Helium offers me tons of money and millions of readers. BS? Let’s see.
July 31, 2007
Update: It appears that they don’t want me to link to their site anymore. I guess that answers my question.
It isn’t often that I get offered millions of readers and money on top of that. I hate to turn it down. Helium has offered to pay me eight dollars for every one of you good readers that clicks their sales link and writes an article for their site. They also, as a kicker, told me that I could expand my audience by millions just by posting my existing articles on their site. I asked for proof, but alas they have none to offer.
I tried to make a counter offer, a simple link exchange, but apparently they “are not set up for reciprocal linking”. Instead, they just want to pay me. Frankly, I think they’re a bunch of nutbars, but who am I to stand in the way of me making money?
So here is the deal they are offering:
- I post their link.
- You click on it, join Helium, and write an article for them. (They say they’ll pay you, but how much is anyone’s guess)
- I get my eight dollars.
- I spend the eight dollars on a Little Caesar’ Pizza™ with Crazy Bread™ and a Coke™ (or something else)
I would like to sweeten the pot for everyone. If you do as they say AND link to me in your Helium article, I will post a weekly blog entry that links back to your helium posts. After the article is up, just send your link to:
heresyourheliumarticlelink@poewar.com
Here’s their link:
Update: It appears that they don’t want me to link to their site anymore. I guess that answers my question.
If the response is positive, I’ll make this a regular feature. if you think this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard, post a comment below.
Want to see what they wrote?
Successful Freelance Writers are Running a Business
July 30, 2007
Successful freelance writers realize that they are running a business. Freelance writing is like any other small business. It requires a set of business management skills that cannot be ignored. Successful freelance writers handle tasks such as bookkeeping, billing, collections, marketing, public relations, sales and secretarial work. More importantly, they accept that they are the owner and operator of the business. The decisions the make and their consequences are entirely their responsibility.
You don’t have to do everything to run everything
The good news is that you don’t have to be good at every single task in order to freelance; you just have to be good at making sure that they get done. If bookkeeping and accounting are not your strong suits (or you prefer to concentrate on the writing) then you can hire someone to do that work for you. If you need secretarial work such as transcription, typing or filing, all of that work can be contracted for as well. In most cases, once your freelancing business gets rolling, it is a good idea to off-load these tasks and concentrate on the activities that generate income. Whether you do all the work yourself or pay to have it done for you, however, you are still the boss and it is still a business.
The more you learn, the more you earn
If you want to improve your business skills, take a class in small-business management or marketing or whatever other skill you lack. Even better, try writing a series of articles about the tasks that you most want to understand. That way the time you spend on learning these skills will be both instructional and profitable. After all, finding multiple ways to benefit from a single task is good business.
Would I work for me?
Having the right attitude is one of the keys to treating your freelance writing as a business. Ask yourself, if this were a company that I was hired to work for, would I approve of the way they operate? Is this company capable or reaching its goals or is this company dangerously inefficient and poorly run. If the answer is the latter, you have some work to do.
For more information
- Running Your Business
- Microsoft Small Business Center
- The Realities of Running a Small Business
- Sample Invoice for Your Freelance Writing Clients
- Guide to Writing Collection Letters for Your Freelance Writing Business
Sunday Link Love — Writing and More
July 29, 2007
It’s a hot Sunday afternoon, which makes it a good time to spread a little love — link love that is. Here’s some of my favorite articles this week, starting with the writing-related ones and moving on to things that just plain interest me.
A Few Lessons About Editors and Agents — I think the main point is that, just because you get rejected by one editor, that doesn’t mean your idea is bad. Let a few more people pound on you before you give up.
Has anyone stolen your writing lately? — Speaking for myself, yes. My articles are constantly stolen. It is a frustrating part of being a writer on the web.
Some Writing Tips that I learned at the Book Store Tonight — It is ok to use the word ’said’. You said it Erica!
Can I charge a late fee for a late payment? — My opinion is that you can, as long as you are prepared to fight a battle and lose a client. It is worth the fight sometimes.
What are your biggest challenges? — My biggest challenge as a writer is time management, which is probably why I write about it as often as I do.
