This is Day #18 of “25 Days to Healthier Finances”, a series of blog posts where Frugal Pinoy readers and myself work on 1 task a day to make our financial lives better. Please stay tuned for the next installment of this series, which will be up tomorrow. Here’s today’s installment:

Let me start today’s task with some background information about my main source of income – writing. I started working as a writer when I was still in college. I needed money to support myself and pay for tuition, but also needed a flexible schedule so I could attend my classes. Writing was my favorite hobby, something I did non-stop since I learned how to do it. Ever since I was twelve I’ve been keeping journals and writing notebooks as a habit. This made me think that maybe I should start doing that for a living. Something I truly enjoy. Something I’m obsessed about. Something I was doing anyway.

So I started working as a freelance writer. This has been my major source of income and I’ve never had the need to apply for a regular office job because of it. It feeds and houses a family of four, keeps me debt free, and allows me to have a stable emergency fund. Plus, it’s personally fulfilling.

Not bad for something that was “just a hobby”.

Today’s Task: Pick a hobby you can monetize.

Hobbies. We all have them. They can provide relaxation and escape, or they can become a lifelong passion. If you plan it well enough, it can be a source of income too.

List your hobbies, every single one of them, no matter how trivial or insignificant some may seem. Cooking counts, even if most people can cook. Yes, riding a motorcycle counts too, so does drawing. If you’re obsessed with a certain genre of books/film/music, there might be opportunities there too. If you like to collect things such as stamps, dolls, etc., that counts as well.

Then, looking at your list of hobbies, pick two or three that you spend the most time on. Explore and jot down ideas on how you can possibly monetize them. Here are some examples:

• Sell products and services related to your hobby. If you like making jewelry, why not try to sell some of your work via eBay or Sulit? Alternatively you can supply materials related to your hobby if they are hard to buy locally. I have a friend who made thousands of pesos from just selling special  Magic: The Gathering cards.
• Write a blog about it. Many people are now monetizing their blogs. If done well, your blog can become a great source of additional income (see The Personal Blogging Degree for more information on making money from a blog.)
• Teach others how to do it. This can be in a form of a class, a book/ebook that people can pay for, or even just a lecture or speaking engagement.When I was young my mother made extra income by teaching a baking class from our home, and I once got paid to teach a summer art workshop for kids.

Your hobby doesn’t need to develop into a complete business, buy you need to entertain (and act on) any urge you may have of monetizing it. Even a few hundred pesos each month won’t hurt, especially if you’re doing something you love anyway. Not everything you start will be successful, but you can always do enough research/planning/practice/testing to minimize that risk.

Have you ever made money from a hobby? How did it turn out for you?

Image by lusi from sxc.hu

If you visit online message boards for Filipinos, you’ve probably seen at least two threads about paid-to-click sites. They have titles like “Make money online just by clicking!” or “Get paid to click on ads!”.

Sounds enticing, right? Especially since clicking is so easy. But there are more to paid-to-click (PTC) sites than meets the eye.

What are PTC sites?

Basically, paid-to-click (or PTC) sites are membership sites. You sign up with them and you will get paid to click on ads. Usually, members are paid for each ad they click.

What PTC users do to earn more money is join several paid-to-click services at the same time, as well as recruit others to the service. See, when PTC users refer new members, they get a percentage of what their referrals earn.

Do the math. Usually you get paid $0.01 per ad you click, and you have to stay on the web site you land on for 10 to 30 seconds, depending on what the program requires. There’s also a limit on the number of ads you can click each day. Let’s say the limit is 10 ads (but I’ve seen some sites that only have 4!). This means that you’ll earn $0.10 per day(Php 4.70) or $0.70 per week (Php 32.00), if you do it everyday. That’s around $2.8 per month (Php 131.60) for one program.

BUT – remember that you’ll have to accept your payment via PayPal or a similar service. After that, you have to send this money to your bank account. There are fees associated with these transactions, which you’ll have to deduct from your earnings. You may not notice it, but you’ll have to deduct the electricity and internet bills associated with your participation with PTC sites as well.

