This little piece was something I wrote for an ezine back in January 2011. I was struggling for money and needed a portfolio, so writing quick articles for various ezines was my then-current solution whilst I looked for jobs outside of my bedroom.
I'm not sure why I chose to write this, as inspiration, or maybe I was bored. who knows? But I kinda like it, even if it's a bit bland and lacking some description. I've improved in 18 months. Honest.
----------------
In the year of 1996 I was diagnosed with epilepsy caused by a benign (non-cancerous) tumour on the left side of my brain. MRI scans showed that it was about the size of a golf ball.
A year after the scans and many tests I had my first operation for a tiny sample to be taken and tested but the tumour couldn’t be removed due to the high possibility that I’d lose the ability to speak.
After the op and being released I spent the next 7 years having a seizure on an almost daily basis. I only recently found out that I was having what is known in the psychology and medical worlds as a “musical seizure” as I would hear familiar music seconds before it kicked in. I could never figure what the song was though, much to my annoyance, and, still to this day, I have no idea what it was.
When I turned 15, we got the results back from my most recent MRI and were told that now my brain had grown, the tumour had shifted a little and it could now be removed. What a feeling that was! So, after much planning, excitement and packing, my family and I set off to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London for two very special operations which were, and possibly still are, performed only twice a year by a team of incredibly skilled surgeons.
Filled with nerves and excitement (not forgetting teenage testosterone), we were guided to what would be my bedroom for the next three weeks. I’d be living in an average sized room with a metal-framed bed, my own toilet and marble floors with a large window sill I could sit on while listening to SlipKnot with my family in the background complaining about ‘that racket‘.
After a long week of being injected with needles, attached to machines, having blood taken away from me and asking the nurse if my operation could be filmed (that wasn’t possible but they did take some interesting photos), it was finally time to travel to my operating theatre.
Nervously, I sat on my bed, talking and laughing with my parents before the anaesthetic kicked in and I slowly fell into a deep sleep which still couldn’t be beaten today.
Skip forward to around five long hours later and my eyes are flickering open to find myself lying on a bed in a long room filled with children of all ages on both sides of the room who had also recently had an operation.
However, my tumour wasn’t gone just yet. This five hour op was, in fact, to put a number of electrodes attached to a square of thin latex over the tumour so my seizures for a week could be monitored and analysed to see what was really going on inside that cranium of mine.
For a week I was sat on my bed with a bandage around my head which happened to have a load of wires poking out, attached to a strange-looking machine. Through this whole week I was forced to take this machine with me to the toilet, sleep with wires in my head and spend time with my family looking like some sort of robot on charge. It was an interesting week, to say the least.
After the week was up, it was time to go back to theatre to have the electrodes removed and the tumour cut out to be sent off to the labs for scientific research. Or so I imagine.
Repeat the anaesthesia injection and the falling asleep with my mum holding my hand procedure and I’m back on the operating table with my head cut open and the surgeons fiddling away and again, five hours later, I’m lying in bed except this time there are no wires poking out of my head, my brain has lost some weight and my tumour is sat in a jar somewhere.
From what I remember, the doctor telling us that the tumour had successfully been removed with no complications was one of the best-feeling moments of my life. It was like a weight had been lifted and we no longer had to worry about certain things.
I spent the next week in hospital recovering and gaining my strength back along with mass consumption of macaroni cheese, my food obsession at the time and finally, on the seventh day we were packed and walking out of that room, but not before a nurse came into the room with a disc which had ‘Peter Kent G.O.S.H’ written on it. My photos! These would be interesting to see when we got home and still are seven years later.
Since the op I have had the odd seizure here and there but that’s nothing compared to one every day.
It’s now January 2011 and I’m now writing this article and about to begin my second semester of my first year of university, something that had never crossed my mind back in 2003. How our paths change. I suffered from a serious illness and now, here I am, writing articles and studying a degree in English literature and creative writing.
Tuesday 28 August 2012
How to Earn Money Blogging Online
This is an article I wrote for a writing job I recently started. but after some consideration I thought it might as well go on here as this is, essentially, my portfolio.
