Revenue Share sites: Passive Income

Last week I talked about some of the content companies you can work for. This week, I wanted to introduce the topic passive income and revenue share companies and mention a few of the sites you can work for.

What is Passive Income?

Passive income is basically something that earns you money when you aren’t doing anything to earn it. Real estate can sometimes be considered passive income, interest generated from a bank account is passive income. And writing articles for a revenue sharing site is another way to generate passive income. You write the article once, but you keep earning money indefinitely.

A revenue share site usually gives you a percentage of the ad revenue your article generates for the site. They can (but don’t usually) pay you any money up front for the articles you submit. You submit an article and it generates income for you over time.

For example, I have written articles for eHow in the past. I submitted several articles there many months ago. Even though I haven’t done any work for eHow in a while, I still get a small deposit into my PayPal account every month from eHow.

Where to Get Started

There are many revenue sharing sites, and it can be intimidating to know where to start and which one(s) to focus on. My suggestion? The biggest one is to START SOMEWHERE! My biggest downfall is that I waited around way too long to get writing for some of these sites. I could be making a lot more money than I am now if I had just started.

Secondly, don’t focus on just one site. Try a few and see which ones work best for you. And sometimes sites change their rules or disappear entirely. You don’t want to see your earnings go to $0 because you only wrote for one site.

Here are some of the passive income sites you can try.

eHow

eHow is one of the most popular Revenue sharing sites. You don’t have to submit an application, you simply register and begin posting articles. If you do your keyword research, you can generate a decent income from eHow. (I highly recommend Willow’s free eHow tutorials. Very thorough.)

Currently, only American citizens can earn from eHow, so I’m sorry, friends in other countries. Also, be forewarned that eHow has started “sweeps,” where they delete articles that don’t meet their standards. So if you write for eHow, write a quality article and also save a copy of it on your hard drive, just in case. Join eHow.

Suite 101

Suite 101 is a respected company with very decent earning potential. Writers for Suite report earnings that are similar to (and many times better than) eHow earning potential. Writers for Suite 101 must apply and provide writing samples. In addition, they must follow strict guidelines when submitting articles there. Many people enjoy writing for Suite 101 because of the SEO keyword training and interaction with editors. Join Suite 101.

Askables.com

Askables is a newer rev. sharing site, so the word is still out on how much income potential is there. However, the nice thing about Askables is that they also pay an up front fee per article (after you meet certain criteria) in addition to the ad revenue. I think this one is worth checking out. Join Askables.

Bright Hub

I talked about Bright Hub on the Content Companies entry, so I won’t expound on them. They seem to be a great company and pay $10 up front for each article plus revenue sharing. Join Bright Hub.

Associated Content

Some people get their start on AC, and I admit I wrote one article for them once. But I never got into it, nor have I seen the income potential that other sites seem to have. Still, they may pay $3-$4 up front in addition to page view revenue. May be worth checking out. Join Associated Content.

Examiner

An Examiner writes about topics local to their area, and they require 3-4 posts per week, I believe. They are more of a “news” site, but they pay revenue share rather than an up front payment. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this site, but if I had the time (I don’t.), I’d definitely sign up and see for myself if there was potential there. Join Examiner.

Bukisa

Bukisa is a relatively new revenue sharing site and has a $10 minimum payout. I posted one article there and then haven’t done anything there since. I may or may not try again. Again, I’ve heard mixed reviews on this one. Some people are doing really well on it, and it may be worth your time to get in early on this site. Join Bukisa.

Infobarrel

I don’t have personal experience with Infobarrel – haven’t written anything with them yet, but it’s on my to-do list. I’ve heard good things and I’d like to check them out. Let me know if you have any experience with them. Join Infobarrel.

Hubpages

Hubpages is another one that seems to have great potential, but I haven’t given it a chance (if I had the time , I would.) I’m getting enticed by all the people who seem to have success there, but I can only take their word for it. Join Hubpages.

Squidoo

I’m putting Squidoo last because it seems to be on everyone’s ‘do not like’ list. But there are still people who use it and like it, so I’m including it. One of the main complaints I’ve heard is that the company changed their policy and locked a bunch of ‘lenses’, thereby costing people income and time. Try it if you want to. I think I’m going to avoid this one. Join Squidoo.