Are they scams?

Well, I’d guess around 95% of paid-to-click companies are scams. If they are not scams, many of them are ticking time bombs that are ready to explode or cease operations any minute – leaving your hard-earned dollars unclaimed.

There are many ways that PTC sites earn money. They could be using just one method below, just two, or a combination of all three.

• Actual profit. This means that the company gets paid more per click, and you just get a small fee. For example, they could be paid $0.02, while you are paid $0.01. This means that they too earn $0.01 each time you click. Actual profit only goes so far because the PTC sites have to pay referral fees and larger rates to premium members.
• Premium memberships and referral packages. Many PTC sites sell premium accounts where you can get paid more per click. They also sell referral packages, which allow you to purchase unreferred accounts and receive a percentage of the profits made by the referrals you bought.
• Deserters. Not everyone who joins a PTC site stays active. Many of them, after getting frustrated with the low pay, will quit before cashing out. Their unclaimed cash stays with the PTC company.
• The Ponzi Effect. Some people who join PTC sites are encouraged by the payment proofs from premium members. But down the road, they wonder why two or three months have passed and they still haven’t gotten their payout. In these cases, they aren’t scamming you – they just can’t afford to pay you.

The risk.

Remember when I said ticking time bombs? That’s because PTC sites are a goldmine for hackers and attackers. It’s fairly easy to do this, even YouTube tutorial videos on how to do it. Trying to improve and maintain their security and keep up with the attacks can be costly for PTC sites, forcing many of them to close.

Also, there are very few reliable advertisers who buy ads from PTC sites. This is because they know that the people clicking on their ads are getting paid to do so – they’re not really interested in the product or the ad they are looking at.

What are you doing with your time?

Think about this for a few minutes: are paid-to-click services really the best use of both your time and your skills? While many people say that PTC sites only take a few minutes of your time, that’s still time you can never get back. If, say, you spend 5 minutes a day on PTC sites (more diligent clickers will spend more time because they join many sites), you’ll be spending 2.5 hours each month on them, earning less than a $3 total for those hours. That is, if you even get paid at all.

It’s okay to try PTC sites if you’re curious, but don’t depend on them for your income. There are more profitable and more rewarding ways out there to earn money online. Even if you’re a freelance writer who charges $5.00 per hour (lower than industry standards), or a beginning designer who can churn out a $100 logo (lower than industry standards) in three hours, you’ll still come out ahead. Plus, you’ve created something meaningful, something you can be proud of.

Sources:

PTC Sites, The Dreaded “Ponzi Effect”

The Sad Truth About PTC Sites

Paid to Click (Wikipedia Entry)

Image by hberends from sxc.hu

Here is a list of online job opportunities this week.  Please click on the links that interest you to learn more details about each job.

Note: I try to list legitimate job opportunities as much as possible, but some illegitimate ones might fall through the cracks.  Please use your best judgment when communicating with prospective clients, and make sure you get a signed contract before doing any work.

Good luck and happy job hunting!

Blogging and Online Writing:

• Experienced Bloggers Needed (Topic: entertainment industry)
• Freelance Switch contributors wanted ($60/article)
• Instant Messaging Blogger
• Architecture/ Home design blogger
• Blog, Forum, and Article Writing
• Car website bloggers
• MatadorAbroad.com: Article on Areas Where You Won’t Hear English ($25)
• MatadorPulse.com: Article on the World’s Largest Landfills ($25)
• MatadorNights.com: 8 Cities that Burn Through Your Money ($25)
• Brave New Traveler Call for Submissions (Travel articles, $25 each)

Design & Development:

• Web Designer with Analytics and Adsense Experience
• Blog creation and development
• Web Designer and Programmer Needed (dating site)

Miscellaneous:

• Assistant Needed ($12 to $16 per hour, plus benefits)
• Link Builder Required

I just finished reading this excellent (and FREE) ebook by Yaro Starak and gideon Shalwick called “The Roadmap to Become a Blogger”.  It basically lays down everything you need to know about making money from your own blog (which I also discussed to some extent  in a previous post).