I was asked to write an article on how to make money within the blogosphere and so here it is, in all its glory, read over and edited.
Also, expect to see a few more articles popping up on here in the near future as I'm working on getting everything I've written in the past 2 years online and readable in one place (dodgy sentence structure there, I know, but I'm feeling lazy tonight).
---------------------
In addition to social networking and emailing, blogging is one of the most common things or activities the Internet, or World Wide Web, is associated with today. Many websites allow users to create a blog, short for web log, or connect to their own or other Internet users’ blogs via links sometimes known as a ’blogroll’.
If you visit a popular search engine such as Google and search for a blog on your subject of choice you will be very likely to come across thousands of blogs on that one subject, from literature to film and everything in between.
It is a way of informing Internet users of the latest Hollywood blockbuster or letting them know what you think of Emily Bronte’ Wuthering Heights. It is also a way of maintaining a portfolio of your art or writing which is easily accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
Blogging, however, doesn’t just need to be a hobby. It can also be a way of earning a bit of extra cash on the side. By applying your skill, which we’ll assume is writing here, you can soon start earning from 30 to 100 pounds a extra month.
Many bloggers and Internet users like to tell you that within 24 hours you will have a steady monthly income of around £10,000. This, unfortunately, is very unlikely.
However, with the three Ps - Patience, Persistence and Perseverance - you can start earning a bit of extra money on the side, simply by working in the comfort of your own home.
Blogging from home is a great part-time job for parents, students, the retired or even full-time workers who are looking to kill, but not waste, a little bit of their extra time. It is also very productive, rewarding and fun, and you only need two things: a computer or laptop and an Internet connection. Once you have these you’re just about ready to go.
Below is an extensive guide which will help you with making money in the online blogging universe, or as it is commonly known, the Blogosphere.
Your Portfolio
This is probably one of the most important things a writer needs if they want to start making money with their skill. Potential employers and/or fans will want to see what you have written in the past and a portfolio (preferably online) is a great way to show these employers what you have written in the past and your level of skill.
Your portfolio can be of anything: fictional pieces, poetry, reviews or even your daily thoughts on what is happening in the world. Instead of spending a large amount of money on web hosting and URLs, sign up to a free blogging service such as Blogger (www.blogger.com), Wordpress (www.wordpress.com) or even Deviant Art (www.deviantart.com).
Once you’ve signed up to one or more of these websites, start uploading your work. Uploads can be done at any speed daily, weekly or even fortnightly, but when first building your portfolio, it would be best to upload a piece around twice a week. Make sure that the blog is easily accessible with a simple name and that the posts are laid out well and east to read and/or follow. Also include a small personal profile and, if you have one or both, a link to FaceBook or Twitter which will allow people to follow and keep up to date with your work.
Another way to start building a portfolio is by writing for free, which I’ll cover in the next section.
The Three Ps: Patience, Persistence, Perseverance
The next thing you’ll need is what I like to call the three Ps: Patience, persistence and perseverance.
Patience - This is very important when looking for work as a blogger. As I mentioned in the previous section, a good way to build a portfolio up is by writing for free. It also helps to gain traffic to your blog.
At first, the concept of writing for nothing may sound very unattractive, but there are hundreds of people on Gumtree and Craigslist who are looking to build content on their own websites, and you could be the perfect person to help with this. Not only that, but many website owners will help you with building traffic by adding a link to your website or blog at the bottom of your article or story. These non-paying website owners can be found in the Community > Creative Writing section of Gumtree and the Jobs > Writing/Editing section of Craigslist.
If an ad sounds attractive to you, paid or unpaid, contact the poster straight away and give them some background info on yourself as well as a link to your online portfolio and some contact details. Make yourself sound professional but not overly egotistical.
Paid jobs, however, may be far and in between, but if you keep searching, you will be able to find them.