And those are the main revenue share sites I know about. I have recently decided to start focusing a specific amount of time on passive income every week and will update once in a while about my results. Right now my efforts are on eHow, Suite 101, and Askables. If time opens up I’ll try Infobarrel, Examiner, and Hubpages.

Are there any other passive income sites I’ve missed? What are your experiences with revenue sharing sites?

*Full Disclosure: I have included referral links on some of the links in this post. That just means that if you sign up under me, I’ll make a little money, too. (It won’t take money from you, just adds a little for me.) Thanks!

Find Writing Jobs Part 1: Content Companies

I promised long ago to post some of the ways to find freelance writing jobs. I am finally here to fulfill my promise! Now, there are MANY ways to find jobs, and where you look depends on what kind of jobs you want and where you are in your career. I’m going to start with the absolute beginner and will do a series of posts on getting freelance writing jobs. Today we’re going to focus on some of the content companies you can write for.

Benefits of Writing for Content Companies

Content companies usually have a ton of available work, so you can write all you want. Plus, because these companies hire a lot of writers, they don’t usually expect you to write a certain amount per day or per week. You’re free to choose your hours and the amount of writing you do.

The Drawbacks of Content Companies

There are drawbacks, of course. The pay is usually much lower than if you were to write for a private client. Notoriously low. And some content companies are known for their crabby editors or other ridiculous rules to follow. Content companies are not for everyone. But they can be a great way to get your foot in the door and start your freelance writing career.

Content Companies to Check Out

Demand Studios

Those who write for Demand Studios (DS) have multiple article topics and types to choose from. Article length is generally around 300-400 words, and the pay goes from $7.50 – $20 per article. Most articles pay about $15 a piece. The work there is fairly easy once you get the hang of their style guides, and they pay by PayPal once a week. A word of caution with DS – this is one of the companies with sometimes capricious editors, so working there can be frustrating at times.

That said, if you like to write “how to” type articles and can write fast, DS is an easy way to earn cash. I know some writers who earn the bulk of their income from DS – earning $2,000 – $3,000 a month. So it’s definitely possible to make a living doing this. I write for DS ocassionally, and I find it to be an easy filler when I don’t have other clients to write for. I couldn’t do it full-time like some do, but I still like it.

How to get hired with Demand Studios. Make sure you let them know in your application any web writing experience you may have. If you’ve written a good “how to” article at eHow.com (or elsewhere), be sure and use that as a writing sample. They want to know that you can get their writing style and have a little web experience. If you don’t, sign up for eHow.com right now and write a couple of articles there (make sure they’re well-written) and use them as samples. If DS rejects you at first, prepare a couple more articles and apply with a different email address.

Textbroker

The pay at Textbroker is more dismal than some, but they are less picky about who they hire, so if you’re just getting started and need some experience before trying out some other, more lucrative gigs, you may want to give Textbroker a chance. Writers who apply here must write a sample, which is then judged by the editors and given a rating. Your rating determines your rate of pay, though each writing job your complete there can help your rating go up (or down.) Textbroker pays on the 10th and the 25th of every month, though your account must have at least $10 and you must request a pay-out.

A rating of “2″ will get you 0.7 cents per word (not 7 cents per word, 0.7. See what I mean about dismal?), and a “5″ rating garners 25 cents per word, though most articles aren’t in that price range. Most of the articles there go for about 1 cent per word. Not a way to get rich, but it can be a starting point. Plus, you can work with clients for “Direct Order” and can ask for a better per word rate once you’re established. There is almost always plenty of work there, and some people report great success there.

How to get hired with Textbroker. All you have to do with Textbroker is go to their author registration page and sign up. After you activate the account, sign in and complete a short writing sample assignment. They rate that sample and then let you know where you stand.

eCopywriters

I’ve noticed that eCopywriters works a lot like Textbroker. The pay is a little better, but it doesn’t seem to have as many available assignments. Pay for articles starts at 2 cents per word. It goes up the better your rating gets, but I don’t know for sure how high the pay goes. They pay on the 1st and the 15th, but some people have reported a more haphazard pay cycle.

