First Suite 101 Milestone – The 50-Article Mark

Well, it took me long enough but I finally reached the 50-article mark at Suite 101.  Why is that important you ask?  Besides being a nice even number, writers actually get a raise in revenue at 50 and 100 articles.  Since I’m actually starting to earn a payout every month there, this is maximizing my revenue even more.

I like Suite.  Like any other content site, it has its ups and downs.  I plan on doing a review of the site next month.  I wanted to wait until after my bonus had kicked in and was active for a month so I had more info to give readers as to whether it’s really worth it to write for them.  At this point, I’m in it for the long haul, especially as my keyword skills are improving.

To see what I’m up to at Suite, read my profile here.

 

Keyword Exercise 1 – Maximizing Revenue on What You Know

Write what you know.  This is the mantra so many new writers, whether for print or the web, hear over and over from more experienced people in the field.   When you sign on to sites like Squidoo, HubPages and Ezine Articles, observing this rule helps you get a solid amount of articles published sooner instead of waiting to do more research-based work which takes time.  But how many of us don’t bother to do keyword research on topics we know a lot about already?

This is the first in a series of keyword research exercises, and it’s quite simple.  What do you know?  Your family life, job and hobbies are probably some of the easiest articles for you to write.  Go to the Google Keyword Tool and type in the name of your job.  Switch to CPC (cost per click) view.  What keywords come up with the highest CPCs?  Think about how you can add those keywords to your articles about your work.  Repeat this for family and hobby topics you write about.

Sometimes you’ll be disappointed by the earning potential of some of the keywords, but the search will bring up related keywords that you can create a set of articles around with a little bit of research.  Here’s an example of a randomly chosen job:

I typed in pet sitter which turned up some low-paying keywords, but there are some that advertisers might pay over $1 a click for:

• Pet sitters

• Pet sitter services

• Pet sitter software

• Pet sitter insurance

Of these at the time of this writing, pet sitter insurance has the highest CPC at $3.61.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing as pet sitter software, but that has the second highest paying CPC of my list.  A quick Google search brings up hundreds of thousands of results for both keyword phrases.  Some might say that’s too much competition to write an article, but I’ll leave that up to you.  I write about my field of health information which has a lot of competition, and my articles still earn revenue for me.  Can you see how doing a little bit of keyword research not only helps in maximizing your revenue but also provides ideas for more articles within your favorite topics?

If you’re new to the Google Keyword Tool, visit my brief intro here.  I talk more about the concepts of CPC and competition.

Have fun and I hope you get lots of ideas for expanding your article base around the topics you already write about.

 

My Two Favorite Work-At-Home Forums

When you’re completely new to looking for work-at-home opportunities, it can be difficult to know where to turn.  Working at home is such an attractive option, especially for those who’ve just lost their jobs.  The age-old problem is there are those who have no compunction in taking advantage of desperate people.  You have to beware of scammers.

Belonging to a community of other WAHs or wannabe WAHs can be one way to protect yourself against those with no integrity.  Two of the best places I’ve found online not only for writing but work-at-home jobs in general are:

• Work-at-Home Moms

• Work Place Like Home

I know I usually post on writing topics only, and there are plenty of freelance writing forums I could be promoting.  But this post is aimed at people who happen to stumble in and are researching the various WAH opportunities out there.

Both of the sites listed have friendly, knowledgeable people running them and community members willing to share their WAH job leads as well as their experiences, both good and bad, to save others the heartache of falling for a scam.  You usually get honest answers to your questions about certain jobs and companies.

Work-at-Home Moms has a job listings page and a forum that you can start browsing right away.  You have to register at Work Place Like Home to be able to enter the site, but it’s free, and you don’t have to give personal information.  The type of jobs listed at each site includes calling center positions, writing gigs, transcription and more.

Scammers still try to infiltrate the forums, but experienced community members keep the rest on their toes.  WAHM and WPLH are two trusted places to start your work-at-home job search.

 

Using the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to Improve Traffic and Earnings From Your Writing

Does it seem that some online writers are naturals at keywords and search engine optimization (SEO)?  I’ve read the frustration by web writers who believe it cheapens their work to incorporate keywords into their articles but complain that they’re not earning the revenue they want.