What I love most about Yaro and Gideon’s ebook is that it has action steps.  Meaning, there’s a list of stuff you have to do to implement their advice. I love action steps because they are practical, and they note down all the tasks you need to accomplish.  ( I used action steps in the post “How do I start as an online freelance writer?” to better explain what aspiring writers need to do.)

Anyway, going back to the ebook, you need to sign up before you can download it.  Don’t worry – if you don’t like the email updates you receive, you can always unsubscribe.  They carry out the mailing list using Aweber, which is a trustworthy, spam-free service.

Also, please note that some of the advice might not be applicable to Filipino bloggers, especially if your target audience is local. Still, it’s a great resource for beginning and veteran bloggers alike.

Click here to download this handy ebook.

Image credit: Graphic taken from Yaro Starak’s blog

FrugalPinoy reader Cynch sent me this question via email:

Is it an absolute “must” that a person who wants to earn money online has to
have a PayPal account or bank account, there’s no other way to receive money?

The simple answer is no, you don’t absolutely need a PayPal account, but it can make things more convenient – especially if your clients or customers are overseas.  If you only deal locally, then PayPal is more of a privilege than a requirement, and may in fact cost more in the long run.

Why is it more convenient?

If you’ll be dealing with clients internationally, there are good reasons why you should have a PayPal account:

• It’s automatic.  Unlike most money transfer services where you have to fill up forms – whether online or offline -  Paying someone through PayPal just requires a few clicks. Plus, you can add PayPal buttons on your site to make the payment process automatic.
• Most foreign clients prefer to use it.  This is because the use of PayPal is so common in the US, UK,  and other developed countries.It’s a widely recognized brand, which is why it’s almost always the service that people use.

What are the alternatives to a PayPal account?

If you don’t have a PayPal account, there are other ways you can get paid for your online ventures:

Xoom. I’ve always used Xoom throughout my online writing career.  They can deliver the money to your house or you can pick it up at a Banco De Oro branch near you.

You can sign up for a Xoom account yourself, but it’s important to note that most foreign clients/customers don’t have a Xoom account, and they’ll need to fill out a form with your name and address, etc.  Plus, they’ll need to pay extra for fees  (while PayPal just deducts the fees from the total payment).  This might seem like such a hassle to some customers/clients if they’re not used to the process.  You can work around this by including the transaction fees in your prices, so that clients aren’t surprised that they have to pay extra.

The good news is that Xoom accepts PayPal payments, so if your clients are insistent on paying you via PayPal, you won’t have to worry.

Ikobo. Another online money transfer service is Ikobo.  I’ve never used it personally, but it’s a widely known service that many people trust.  If it’s your first time to use Ikobo, you’ll be receiving a Prepaid Visa card on your first transaction, and you can use that card to withdraw the funds.  Shipping the card to the Philippines costs from $11.95 to $24.95.  Since that’s the case, it’s best to make your first Ikobo transaction with a relative rather than with a client – they’re not going to be too happy about the extra fees they have to pay.  To learn more about how to use Ikobo, click here.

Western Union.  If you don’t have a bank account, Western Union is a good alternative, except you’re going to need 2 ID cards to claim your money.  There are several branches here in the Philippines where you can claim your money, and even pawnshops and banks (such as BPI and UCPB) allow Western Union transactions.  You can use this form to look for a branch near you.  Unlike Ikobo and Xoom, you can’t create an online shopping cart via Western Union.

I hope this answers your question. There are more money transfer services out there, but the ones I’ve mentioned are by far the most reliable and the most established.

Do you have any personal finance or online moneymaking questions? If so, kindly click here for the contact form, type in your question, and I’ll answer it here at FrugalPinoy.

In the first part of the “How to Make Money Blogging” series, I discussed how to become a professional blogger by writing for others.  Also, in the follow-up to that post, I answered questions from readers.

Today, we’ll talk about making money on blogs you own, rather than as a hired writer for other people’s blogs.  This is just a basic outlined tutorial, because making money with your own blog is such a vast topic.  But, if you’re a beginner and you want to set up your own blog and monetize it, this tutorial is a good place as any to start learning.

