Guest Post
Being a stay-at-home-mom isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be. For starters, many stay-at-home moms guiltily report that they get bored being at home with their little one(s) all day long. Staying at home turns out to be one of those “seemed like a great idea at the time” things that is more emotionally challenging than they anticipated.
Feelings of not contributing to the household as much as they used to also come up for new stay-at-home moms. This is especially true when it comes to women who had demanding or high-paying careers before motherhood. After motherhood and the decision to stay at home, these women often struggle with finding a sense of purpose and self-worth.
Freelance Writing Opportunities for Stay-at-Home Moms
For moms who enjoy writing, one possible solution to these problems is to pursue a freelance writing career. It’s not necessary to be a professional freelance writer; to earn a little extra cash from freelance writing, moms just need to be able to write at a high school or basic college level.
If breaking into the field of freelance writing sounds intimidating to you, don’t worry. Turning yourself into a freelance writer online is actually easier than you would imagine. Here’s how you do it.
1. Sign up for free accounts at places like Textbroker and ConstantContent.
At ConstantContent, moms can write anything they want on any topic they want. After submitting their article and pricing it, moms simply sit back and wait for the article to be purchased. Alternatively, moms writing at ConstantContent can read through the latest client requests and write articles to meet these clients’ needs. However, the downside of ConstantContent is that there is never a guarantee that an article will be purchased.
Textbroker is an even better options for stay-at-home moms who want to become freelance writers because the risk of spending time on an article that doesn’t earn money is reduced. At Textbroker, there are a list of assignments for moms to choose from. Once they’ve chosen an assignment, no one else at Textbroker can write the same assignment — this means that there’s less competition for an article’s acceptance than there is at ConstantContent.
The Textbroker client who posted the freelance writing job reviews the completed article and either accepts it or returns it for revision. As soon as the article’s been accepted, the mom’s account is immediately credited for the amount of money the article was written for.
Besides Textbroker and ConstantContent, moms can also explore Suite101, Associated Content, and similar sites. Tip: Don’t fall for freelance writing jobs you have to pay for in order to gain access to. These are almost always work-at-home scams.
2. Build relationships with clients, just like you would for a normal business.
As moms continue to spend time on freelance writing sites like Textbroker, they build up a following of regular clients. Once they’ve developed good relationships with a number of clients, it’s relatively easy to build a steady stream of regular freelance writing income. With a steady flow of work, the earning potential from freelance writing jobs is nearly unlimited.
3. Strike out on your own.
After gaining experience in the online freelance writing world with the sites mentioned above, stay-at-home-moms might want to strike out on their own. Using what they learned at Textbroker and ConstantContent, moms can choose to develop a full-fledged freelance writing business, all without leaving home.
In short, online freelance writing gives stay-at-home-moms an opportunity to beat their postpartum blues, relieve their boredom, find a sense of purpose, and earn extra money for their families.
The flexibility of freelance writing means that moms can work while kids are down for a nap or at school. With just a handful of articles per month, or less than an hour’s worth of writing per day, should earn moms enough money to pay their cell phone bill or reduce their credit card debt.
With a little more effort, moms can turn writing at Textbroker or other sites into a full-fledged freelance writing career.
Moms, you can have your cake and eat it, too. You have a lucrative writing career and stay at home with the kids. It’s a win-win!
Have you discovered your own ways to work from home while still spending plenty of time with the kids? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
About the Author
RA Marshall is a 5-star writer for Textbroker.com who has earned tens of thousands of dollars from writing for the site since 2008. Recently, she’s decided to share her success with others through her new ebook, How to Succeed at Textbroker: A Complete Guide for Freelance Writers. You can read more at her blog, TextbrokerSuccess.com. Note: RA Marshall is not endorsed by Textbroker, nor is she acting as their representative.