This is Part 1 of the series Become a Successful Demand Studios Writer.
Many freelance writers have the passion for writing but not the writing qualities that will drive them toward success. This is also true if you’re applying to be a Demand Studios writer. Sometimes these qualities need to be worked for and learned, while at other times these writing qualities are naturally given. Whichever case you may fall under, it’s important that these writing qualities are put into practice throughout your writing career and not just thrown on an empty shelf to collect dust. After all, what good are they to you if they are just left in the shadows?
The difference between a successful freelance writer and a struggling freelance writer is not only based on how this person writes and how many lucky breaks this person gets. Success is also based on the individual’s attitude toward writing. With that said, let’s take a look at some required writing qualities of a Demand Studios writer and how to use them.
Being one of the most important of all writing qualities, a passion for words is a must in any writing career if you want to be successful. If writing is just another chore and you have no passion for writing, why write? Why waste your time when you could be doing something that you love? If you simply just love writing but it hasn’t blossomed into passion yet, something might be holding you back. This could be because you’re working yourself too hard, you’re afraid of failure, or you just haven’t found your form of writing. Writing for Demand Studios is so much easier if you have a passion for writing and the topic that you’re writing about.
Discipline keeps you writing religiously day after day. Discipline keeps your content fresh, and discipline helps that money continue rolling in. Without discipline, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Usually freelance writers will have discipline in the beginning. However, this discipline often ebbs away until you’re struggling to even lift your butt out of bed and take a few steps over to your computer.
Lack of discipline is mainly caused by stress or laziness. If you have too much on your plate, scoop some out. Instead of writing 5 Demand Studios articles a day, try to write 3. Don’t push yourself to the point of impossibility. Decide what your priorities are. It might help to make goals or a To Do list. However, once you make those goals, it’s important to stick with them. Don’t let discipline slip away. If you do, it might be harder to get it back. So, write for Demand Studios regularly and see where you go.
Discipline and motivation are two writing qualities that go hand in hand. If you have motivation, it will be easier to obtain discipline. Lack of motivation is sometimes caused by pessimism or fear. You can’t have pessimism and motivation at the same time, so get rid of it. Remember what your mother always told you? You can do whatever you put your mind to. She was right. If you don’t believe you can be a successful Demand Studios writer, you won’t. You need to trust yourself and believe in yourself before you can do great things.
If you’re afraid you won’t achieve success or if you’re afraid of success, you’re not alone. Many freelance writers have been in your shoes at one point or another. Try to demolish this fear. Don’t just drop it on the floor so that it can crawl right back when you least expect it. Destroy it. A good method of doing this is to look at payment histories or success stories of other freelance writers with similar interests. Cash Campfire, for example, is full of my own PayPal payments and checks. You even have easy access to them through the Payment History category. Make use of them and use them for your own benefit.
If you don’t like endurance, you can always use stamina instead. If you don’t like both, well, you’re in trouble. 
Endurance determines how long you’ll last and if you last at all. Picture it this way: Your goal is to have 60 Demand Studios articles written in a month. This task might seem daunting. But, if you only write 2 articles a day, you’ll reach that 60 in 30 days. What happens if you combine the discipline and endurance writing qualities and write 3 articles a day? Well then you’ll have 90 articles written in a month and $1,350 in your wallet to boot! That’s if you write only $15 articles (and there are quite a lot of these). But what happens if you write 2 articles a day and stop midway there on the 19th of the month? You’ll just be cheating yourself out of $330. See where this is going?
A good way to acquire endurance is to simply imagine yourself at the top and push for that dream. Are you hoping to buy a bigger house? A classy red car? Love? Well, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to buy the last option, but you might be able to buy the others if you just maintain endurance and keep that blood flowing through your fingers. Speaking of fingers, did you know that your fingernails actually grow faster when you type? Just something to wrap your mind around.
Experience takes on two forms, and you can use both as a Demand Studios writer. You can have personal experience on a certain topic, where it helps make the topic easier to write. You can also have experience with writing, which only comes with practice. The latter is the most useful in my opinion, since writing experience will help you with both article quality and speed.
Unless you’re incredibly gifted with the writing skill, you’ve probably had your share of failures in the beginning. However, your writing experience will increase as you write more and more, analyze other pieces of work, and use those observations to make your work better. You won’t make $1,000 overnight, despite many online claims. Don’t be fooled by someone who will tell you that either. It takes time to build up your writing skills to the point where you are making enough residual income to earn $1,000 in a day. If you think that’s impossible, you should read WriterGig’s eBook. It has provided inspiration and motivation to many freelance writers who didn’t think they could do it, including myself. In the eBook, WriterGig walks you through the process of making money on eHow (a company owned by Demand Media that you’ll soon be writing for if you get accepted as a Demand Studios writer) and shows readers screen shots of her own eHow earnings. This is a must read if you haven’t read it already.
Creativity is a great writing quality to have. If you can write, you already have some form of creativity. The only problem is enhancing this skill and using it to do your bidding. Though creativity may not necessarily help much as a Demand Studios writer if your writing for upfront pay, it will definitely help for all your other writing projects, especially if you want to attract readers or clients. Enhance your creativity by giving your words character and style. Make your writing unique to you so that, when people are reading your work, they know right off the bat that you wrote it. Are you a naturally funny character? Bring humor to your words. Are you a good listener and do you observe more than others? Express detail in your writing. Test yourself and go beyond your comfort zone. Try different writing styles and decide which style best matches you. You are in control of your work, so why not add a personal touch as well?
Intro, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Bonus
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Tags: Demand Studios
I've been making money with my writing since 2008. With this income, I'm able to travel the world, indulge in my hobbies, and govern my own life. And the best thing is, I love every second of it!
Hillary Bost (1)
That ebook by WriterGig sounds super intriguing. Is it geared towards Demand Studios employees or is the advice something that any freelance article writer can apply to build residual income? Thanks Christina!
-Jason
Hey Jason,
Well, it was written for eHow writers in mind, but DS writers can definitely use it. Some of the stuff in there can also apply to other companies as well in my opinion.
Though, if you’re a freelance writer hiring yourself out to other clients (not article directories), I’d suggest investing in an actual freelance writing book from Amazon. This ebook just won’t cut it in this arena. But if you’re just focusing on article directories, certainly!
Christina