$850 in 4 months... is that a nice number for freelance writers or not?
@justdroppingby (296)
Philippines
May 21, 2010 12:27pm CST
I've been doing some accounting of my budget recently (something I rarely - er, loathe - to do), and I came to realize that it's been four months since I've started looking into earning opportunities online. So I computed my earnings from the online jobs I've been taking as well as the articles I've posted online in the past four months...and it turns out I've made an extra $850! I was so surprised and happy and excited I went window-shopping on Ebay right away, lol.
I'm just wondering, though, is that a high number of a low number or just right around average for freelance writing online? Of course I'm doing this only in my free time (in lieu of playing online games at night lol) so I'm thinking that any extra income is really a good thing, especially in times like these. I just wonder, how much do my fellow MyLotters earn from residual sites (writing sites like Helium, Bukisa) as well as online writing jobs (from ODesk or ELance or Freelancer)?
I've posted the results of this freelance writing experiment (that's how I'm trying to see this) in my personal blog: http://everyday-experiments.blogspot.com/2010/05/life-experiments-freelance-writing-on.html. It's quite fun, actually :p
1 person likes this
9 responses
@jmpueblo (4)
• Philippines
22 Jul 10
Hi Karina. I stumbled upon one of your blog entries about online computer shops here in the Philippines and I found your post about your online part-time job earnings (I found myLot through your blog). I'm a freelance software/web developer and white-hat SEO automation script developer, I usually have at least 2 article writer/researcher team mates.
Most of them earn $500 to $1000 a month, and they're not doing it fulltime because they also have day jobs.
I think it depends on the project that you're working on and ofcourse on the agreed hourly rate (if the project is not a fixed contract or on a word count basis). On my experience, part-time article writers/researchers who are just starting usually earn around $2 to $4 per hour, and the more experienced ones earn a minimum of $5/hour at 3-8 hours per day, 6 days a week. Most of them usually work on multiple projects at a time. At oDesk, buyers/employers are the ones who pay an extra amount (10%), so providers/contractors/freelancers get the full amount that they earn, no deductions.
Apparently, for article writers/researchers, working on hourly basis is not the best option if you want to earn the maximum amount that you possibly can, as an article writer. But it guarantees a steady income.
Bottom line, for part-time freelance writers who seriously want to maximize their online income, I think $500 per month is the average.
$840 in 4 months is quite reasonable for a start. I'd be very glad to earn that amount just by writing my heart out.. ;)
Good luck and happy freelancing!
1 person likes this
@justdroppingby (296)
• Philippines
28 Jul 10
Welcome to MyLot! I've signed up for ODesk but I still have to build up my portfolio on the site. Right now I maintain regular writing jobs from Freelancer, and whenever it tickles my fancy I post articles on residual-income content submissions sites. I think your article-writing teammates are doing quite impressively though. $500 earned in just a month can buy me a decent Asus netbook for my sister. Or pay for food and groceries for a month :)
@amorlife1 (370)
• South Africa
21 May 10
Gosh, I don't know about anyone else, but I think $850 in a month is a pretty neat sum of money for freelance writing! In my country, it converts to quite a nice sum of extra income! So congrats! Spoil yourself... you deserve it!
1 person likes this
@justdroppingby (296)
• Philippines
23 May 10
Yep. I do plan to treat myself. And no, it's not just one month, but four :)
@darshan36 (497)
• India
22 May 10
in which website did u earn so much? Coz even i am writing reviews an all but they pay in cents like associated content, it depends on the number of replies you get. Then your earning will increase.
@justdroppingby (296)
• Philippines
23 May 10
I joined a bidding site for freelancers. That's where I got the bulk of my spare income. With residual sites like AC (which won't pay non-US writers without a tax form anymore, btw) you really just get pennies at a time but I think it's still a pretty good long-term investment. I've detailed my "freelance writing experiment" on the link I provided above :)
@darshan36 (497)
• India
22 May 10
in which website did u earn so much? Coz even i am writing reviews an all but they pay in cents like associated content, it depends on the number of replies you get. Then your earning will increase.
@lilkitty15 (115)
•
11 Jul 10
Wow I think that's really good, especially as you're just doing it in your spare time.
I'm currently working on becoming a full-time freelance writer and have just started getting myself a bit more organised (e.g spreadsheets for income, starting a blog to post findings etc.)
I'll be happy if I manage to do half as well as you as my husband has lost his job and although I work full time it just never seems to be enough!
Thank you for posting. I'll be using you as my inspiration :)
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
24 Jun 10
Hello, Justdroppingby. I've just taken a look at my own writing earnings from the same period, and it's roughly the sam - $870. I'm really pleased with this, as until then, I was earning around $30 a month from residual income on Helium. Getting 5 writing stars has made a big difference, and I'm set to earn around $250 at Helium this month. It's great to be paid well for something you love doing, isn't it?