I have not personally written for eCopywriters, but it seems to be an ok company that actually does pay its writers. They hardly ever seem to have any open jobs available, but it still may be worth getting hired on with them, in case another company doesn’t work out.

How to get hired with eCopywriters. Getting hired here is about the same as with Textbroker. You sign up on their registration page. Then after activating your account, sign in and complete a writing assignment. If a week goes by and you don’t hear back from them, go ahead and send an email to them. They are sometimes slow with getting back to their new writers.

Bright Hub

I signed up with Bright Hub but never worked for them, so my knowledge is limited. They pay $10 per article (300-750 words), and article topics are technology oriented. The pay isn’t a lot, but they also do revenue sharing, which means if your article is popular, it will earn you more money. You are also paid for backlinks. They pay once a month, once you reach the minimum payout of $20.

How to get hired with Bright Hub. Fill out the writer registration page. They ask for your writing experience and credentials as well as an optional (but recommended) writing sample.

wiseGeek

I’m not as familiar with wiseGeek, so I’m going to share a little info I found on a fellow writer’s site, The Freelance Homewriter. She is another good resource for finding jobs. Anyway, she says that the articles pay $10 each, and she mentioned that the editors are very helpful and nice, which is always a plus!

How to get hired with wiseGeek. From the FAQ page on their site: From time to time, wiseGEEK seeks out additional freelance writers to regularly contribute to wiseGEEK. If you’re interested, you can send some writing samples (in the body of your email, not as an attachment) to catherine [at] wisegeek -dot- com. Writing samples don’t have to be similar in format and style as wiseGEEK articles, although they are preferred. If the samples are something we’re looking for we’ll get back to you with more details about the job and let you know your next steps.

LoveToKnow

I don’t have any personal experience with LoveToKnow, but I know that it’s a legit site. Here’s what they say on their website:

“Talented, experienced writers with a strong expertise and interest in any of our channel topics may apply to write for LoveToKnow. Pay for approved writers starts at $20 per 650-word article, with a minimum of 20 articles required each month, pending acceptance.

Writer requirements:

Extensive experience with the chosen topics

At least one year of professional writing experience; editing experience a plus

Minimum of six months writing Internet content, including work with a web-based content management system

Access to computer, stable high-speed Internet, telephone service and Yahoo! Instant Messenger”

For me, the minimum 20 articles per month would be too much of a commitment. But others might be happy with that. It looks like payment starts at 3 cents per word, which isn’t bad at all.

How to get hired with LoveToKnow. Looks like you need to fill out their application page, which includes a resume, two writing samples and other information about you.

In conclusion…

There are many more companies I could write about, and I definitely will if there’s interest. I will continue to post in the “Find Writing Jobs” series once a week, so come back again! I love to help people find a way to write and work from home. Please feel free to leave a comment or drop a line if you have any questions or if there’s something you need help with.

Passive Income – a new commitment

I’ve written on this blog about passive income before. And I had big plans to make passive income a reality for me. What actually happened? Life with a baby – I’ve been busy, and I’ve also been writing content articles because I’ve needed the money up-front.

I’m tired of writing for someone else making $.02 per word or even $.01 per word. It just isn’t worth it to take time away from my baby and make $5-$10 per article. I’m not going to do it anymore. It’s killing me!

So the new plan. I’m going to work as hard for myself as I was working for other people. And I’m going to be earning  $500 per month in passive income by the end of the year. I know that’s not a lot compared to some, but it’s a good start for me. From there, I’ll just keep growing my income.

How am I going to do it? I’ll tell you.

I’m going to purchase Maria’s ebook that details how to maximize earnings on eHow (I’ll review it on here in a future post.) She is the known expert on making money on eHow – she is earning around $1,000 per month from the site. Amazing! I’ve resisted buying her book because I hate spending money. But guess what? I’m taking my business seriously, and you have to spend money to make money.

Then I’m going to write 20 articles per month on eHow for the next 3 months. I’ll review my progress at that point to see whether I increase or decrease article amounts. (Some people write hundreds of articles per month, but I know myself and am being more conservative.) Join eHow and start writing yourself! You can see my profile on eHow here.

