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So, you may know I dabble here and there. I run my primary adult site but am now entering the murky world of social networking and recently began blogging as an affiliate.
I also have a problem in that, at my young age, I’ll soon probably not be able to maintain my existing job. Long story, but I recently discovered a serious health problem which I am about to begin treatment for. Even though it is manageable, it’s likely to take me out of the industry I have been in since my 20’s. That’s only a decade, but it’s all I know.
BlokeToys is not bringing in “adequate” profit.
However, I am a published author, and I write content every day for all the things I do online while I have been unable to work. So, this is now something that I am taking more seriously as a potential career move.
The problem is, I am running out of time. I expect that I might be applying for disability benefits next year, which is something I absolutely want to avoid.
It’s taken me a year to learn the process of internet business in general, and I am nowhere near the level needed to make ends meet.
So, I would like to ask other members for advice on writing for profit. Is this viable? Are there enough sites out there paying for others to write content to make this worthwhile?I am researching this myself at the moment, but I trust the opinions of those here and obviously I would dearly love to write for the gay adult market, so any tips in the right direction would be great.
Thanks.
i write blogs, descriptions, reviews and other text, and have a couple sets of stories for sale at a couple content brokers. is it viable? depends on how well you can bring your services to the attention of webmasters who need writing done. having samples would help sell your writing, and it might be worth it to create your own gay porn blog. that way, you’ll not only have samples but also a potential income stream from the blog.
I have started one general gay porn blog, and have several “experimental” niche blogs. But I’m reluctant to use them as examples because none of them are “just right” IMO. I’m working on them, but they could all be better.
Do you think any sponsors would have a problem with me using their promo content and simply writing the copy and using this as example material on a site specifically for this?
It seems a little unethical and I’m not quite sure why.
Is it the same as writing copy intended for directing traffic, or would it be frowned upon do you think?
Is it viable? Yes and no. The problem with the adult business is that while sponsors are pulling in $25.00 to $40 a sale, very few of them want to pay very well when it comes to design, writing, or SEO services.
I’ve got one very good client who pays me extremely well. But I’ve had other people offer to pay me $5 per blog post. Unfortunately there are loads of hungry people out there who will take work like this at $5.
A couple of years ago I offered to do some blogging for one of the biggest gay portal sites on the Web and when I told them I wanted $25 a post, they said, “Oh geez, we can’t pay that.” These guys easily make $25 a minute.
So it is possible to make a good living writing, but you’ll have to hunt for the good clients. Also, you need to consider that if you put up your own blog and posted your brains out, you might be able to make more money just blogging and writing for yourself. Let’s say you post something and it makes five sales over the course of the next year, you might stand to make $150, that same post for someone else might only earn you $25.
And no, a sponsor wouldn’t have a problem with you using their photos and writing your own text, and even showing them to potential employers. You would after all be using a referral link to your sponsot. And how are they going to find out? Sponsors have better things to do that surf the web looking for this kind of stuff. They might look at your blog if you suddenly brought in 150 sales, but even then as long as your not promising bareback sex where none exists, they’re not really going to care. I’ve used heaps of writing I’ve done about sponsors to get me more work.
One suggestion, you will want to do your own blogging and get contract work. You don’t want to put all your eggs in the contract work basket. I’ve had many contracts that looked promising either fall through or dry up suddenly, then you’re scrambling for work to pay the bills. Try and strike a nice balance between the two.
what mikyadel says is so true. i turn down easily 10x as many jobs as i take. some are going to be a pain in the ass, but most don’t pay enough to bother with.
if you make blogs with sponsor content and link to the sponsor, i can’t see why a sponsor would mind. whatever your intentions, blogs that are good enough to sell your work will also make sales.
I think that as with many a business, you need to consider marketing and it can take a while to build a list of good clients. There’s a lot of people offering writing services, many at very low prices of a couple of cents a word. Since you’re inexperienced, I fear you may have to start with those, and that is a LOT of work for little money. That’s where burnout comes into the picture – all the writers I’ve known got to the point where they just couldn’t do it any longer. They were doing a lot of work to make ends meet, and there’s only so much writing a sane person can do without hitting a wall.
As the other says on here, but in the end it comes down to your writing skill and then making your services known to people.
Your writing skill or talent there isn’t much you can do about, either you’re good or not. But the rest you can improve with a bit of effort.
– There are a few sites that offer job adverts which you could use, I think here might be a few others as well.
– Posting on this forum helps, but you need to maybe add or change your signature to offer your services. People will notice you when you reply or ask questions, they look at your signature and then may take it further if it interests them. Also put up a post adverting your services in the For Sale / Services category on here on a monthly basis maybe.
– Having your own small site dedicated to your services would help. Doesn’t have to be anything big, think of it as a calling card where they can also read some samples.
– Ask people / companies if they are looking for work, be pro-active, send them samples or suggestions at what you could do for them. Probably need to pick the larger sites and companies that can afford to hire people.
But I think you need to look at it as a way of supplementing your income rather than entirely surviving on it. Yes eventually it can provide you with a income but it takes time, it won’t happen overnight. That applies both to working as an affiliate selling memberships OR as a writer.
By the way, I can understand why the Toy / Online shop isn’t doing very well. There is fierce competition in that field and it comes down to generating large amounts of traffic and getting good deals on stock you purchase. It also in your case is restricted to a single country, the UK. To make the most of the internet you need to be global, otherwise you’re not taking full advantage of the net.
I agree and disagree. If you’re a good writer don’t sell yourself short. If you ask for a nickel, the universe will send you a nickel. Now, if you’re just starting out, you may have to settle for $10 to $15 a blog post and work your way up. I wouldn’t do a site review for less than $20.
I know a couple of people who low-ball quotes because they’re hungry for work, and they’re very busy, but they never seem to get a head.
If you want to send me some links to some of your work, I can look at it for you and help you figure out a price structure.
Thanks for all the advice, it really is much appreciated!
I’m working on the adult site at the moment, and I’m wondering if anyone here would like to swap links? Especially if you provide another service to compliment.
