Dollar Signs Spinning in my Eyes
Lately
I have taken interest in magazines, editorials, columns, circulars,
directories, and other mediums where advertisements are present. The
reason that I have been drawn into such material, is that I began to
wonder why there was a need for advertising. Advertisements bring in
dollars, and as a web publisher, this certainly is something I have
deemed worth investigating. Meanwhile, I asked the question about the
need for material to accompany ads. Clearly you can’t have a magazine,
for example, with just ads all through it. Well you can, but those kind
of leaflets are the ones that fall out of the Sunday paper, and are
quickly tossed aside in a mad hunt for the comic strips. But the
majority of material that people actively seek to read for
entertainment, consists of a healthy balance between advertisements,
and articles.
While this may all seem silly and obvious, to me it
became a topic of more thought. I began to read such materials through
a different set of eyes. Questioning the composition, and ratio, of
articles to ads soon became an slight obsession, at least an area of
intrigue.
By now, I had expanded my area of focus, from the
advertisements, to the content, and now I find myself questioning the
whole surplus. Ads to Articles. One existing because of the other. Each
needing the other, to fully function and fulfill their duties. The
articles are there to lead to the advertisements, and the ads are there
so the writers get paid. Aha!!! Get Paid! And that is where I had
realized the potential, that advertising dollars must bring. And to
those that supply their content, for which they exist in, they must pay
quite well. But on the reverse side of the spectrum, they may also lead
to the content, providing subject matter for the authors. The matter of
suiting the content around the ads, instead of the other way around, is
more difficult. for me to imagine. As one who enjoys writing, I had
never thought of such a technique. I always wrote about what I wanted,
but certainly could now respect the method of writing what was wanted.
Writing content to suit ads………or writing ads to suit content.
Certainly both methods can be useful, and appreciated by publishers.
But this is only one concern in the industry. I would soon see that
there was much more to the trade–Freelancing, and for that getting Paid.
So
as continued my assessment, of circulars, magazines, on line articles,
etc…….., the call for writers became noticeable. Never before
seeing, so many opportunities for placement, my eyes were now open to
opportunity. In just about every publication that I picked up, there
was a posting asking for freelance writers, which always
included an address for where you could submit samples of your work for
their consideration. SO it became apparent to me, what the term
freelance was meant to be.
Whereas I always pictured the
writers of these magazines, to be on the staff as regular employees,
this I have learned is not the reality.
All
this was leading me to here, and I have sold one single article for
thirteen dollars all year. But I hope that in sharing, my research with
others, we can all learn something about writing for money. Because it
seems worth it to get paid, for something that you love to do.
Especially if it is such a big part of you. Constant-Content.com Is the place that has paid me. Check it out for yourself, and then you can see!
By: MidiMacMan-Johnathan J. Stegeman.
Here is an opportunity that I
stumbled across on
FreelanceWriting.com:
Like
a needle in a haystack, as there are so many calls for material out on
the web, and in print publication. The reason that it stuck out for me
was their request for "audible digestible" material. Their medium of broadcast is the new and upcoming form podcast,
which is a radio styled program delivered to portable devices such as
ipods. Anyway I have decided to work up some material, as they suggest
in their post. And since I am publicizing my attempt to gain their
approval, I decided to post their ad as they have deemed appropriate:
Freelance Radio/Broadcast Writer, Songwriter, Comedian wanted ASAP
Posted by iToors , Aug 24,2005,15:28 Radio/broadcast writers, songwriters, stand up comedians, poets, journalists: WE WANT YOU! ASAP
Addicted to travel or writing? Have an irreverent style? Want to wake up Happy?
iToors
is the world’s most listened-to travel podcast. (A podcast is a radio
style program delivered to a portable music player). We are seeking
10-15 very talented freelance writers to write scripts that take people
on themed walking and driving tours of the world’s major cities.Our immediate need is for people to do the themed New York City and Paris (and some major US cities) podcast writing.
The
most important requirement is an incredible ability to write for the
ear (in other words for listened rather than reading). We prefer
comedians, songwriters, poets, and broadcast writers who understand how
to write for an audience that LISTENS.TO APPLY
If you are interested, please listen to one of our iToors at http://www.itoors.com
then email us with a sample of any writing you have done for the ear.
If you do not have any samples, please write us a 2-3 paragraph sample
of what you would write for iToors. Tell us what city you live in and
what hobbies/topics you have/prefer. Send all to info@itoors.com.A few points on style & Samples
*
Write using highly descriptive show-don’t tell language that will
create vivid images in a blind person’s mind; evokes strong emotions;
has realistic dialog; avoids cliche’s©s; and sounds good to the ear;
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE avoid cliche’s©s ESPECIALLY travel cliche’s©s:
"nestled in the hills"; picturesque Tuscany; and so on.*
Write ONE Sample (2-3 paragraphs) specifically written for this
application that is representative of what you would write for us. The
topic should be something you are very familiar with and passionate
about. If you are not sure what to write about, consider these examples
could include: a food tour of Paris, a film tour of New York City, a
trail of John Steinbeck in Monterey, California; an architecture tour
of Chicago; and so on.* The sample
you write for us should walk a fine line between documentary and drama.
It should have the reality and factual truth of a documentary but the
characterization and drama of a narration. It should avoid cliche’s©s or
the expected content. In other words, if you were writing about
Scotland, we don’t want to hear anything about Haggis, bagpipes or
rain. We don’t want to hear about anything "nestled in the hills."We want to hire immediately, so the sooner you get your samples to us the sooner we can hire you!
You may re post this anywhere.
We pay based upon a point system that combines experience with amount of work. Typically projects range from $500 to $5,000.
Related link: iToors