Instead of simply scrolling through ads, why not post one yourself? While on Gumtree, Craigslist or both, post an ad selling your writing services. If you are confident in your writing you will be able to sell yourself with a cleverly worded ad. Your ad, which will be free to post, doesn’t need to be elaborately worded or exceptionally long, it just needs to include a small profile (e.g. “I am a student studying English Literature with Creative Writing at the University of East London”), the services you are offering and some contact details, preferably a phone number and email.
Persistence - Unfortunately the writing world is sometimes so full of freelance writers that website owners are currently not looking for anyone else to write for them. This isn’t the end of the world, though. While out of work, continue to build an online portfolio and post or update your Gumtree and Craigslist ads every week.
You may begin to think that there will be no jobs or money in writing for you. With persistence, however, you will get there and start making some money with that skill you’ve spent many years building up.
As I read on a website recently “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” (Lord Zion, 2012). What this means is that to succeed you may have to repeatedly post small ads online or reply to ads, but if you remain consistent and patient success will come your way.
Perseverance - Success doesn’t come without its difficulties and obstacles. This is why, sometimes, you will need to push yourself to achieve success. Continue searching for writing jobs online as well as posting ads and building a portfolio. The bigger the portfolio and the more ads you post, the more likely you are to score a job in writing.
Consider the Benefits First
There is an endless amount of benefits in blogging from home. The first is just that - working from home. Here is the top three.
When you are at home you’re at your most comfortable. Rather than sitting in a stifling office from 9 to 5 you can relax in your living room or home office with your laptop in front of you and an endless supply of tea and biscuits. This is especially good if you are a person who likes to spend time alone.
The next benefit, and my favourite, is being able to listen to music of my choice. Rather than hearing the office radio playing in the background I am able to visit YouTube or my own personal music library and choose an album that I am in the mood for. This can be very motivational if music is a big interest for you.
Alternatively you may choose to have the TV on. This, however, can be very distracting and you may find yourself watching TV instead of working.
Thirdly, you can choose when to have your morning, lunch and afternoon breaks so rather than waiting for 1 o’clock to come around before you can eat again, you can eat as soon as hunger or thirst strikes.
Start Small and Increase
Like with anything it is best to start writing for a small charge and then increase your charges as you progress. When you start getting offers for writing jobs a good price to charge is around the £3 mark. It’s not a large amount, but it is something. As you begin finding more writing jobs, increase your charge by, for example, £2.
Similarly, increase your word count with each new job. Start writing news articles with 300-500 words a time. These can be done in under an hour and require very little research. It also keeps you up to date with the latest news on the niche of which you are writing about.
Following on from the short news articles, try writing some reviews with a word count of around 750-1000 words a time followed by advice articles at around 2-3000 words. These longer articles you can charge £15 to £20 for.
It could take up to a year or possibly longer for you to progress to this stage, but it can be very rewarding in the long run and every piece you write will go towards your portfolio.
Use Social Networking Sites to Gain Traffic
The past five years has seen a huge boom in online social networking. Today it is hard to find someone who isn’t a member of FaceBook or Twitter and before these two sites there was MySpace.
If you watch a fair amount of TV or browse the Internet frequently you will notice that almost every programme you watch and website you visit has its own FaceBook page. This website which was once limited to one university in America is now a part of daily conversation, and for good reason too.
Users can view and build fan pages, upload notes (FaceBook’s version of a blog) and photos, connect with friends and family and share links and music videos with a simple copy and paste. This is why writers and other such artists should and often do have their own pages. By creating a page the artist will be able to connect it to their blog and keeps fans or “likers” updated with their newest piece of masterful art.
Twitter, on the other hand, is a newer website, but almost as popular as FaceBook has become. Known as micro-blogging, Twitter allows the user to post an update limited to just 140 characters. The user can connect to or contact others by using a simple tagging option which involves placing the ‘@’ symbol in front of a username and sending their message. They can also “follow” their favourite celebrities, musicians or writers with a quick click of the mouse.
This is another great way to guide traffic towards your blog or portfolio. If you’ve written a review of a film, book or musical piece, guide the creator or actors towards the review by writing a simple Tweet to them. They’ll be very grateful, especially if you’ve given them a positive review.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
As mentioned at the beginning, blogging will not give you an income of £10,000 a month. Therefore you should keep working at your current job and use the blogging job as a form of extra income, however little it may be.
