Freelance writing or writing articles online is a fun way to earn money online! You can freelance as a writer without quitting your full-time job. You can write during your free time, on weekends and on peaceful evenings after a mild day at work. Indeed, you have free rein of your time when you do freelance work as a writer. The best advantage that freelance writing can give you is the ability to work right in the comfort of your own home!

Unless you are an accomplished writer with a killer portfolio, do not expect to rake in a lot of cash on your first few projects. In any industry, big or small, everyone starts out at the bottom. If you cannot show original writing on a diverse set of topics, many clients will be doubtful of hiring you as a writer.

Many writers complain about the fact that they often get rejected for online writing projects because of the lack of a decent portfolio. Here is a way to deal with this situation: Build one! This can be easily done by any writer. Write short articles about the topics that you love. They will be easy to do, fun to write and they will not consume more than a few hours of your time! A decent writing portfolio is a great tool to help you succeed in making money with freelance writing.

To kick off your freelance writing career, consider one of these four methods:

* Blogging

Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts and ideas to the rest of the world. You can write in an informal tone which is way easier than the stiff, structured writing required in academic and legal papers. There are many sites that will host your blog for free and even offer you a load of handy tools to make your blogs visually appealing. Two popular blog publishing applications are Blogger and WordPress.

You earn money through Google's AdSense. Google will give you a set amount depending on ad type, every time your readers click on the ads that are displayed at the perimeters of your Web pages. Considering that you are earning money passively, however, blogging is not such a bad little gig. Do not try to fool Google by clicking on your own ads though. Click fraud is a highly criminal act and you can get booted and banned from your blog system.

* Submitting to Article Directories

To enhance the page rank of your blogs and give more exposure to your sites or Web pages, submit short articles to article directories. Most importantly, fully utilize the resource boxes that are displayed at the bottom of your submissions. Anyone who loves your work will want to read more of your articles. Give them a handy link to your blog or Web site and increase your reader traffic!

* Writing on User-Generated Websites

You can earn passive income by writing on user-generated Web sites such as Squidoo and Hubpages. Similar to Google AdSense, these sites will give you a cut out of the income they make through the ads displayed on your Web pages.

* Signing Up on Freelance Writing Sites

The best way to earn larger amounts quickly is to sign up on online freelance writing sites. Be careful though! Not all online writing projects are legitimate. Many unscrupulous individuals and companies are out to scam green freelance writers by requesting free writing samples. In addition, some are only after your personal and bank account information. Be extra cautious when dealing with potential clients and use your common sense.

Good luck with your freelance writing career! For the avid writer, online freelance writing can be a very fulfilling and rewarding experience.