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When I first started freelancing over 10 years ago, I relied on only one website, Elance, to secure the majority of my projects.  It was just so easy to submit and win proposals back then. In fact, over 10 years ago Elance was free for both providers AND buyers. It was really cool because I was able to really dominate the writing marketplace by delivering quality work that exceeded expectations. In only a few short years, I was one of the highest paid ELancers and I commanded $15=$20 per page for eBooks and routinely receive $15 per article.  Back then, clients didn’t complain about the prices – they simply paid and I delivered the goods.

Then, about 3 years ago, I started noticing a huge decline in the projects and the clients. It seemed more and more foreign writing companies were joining Elance and that more American writers were leaving. I also noticed that clients started expecting more and more for less and less. Although I noticed this, I held steady and simply submitted proposals with my regular rates. Although I received less projects, I wasn’t concerned because I was dibbling and dabbling in internet marketing and had less time and energy for clients’ projects anyway.

Fast forward to now, it is much harder for me as an internet marketing writer to find Elance clients that are willing to pay $15-$20 per page for eBooks and even harder to find clients willing to pay $15 or more for a well written and informative article. Instead I see requests for $2 per page for eBooks and $5 for 600 word articles. I  personally think that this is somewhat reflective of our economy but more reflective on the fast that many clients don’t value good solid content anymore. Instead, they are looking for quantity and not necessarily quantity.

Although I could lower my rates on Elance, I refuse to do so. Not because I am pigheaded (which I am) but simply because I value my work and know that if I were to submit lower proposals for the same amount of work – I would be taking a step backwards – a bit step backwards. This would only frustrate me and I would end up procrastinating and not getting the work done.

Instead, I would rather put more time into my own business and building passive income. I would rather make nothing than make a little bit of something. This probably means that I’ll have less active income now but, in all honesty I don’t care cause I know that the investment I make now will pay off much higher in the future.

Plus, if times get too tough, there are always sites like Demand Studios that I could write for if I really needed some quick cash. There are also fun sites like Fiverr where I could also make some fast cash. What do you think?

I am a firm believer that internet marketing writers should NEVER EVER put all their eggs in one basket. That is, smart marketing writers must diversity their income streams so that they can protect themselves from hard times.  And, when I say diversify, I mean diversify both active and passive income streams. By doing this, you will increase your odds of success and protect yourself (and your income) if one of your eggs dries up.

Take me for instance, I make over $500 a month from eHow but in their clever terms of service, eHow states that they can legally cancel or modify the WCP program at any time. They also state that they can eliminate the residual payments at any time and won’t owe writers an explanation or future payments.  Although I hope and pray that it doesn’t happen, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it did. in fact, I’d be surprised if they left everything as it is now. After all, eHow already canceled the previous WCP program so that writers can still receive residual payments for grandfathered articles but now they have to write through DS (Demand Studios) if they want to write additional WCP articles. Well, to protect myself from these types of changes – I also write for not one but several residual income sites including Suite101,  Xomba and Associated Content. In addition, I also have more than one niche blog and I monetize each one not one but 3 different ways.

But, that’s not it -  I also take this approach with my active income sources too. I spend about 1 hour a day searching for new clients and although I have several regular that keep me very busy, I stay active on Elance and Fiverr cause you just never know when you are going to need additional funds. By doing this, I keep my eggs lined up and ready to crack.

So, if you aren’t diversifying your residual income or are relying on one client for all of your income, please stop right now and get some more eggs. That way if the  company folds or changes their terms, you will still have other revenue streams that you can rely on and that is just smart  business!

Although my current marketing plan is 75% internet marketing and 25% freelancing, it still burns when I bid on a freelance or marketing project and the client declines my proposal. I just hate getting declined. Now, I don’t mind getting declined for being too high as I certainly don’t’ want to work with any cheap clients. But to be declined becaue the person doesn’t like my style, just stings. Ok, it really burns me up.

For once, I would like to write someone that declines my bid, I would really like to give them a piece of my mind. Here’s what I would say, “Hey, I just noticed that you declined me because you didn’t like my style. Well, I just wanted to let you know that you’re an idiot that doesn’t know a good thing when you see it. To be honest with you, I shouldn’t have even placed a proposal on your stupid project and if I had known what I know now, I wouldn’t have. Goodbye idiot and good luck finding someone with real talent and finesse to complete your dumb project.”

Yep, that is what I would write. But for now, I just have to chuck it up, dust myself off and hope that someone else likes my style.

If you’re like me, you’re probably bombarded with messages from internet gurus who want to share with us some get rich quick scheme. I used to be one of those “get rich quick types” junkies. Yes, I admit it. I used to buys a ton of internet marketing crap and then dream of hitting it big with the newest super IM technique. Then, I would get overwhelmed with too much information and do nothing because the newest and greatest method just didn’t work for me. Then, I would hear about something else and buy the next method and start the craziness all again.

It was ridiculous and this went on for way too long. Now, I don’t do that anymore. I set realistic daily income goals and I use the methods that I already know. My new motto is “If it isn’t broke then don’t fix it.” And, you know what? I am less stressed and I have miraculously realized that I don’t have to figure it all out at once.

I can take my time and go at my own pace. I can relish in my small successes and experience joy when I meet my daily goals and then be happy with that. After all, evidence has shown, over time that the “slow and steady” wins the race.

 So, my question to you today is, are you on the slow and steady course or the fast track? How is it working for you?

Photo: jscreationzs

Today I visited Associated Content and I noticed that one of the same writers that is featured on Associated Content’s content with over 1,000,000+ page views is the same writer that has also been featured on eHow and Triond in their featured content/writer section.

It made me wonder, how in the heck can a writer manage to write 3000+ quality articles within 2 years and still work full time at a demanding position (like a physician)? My only guess is that they must have excellent time management skills, be extremely dedicated and absolutely love writing and sharing their knowledge with others.

I mean, it takes a lot of dedication and time to produce 3000+ articles within 2 years. I know because I’ve written about 2000(under various aliases) and I have no idea  how many I’ve written for clients but I do know that it is ALOT.

My point is, if I realistically produced 8-10 articles a day and had little buddies working for me to promote my various niche sites and informational products, I could really change other people’s lives AND make some serious dough.

Hmmmm really makes you think, doesn’t it? I guess I better get off my fanny and write more and more articles. I’ll keep you posted.