I’m also going to write 20 articles per month on Bukisa for 3 months. I haven’t done anything with Bukisa yet, but I’ve heard decent reviews. Their payout is only $10, so it’s worth trying out. Join Bukisa here if you’re interested.

I’m launching a new blog in June. Blogs aren’t really passive income, since you have to regularly update, but I’m including it anyway. I’m giving myself until June to research my niche, build the site, and get that going. I’m not expecting it to be a big earner at first, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, so I have to give it a shot.

I plan to create a niche website by the end of the year. Lis writes a compelling blog post on how she is going to earn a passive income. I will probably create several of these, but I’m starting with just one and moving from there. These websites, unlike blogs, don’t require constant updates.

I may do several other things – submit articles to article directories, create a Hub Page or two, and write an ebook. We’ll see how the rest of it goes first.

And, to keep my on track, I will do a weekly passive income post where I share my ups and downs and what is working and what isn’t.

p.s. Do you twitter? Follow me on twitter and I’ll follow you back.

*Photo courtesy of pfala

Semi-Passive income: Bukisa

Have you heard about Bukisa? It’s the new content site that everyone is talking about these days. I just signed up today, so I don’t know a whole lot yet, but I’ll tell you what I do know.

Bukisa is a lot like e-How, in that you submit content and then get a share of the ad revenue. Unlike e-How, it seems that Bukisa shares their payment structure with you.

Bukisa allows you to invite others to join, and when they do, you earn money on top of what you already are making. (You can sign up under me here.)

Unlike e-How, Bukisa requires a $50 payout, which is a bit high. e-How only requires $10 before you reach payout. However, people who have joined Bukisa have shown promising results, so it probably won’t take long to reach payout.

Some people, like Dana, are doing experiments where they add articles for a month and then log their results on their blogs. I think I will do the same. I will probably not log my final results until early January, but look for it around that time. I’m looking forward to trying it and seeing everyone else’s results. If you want, come back and share your results with us.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a new source of semi-passive income, give Bukisa a try. Add me as a friend if you want to – My username is Holli. I’ll see you there!

Freelancing as a parent

Well, as you can see, I haven’t posted to this blog lately. Pregnancy really took a lot out of me. Two weeks ago I had my beautiful baby boy, and motherhood takes a lot out of me as well.

But I am looking to balance my life and start blogging again as well as ease back into working. I am slated to take six to eight weeks off of my freelance writing, which will be a good amount of time to learn how to manage taking care of a baby as well as do all the other things I need and want to do (like shower, eat, sleep…you know, the basics.)

In eight weeks, I’ll be a pro at caring for my boy (I hope!) and will be able to manage my writing load again. I will also be able to say that I’m a work at home parent.

But until then, I’ve decided to work on my own writing. I mostly want to experiment with passive income and learn some ways to increase my earnings each month. Writer Gig shares her residual income results each month, and she definitely inspires me to increase my earnings. She earned over $600 this past month in residual income. I would be more than thrilled to be earning that much.

My goal is to be earning $100 a month in passive income by the time I am done with maternity leave. Can it happen? I don’t know, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I signed up for eHow a couple of months ago and haven’t done much with it. I think I’ll get going on that and see how it goes. I’m also going to look into writing an ebook, promoting my blogs better, and getting involved in affiliate programs.

I’ll update here with more information as I get it.

What would you like to see on this blog?

Hi! I just wanted to let any readers know that I am alive, and I will be back to posting regularly. Right now I am working to try and get a website set up (finally), and it’s taking more time than I thought it would. I think that having a business website is important, but it sure isn’t easy!

Anyway, I’ve had several people contact me in the past while, asking questions about getting started as a freelance writer. I have several post ideas that I’d like to write in the next while that I hope will help those of you just starting out. Here are just some posts I’ll be writing in the near future:

• Finding writing jobs – a series of posts that shares several methods for finding the jobs
• Finding your niche
• PLR – a series covering the basics of what it is, how to do it, and the pros and cons of it
• Updating your resume
• Creating a business plan

Those are just a few of the articles I’m planning to share here in the near future. Is there anything else you’d like to see here? I truly want this blog to be useful to you, the reader. So if there’s something you’d like me to cover, speak up! I am absolutely not an expert, but I am happy to share what I know.

