How Did I Land High-Paying Content Writing Internships?
If you think it isn’t easy to land high-paying internships in content writing, then you may be right. I said it isn’t simple, but it’s not impossible either. My experience in the past year has taught me that you get the best results when you commit 100%. So, if you’re a college student looking to make some money through internships in content writing, this article may be the one for you!
Every Beginner Needs a Medium
Start publishing articles on Medium to build your portfolio if you’re just starting out as a content writer. When I first started, I came across Medium and just started writing. It’s always better to pick a niche and go with it. My niche was Marketing so I started posting articles every 1 or 2 days. Also, here are some tips that helped me gain substantial popularity on Medium:
- Reach Out
I started following people on Medium, read their articles, and gave positive feedback to make connections. It’s always a good choice to reach out to writers on Medium.
- Publications Are a Delight
If you’re a newbie on Medium, let me tell you about these publications. (Oh I wish I had known about them earlier) If you see a writer posting his/her articles in some publication, it means that they’re a part of the publication. Whenever people submit their articles to these publications, the articles are reviewed by the editors of the publications and if there are no mistakes and errors, your articles are posted in these publications. The best part about these publications is that thousands of people are joining, writing, and posting their articles in these publications every day and you could get a big kickstart if you start writing for these publications. Some publications require proficiency and experience and some of them may openly welcome new writers! If you’re looking for a publication, let me suggest you the first publication that I joined on Medium —
- Competitions
Make sure you take part in various competitions held in these publications. In addition, some of these competitions pay you money if you win, so if you want to make some quick money, this is your chance!
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve built a portfolio on Medium or WordPress or VocalMedia, it’s time to take the next step. I have landed a couple of internships through LinkedIn but one major problem that most students face when looking for content writing internships is that they’re mostly unpaid and the paid ones aren’t easy to land. Well, for beating such a competition, you have to stand out!
The LinkedIn Dilemma
If you’re searching for paid internships on LinkedIn and you see a couple of posts hiring interns for content writing, NEVER EVER GO FOR EASY APPLY! You’re going through the easy route and with easiness comes undesirable results. Walk an extra mile and take the tunnel that you’re going to build yourself! But HOW?
- Whoever has posted the hiring post, reach out to them through a LinkedIn connection and message them privately. If that doesn’t cut it, look out for the company’s email ID and start writing a cover letter for the company. You’d think that so much effort for so little money but let me tell you that this trick helped me land internships worth RS 15000–20000!
- Attach a resume with a cover letter that talks about the company’s work, your understanding of their work, and how you can provide them with what they want. Come on, it’s simple psychology! GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT! SHOW THEM THAT YOU CARE FOR THEM AND THEIR WORK!
- Companies usually don’t even bother to read and see all the applications when you go for “Easy Apply” but if you walk the extra mile and send a personalized email to the respective company, it makes a lot of difference. If you’re constantly sending applications to companies through emails, I’d suggest you write up a cover letter and save it in Google Docs. Whenever you’re sending the cover letter and resume to a company, make sure you personalize the cover letter according to the company’s JD and the basics of their work. It saves a lot of time and makes you stand out!
The Internshala
If you’re a college student in India, you must’ve heard about Internshala. If you’re not able to find potential internships on LinkedIn, it’s time you switch to Internshala. Internshala is the hub of jobs, internships, and work-from-home opportunities! You could write up a cover letter, attach your resume, and chat with the hiring manager on Internshala.
But, it’s always best to stand out again! I and my friends used the same trick on Internshala and it worked! We checked out the company’s name and what are they hiring for. Then, we searched for their email ID, and…the rest is history! Personalization always works! Though I’ve done 2–3 high-paying internships in less than 1 year of experience, with these tricks, I’ve received dozens of offer letters for other internships I applied to as well! If someone walks the extra mile to make you happy, you’d care about that! Go unorthodox, it gives results.
Summing Up
Writing on Medium builds up a portfolio which is very important when you go applying for jobs and internships. It gives you the experience of being a writer and if you pick a niche, you’ll have an upper hand when you apply for paid internships in a similar niche. Plus, landing internships is easy when you know you’ve cracked the CODE. The key is personalization. If 1000 people are going through the same road, there’s going to be a lot of traffic and you’ll have to wait in line. Build a tunnel for yourself and start moving!!
It’s very hard when you think about it. It’s easy when you do it.
