feels I am really interested in the project I win the bid. Sometimes I offer to do a trial run for a week or a few articles if it is a long term project. I include links to my ehow and Associated Content pages for the creator to learn more about who I am but I also make sure they know these sites are for my personal use and I have the ability to be more professional and organized. I also attach one of my best articles that is not published on the Internet anywhere for the person to read. For every 10 bids I typically get at least one offer, but I typically get about 2 per 10.
Step 5

Once you win the bid for the real writing job of your choice it can be a good idea to complete everything through GAF so that you do not get burned. You will have to pay GAF a fee but it is worth it so that you don't run into a problem. If it's a long term writing project I usually end up having the project owner just pay me directly through Paypal, but that will be up to you and him/her. So far I have completed many interesting writing projects using this website including a children's card game that I got paid $150 to do, and once it was published the project creator even sent me a copy to have for my portfolio! I also had a long term relationship with another website writing 20 articles for him weekly at $4.00 each and he paid me directly through Paypal for almost a year. I have since raised my rates to about $5.00 per 500 word article. Currently I am working on a book for a guy out of New Zealand and at that rate I should make a few hundred dollars with him. Get a Freelancer is a very interesting place to gain real experience that counts towards a resume or portfolio.