1. Update your resume, highlighting any writing experience you've had as well as your niche topic experience. For example, a nurse hoping to write health-related articles would note her RN degree and work experience, and a builder looking to write for home improvement sites would draw attention to his experience in the field.
2. Apply for writing positions on websites that actively hire writers. Most sites will pay a flat fee per article, and you'll be given article criteria and even titles to write about. Tip: Check out the Writers Market Online (below) for site listings.
3. Learn about basic Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a part of nearly every online writing gig you'll find. It's important to write for both humans and the Google bots (also called "spiders" since they crawl the web).
4. Create a freelance writer ad and place it on Craig's List and online job forums as well. Describe your related experience and your writing accomplishments.
5. Write for websites that offer revenue-sharing programs for contributors. While most don't pay an upfront fee for your work, the long-term residual income potential can be quite high. Consider writing for eHow.com, Squidoo, Hub Pages, Associated Content, Helium, Suite101, Today.com and Xomba.
6. Bid for freelance writing projects on sites such as Guru.com, Elance and RentACoder. The jobs can be hit or miss, but some freelance writers report finding good, reliable long-term clients through projects won on bid sites.
7. Diversify your website article income as a freelance writer. Write for a combination of websites, private clients and your own sites. Many freelance writers make a full time income developing and monetizing their own quality content websites.
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