I admit that I’ve been lax about research in this area.  I started out a couple of years ago completely clueless about this topic and my earnings bear witness to this.  But I’m also inspired by the fact that as I incorporate the tips I give you below, my earnings and traffic are improving.

For those who don’t know, one of the first stops for online writers to do this research is the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.  You don’t have to have an AdWords account and it’s free to use.

As I’m getting more serious about keywords, the two things I’m focusing on right now are:

• Keywords that have a higher cost per click (CPC).

• Keywords that have a low-to-moderate degree of competition.

The CPC is the amount an advertiser can expect to pay for a keyword or keyword phrase.  Google pays publishers a percentage of the profits from the ads placed on their site that receive clicks.  If you’re writing for a site like HubPages or Suite 101 that pays through AdSense, then you want attract higher CPCs so you get paid more.

There are so many other considerations, but as someone new to this myself, I think this is a good place to start.  I want to use keywords that have a higher CPC but not if there is so much competition that my article has a chance of being lower in Google page rank as being a Johnny-come-lately.

One thing to keep in mind when using the fruits of your research in articles is keyword stuffing which is using the same keyword  over and over again.   Google frowns on this and if it’s discovered, they may suspend your AdSense account.  There are times this is hard to avoid and I would assume Google takes this into consideration.

You also want to consider whether your article topic will attract buyers or just readers.  I’m not suggesting you never write on a topic that doesn’t have click-through value.  But for revenue, you will need to focus on topics that people buy from.

In an upcoming post, I’ll be introducing the Keywords Exercise Series.  This will be like writing prompts, but instead of trying to break through writer’s block, I hope to inspire you to get over any phobia you might have concerning keyword research.

Here is a brief video intro to this concept from a marketer on YouTube.  He does a good job of explaining CPCs and the need for targeting keywords with less competition.  He states that he shoots for a keyword phrase that has less than 50,000 searches per month.  He shows you a simple way to check this.  His video is only 5 minutes long and is time well spent.

Here’s a link to the Google Keyword Tool.

 

My Not So Pleasant Experience With Examiner.com

Examiner is a hot place for online writers right now.  But is it worth your time and effort?  From my own experience, I say no.  But there are some who claim to make a decent amount of money and get exposure for their work.

I can only speak from my own perspective, but to be fair, I will give you some reasons why Examiner might be a good place for you.  Keep in mind that I wrote for the site as the Southeast Michigan Pagan Examiner for only few months in 2009.  Things may or may not have changed since then.

The Format

This is one of the most attractive perks of writing for Examiner.  At the time I wrote for them, posts needed to be a minimum of 200 words.  They encourage you to write several a posts week if not several a day to build up traffic and earnings with the requirement being 1-2 posts per week.

They have local and national Examiners and prefer that you write about current topics relevant to your area.  They did implement a 101 program which did seem like it could encourage some evergreen content which I believe has long-term earnings potential.

Their platform was pretty easy to use.  One drawback was that I couldn’t quickly edit something after it was published and sometimes had to wait several hours to do so.

Earnings

This was not clear from the outset.  They said it was based on page views and at first it seemed to be 1 cent per view with a payment threshold of $25.  However, this changed with no explanation until writers made a stink of it in the forums.  Even then the explanation was that pay might be based on how long someone stays on your page, but there seemed to be a drop in pay for many of the writers all at once.

Rights to Your Work

You technically own your posts and can repost them where you want.  You can even reuse some of your blog posts or other articles.  However, you do grant Examiner the right to use your work as they wish.  Now that I’ve left, I’m not earning anything from my posts still on their site and I can’t have them removed since Examiner can do what they want with them.

Style Guide and Quality

Examiner claimed to have a style guide.  I saw no evidence of this.  They have editorial guidelines including encouraging writing in third person.  This was not enforced at all while I was there.  I honestly can’t imagine how they can enforce any style guide when there are no editors.

The quality of writing suffers because of this as well as there being no standard set for citing sources.  There were emails sent out encouraging these things, but I believe that it should be enforced more strongly from day one, especially from a company that claims to hire experts in their chosen topics.

National vs. Local

I was a local Examiner.  They also had at least one other local Examiner in a very closely related topic.  They claim that this is because we all come at things with a different voice.  While it may be possible to work together with other writers there to increase traffic, I believe having many writers in one topic hurts writers in the long run as far as traffic and earnings are concerned.

