I recently had 2 different article requests on topics of which I had no prior or much knowledge on. Being eager to build my portfolio of clients, I decided to take on the challenge and worry later. The assignments were not high paying as well. However, as you may well know, I am Chinese. And Chinese people (or at least the old school ones like me) make sure they get their feet in first before establishing their demands.

So my problems were: 2 large writing assignments (few 700 word or more articles) on topics I was clueless about, with not much monetary reward in relation to the amount of thinking I might have to do in the beginning.

Like I said, screw the money and do the work first.

So there I was, wondering how to start. Honestly, I was not quite sure how to. Of course, the best place to begin with, was to do the due research on the Internet. Which I did. Lots of facts, and some personal opinions from various comments later, I had a decent pile of information available to build my words on.

But wait, how would I know to separate fact from fiction? I was entering uncharted territory, and you don’t get paid to write nonsense. Again, I decided to hang my concerns behind the back door and get my hands dirty.

I went through the usual article writing procedures and got the drafts out. At this point in time, you might ask. If the topics are outside of your comfort zone, how do you make sense of the information and produce articles which, well, make sense?

You gather facts from the Internet, but even more important is to obtain personal opinions of others on these facts. Craft your angles by mixing these opinions in. If you have problems figuring which are more dependable, then cater to the common expectations by blending the majority opinions into your articles. In most cases, it provides a platform for acceptable articles. Why? Because you have to write for the majority’s reality. Is this cheating? No. You know nothing about the subject matter - just create stories from what others say or think.

In fact, I got lucky. I had 2 friends whom I remembered having keen interest in either topic. Needless to say, their insights were requested and they kindly obliged. Some verification of facts was even squeezed in on my part. Thanks guys, you know who you are!

Opinions are unique, yet they aren’t. I have used them widely for fuel in my freelance writing, especially in cases where I have had to deal with foreign topics.

The sweet thing was, I was rewarded with continued assignments and better rewards. If you are trying to make some money online from freelance writing, do not be afraid of writing about topics alien to you. It becomes easier after the first article, and sometimes, stuff that others don’t touch can often provide the better payoff.

Share This

Enjoyed This Post? Subscribe To Get Updates!
Get some ScratchBack luv! Donate and get a text link