Tools you’ll need:

• Domain name.  This will be the main address of your blog.  For this blog, it’s frugalpinoy.com.  I usually buy my domain names at GoDaddy.  I think it’s important to buy your own, easy-to-remember domain name, as it looks more professionaland has better recall.
• Web hosting. This is where your website will be stored.  My favorite host is CynicalDog, as I’ve never had problems with them and I’ve been with them for 4 years.  Other reliable hosts you can try: BlueHost, HostGator, WebHostingPad
• A blogging platform.  This is the software behind your blog.  For all of my blogs, I use the WordPress platform, because it is very easy to use and is highly customizable. Other blogging platforms: Moveable Type, Typepad.
• Some website-building knowhow.  Apart from learning how to use your chosen blogging platform, you may need some basic HTML or CSS skills, or at least know someone who is familiar with them.  This will come in handy when you need to paste advertising/affiliate codes on your blog, or when you’re troubleshooting.The internet is full of video and written tutorials on HTML, CSS, and blogging platforms.  All you have to do is search for them via Google.

What about free blogging platforms such as Multiply, WordPress.com, or LiveJournal?

Oftentimes, hosting with free blogging services has limitations.  You won’t be allowed to sell products, put up ads, or use affiliate links.  Also, most of the time, the formatting and layout of your blog isn’t fully customizable.

It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to make money from these types of sites.  Blogspot allows you to make money with Google Adsense Ads – but that’s it.  Many Filipinos have also set up online stores via Multiply, even if they’re becoming more strict about it.  In other words, you can make money from these types of sites, but the number of limitations will minimize your opportunities. But you can always use these blogging communities to promote your professional blog.

Your blog’s content:

• Pick a topic.  And stick to it.  All of your blog posts should be related to the topic you choose.  For example, here at Frugal Pinoy, I talk about making and saving money (even if this is a non-profit site).  At Nintendo Nonstop, it’s all about Nintendo news and game reviews. You need one central theme because you want to attract a loyal audience who is interested in that theme.  If you talk about too many topics in one blog – gardening, your family, the stock market, your newest laptop, Pinoy Big Brother – it’s much harder to reach out and hold the interest of your readers.
• Plan your blog posts ahead of time.  I usually know what I’m going to write at least a month ahead of time.  But if you can plan and outline your blog posts for 6 months or more, that would be much better.  Doing this ensures that you never run dry of content, and your readers will come back regularly, knowing that you’re always updating your blog.
• Know your audience.  You have to pick an audience and commit to them.  Is your audience composed of stay at home moms?  Professional twenty-somethings?  Students?  Are they local or international?  You can’t say that your audience is ‘everybody’, you need to be very specific so you will know how to communicate with them and what topics they would be interested in.

Ways to make money:

• Advertising networks.  Ad networks such as Google Adsense and Text Link Ads display relevant advertising on your blog.  You are paid every time someone clicks an ad on your blog.  Setting them up is simple, because all you have to do is paste a bit of code on your website where you want the ads to appear.  Your success with these ads depend a lot on their layout and design. For those of you who are planning to use Adsense, here’s a video on how to optimize your ads.
• Private advertising. Unlike signing up for an ad network, selling private advertising on your blog isn’t automatic.  You will have to look for companies/businesses/websites who want to place their ads on your blog.  You can only do this successfully if you already have at least hundreds of daily visitors to your blog.
• Affiliate networks. I’ve discussed affiliate networks at length on another post, so just click here to learn more about them.
• Sell your own products.  These could be physical products such as shirts or mugs, or digital products such as ebooks, downloadable audio books, or software.  I recommend you start with digital/downloadable products, since they don’t require tricky shipping and handling, and the customer receives them instantly.
• Sell your services.  A blog is a great way to show that you’re an expert at a certain field.  Is it public relations?  Marketing?  Copywriting?  Web design? Use your blog to display your expertise and sell your services as a consultant or contractor.  Here are some tips on how to do it from Problogger.