If you have a savings account, why not put everything you earn via blogging into this account and then treat yourself to a nice meal sometime or maybe buy that new mobile phone you’ve had your eye on?
With the way the economy is right now anyone who has a full-time job should consider themselves very lucky and quitting that job may end up being a very big mistake. This is why, once you start earning a bit of money blogging, quitting your current job should remain at the back of your mind, not the front.
Conclusion
By now you should have a basic grasp or idea of how to start earning money by blogging online. It is not the easiest of things to do, but if you are passionate about your chosen field of skill and interested in making some money out of it and getting your name “out there”, you can and will succeed.
More than just a money maker, blogging is a great way to build a portfolio, gain some fans and use your spare time to do something productive and educational. Below is a list of useful websites which you will be able to use for blogging, advertising and networking. By using all or most of them you will soon be seeing your writing on various websites and blogs which are read by hundreds of people a week.
Useful websites
www.gumtree.com - This is where you will post one of your ads selling your services. It is simple, fast and best of all, free.
www.craigslist.com - Similar to Gumtree, Craigslist is also free.
www.blogger.com - Blogger is one of the world’s most popular blogging websites, and for good reason too. With one email you can create numerous blogs. You will be given your own URL and all blogs are archived by year and month. Blogger, however, is a much more communal rather than business-like host. Best used for a personal portfolio.
www.wordpress.com - Wordpress is a much more business-like and professional looking blog. When starting a business online this will be your best choice.
www.ezinearticles.com - An excellent website to help with getting your name into the Blogosphere, Ezinearticles allows you to “Submit your best quality original articles for massive exposure”. And best of all, it’s free.
www.twitter.com - A micro-blogging service which helps you to connect with millions of users around the globe.
www.facebook.com - According to mostpopularwebsites.net, FaceBook is the second most popular website in the world (updated Monday, August 20th 2012) just behind Google. It allows you to connect with friends and family, “like” and create fan pages and upload photos and notes.
I was asked to write an article on how to make money within the blogosphere and so here it is, in all its glory, read over and edited.
Also, expect to see a few more articles popping up on here in the near future as I'm working on getting everything I've written in the past 2 years online and readable in one place (dodgy sentence structure there, I know, but I'm feeling lazy tonight).
---------------------
In addition to social networking and emailing, blogging is one of the most common things or activities the Internet, or World Wide Web, is associated with today. Many websites allow users to create a blog, short for web log, or connect to their own or other Internet users’ blogs via links sometimes known as a ’blogroll’.
If you visit a popular search engine such as Google and search for a blog on your subject of choice you will be very likely to come across thousands of blogs on that one subject, from literature to film and everything in between.
It is a way of informing Internet users of the latest Hollywood blockbuster or letting them know what you think of Emily Bronte’ Wuthering Heights. It is also a way of maintaining a portfolio of your art or writing which is easily accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
Blogging, however, doesn’t just need to be a hobby. It can also be a way of earning a bit of extra cash on the side. By applying your skill, which we’ll assume is writing here, you can soon start earning from 30 to 100 pounds a extra month.
Many bloggers and Internet users like to tell you that within 24 hours you will have a steady monthly income of around £10,000. This, unfortunately, is very unlikely.
However, with the three Ps - Patience, Persistence and Perseverance - you can start earning a bit of extra money on the side, simply by working in the comfort of your own home.
Blogging from home is a great part-time job for parents, students, the retired or even full-time workers who are looking to kill, but not waste, a little bit of their extra time. It is also very productive, rewarding and fun, and you only need two things: a computer or laptop and an Internet connection. Once you have these you’re just about ready to go.
Below is an extensive guide which will help you with making money in the online blogging universe, or as it is commonly known, the Blogosphere.
Your Portfolio
This is probably one of the most important things a writer needs if they want to start making money with their skill. Potential employers and/or fans will want to see what you have written in the past and a portfolio (preferably online) is a great way to show these employers what you have written in the past and your level of skill.
