How to start a career writing about cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin, and the blockchain technology in general, have created tens of jobs that were not available before the genesis block was first mined. Script multisig developers, microtransaction engineers, ASIC chip designers, cryptocurrency escrow agents and cryptocurrency journalists writers are few examples of jobs that never existed before the advent of bitcoin. Writing about cryptocurrencies can be a reasonably profitable career that can help one earn some good amount of money, working online from home.

I have been writing about the blockchain technology for over five years now and I am now making a living being a cryptocurrency writer and technical analyst. Just googling my name, “Tamer Sameeh”, will show you hundreds of the articles and technical analysis pieces that I have written throughout my career as a cryptocurrency writer. Throughout this tutorial, I will present you with an easy-to-follow guide that will help you start a career writing about cryptocurrencies.

Creating a Portfolio:

Your portfolio is the most important element that can help you find a good position. An employer needs to see samples of your previous writing pieces to make sure that your content is good and interesting. It is better to have content that is already published to include into your portfolio. There are many places where you can publish your content for free, such as:

1. Ezinearticles.com:

Ezinearticles.com is a free article directory whose database includes hundreds of thousands of articles that were posted by authors from all corners of the world. You can create an account for free, and start submitting your articles for review. When you submit an article, it will usually be reviewed within 2-4 days and if accepted, it will be instantly published. However, if your article contains any grammatical, structural or any other forms of mistakes, it will be turned down and sent back to you to modify and then re-submit.

2. Steemit:

Steemit is inarguably now the most successful blockchain based social network. You can publish your content on Steemit, and add it to your portfolio. You can also make some money in the form of STEEM and STEEM Back Dollars (SBD), if your content gets upvoted by other users on Steemit. We will discuss in details how to maximize your earnings from Steemit later on throughout this tutorial.

3. ArticlesBase.com

Articlesbase.com is another place where you can publish your content for free. It is free to create an account and publish content on articlesbase.com, which represents a good place to publish an article to include into your portfolio.

Creating a Writer’s CV:

Your CV will represent you to potential employers who would want to hire you to write for them. Your CV should include your educational background, previous experience and your knowledge regarding bitcoin and the blockchain technology in general. The blockchain technology is rather new and relatively difficult to understand by ordinary non-tech savvy individuals, so it is recommended to show your potential employer, via your CV, that you have an adequate understanding of the technology you are going to write about.

Applying to Cryptocurrency News Sites:

As we mentioned earlier, given the fact that the blockchain technology is relatively new, it is rather hard to find writers who have good understanding of the technology and can produce interesting content. Accordingly, most cryptocurrency news sites would be glad to add a few writers and journalists to their lists of workers. The following are some of the cryptocurrency news sites that are always looking for new writers:

1. Deepdotweb.com:

Well, our site is one of the top new sites centered on bitcoin and the deep web. If you are interested in joining Deepdotweb’s editorial team, you can apply via following this link.

2. Other news sites:

Cryptocurrency news sites such as Bitcoin.com, cryptocoinsnews.com, Themerkle.com and others are also always on the hunt for good writers that can produce interesting content about cryptocurrencies. These are just few examples, if you just Google “Bitcoin news sites”, you will find tens of other similar sites; most of which will be glad to add you to their team of authors, if you are a good writer.

Publishing Content on Steemit:

Steemit is currently the most successful blockchain based social network. You can publish any form of content on steemit; articles, blog entries, images, videos and even music and you can earn money, in the form of crypto, for your content that gets upvoted by other users on Steemit.

On Steemit, you can earn by creating content and upvoting, or curating, the content of others. There are two important parameters that will determine your influence on Steemit’s network and the amount of money you make via creation or curation of content;

1. Reputation:

Your reputation is a number that you can find next to your username on your profile page, as shown on the below screenshot. You can increase your reputation by regular posting of good content that receives a good number of upvotes. Note that your reputation will be greatly downgraded, if you ever publish plagiarized content. I have seen users whose reputation was downgraded from the 50s to 25, when it was discovered that they had been publishing plagiarized content. There are bots that automatically check content for uniqueness and will post comments on plagiarized posts, linking to where the content was originally published. There are also online reputation management companies that have experts to help control your reputation.

2. STEEM Power:

STEEM Power represents influence tokens that determine your influence across Steemit’s network. If you have more STEEM Power, this means that you have better chances to earn more crypto for your created content, when it gets upvoted. Also, upvotes from users with high STEEM Power will greatly increase the earnings of the posts which they upvote.

You can make a steady amount of earnings by posting on Steemit. Nevertheless, you have to be patient because in the beginning, your earnings will be rather low, until you accumulate more STEEM Power and your reputation rises, at least to the 40s (new accounts will be awarded a reputation of 25 by default). I recommend publishing a minimum of 3 posts, but no more than 10, each day on Steemit. You can choose up to five tags for each of your posts. Always use at least 4 tags to go with each post and choose tags that are relevant to your content.

You will get paid for your published content, if it receives enough upvotes to generate earnings, 24 hours after posting it. Your earnings will be divided into three parts:

1. STEEM Power: 50% of your earnings will be in the form of STEEM Power. So, if your post earns you $10, 5$ of those will be in the form of STEEM Power, depending on the real time price of STEEM. Note, that 1 STEEM Power token is equal to 1 STEEM coin.

2. STEEM: 25% of your earnings will be in the form of STEEM coins. You can instantly sell your STEEM coins for bitcoin on several cryptocurrency exchanges. You can also exchange them to STEEM Backed Dollars (SBD) on Steemit’s website. Alternatively, you convert STEEM to STEEM Power via a process known as “Power Up”.

3. STEEM Backed Dollars (SBD): 25% of your earnings will be in the form of SBD, whose value is hedged to the USD. You can exchange SBD to STEEM on Steemit’s website. You can also transfer them to a cryptocurrency exchange, e.g. Poloniex, to sell them for bitcoin. SBD can be alternatively spent on promoting your published content on Steemit to increase its exposure. Alternatively, you can use SBD to store value and enjoy a 10% annual revenue on your savings.

Finding Writing Gigs on Bitcointalk.org:

Bitcointalk.org is the first online community for bitcoiners and blockchain enthusiasts. This forum contributed greatly to presenting bitcoin to the world during the early days, and is now the most popular online community for those interested in cryptocurrencies.

If you are serious about having a career in cryptocurrency related writing, in my opinion, you have to follow new threads on Bitcointalk.org, as it is where you will gain valuable knowledge about various aspects of the blockchain technology. Any newly launched coin will surely have a thread discussing it on bitcointalk.org. Moreover, you will find interesting topics to write about by just checking the forum regularly.

You can also find some awesome writing gigs on the forum, especially on the “Marketplace” and “Project Development” sections. The great thing about Bitcointalk.org is that there is a reputation system that will help you identify serious employers and buyers with good reviews from previous business partners.

You can also market your writing services on the forum, by creating threads on the “Selling” and “Services” sections. Create a catchy title for your thread that grabs the attention of potential buyers. Include a brief resume about yourself and add a few links to your previously published content. If your content is good, you will surely find interested buyers.

Sharing your content on social media:

Content that generates traffic is a treasure for every webmaster. If your content generates much traffic, you will be a valuable asset to your employer. Sharing your content on social media will increase traffic to your content. Be sure to share links to your published content on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and reddit’s r/bitcoin or r/cryptocurrency.

This was a concise tutorial that can help you start a career as a cryptocurrency writer. Be patient and work hard and you will start making money within a few weeks, provided that you are a good writer. If you have any questions, include them in the replies below and I will be happy to answer them.