Not Jaded, But Close

I'm a college student and therefore need money to pay for things like rent, tuition, food... When I was living in Albuquerque, the job market was so incredibly bad, it was impossible to get a job anywhere. I was rejected from five places (one even rejected me three times) one month, and ten the next. Desperate for sustenance, I asked one of my roommates for help. She told me about Associated Content and eHow. Ten minutes later, I was on my way to making money online.

I had worked on blogs before, so I knew a little about keywords and search engines and sucking up, so it wasn't until a few months later that I stopped trying to write full-time and began working as a personal assistant with a couple close friends of mine.

If you want to, try other things

I can honestly say that I regret beginning writing at Associated Content et al. It was a bad idea from the get-go. It began innocently enough, with me thinking that between odd jobs, writing, and web design, I could earn enough money to support myself. I actually did, for a month. I paid $400 with that month's work and only had to rely on $50 from my loan refund for the rest.

Unfortunately, circumstances changed, and I was paying an extra $50 for rent and the cost of food tripled (one extra mouth, plus wanting fancier tastes than Ramen and potatoes). I slowed down on writing and started looking for more web design and regular jobs.

Rejected time and again, I started to get depressed. My grades went to hell and I tried to pull them back up, which took even more time out of writing. I understand the concept of passive income, but at that point, I needed money that day, not two years later when an empire was constructed.

I dropped writing completely, save a few random entries in my personal journal and school assignments. I made the biggest mistake when I did this: I have learned now: all things in moderation. Don't expect to get all your content written in a week, and don't stop writing because you haven't made enough.

So if you're looking for advice on writing for a living online, making money through article marketing, or even joining an affiliate network, this is the place for you. I don't claim to have all (or any) of the answers, but I am certainly learning new things every day, and I will be sharing them with the public here.

For now, my best advice is this:

Don't get manic. If you try to do too much too quickly, you'll get burned out, or your quality will suffer because of the repetition and speed. Take your time, think up a thousand article ideas, and then aim for one every couple days.

The other advice?

Promote. People don't find advertisements and affiliate links in a vacuum. You have to show them where it is, first.