Some great resources you SHOULD NOT miss out on: (And since I’m kuripot, don’t worry, they’re free)

• Grab John Chow’s free ebook.  You need to sign up for it via his website, the form in the middle.  This guy makes at least $20,000 monthly from his blog alone, so he’s probably doing something right.
• 101 Ways to Monetize Your Blog Without Irritating Your  Readers
• Monetizing WordPress Plug-ins.  These are plug-ins you can add to your blog to help monetize it better.
• Grab Yaro Starak’s free ebook.  Over at his website, using the form on the right, you can download Yaro Starak’s “Blog Profits Blueprint”. In fact, read the contents of his blog, as I learned a lot from him when I was starting out.

Do you own a blog?  Is it something that you monetize?

Several readers sent me a note this week, asking me how they can start an online freelancing career.  Here’s one of the emails I received:

Hello, I’ve been writing professionally for quite some time, and I’m trying to augment my income by trying out freelance writing online. I’ve only had a couple of projects, which paid about a dollar per article.

If it isn’t too much trouble, I was hoping you might help me in trying to find good writing gigs online, and maybe give me some tips on how I can start out.

Thanks very much!

- Tim

Thanks to Tim and the other readers who wrote in with their questions.  I’m going to answer it in simple, concrete steps so that everything is clear.  Regular readers might note similarities between this post and my previous post, “How to Make Money Blogging (Part 1)”. If you haven’t read that post yet, click here to read it, because it contains some points and definitions that aren’t found in this post – especially a needed introduction on online writing.

Without further ado, here are the steps that you can take to start your online freelance writing career:

Steps you should take TODAY:

1) List 5-7 topics you want to write about.  Anything from travel, sports, music, movies, business, marketing.  If you can think of a topic, odds are there’s a blog out there for it.  You need to do this so you’re aware of what subjects are your forte.

2) Get an account at WordPress.com and explore the features.  Even if you don’t plan on really blogging there.  You just need to be familiar with WordPress, how it looks, how it works, what buttons to click – because this is what most professional blogs use.  If you accept an online writing gig, odds are it’s for a blog, and you’ll be asked to place the articles into the blog yourself – and you can only do that if you’re familiar with WordPress.

3) Bookmark or subscribe to the following job boards:

• Performancing forum – You’ll need to register so you can communicate better with the companies posting ads.
• ProBlogger Job Board
• SitePoint “Looking to Hire” Thread
• Online Writing Jobs – Lots of low-paying gigs here though. Rule of thumb on this site: the shorter, the more vague an ad is, the more likely they are to scam you or pay you an obscenely low rate.
• FreshWebJobs
• Freelance Writing Gigs

If you have PR/copywriting experience, you should also subscribe to the Copyblogger job board.

Bookmarking generally means you click on “Bookmarks” on your browser’s menu bar (Internet Explorer or Firefox) and save these websites there.  Subscribing means using a reader like Google Reader or even using your email to read updates from the websites above. The subject of blog subscription is outside the scope of my website, so click here to visit a tutorial on subscription yourself.

4) Bookmark or subscribe to the top 5 blogs in the niche/topic you want to write about. How do you do this?  Use Google. If you want to write about personal finance, type “best personal finance blogs” into the search engine, odds are you’ll find that someone’s actually compiled a list.  The same goes if you want to write for a gadget blog, travel blog, etc. Learn from these blogs, as the success of their writers can serve as an example and inspiration for you.  Be active in finding out which articles work and which don’t – because someday, you might be writing for them.

Steps you should take THIS WEEK:

1) Set up a PayPal account, if you don’t have one yet.

Here’s a tutorial from Pinoy Money Talk to help you get started.  However, note that the tutorial was written when PayPal Philippines accounts were limited – now we can send and receive payments like most users can.  If you can’t confirm your PayPal account today via credit card or debit card, set a schedule to do it within the month.