From what I’ve read in different writing forums, national Examiners earn more because of the exposure.

Why I Left

The lack of clear communication regarding earnings and no enforced style guide were my main reasons for leaving Examiner.  I did, however, realize that I prefer to write broad evergreen content.  I don’t really enjoy writing local news-oriented stuff, unless it’s sporadically, and that is no fault of Examiner.

Should You Write for Examiner?

I would advise against writing for Examiner unless you are able to get a national position or a lucrative local topic.  An example for my area would be if I covered Detroit sports.  You are able to put affiliate links in your articles such as for Amazon.  You also may have more time on your hands than I did to write enough for them to make it work.

Examiner may be a better fit for you than it was for me.  There are other sites I write for such as HubPages and Squidoo that don’t have any type of style guide, but at least they don’t claim to have “experts” and they’re a bit more communicative with the writers.

If you want to gain experience and exposure for your work, then go for it.  Your chosen topic may even bring you recognition from print outlets.

Learn more from the Examiner website.

*I’d like to reiterate, that Examiner’s policies may have changed since the time I was there and this review should be read as one person’s experience.

 

Using Squidoo Support Sites to Boost Lens Traffic and Earnings

Are you a Squidoo lensmaster or considering signing up?  In a recent post, I discussed my New Year’s writing resolutions, one of which is to improve my earnings at Squidoo.  While I was busy creating content, I failed to take advantage of the support sites specifically targeted for lensmasters.  I’ve started to remedy that by creating backlinks through Lensroll.com.  Lensmasters are encouraged to post 2 lenses a day to help increase their traffic and get the backlink juice that Google loves to see.  Since I’ve noticed increased traffic through my recent backlinking efforts with SheToldMe and Xomba, I thought Lensroll would definitely be worth a try.

It’s early days yet, so I will report my success after a few months.  Lensroll is just one of many support sites out there.  The key is to find the ones that aren’t scams and also to find those that work with your lenses.  Mystic Mama, an inspiring lensmaster and the Squidoo support sites mentor, created a lens with some of the most popular and helpful support sites out there.  I linked to her lens below.  At Lensroll, you can post links to no more than 2 of your lenses a day.  You only need to write a short blurb and readers can give you votes if they like your work.  Be sure to return the favor and vote on lenses you like.

Learn more about Squidoo support sites and backlinking:

• Lensroll

• Support Sites Mentor

• My backlinking experiment

 

Women Who Write Online Networking Group

Fellow Suite 101 writer, Deborah Aldridge, has started a networking group for women web writers called Women Who Write Online.  She wanted to create a supportive environment where women web content writers and bloggers can learn from each other and promote their own work as well as others.  So far, she’s done a great job!

Deborah has put up several forums on the group, hosted by Ning, including Help a Writer, Tips and Tricks, Backlink Exchange and Promote Your Work.  There are internal groups on the site for women who write for Suite 101, Associated Content, eHow, Examiner, and NaNoWriMo.  I’m considering suggesting groups for HubPages and Squidoo.

I’ve only been a member for about a week, but it seems like the women are being really supportive of each other.  Feel free to check out the site (linked below) and see what you think.  If you’re writing for one or two sites now, you can get insight about other web content sites from women that already write for them.

Once you sign up and are approved, don’t forget to use the hashtag #wwwo if you use Twitter to promote your work.  This is another way we can promote the group as well as each other’s writing.

To learn more, visit the main site page.  Here is my profile page.  You can add me as a friend like you would on other social networking sites.

 

Writing Goals for 2010

It’s resolution time!  Like almost everyone else, I’ve got the usual suspects lined up – weight loss, save more, take more time for me, blah, blah, blah.  But, I thought I’d share what I plan on achieving this year as far as writing is concerned.  Maybe this will help inspire you to set writing goals for yourself.  It’s also a way for me to keep myself on task.

This technically isn’t just a writing list but also includes writing-related goals.

The Numbers

• Reach 100 lenses at Squidoo.  I’m at 68 right now.

• Reach 100 hubs on my main hub ID and 50 on my MichiganLover ID.  I’m at 79 and 18 respectively.