Your portfolio can be of anything: fictional pieces, poetry, reviews or even your daily thoughts on what is happening in the world. Instead of spending a large amount of money on web hosting and URLs, sign up to a free blogging service such as Blogger (www.blogger.com), Wordpress (www.wordpress.com) or even Deviant Art (www.deviantart.com).
Once you’ve signed up to one or more of these websites, start uploading your work. Uploads can be done at any speed daily, weekly or even fortnightly, but when first building your portfolio, it would be best to upload a piece around twice a week. Make sure that the blog is easily accessible with a simple name and that the posts are laid out well and east to read and/or follow. Also include a small personal profile and, if you have one or both, a link to FaceBook or Twitter which will allow people to follow and keep up to date with your work.
Another way to start building a portfolio is by writing for free, which I’ll cover in the next section.
The Three Ps: Patience, Persistence, Perseverance
The next thing you’ll need is what I like to call the three Ps: Patience, persistence and perseverance.
Patience - This is very important when looking for work as a blogger. As I mentioned in the previous section, a good way to build a portfolio up is by writing for free. It also helps to gain traffic to your blog.
At first, the concept of writing for nothing may sound very unattractive, but there are hundreds of people on Gumtree and Craigslist who are looking to build content on their own websites, and you could be the perfect person to help with this. Not only that, but many website owners will help you with building traffic by adding a link to your website or blog at the bottom of your article or story. These non-paying website owners can be found in the Community > Creative Writing section of Gumtree and the Jobs > Writing/Editing section of Craigslist.
If an ad sounds attractive to you, paid or unpaid, contact the poster straight away and give them some background info on yourself as well as a link to your online portfolio and some contact details. Make yourself sound professional but not overly egotistical.
Paid jobs, however, may be far and in between, but if you keep searching, you will be able to find them.
Instead of simply scrolling through ads, why not post one yourself? While on Gumtree, Craigslist or both, post an ad selling your writing services. If you are confident in your writing you will be able to sell yourself with a cleverly worded ad. Your ad, which will be free to post, doesn’t need to be elaborately worded or exceptionally long, it just needs to include a small profile (e.g. “I am a student studying English Literature with Creative Writing at the University of East London”), the services you are offering and some contact details, preferably a phone number and email.
Persistence - Unfortunately the writing world is sometimes so full of freelance writers that website owners are currently not looking for anyone else to write for them. This isn’t the end of the world, though. While out of work, continue to build an online portfolio and post or update your Gumtree and Craigslist ads every week.
You may begin to think that there will be no jobs or money in writing for you. With persistence, however, you will get there and start making some money with that skill you’ve spent many years building up.
As I read on a website recently “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” (Lord Zion, 2012). What this means is that to succeed you may have to repeatedly post small ads online or reply to ads, but if you remain consistent and patient success will come your way.
Perseverance - Success doesn’t come without its difficulties and obstacles. This is why, sometimes, you will need to push yourself to achieve success. Continue searching for writing jobs online as well as posting ads and building a portfolio. The bigger the portfolio and the more ads you post, the more likely you are to score a job in writing.
Consider the Benefits First
There is an endless amount of benefits in blogging from home. The first is just that - working from home. Here is the top three.
When you are at home you’re at your most comfortable. Rather than sitting in a stifling office from 9 to 5 you can relax in your living room or home office with your laptop in front of you and an endless supply of tea and biscuits. This is especially good if you are a person who likes to spend time alone.
The next benefit, and my favourite, is being able to listen to music of my choice. Rather than hearing the office radio playing in the background I am able to visit YouTube or my own personal music library and choose an album that I am in the mood for. This can be very motivational if music is a big interest for you.
Alternatively you may choose to have the TV on. This, however, can be very distracting and you may find yourself watching TV instead of working.
Thirdly, you can choose when to have your morning, lunch and afternoon breaks so rather than waiting for 1 o’clock to come around before you can eat again, you can eat as soon as hunger or thirst strikes.