2) Submit a guest post to a blog, preferably if it’s within the topics/themes you want to write about.“Guest posts” are free posts that are placed on a blog, usually when the regular writer is busy, ill, or away on vacation.  These can be a good way to promote yourself, since you’ll be allowed to link to your portfolio, and your guest post is always something you can link to as part of your job applications.  Simply search “need guest post” or “looking for guest post” via Google,and you’ll find blogs looking for guest writers.

3) Apply to at least two (2) writing gigs.  You can start by applying to any attractive ads you see in the job boards I linked to above.  It doesn’t matter what they are, and what you think your chances are, as long as there’s pay involved. Some tips when applying for the job:

• Follow instructions.  Read the job ad and follow the instructions to the letter.  If they ask for 2 writing samples, send 2 writing samples – not 3, not 1.
• Research the company/blog you’ll be writing for.  Odds are, you can see existing articles they have on their website.  Use these existing articles as a basis for your samples, so that you can write something close to what they’re looking for.  Also, this can show you if the company is legit, so you won’t worry about being scammed.  (Based on my experience, small-time modeling agencies and religious organizations are usually the ones who tried to scam me.)
• Don’t reply to the company within the forum itself saying “I’m interested, PM me!”  Why?  Because they have no time to PM you.  You’re the one who’s supposed to make the first move, and they’re just supposed to sit back and wait.  Directly send them a PM or email of your application, depending on what the instructions say.
• Don’t apply for jobs that pay anything less than $5 per article.  It is just not worth your time and effort.  Also, the $5 should be for less than 300 words.  Actually, many entry-level blogging jobs start at $8, but if it’s hard to find those, just remember you shouldn’t go less than $5.

If you get rejected, that’s fine – it happens.  I still get rejected sometimes.  Don’t think about it too much, just keep on applying.  I used to spend one day a week just applying to jobs.

But please, let me know when you do get your first online writing job.  I’m sure that the other Frugal Pinoy readers will be inspired by your progress.  I, for one, will be glad to hear that more Filipino freelance writers are starting to monetize their skills online.

I hope this post answers the questions of those readers who wanted to know more about writing online.  If you have further questions, simply comment on this post or send me a note via the Frugal Pinoy contact form.

I’ve been visiting some filipino forums the past week, and I saw that although many Filipinos are interested in online writing, many of them don’t know how to begin, or are compensated poorly for their efforts.  Maybe it’s because there’s a lack of local resources that discuss online writing as a career.

Because of this, I’ve decided to feature a series of posts here at Frugal Pinoy about how to make a living out of online writing. After all, it’s my main income stream and I have a little over 4 years of experience on the subject – especially when it comes to blogging. (In later posts, though, I’ll discuss essay writing and SEO writing, which are other ways to make money online).

Before we begin, we need to define what professional blogging is and what makes it different from personal blogging.

What is professional blogging?

First of all, the definition of ‘blog’ is this:

To put it as simply as possible – a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.

Source: Problogger.net

This means that a professional blogger is someone who writes for a blog on a regular basis – whether he/she owns the blog or not.  The professional blogger or “problogger” is separated from the personal blogger based on his/her intentions.  The intentions of the personal blogger is usually just to share information about one’s life to friends, family, and the outside world. Usually, when you write a personal blog, you talk a lot about your feelings and personal experiences. The intentions of the problogger, on the other hand, include the following:

• To share information to the general public, which the blogger may or may not personally know.
• To market and promote their blogs so that many people will visit and read it regularly.
• To make money from the blog.
• To make blogging their job, work, or vocation – whether part time or full time.

However, professional blogging doesn’t necessarily mean that you write about business all the time – in fact, anecdotes about your personal life and experiences tend to be welcomed by readers.

In the first part of this series, I’m going to discuss blogging for others.    This basically means that you apply to existing blogs for a writing position.  Another way of professional blogging is to create,and monetize your own blog.   However, for now, we’ll focus on blogging for others.
Also, note that writing online is different from writing for a magazine/newspaper.  Writing for the Web and A Dozen Online Writing Tips are 2 articles that discuss the standards of writing online.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to discuss how to become a professional blogger.

