8 Ways to Make This Freelance Gig Pay Off

1) Write for more than one site. I myself am currently working consistently on eHow, Bukisa and Associated Content. Writing for more than one site allows you to enjoy several different income streams. Plus, if an article doesn't work on one site, you can try posting it to another. However, for the sake of focus, have a "primary" site. Your primary will be either the one you have the easiest time working with or the one that yields better pay (ideally, your primary might even be both)

2) Look for sites that allow you to re-post articles you've already written and posted elsewhere. Sites like eHow, Bukisa and Associated Content allow you to re-post. This allows you to rake in more money with less effort (though you shouldn't stop creating new content!)

3) Try to work for sites that offer upfront payments, like Associated Content. Relying on your page views isn't enough to pull in the big bucks. It can take awhile for you to get the hang of writing popular, keyword-dense articles, so it helps to have real, upfront cash to fall back on.

4) Try to cash in on Google Adsense. Sites like Infobarrel allow you to earn money whenever the ads placed around your article are clicked on. This pay-per-click system requires that you have a Google Adsense account. It's very simple to set up and very straightforward about its usage.

5) When writing your articles, strive for a union of quality and quantity. By having a lot of content, you rack up more page views, which generally translates to more money; but if this won't really apply if your articles stink. On the flipside, having only a handful of top-notch articles won't do you a lot of good either. The solution is to rattle them off quickly and double-check your facts and grammar and so on before posting.

6) Use pictures whenever you can. Visual aids hold your reader's attention, strengthen your writing and help to drive your article's point home.

7) Tackle a wider array of topics and formats. The more you try and branch out into, the more content you can ultimately create. For example, I usually do how-to's like this and general guides. I only recently started doing editorials and reviews.

8) Squeeze as much out of a single idea as you possibly can. For instance, "writing prompts" doesn't have to yield just one article. If you try hard enough, you can turn it into a series of sorts, each article featuring different types of writing prompts or different methods of using writing prompts. You're only limited by your resourcefulness.