Start Small and Increase
Like with anything it is best to start writing for a small charge and then increase your charges as you progress. When you start getting offers for writing jobs a good price to charge is around the £3 mark. It’s not a large amount, but it is something. As you begin finding more writing jobs, increase your charge by, for example, £2.
Similarly, increase your word count with each new job. Start writing news articles with 300-500 words a time. These can be done in under an hour and require very little research. It also keeps you up to date with the latest news on the niche of which you are writing about.
Following on from the short news articles, try writing some reviews with a word count of around 750-1000 words a time followed by advice articles at around 2-3000 words. These longer articles you can charge £15 to £20 for.
It could take up to a year or possibly longer for you to progress to this stage, but it can be very rewarding in the long run and every piece you write will go towards your portfolio.
Use Social Networking Sites to Gain Traffic
The past five years has seen a huge boom in online social networking. Today it is hard to find someone who isn’t a member of FaceBook or Twitter and before these two sites there was MySpace.
If you watch a fair amount of TV or browse the Internet frequently you will notice that almost every programme you watch and website you visit has its own FaceBook page. This website which was once limited to one university in America is now a part of daily conversation, and for good reason too.
Users can view and build fan pages, upload notes (FaceBook’s version of a blog) and photos, connect with friends and family and share links and music videos with a simple copy and paste. This is why writers and other such artists should and often do have their own pages. By creating a page the artist will be able to connect it to their blog and keeps fans or “likers” updated with their newest piece of masterful art.
Twitter, on the other hand, is a newer website, but almost as popular as FaceBook has become. Known as micro-blogging, Twitter allows the user to post an update limited to just 140 characters. The user can connect to or contact others by using a simple tagging option which involves placing the ‘@’ symbol in front of a username and sending their message. They can also “follow” their favourite celebrities, musicians or writers with a quick click of the mouse.
This is another great way to guide traffic towards your blog or portfolio. If you’ve written a review of a film, book or musical piece, guide the creator or actors towards the review by writing a simple Tweet to them. They’ll be very grateful, especially if you’ve given them a positive review.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
As mentioned at the beginning, blogging will not give you an income of £10,000 a month. Therefore you should keep working at your current job and use the blogging job as a form of extra income, however little it may be.
If you have a savings account, why not put everything you earn via blogging into this account and then treat yourself to a nice meal sometime or maybe buy that new mobile phone you’ve had your eye on?
With the way the economy is right now anyone who has a full-time job should consider themselves very lucky and quitting that job may end up being a very big mistake. This is why, once you start earning a bit of money blogging, quitting your current job should remain at the back of your mind, not the front.
Conclusion
By now you should have a basic grasp or idea of how to start earning money by blogging online. It is not the easiest of things to do, but if you are passionate about your chosen field of skill and interested in making some money out of it and getting your name “out there”, you can and will succeed.
More than just a money maker, blogging is a great way to build a portfolio, gain some fans and use your spare time to do something productive and educational. Below is a list of useful websites which you will be able to use for blogging, advertising and networking. By using all or most of them you will soon be seeing your writing on various websites and blogs which are read by hundreds of people a week.
Useful websites
www.gumtree.com - This is where you will post one of your ads selling your services. It is simple, fast and best of all, free.
www.craigslist.com - Similar to Gumtree, Craigslist is also free.
www.blogger.com - Blogger is one of the world’s most popular blogging websites, and for good reason too. With one email you can create numerous blogs. You will be given your own URL and all blogs are archived by year and month. Blogger, however, is a much more communal rather than business-like host. Best used for a personal portfolio.
www.wordpress.com - Wordpress is a much more business-like and professional looking blog. When starting a business online this will be your best choice.
www.ezinearticles.com - An excellent website to help with getting your name into the Blogosphere, Ezinearticles allows you to “Submit your best quality original articles for massive exposure”. And best of all, it’s free.
www.twitter.com - A micro-blogging service which helps you to connect with millions of users around the globe.
www.facebook.com - According to mostpopularwebsites.net, FaceBook is the second most popular website in the world (updated Monday, August 20th 2012) just behind Google. It allows you to connect with friends and family, “like” and create fan pages and upload photos and notes.
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