• Reach 100 articles at Suite 101.  I’m at 45 now.

• Post to this blog at least once a week.

• Start a blog related to some aspect of my MichiganLover HubPages ID and post at least once a week.

The Content

• Write at least 20 articles (from the above numbers) across different sites in a new niche I’m researching and measure the results.

• If that niche is doing well, then keep pushing myself to keep on topic with about 50% of my articles in that niche.

• Tweak hubs and lenses that aren’t drawing traffic or earnings or get rid of them if I don’t think they’re salvageable.

Promotion and Tools

• Post every article on at least two bookmarking sites like Xomba and SheToldMe.

• Research keywords for my planned articles with the Google Keyword Tool.

• Create Zazzle and Cafe Press shops related to my MichiganLover ID topics, i.e. lighthouses, Michigan travel.

• Promote these shops on Squidoo, HubPages and my website.

• Participate in Squidoo forums and learn from others on how to improve my earnings there.

Phew!  That’s enough.  Some of these I’m going to have to push myself with as I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired lately, but I’m getting back into the swing of things.

How about you?  Feel free to comment with your list or a link to your blog with your post about this year’s writing goals.  You can be specific like I was here or share what broad goals you’re aiming for.  Whatever your goals are, have a happy and prosperous new year.

 

My Great Backlinking Experiment AKA What the Heck is Backlinking?

Have you seen the term backlinks bandied about in writing forums, especially where web content is concerned?  Have you wondered what they are and why they’re important?

Quite simply, backlinks are links that point back to your online web content from outside the domain of that content.  For example, I will often create directory lenses at Squidoo that point to other articles I’ve written on a niche topic at different sites.

The reason they’re important is that Google seems to be more impressed by sites that have other sites linking to them.  When Google likes your work, it’s ranked higher in search engines and more easily found by the web audience and drives more traffic your way.

There are differing opinions on whether these backlinks are more useful if they are part of content webs or not.  A content web is the interlinking of articles at different sites such as when I post links to HubPages on a Squidoo lens and vice versa.

There is the theory that Google recognizes that it’s you linking to yourself.  I’m not sure I buy that.  But I’ve started to experiment with sites you can get backlinks from while earning with Google AdSense, and I’m doing this without creating content webs to see how this works out.  I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

In the meantime, here are the sites I’ve started experimenting with or plan on starting soon.  I’m throwing you to the wolves here as this is a bit of a link roundup where you’ll have to browse around each site and see what you think.  I’ll do individual reviews of each one as I gain more experience with each.

Basically, you can post links to your web content with a short blurb.  You don’t have to have a Google AdSense account and can just use it strictly for backlinking (but why not sign up with Google and earn a few bucks?).  With most of them, you also have the opportunity to earn referral fees.  Some of them you can actually write content for just as you would elsewhere.

I’ve already started posting article links with these two, so these links will have my referral info.  If you are uncomfortable with that, then by all means just do a Google search for the company names and check them out that way.

• Xomba

• SheToldMe

Here are a few I plan on starting sometime after the holidays (so no referral links yet).

• Snipsly

• RedGage

• Tagfoot

Disclaimer: As I said, this is a new experiment for me.  I’ve heard good things about these sites mainly from other HubPage authors.  But I can’t vouch for whether you will have a good experience with them (or me for that matter).  Enter at your own risk.

 

Demand Studios Offers Health Insurance to Freelancers

In a recent post, I reviewed Demand Studios as an opportunity for freelancers.  I don’t write for them now but do occasional title QA work.  They recently announced they will be providing health insurance benefits to freelance writers, copy editors and filmmakers who meet certain work requirements.

It looks like there are three monthly payment options to choose from.  Any freelancer including writers and artists know that it can be difficult to explain to some insurance companies that yes, freelancing is a “real job.”  They can of course shop around, but it’s good that Demand Studios has stepped up and is filling this need within the freelance community.

I stated in my previous post why I don’t write for them.  But I’ll reiterate that if I lost my job, Demand Studios would be the first place I would go to find immediate work with timely pay.  If my husband lost his job and we subsequently lost our health insurance, Demand Studios would be all the more an attractive option for me because of this development.

If you want to know more about this new benefit, visit the Demand Studios Options for Health Insurance page.

Here is my full review of Demand Studios.