Crowdsourcing has been around on the web as one way to make money for beginning freelancers. There are many online companies around catering for such a business.

One of these companies is CrowdSpring. They started off offering design jobs for crowdsourcing. A couple of weeks ago, they started offering writing projects too.

So, if you’re a publisher or a business that may be looking for content writers, you can post your requirements on the site. Writers or content providers can then browse the available projects to see if anything interests them.

If you’re interested, you can browse existing writing projects on CrowdSpring. There’s only a few projects available at the moment, as they only started. In any case, some available writing projects include: guest posting for blogs, website naming, and copywriting.

Do let us know if you have any feedback regarding CrowdSpring’s writing projects section – either as a publisher/business or a writer/content provider.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

CrowdSpring Writing Projects

If you fancy the idea of making money from creating your own books, then Blurb might be of interest to you. It follows a DIY model of publishing books (similar to self-publishing). But, without all the hassle of coming up with a huge capital and plenty of unsold books in your garage.

In a nutshell, this is how Blurb works: You write your book. You take care of the typesetting and layout. You make sure the whole document is publication-ready. Then, upload your book on to the system. Once it’s ready to be published, you set a price if you wish to sell your book.

Then, you can order a book (or more) from your account, paying the base price. You can just mark-up the price if you wish to sell your book in person.

Or, if you don’t want the hassle of ordering too many books and selling them yourself, you just get people to buy your book directly from Blurb. Then, you get whatever profit/mark-up that you provide when you set your price. You keep the profit.

Some of the things that I like about Blurb:

• Clean interface; really pleasant site to look at;
• You can have your own little Blurb shop, if you wish. You can then share that link to people so that they can buy your books there;
• They have a free software application (called Blurb Booksmart, available both for Windows and Mac) that you can use to create your book – really handy if you want to make sure that your book is formatted for publication. It even has a built-in function that gives you warning signs if your image is not going to be publishable, etc.
• If you prefer to format your own book, that’s okay too;
• Basic books starting price is reasonable (approx. $5 for a 20-page Black and White Text book with coloured soft cover), prices go up from there, depending on the number of pages, etc;
• There are a number of options and pricing available – soft cover / hardcover, 4-colour/BW, etc.;
• Bulk discounts are available (if you buy 10 or more, you can buy your book at a lower price; the more books you buy, the higher your discount); and
• They seem to cater for a number of countries.

In any case, yes, it works pretty much like Lulu.com.

Since I haven’t tried using Blurb yet, I’m not sure about the printing quality of the books. I hope to be able to try it out one of these days and report my findings back here at some stage.

If you have given Blurb a try, do let us know what you think of it. Do you like it? What’s the quality of the printed books like? What about the service?

Right now, they’re currently running the 2009 Best Blurb Photo Books Contest. The grand prize winner gets to win $3,000. The runner-up wins $1,000. Then, there will be honourable mentions, who will then win $50 gift cards from Blurb.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

Blurb: Make and Sell Your Books

When it comes to making money online, I have a soft spot for online content sites. There are many reasons behind this, and I think one one of them is the fact that it’s how I actually got started in this path on the web. Anyway, one of the places I have come across is a content site called LoveToKnow.

Admittedly, I haven’t tried writing for this site, and I haven’t even applied either. So, I’m not really sure about the whole process. All I know is that they have a permanent section for Hiring Writers, which includes some basic information about how to become a LoveToKnow writer.

Basically, all applicants should fill-in an online application form, which includes providing some basic personal information, choosing your areas of interests/expertise, and sending at least two writing samples. There are a variety of topics to choose from – from art and computers to baking and business, among many others. They also mention that they hire Site Editors.

When it comes to pay, acccording to the site: “Pay for approved writers starts at $20 per 650-word article, with a minimum of 20 articles required each month, pending acceptance.” I did not read any payment options for the Site Editor position.

Personally, I find that 20-article monthly minimum a bit daunting as a writer. Especially since each article should be 650 words – and it only pays $20 per article. Having said that, there aren’t a lot of content sites that offer much more than that, so it’s a competitive rate from what I know. It will just depend on how long it will take for an individual writer to complete each article, as well as the kind of rights the writers get.

In any case, I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually tried writing for LoveToKnow. And, if I ever give it a go myself, I will let you know.

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

LoveToKnow : For Online Content Writers

If writing is one way you wish to make money online, then eHow might be one place you’d like to look in to.

How to become an eHow Writer:

1) Register at eHow.

2) Sign up for their Writer Compensation Program.

3) Start uploading articles.

How eHow Writers Get Paid:

According to the site: Writers make money on the articles they submit. Payments are generally based on traffic the article receives and the quality and uniqueness of the content.

eHow Writers get paid via Paypal on a monthly basis. Please note, however, that while registrations/sign-ups are allowed internationally, payments are available to US residents only*.

Some Advantages for eHow Writers:

• Available article template which enable easy formatting and uploading of articles. Site instruction: Just choose the title and write the body of the article by filling in detailed step-by-step instructions. Add any tips or images readers will need to complete your How-To. Then pick a category, and you’re ready to submit.
• Writers can publish articles on the topic of their choice.
• Contests and promotions are available, which enable writers to make more money.
• Tapping in to the eHow Community of Readers and Writers
• Promoting your own site/blog.

Since I’m not a US resident, I haven’t tried this service yet. If you’ve already given eHow a go, I’d love to hear from you. Do you like the program? Why or why not?

*Yes, this is definitely disappointing for non-US residents. Hopefully, they will soon change this policy.

Also See: Associated Content vs eHow Writer

This post is originally from Just Make Money Online. Please respect copyright.

eHow: Writing How Tos to Make Money Online