10 ways to entertain young children for $1 or less (without the TV) — Nothing beats a cardboard box.
Imagining what can go right — As a longtime cynic, it was nice to see someone make an argument for optimism. Dale Dauten is one of the best business writers working today.
Futurama Panel Report — Futurama is coming back! Yea!
Vaporub solves meerkat gang-wars It turns out that meerkats are all about smell (which is interesting) but the important thing to remember is that Meerkat Manor, the best soap opera ever, is coming back to Animal Planet on August 10th.
Mail Your Child to Sri Lanka or Hire Indian Pimps: Extreme Personal Outsourcing — Tim Ferriss outsourced his love life. That’s a bold step.
IBM to Regulate Employee Second Life Behavior — I used to work for IBM. If you read this article, you will have a pretty good idea of why I left.
This Week’s Poetry Across the Web
July 27, 2007
Another fresh vine of poetry has grown across the web this week. I have pruned it down to some nice little flowers. Enjoy…
Immortality
The cook’s right hand, lifted
an exact century ago,
completes its downward arc
unwritten meridian poem
the weapons-grade petulance
Poem for a Man with No Sense of Smell
the wet flush of my fear is sharp
as the taste of an iron pipe
Ghazal for a Comfort
Sometimes the hierarchy works, or looks to
The Stone Gatherer
Now I collect stones, and tell others
they are grave markers.
Pistachio
A spritz of soda, carbon captured, bubbles bursting;
Antiseptic odor effervescing from the glass.
The Iconoclasm of Mice
Mouse dung falls from overhead on books
I’ve made into icons in my writing house.
Starfish
So life lets you have a sandwich, and pie for your
late night dessert.
Just a Poem About Coffee
a man with sunglasses scans the menu
he walks out the front door empty handed
And one from me:
Big Heads
Each a random sampling of their parent’s failures
Cobbled together and mostly functional
Successful Freelance Writers Are Like Pirates
July 26, 2007
No, successful freelance writers don’t sink ships or take hostages, but they do one thing that pirates do. They keep a stash. I’m not talking about the kind of stash your creepy older brother used to have in his underwear drawer. I’m talking about pirate stash. Booty. Treasure.
Pirates like to have things stored away for a rainy day. They bury their treasure under two trees that form an X. They keep weapons and a rowboat in a cave. They have secret compartments in their ship in case they get boarded. Pirates like to have something stashed aside for when disaster hits.
What do freelance writers stash? Freelance writers stash the things that will be useful to them: money, articles. ideas and clients.
Stash your money
Freelance writing is an up and down field. One week your are flush with cash and the next week the check you expected from your biggest client doesn’t arrive or bounces. Always have some money put away for emergencies. Be very careful about what you define as an emergency too. Your emergency stash shouldn’t be used for every little bump that comes along, or you will soon find yourself without an emergency stash. Put the money where you can get to it, but don’t use it unless you are facing a serious money problem. If you do use it, your next task should be replenishing it. You don’t want the treasure chest to be empty when an emergency hits.
Stash your articles
Keep all of your old articles, research and other work. One of the advantages freelance writers have over many other freelance professions is that they can resell, rewrite and repurpose old articles and research. A good writer can turn research about health clubs into club profiles, fitness tips and buyer’s guides. They can take those same articles and resell them in different markets. They can also rewrite them later to incorporate new information or use them as research for new articles
Stash your ideas
Keep a notebook, a PDA, a tape recorder or whatever it takes, but find a way to record your ideas when they happen and save them for later. Record article ideas, productivity ideas, marketing ideas and whatever other thoughts you have that may contribute to your freelance success. You may never use 90% of what you recorded, but it’s worth it for that one really great idea that you would have forgotten if you hadn’t recorded it.
Stash your clients
Keep track of your old clients, especially the good ones. Send them post cards and holiday greetings. Call them on the phone or send them an email every few months. You don’t want to be a pest, but you want to stay in their thoughts so that the next time they have a project, you are the first person they think of. Sometimes you will even manage to catch them at just the right time, and your effort to keep in touch will land you an immediate sale. Isn’t it worth the price of a few postcards to have that happen?
