Another new Constant-Content.com writer wrote to me the other day and indicated that he planned on writing for a specific niche and that niche only. While his chosen topic is definitely a good one, I encouraged him to think beyond it and be open to different markets.

For example, let’s say that you want to write about gourmet food and nothing but gourmet food. On Constant-Content, it’s doubtful that you’d have a long line of customers waiting to buy articles in that niche. Some, sure, but not all that many. However, if you could take your niche topic and make it appealing to customers with sites that aren’t focused on gourmet food, you may have a better chance of selling the article.

Think about the types of articles that are selling on Constant-Content at any given time and then think about how your chosen niche could appeal to the customers buying those other articles. For example, if you notice a lot of sports and parenting articles selling, then it’s safe to say that customers are looking for sports and parenting articles. How can your topic, gourmet food, fit in? How about a piece about gourmet tailgating for foodie sports fans? How about an article covering how to make sophisticated baby food or teaching children simple gourmet cooking concepts?

If you’re stuck in a niche, try a few cross-over niche articles and see what happens.

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While you could theoretically spend time marketing your articles for sale on Constant-Content.com, I feel that it’s more productive to move on and write the next article. Constant-Content attracts plenty of customers on its own, so let the system do what it’s supposed to do. The time that you’d normally spend marketing your individual articles could be spent creating more products or in marketing your writing services. Meanwhile, your existing articles are on a site that attracts websmasters and publishers.

That said, there are a few little things that you can try that could lead to more exposure to your Constant-Content.com articles.

• Add more keywords to the article’s keyword field. The keywords here are used in conjunction with the site’s internal search engine. Go to My Content, find the article, and click “edit.” Now add as many keywords as you can think of including both plural and singular versions.
• Set up a Twitter RSS feed for your profile. Any time you have an article approved, your new article will then be fed to the Twitterverse. I’ll create a separate post detailing how to do this.
• Place the Constant-Content widget on your website or blog. 

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One of my favorite Microsoft Word features is its Properties feature. The properties of a document can tell you quite a bit about it including the author’s name, the document’s create date, how many revisions it’s been through, total editing time, and much more.

I’ll often double check the properties of my documents to see how long an article took to write. This is especially handy if I forgot to notice the time when I began writing. Editing time becomes less accurate if you keep the document open while you do other tasks, though, so be aware of this if you plan on using it to keep track of time. 

The document’s properties section is also useful for storing notes and other information that you may want to keep, yet you don’t want readily viewable in the document itself. For example, when submitting an article to Constant-Content.com, I store the short summary and keywords in the document’s properties just in case the article needs to be revised and resubmitted. Since Constant-Content removes everything when rejecting an article, having the short summary and keywords within the document’s properties saves time and effort (and frustration, especially if you wrote a short summary you’re proud of).

If you’re not familiar with Word’s Properties, take some time to get to know this useful feature. In Word 2007, go to the Office button > Prepare > Properties. A short form appears with some of the more common fields. I usually click on Document Properties > Advanced Properties which brings up a dialog box with more options and statistics.

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You’ve made the decision to write for Constant-Content, now what? I highly recommend that you thoroughly review the guidelines as Constant-Content has specific requirements ranging from font sizes and spacing to voice and style. Explore the FAQs and forum, too, but then jump in and start writing! When you first write for Constant-Content, you have three basic options:

• Write an original article
• Submit an existing article for usage rights only
• Write an article for a public request

I’ll address the first two options in future posts. Today, I want to address writing public requests. Constant-Content allows publishers to issue “public requests.” These requests must be approved by Constant-Content before they’re posted. Once posted, an email message goes out to all Constant-Content writers who have indicated that they’d like to receive these notices. The public request is also listed directly on the Public Requests page. In addition, new requests are tweeted via the Constant-Content Twitter account.

All writers are invited to write an article for the request, with no need to bid. Depending on your point of view, this is either good or bad. If you hate bidding and find the proposal process tedious, ineffective, and a waste of time, you may find public requests a welcome reprieve. On the other hand, if you’re worried that you’ll write an article that won’t ultimately be purchased, you may find writing for Constant-Content’s public requests too risky.

With tens of thousands of Constant-Content writers, you may at first feel like answering a public request is like buying a lottery ticket. After all, Constant-Content boasts well over 30,000 writers. However, only a fraction of those writers are active at any given time. Plus, there are dozens of public requests on a wide range of topics. A request that interests you may not be interesting to anyone else.

Is writing for a public request risky? Yes, it is. Your article may not be selected. However, you’ll have that article at the end of the process to do with as you please. You may want to use it on your own blog or website. You may want to leave it on Constant-Content so that another customer can buy it. You may want to remove it and post it on a website that pays for performance. 

Is writing for a public request rewarding? Yes, it is. Writing for a public request is a terrific way to start selling articles on Constant-Content right away – even if you don’t have a large portfolio. What I love best about this process is that the writing speaks for itself. It doesn’t matter if you have an impressive background or not – what matters is if the article impresses.

So, take a risk and pick a public request to write for Constant-Content today!

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Several people have asked me, “How do I become a freelance writer?” While I’m tempted to say that it’s a simple matter of declaring yourself a freelance writer and writing, I realize that there’s more to it than that. Sure, that’s a good start, but there’s that pesky matter of finding clients willing to pay for your writing projects. This involves marketing and selling your writing services which may involve creating a website, printing business cards, attending professional networking events and so on. In other words, becoming an entrepreneur or self-employed business professional.

Fortunately with writing these days, numerous opportunities exist both online and off. If you’re asking yourself, “How do I become a freelance writer?”, here are a few freelance writing tips to help you get started:

• Join Constant-Content.com and start submitting articles to the site’s most current public requests.
• Join at least one other online writing site that pays such as AOL’s Seed.com, Yahoo!’s AssociatedContent.com, or Demand Studios. (If you’re just starting out, try limit yourself to one or two online writing sites at first as each has a learning curve that takes time to master. Give yourself time to explore the site and allow it to work before giving up on it.)
• Bid on writing projects at sites like Guru.com or Elance.com.
• Pick up a copy of Writer’s Market and submit articles and queries to magazines.
• Contact local publishers about freelance writing opportunities this includes publishers of newspapers, coupon books, local directories, websites, and so on.
• Look for writing opportunities on Craigslist, local classifieds, Twitter, and other locations.
• Let your network know that you’re now a self-employed writer and that you appreciate any referrals.
• Submit a press release announcing your new writing business to your local newspaper as well as to online press release distribution sites. 

Business and Tax Considerations

In addition to actually writing, you’ll also need to brush up on running a business. One of the reasons that I fell in love with Constant-Content.com was that I didn’t have to do too much on the business side (such as marketing, invoicing, and collections). Don’t forget to set aside enough money for income taxes as well as the self-employment tax. Get into the habit of setting aside money as soon as you get paid. You may need to pay quarterly estimated taxes, too.

Writing for Constant-Content.com

If you want to get started with Constant-Content.com, consider my inexpensive eBook which details everything you need to know about this site and is loaded with success tips. Having sold over 3,000 writing projects here, I know a thing or two about this site. I’ve kept the price low (under $10) on purpose so that writers new to Constant-Content aren’t risking much as they pursue the potential rewards offered at Constant-Content.

Learn more about this informative freelance writing eBook or buy it today (instant download) for just $9.95. If you’re wondering, “How do I become a freelance writer,” this eBook will help you get started with writing articles for paying customers on Constant-Content.com.

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