Where to Start as a Freelance Writer

I talked to a friend today who wants to get me in contact with a woman who dreams of becoming a freelance writer but doesn’t know how to make it a reality. I can so relate to this woman, because that was me nine months ago.

When you’re on the outside of the freelance writing world looking in, it seems quite daunting and elite. I didn’t know how to break in or even know if I had the ability to do it. I had the sad thought that I’d probably die without ever realizing my writing dream.

But here I am, a *nearly* full-time freelance writer. And if I can do it, then you can do it, too. Here are my three main tips for getting there:

1. Get some writing samples and clips – immediately! This is probably the most important tip I can think of. Just about every job requests that you send samples. If you don’t have any, you can’t apply.
2. Learn from other writers who are successful. There are so many people out there who are willing to help you and can provide advice and tips. WAHM.com has a writing forum that I sometimes frequent. The people there are so nice and helpful. There are plenty of other forums and writing blogs, so start looking!
3. Start applying for the jobs. I’ll do a separate post on this next time. There are so many ways to find writing jobs that it really warrants its own topic.

So how do you get writing samples if you don’t yet have any writing gigs? These days, it’s fairly easy.

• You can simply write something. Fire up a word document and write an article on a topic you know about. Voila! You have a writing sample.
• You can create a blog. This is what I did. I chose a topic I was interested and wrote quality articles there as often as I could. I’ve used these blog posts as samples many times. If you plan on applying for blogging jobs, creating your own blog is a must.
• You can write for content companies. Associated Content, Helium, eHow, etc. are ways that you can write some articles and get published (and potentially make a little money as well.) I’ve heard that Helium doesn’t pay very well, and that Associated Content is paying less than they used to. I decided to try out eHow the other day, so I’ll let you know how that is.

How to Get Started as a Freelance Blogger

I love being a freelance writer. I have always loved writing, and I’m happy I can make a living at it. I’ve discovered, however, that my real passion lies with blogging. Not only do I get the benefit of instantly seeing my words on the Internet, but I also get to use a more intimate, conversational tone than with other writing. Not to mention that I love interacting with blog readers and other bloggers. There is nothing like it.

There are downsides to blogging, don’t get me wrong! Blogging jobs can often come with a daily posting requirement, which can get tiring after a while. Also, a recent article in the NY Times compares the blogging industry with sweat shops. So it’s not always rainbows and roses. But so far, I’ve found that the benefits of blogging outweigh the drawbacks.

As of yet, I haven’t made the transition to earning the bulk of my income from blogging, but it’s something I’m working toward. If you find yourself in the same situation, wanting to make the transition to full-time freelance blogger, welcome! Here are some of the suggestions I have for making it a reality.

1. Create your own blog. If you don’t already have a blog, start one immediately. Potential employers will want to know what kind of blogging experience you have. You can showcase your blogging skills on your own blog. You can use free platforms like Blogger or WordPress, or take it a step further and blog on your own domain. Choose a blog topic you are passionate about!
2. Learn from the experts. There are many blogs out there on how to be successful at blogging, and you will find that some of them are well worth the time investment. Take some time and browse the following useful blogs: Problogger, Daily Blog Tips, Men with Pens, Network Blogging Tips
3. Network with other bloggers. Take time to read other blogs in your niche, making comments on their blogs where appropriate. Bloggers are usually a friendly bunch, and I’ve found that most of them are more than willing to support and friendship other bloggers. Networking is a good idea not only because it may help you professionally, but also, you get to “meet” many wonderful people who can become your friends.
4. Apply for blogging jobs. Once you have established your own blog, you can start applying for blogging jobs. It is best to apply only to jobs with a blog topic you are interested in (and preferably have experience in). Otherwise, you’ll burn yourself out writing about things you don’t really care about. Here are some of the job boards that list blogging jobs:

• Freelance Writing Jobs
• About Freelance Writing
• Problogger Job Board
• CopyBlogger Job Board
• Ghostblogging
• Blogger Jobs.BIZ
• Freelance Blogging Jobs

I can’t promise that breaking into full-time freelance blogging is easy, because it isn’t. It takes time and effort, just like anything else worthwhile. But if you truly want to become a full-time blogger, it can be done!

