Learning How to Write Articles for the Web

It has occurred to me that although I have offered you a ton of information on where to write I have not posted instructional information that will help you learn HOW to write. I can't count the number of people online I have talked to, when asking how to make a living online and I tell them to write articles and get paid, they say "But I'm not a writer." Here's what I honestly think about that. Do you think I came out of the womb fully formed as a writer? No!

If you took basic English classes in high school you can write. If you can type your thoughts in a coherent way, you can write. Of course, I didn't just jump into writing either. Before I began writing seriously in 2003 I studied like a demon. I didn't take classes on writing, I went to the library and got every book I could find from successful writers on how to write. It's not hard to learn, you just have to make your mind up that writing is what you want to do. What you will find is that what you are missing is more a basic understanding of proper grammar and punctuation more than anything else. But there is also the art of stringing a story together with a beginning, middle and end. Even online articles require this talent, and it is one you can learn easily, just by reading, finding a mentor, and practicing.

Of course, unfortunately there are 'writers' submitting articles in droves everyday who cannot write. This makes me mad because I worked hard to become good at what I do and it shames the whole writing profession when people who cannot write submit articles online, getting paid peanuts for trash. (A pet peeve of mine I'll leave for another time.)

Below is a list of books that you can either buy on Amazon cheap, or check out free at the library on how to write. Just put your belief behind you that you can do it and begin to study, practice, submit stuff online, and before you know it you will be a published writer! Once you are published there is nothing that can stop you from seeking that thrill of being published again. With each new publication you will want to strive for more well-known sites that pay better and better for articles, and you may even want to branch out to getting published in print.

The Write Start: Practical Advice on Successful Writing

The Writer's Home Companion

The Yahoo Style Guide IF YOU ONLY GET ONE BOOK TO LEARN TO WRITE FOR THE WEB, GET THIS ONE.


(This blog post is written for those of you who aspire to write articles online and get paid. If you want to learn to write creatively; fiction, poetry and essays, then that's a whole other ball of wax, which I will discuss and offer advice on in my next post. I will also give you a reading list to get you started learning to write creatively.)

Three Best Sites for Beginning Web Writers

Helium is perfect for beginning writers. If you want to make money writing online, this is highly suggested as a place to start. You can write about anything at Helium, they suggest titles or you can create your own, and earn from revenue share or part of the ad revenues your articles get on the site. Once you’ve earned a writing star, you’re eligible for Upfront Payments.

These can range from $0.50 to $2.50 per article, depending on the number of writing stars you have. Once you’ve built up your writing credentials, you can take on writing assignments in the Marketplace, which pays from $5 to $2,000 per article. Helium also has a referral system where members can get 5% of their referrals’ earnings, and gives out bonuses if you write for new titles ($1) or once you’ve earned five writing stars ($3). Helium accepts original articles with at least 400 words. Articles used elsewhere can still be published in Helium, but Marketplace articles have to be unpublished. Minimum payout viaPaypal is at $25. Leave a comment with your email address and I will send you an invitation to join Helium and beginning making money writing online. Send me your email address to kdgrier4@gmail.comand I will invite you to join Helium.



Writing online for Bukisa, you get paid on the site depending on the number of page views and ad revenues your content receives, which is used in calculating what the site calls the Bukisa Index. Bukisa also has a referral system, where you get 25% of your referral’s earnings. Articles submitted to the site should be original and at least 250 words in length. You can also submit content that has been posted elsewhere, as long as you can prove that it is yours. Bukisa releases payment once you reach $10 via Paypal. I really like Bukisa, it’s fun, and it makes making money writing online a total treat. You can join Bukisa here.

Xomba is a lot of fun too. They hold contests, and you can write pretty much what you like, even short bookmarks of less than 50 words. To make money writing articles with Xomba require that you have a Google Adsense account, (post to come about Adsense and Paypal and how to set them up.) You get 50% of the Adsense ad revenues for the articles you have written for the web. You can also earn from referral program, which gives you 10% of your referral’s ad revenue. These referrals can turn into some serious money if you have friends online and offline who want to write for the web too! Earnings are automatically deposited into your Google Adsense account. You can post anything on Xomba, as long as it is at least 150 words long. By posting bookmarks, or short descriptions of articles you’ve published elsewhere, Xomba can also indirectly help increase your page views and ad revenues on other sites. I highly suggest Xomba as a site to begin with if you want to make money writing online. You can join Xomba here.

All three of the above sites allow me to invite you to become a writer. All I need is your email address, so leave me a comment below and I will send you an invitation to become a writer for Helium, Xomba and Bukisa!

There are a lot of other sites that pay you to write, or pay you revenue for page views, but I don’t want you to get overwhelmed, so I chose the three I like the best. My advice is to sign up and learn about each site one at a time, write something for them, get your feet wet, before you move on to the next. This means of course that it will take some time to begin earning money, but what I want you to be able to concentrate on is actually becoming a good writer. Making money writing online is serious business even when it’s fun!

If you need money right now read my next post. There are more ways than one to skin a cat!