What you need before starting your blogging career:

Know your goals.  Whether you’re doing this part-time or full-time, it’s like getting into a new career.  You need to know what you want out of it, and how you plan to get there.  How serious will you be?  How much time can you devote to blogging?  What topics do you want to write about?

Learn the craft. Like I said earlier, blogging is different from writing for other media such as magazines or newspapers.  You need to devote some time to actually learning how to blog professionally. The following articles discuss the art of blogging in depth.  They are a good starting point if you’re not sure what a good blog post is:

• What makes for a good blog?
• The Beautiful Post
• Write Gripping Content
• Why Great Writing Doesn’t Matter Online
• How to Write Excellent Blog Content
• Using Titles Effectively on Blogs – The title is just as important as the post itself, so pay attention.
• 10 Tips for Writing a Blog Post – The most essential read among these articles.
  
• Two Simple Words Every Blogger Should Know
• 5 Powerful Techniques to Help Your Posts Stand Out

Subscribe to (or regularly visit)  several blogs.  Why? So you can have a basic idea of how they work and why some blog posts are more successful than others.  The following blogs are well written, and they also teach you a lot of business skills you’ll need to make it as a professional blogger-for-hire:

• Freelance Switch
• Web Worker Daily (I write for them as well)
• Problogger
• Skelliewag

I keep track of all the blogs I read via Google Reader (I subscribe to over 100 blogs), but if you’re not sure how to use it, that’s fine.  Just add the blogs you want to read to your browser’s bookmarks and read them daily.

Create a portfolio. 

Even before you start applying, you need to compile a portfolio to show your work.  This could be through an existing blog you have, as long as it is about your target subject.  For example, if you want to write for a blog about gadgets, you can start your own blog and review the current gadgets you have, such as your cellphone, laptop, or mp3 player.  Or, if you want to be a food blogger, start your own blog of restaurant reviews or recipes. This blog can serve as your portfolio, and you simply send the address of your blog along with your job applications.

I recommend that you start your portfolio blog at WordPress.com – NOT in Multiply, LiveJournal, or Friendster.  This is because WordPress is the platform used by most blogs on the internet and you need to familiarize yourself with it, especially if the blogs that hire you will require you to post the entries on WordPress yourself (rather than just submitting it via email).  Plus, since WordPress doesn’t place ads on your blog, it looks more professional.

Alternatively, you can also write 3-4 sample posts on the subjects you want to blog about, and send them in when someone asks you for work samples.  Just make sure to send ONLY your best work when you apply for a blogging job.

How to start looking for blogging jobs:

Before you start applying, you need to know how to read an online job ad (click here to read an article on the subject).  There are several clues you can get from the ad to tell if the person/company is trustworthy or not.  Basically, don’t go for jobs that promise exposure only and no monetary compensation.  Also, research the company or individual that placed the ad to find out if there are any ‘scam alerts’ against them.

The following websites are good places to start looking for work:

• ProBlogger Job Board
• SitePoint “Looking to Hire” Thread
• FreshWebJobs
• Freelance Writing Gigs

How to get paid:

You’ll find that your clients will have different ways of compensating you.  The first, and my personal favorite, is to be paid per post.  Many blogs pay $10 for a 300-word article, while others can go as far as $100 or more – it’s entirely up to where you’re applying.  When you’re just starting out,$8-$10 per post is a good price.

Another style of compensation is to be paid a flat rate plus a percentage of the blog’s profits.  Or a flat rate plus a bonus for how much traffic you bring in.  Although these deals can be reasonable for very popular blogs, they are often low-paying, especially if the blog is new.

Many blog owners will prefer that you have a PayPal account, which Filipinos can now avail of. In fact, if you’re really serious about blogging, a PayPal account is a must-have for you.

Next time on Frugal Pinoy… On the second part of this series, I’ll discuss how to make money from your own blog – where you are the owner and creator, instead of just writing for others.  Stay tuned!  If you want to receive future updates from Frugal Pinoy via email, simply click here.

Have you ever thought about becoming a professional blogger? Why or why not?  What are your experiences when it comes to professional blogging?