*Photo courtesy of Andrew

Doubling my income in a month

The month of March was pretty crazy around here. I worked hard at increasing my writing income, but like all things, it didn’t exactly go as planned. As I said before, my goal was to double my income in one month. Looking back on that goal, it was quite foolish! But that was the goal, so let’s see how I did.

One plan was to ask existing clients for more work, which I did. It worked quite well, for the most part. I greatly increased my writing income with some clients. However, I have one client who has so far supplied most of my monthly writing income. This client didn’t give me any projects at all this month, which means I had a huge deficit to overcome!

Another plan was to apply for more writing jobs. This is the area in which I missed the mark the most. I didn’t significantly increase my job applications, and as a result, got no new clients this way. I will work on this in April.

I did, however, advertise my writing services on craigslist. I received several e-mail inquiries, and one potential client from this. We’ll see how that plays out. I will be trying it again, though.

I looked into PLR income, but so far haven’t made that a reality yet. I’m not sure how lucrative it will be anyway, but I am going to give it a try and I’ll let you know how that goes.

So, did I double my income in one month? That’s the big question, isn’t it? Well, from the methods listed above, no. I actually greatly decreased in income because of the big client I mentioned. However, I did do something unexpected that I hadn’t counted on: I sold a blog.

I didn’t sell it for a ton of money (see Daily Blog Tips for that kind of thing), but I did sell it for a reasonable amount, considering that it doesn’t even have its own domain name. And because I made this sale, I can say that yes, I DID double my income in the month of March.

I have no more blogs to sell (or at least I think I don’t – I’d like to in the future though!), so it will be a bit trickier in the month of April to maintain my income goal. But I think I can do it.

Upgrading my writing business

I started my freelance writing career five months ago in October 2007. I had kind of a lucky, random start that came when I wasn’t really looking for it. I am proud of the fact that my income has been slowly increasing, though slower than I had hoped.

Despite the fact that my income is not what I’d like it to be, I got a bit complacent in my business. I applied to fewer writing gigs, and eased up on writing for current clients. Most of that was health related, but it didn’t bode well for my business.

In the last couple of months, a financial crisis of sorts caused me to reevaluate my business plan. My husband is a PhD student, so his income for the next couple of years is limited with no potential to increase. It’s really my income that has the possibility to keep us in the black every month.

For several reasons, it took almost two months to get a paycheck from my biggest client. Suddenly, we were out of money and in panic mode. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, and I understood a lot better why you should never put all your eggs into one client’s basket. Because of this experience, I have decided to kick my business (and my butt) into high gear.

What is my plan? Well, the monetary goal is to double my income by the end of March. Lofty goal? Yes. Achievable? I think so, but it requires a lot of work and dedication on my part. Here are some of the avenues I plan to pursue in order to reach my goal. If you have any other ideas, feel free to share them with me!

1. Ask existing clients for more work. My health over the past few months hasn’t been so great, so I haven’t worked as much as I could have. I plan to ask my clients for more work if they have it.
2. Secure new clients (especially higher paying clients). This involves searching websites and trying out bidding sites. Here are a few of the places I plan to search for jobs:

   Freelance Writing Gigs
   About Freelance Writing
   Sitepoint
   Digital Points Forum
   LinkedIn
   GetaFreelancer
   RentaCoder
   Scriptlance
3. Investigate PLR income. I know this method is somewhat controversial, with some writers heavily condemning it. I don’t personally have any objections to it, and mainly view PLR as a stepping stone to get to where I want to be.
4. Advertise my writing services. Any suggestions where? I’ve heard that craigslist, sitepoint, and digital points forum are options. Anyone know of better places?

That’s my tentative plan for now. I’m getting a bit frustrated with my current income, but I know that with hard work, I can change things and make it better. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them! I’ll be posting my progress this month to let you know how it goes.