While you are regularly pitching, you also have to be surfing Net as much as possible for opportunities. My daily surfing task entails checking status for my project bids at OnVia.com, Ants.com, and ELance.com once you set up a free account with these sites, you are regularly updated by email on status of projects that you applied for. Imagine how much time you'll save with these tools!

You ought to keep surfing because you'll never know what turns up. My favorites are WriteforCash.com and freelance job opportunities at DotcomMommies.com, HomeWorkers.org, and WritersWeekly.com. Remember that these opportunities are gone instantly, so apply fast. If you don't, most likely there'll be at least a hundred other writers ahead of you as a rule of thumb. It would also help to have a well-crafted form letter for this purpose but I don't recommend this approach for pitches.

Finally, establish a way of tracking your deadlines in your Filofax to maximize your billable hours. If, say, your target is to earn $2,000 every month from freelancing, you have to consider check cut off dates from websites you work for. WriteForCash.com, for example, pays first week of next month after month that you completed work and they also have a 30-article limit.

Making most of these constraints mean that if you're paid $20 for each of 30 articles, most that you can earn in a month is $600 (i.e., 30 x $20/article)which means you still have $1,400 to worry about for your monthly freelancing. Also consider that you won't get your $600 check within month that your articles got accepted.

Here are more examples for anticipating your freelance income. If you write for WriteforCash.com it's not impossible to realize earnings of $400 per month if you write efficiently.

Always do math and you can never go wrong. Never waste you time on non-revenue generating activities such as sites that either don't pay or pay very little unless you are doing this to help advertise your craft or you have extra time in your hands. If however, you can't find sites that will pay you $100 per article or higher during any given month, aim your guns towards small fry for time being in order to cover your projected shortfall. You will notice that no month is same as you obtain your earnings from many different sources, big and small.

Of course, it never hurts to have some regulars up your sleeves likes of Sloot.com where I cover telecommunications beat. Though I am not allowed to discuss my rate here per article, I must say it's a pretty good rate and editor that I work with is so professional. Work on developing these contacts which will provide you with a regular income stream.

How to get these regulars? I must say strategy requires a combination of good old detective work (translation: surf a lot) coupled with effective niching, which is concentrating on kind of writing that you do best (i.e., How To's; poetry; Children's books, etc.). You have more chances pitching for subject you are an expert at rather than a subject where you currently have zero knowledge.

Look carefully into details of your pitch. Make your query letter look as professional as possible, which means you have to know name of editor; include your full contact information; and, make every effort to make your own voice come through (translation: your own style of writing, including way you would express yourself if you wrote article you are proposing).

Let me end with what I consider most important tip in pitching. Do your homework; always look for writer's submission guidelines found in nearly every site that needs help with their content. I learned this hard way. Plus, always read sample articles to familiarize you with kind of content needed.

If you write regularly, you do reach that point where it feels like somebody is whispering you words to write. But if you put a sense of strategy into task, you may be hitting beaches in Hawaii more often than you think!

And There's More.

In a PS, Bill added, "Just now, week's forecast looks awfully good. Click here for latest." Take this link, and you have a long term forecast for weather at Triangle lake.

And More

Triangle is not only lake Bill follows. And he has this kind of info on all of them. And about local streams. Further, he'll be happy to sell you a great fishing rod, wading boots, cooking gear, even camping stuff.

About That Fellow In New York

James Bartell faces yet another major business crisis. But reading Bill's newsletter gives him a thought. He calls to his secretary, "Will you get Joe and Pete in here, please?" Grabbing for phone, he mumbles, "If they can't handle this, I'll find somebody who can." Half way through sentence, phone is ringing at Travel Desk.

Bartell Is Not Alone

Many people who bust it day in and day out are quite willing, now and then, to cut loose for a few days. Bill offers one great way to do it. He gets a commission from Travel Desk. And from local lodges he refers to. If he chooses to do so, he is in a great position to buy a lodge, thus extending his online business offline. If he targets upscale fisherman like Bartell, such a move could be enormously profitable.

End Tale

Okay, so that's just a yarn. And hey, likely someone already has something like it going. But it's bound to be local, else one can't keep up. Find a local area *not* being covered, one easy to get to, and go for it. The task is simpler if you already know something of area. But if you love fishing, you can have a lot of fun learning whatever you need.

So Where's The Content?

Measured in total words, there is very little content on this hypothetical site. But in eyes of a devoted fisherman, it's loaded with stuff. Bill needs some good text content for search engine positioning, but that's another matter.

What's Bill Really Selling?

Will anybody visiting this site see it for what it really is? Have you figured it?

What is readily available is great info that matters to fisherman. Behind this, Bill offers everything you need to get to a great fishing spot, catch your limit, and be comfortable while doing so. His visitors will not see this as a trick or con. They may not even recognize site is a selling tool. Products offered will be seen simply as an additional service Bill provides.

A Catch

This is not greatest example, for it's seasonal. You'd have to do very well in order to take rest of year off. But it's a possibility. If you owned a lodge, you might pick up some off-season business from skiers and hunters.

But I Don't Like Fishing

Is that what I heard you say? If so, join club. I don't either. But idea works in many areas and differing products. Competition is fierce in travel business. But how about a site featuring weekend adventures for families or seniors or both? House plans might work well with how-tos about remodeling and interior design.

Home gardeners are a committed bunch. And there's lots of potential here for repeat business. Anything people love to do that requires resources you can provide is a possible target.

Each must be checked with care. Competition needs to be examined in depth. And you must find a niche that sets you above or apart from all of it. But given a defined position and a good business plan, you have basis for a successful online business.

Wrapping Up

There are several errors in Bill's prose. Did you notice them? If so, will they matter to a fellow who wants to catch some fish? Or will he just grab his keys or phone?