Follow-up articles to this post:

• How to Make Money Blogging Part 2: Monetizing Your Own Blog
• Q&A: How do I start as an online freelance writer?

I’ve been a freelance writer for the past four years, making money almost exclusively online. The corporate world is definitely not for my personality, so I did everything I could to avoid it. Along the way, I’ve learned several useful money lessons that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

Bill early, pay late. This took me a while to learn, and it’s more important especially if you have very busy clients who remember to pay you only a week after you send your invoice. Now, I bill them on the 1st of the month, while I pay for business expenses (contractors, web hosting, subscriptions, etc.) mid-month. By practicing this, you’re making sure that you already have enough funds when it’s time to pay for business expenses.

Diversify skills and sources of income. I didn’t just depend on my writing, especially when I was starting out. I also did a lot of design work, search engine optimization, edited videos, some data entry jobs, sold some of my artwork, and joined ad networks such as Google Adsense. Having various sources of income ensures that you always had an alternative venture in case your main gig ran a bit dry.

Also, as a freelancer, the diverse skill set allowed me to upsell services to clients (“Do you want some new graphics to go with the articles I’m writing for you?”), and I would become their go-to person for most of their web needs.

Be frugal with your time, not just money. One of the big problems I had with my first years of freelancing was that I let it consume so much of my time. I would work longer and harder than 9 to 5 ‘ers, thinking that this was the only way for me to make enough money. Eventually, I became a productivity blogger over at Pimp Your Work, and had to learn some time management skills. Now, I have made myself efficient enough to only work 9 to 15 hours a week, and can now enjoy the freedom that freelancing promises.

Have a padded emergency fund. I probably sound like a broken record since I talk about emergency funds over and over. But it was a real lifesaver during those months when I would earn only P12,000 and had to feed and pay for a household of 3 people, and my tuition too.

Don’t undersell yourself. I used to charge $5.00 for a 500 word article. That’s okay as a starting point just to build up your folio, but I stayed around that price range for one or two years, even after I was getting so many happy testimonials from clients who kept referring me to others (meaning: my work was worth more than $5). Hindi ka talaga mabubuhay kung $5.00 per hour ang singil mo. Especially since I had dependents. It took me a while to realize that people aren’t just paying for the words I write, they’re paying for an hour of my life and the unique insight I bring to the table. Does that really just cost $5?

Competing with others on the basis of price alone isn’t a sound business model. Someone will always be cheaper than you! So I competed on quality and experience, and can now turn down work that I don’t find interesting.

Every job title, every industry presents its own unique money lessons. What are the money lessons you’ve learned as a result of your work? Please share them with other Frugal Pinoy readers

This is part 2 of a series of articles on online buy and sell options for Filipinos. Click here for Part 1 of the series.

Today, we’ll look at two other buy and sell options online.

Of course, the downside is that all transactions are done manually. If 10 people respond to your ad, it’s up to you to select the final buyer – whether it’s “first come first served” or you select the buyer with the highest offer.

Sulit also has a messageboard and a shoutbox. This probably helps in maintaining a strong community. The site also offers several means of contact – you can send a private message, or see a user’s Yahoo Messenger status. Since Sulit has a large community, it seems a bit chaotic at times, and interested parties will contact you for the slightest questions, even if you’ve written everything in your ad. The site itself doesn’t have the sleekest interface, because there are several banner ads at the top banner and sidebars. Still, it’s functional and I haven’t encountered any bugs.

Overall, I recommend Sulit, especially if you’re in a hurry to sell something. But like any Pinoy buy and sell site, expect people to negotiate lower than your asking price or even propose swaps.

Another downside to TipidPC is that you don’t see photographs of the product until you click on the ad itself. eBay, Bidshot, and Sulit let you view a preview pic when ads come up as searchr esults or you’re looking at products in a category.

Despite these weaknesses, TipidPC ads generate a lot of response if your offer is good enough. I’ve successfully bought products from TipidPC in the past, and I’ve never had a bad experience. Again, expect price negotiations and offers to swap.