It has been a wonderful writing year for me in 2009 full of new and interesting writing opportunities and also a few flops. But, live and learn. I’ve very much enjoyed sharing new sites with all of my blog readers and trying them myself to see if money could be made. So now I’d like to share with you each of the sites I did write for in 2009 and what my experiences were with each of them. Remember though, that each person has their own likes and dislikes about certain sites and just because a site isn’t a good fit for me doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be for you. I just want to share my experiences and would love to hear about all of your experiences with different writing sites too. Here goes…
Associated Content – I’ve been with Associated Content (AC) for two years so this wasn’t a new site for me in ’09. However, I continue to add articles there from time to time and earn a few dollars each month. I consider it a small extra income and most of the articles I place there are re-prints. I made more money there this year than last and even moved up to the $1.60/1,000 level. I will continue adding to AC and see how it grows, although I am sure I will never get rich there. See my review of AC.
Constant-Content – Constant-Content (CC) has continued to be the highest-earning site for me and this year was no different. I enjoy the flexibility of writing for CC and also the fact that I can name my price on my articles. I haven’t spent much time writing for CC this year, yet I earned a good income from the articles I had placed there in the past. I will continue writing for CC in 2010 and maybe even go back to writing on a regular basis in order to increase my monthly income. Before trying CC, read my review of the site. So many people join and then are disappointed when they don’t follow the rules and guidelines. If you are a good writer, you can do well there. What do I mean by well? Some writers at CC earn $1000-2000 each month. When I was placing articles there part-time, I would earn anywhere from $100-350 a month. CC is really worth checking out if you are a good writer.
Demand Studios – This was my first year writing for Demand Studios (DS) and I did enjoy it at first but lost interest after awhile. When I find a topic there that I am excited about, I do enjoy writing for them. However, I didn’t like their new rating system because I thought it was demeaning to the writers. I think I will put DS on the backburner for now and only write an article from time to time in order to stay on their writer’s list in case I decide I’d like to add to my income with them. The truth is I can make more money at Constant-Content per article without having to deal with silly re-writes. I know several writers who love writing for DS and earn a good income there, so if it is the right fit for you, wonderful.
eHow – This was also my first year with eHow and I have enjoyed writing for them very much. They are my second-highest wage earning site for the year and next year I know I will make a good residual income from them too. I know that there are publishing problems at times and the sweeps can be frustrating, but I am going to hang in there for the long haul and see how much I can earn. Read my review of eHow.
Examiner – This was my first year with Examiner as their Minnesota Heart-Health Examiner and I have been enjoying writing for this site. I am not making as much money there as I’d hoped, but I plan to stick with it in 2010 and see how things go. I did get one referral there, and that made up for the low earnings. I also recently placed an article there that did get high earnings, so if I am careful with keyword choice I think I could do much better there. I know that some people make a good residual income there, so it is worth it for me to build up an article library there and see how things go. ( See my review of Examiner.)
FireHow – I did sign up for FireHow this year and gave it a try. I’m kind of on the fence about this site. My articles are earning money there, but not at the same rate as they do at eHow. Also, I have had trouble getting on the site over the past few weeks, so I’m not sure what is going on there. I do think this is a good site for writers who are starting out and could end up being as good a moneymaker as eHow in the future. So I’m going to keep it on my radar and see how things go with it. See my review of FireHow.
Life123 – When I first reviewed Life123, I never really intended to write for them. However, my curiosity got the best of me and I did submit two articles to see how quickly they earn the first $5.00 from the first 50 clicks. Unlike other sites I write for, those first 50 clicks are very hard to get even though I added the articles to every share site that I belong to. It took about 20 days to earn the first 50 views on one article I have posted there, so I have earned $5.00. However, since it takes 500 more views before I earn the next $5.00, I’m not holding my breath for that. I’m hoping that as Life123 grows, getting views will become easier. So I am going to keep my eye on this site and probably add one or two more articles to see how they do (I will try some popular keywords this time). I’m not sure yet if Life123 is a keeper for me, I’ll let you know later in 2010. See my review of Life123 Update: Life123 is no longer accepting articles.
Orato – I joined Orato this year and it seemed like a good up-and-coming writing site, but I am sorry to say that I am rather disappointed in them. My earnings have been extremely low considering that several of my articles were popular with readers for a long period of time. I’m going to place Orato on the farthest backburner and check in on them from time to time. The site does have the potential to grow in the future, but for now I need to spend my time on other sites that are more profitable for me. See my review of Orato.
Suite101 – If you have been reading my blog, you already know that I am disappointed in my earnings at Suite101. I’ve been writing for Suite101 since April of this year and currently have 30 articles there. Yet, I have only earned $48.50 there for the entire year. Not a good return considering these are original articles that I cannot place elsewhere for one year. I know there are people who earn a good residual income there; I’m just not one of them. However, Suite101 has been a good showcase for my writing and I have had some good offers for writing assignments from other websites that have read my articles there. I plan on completing my year contract with Suite101 and then I will decide if I will continue there or not. See my review of Suite101.
Textbroker – Earlier this year I did some writing for Textbroker and I have to admit I enjoyed writing for this site. However, the pay for articles is very low, so I moved on to Demand Studios who paid more per article. What I liked about Textbroker was the varying assignments available. I wrote many press release type articles and travel articles there that were fun to do. I doubt if I will go back to writing for Textbroker but I do think it is a good starter sight for writers who are new to Internet writing. Read my review of Textbroker.
Triond – I’ve been with Triond for about two years now, so it wasn’t a new site for me in 2009. I only add articles occasionally at Triond, so I don’t make a lot of money there. One problem I have with the site is that they only accept articles that have not been previously published. After they accept it you can place the articles on other sites. However, I can earn more money by placing new, fresh articles on other sites first, so that is why I rarely publish on Triond anymore. Also, since they have started placing your Google Adsense earnings directly into your Google account, I earn less in ad income there. Let’s face it – it takes a long time to get up to the $100 minimum payout at Google, so the $3-4 dollars I earn on Google ads at Triond each month are going to sit there for a long time before I can get the money. I doubt if I will be adding articles to Triond in 2010 as there are other sites I can earn more money at. Read my review of Triond.
Xomba – Xomba was a nice little surprise for me this year. I had never even thought of looking into Xomba until I noticed that you can place links to articles there like a sharing site. I really liked that feature, and the fact that you earn Google Adsense income from these links. I did add a couple of articles on Xomba and many article links and I will continue to do this in 2010. I earn a few cents here and there in my Google account from Xomba while promoting my articles on other sites. All these little additions to my Google Adsense account will hopefully get me closer to a payout (so I can enjoy that Triond money too!). See my review of Xomba.
Write Moms Blog – I started my Write Moms blog in April of 2009 with an idea of sharing information on writing and am so happy to see how far it has come in less than a year. I don’t earn a lot of money from my blog, but I’ve made many new writing connections and new friends which have really meant more to me than money could have. When you work for yourself, it can get boring at times. But with my blog, I am able to share experiences and hear about other writer’s experiences. As I’ve said before, Write Moms is like my office and my readers are like my co-workers. It’s been so much fun and I will continue sharing with my readers through 2010.
That’s it – my writing year in review. Let me know how you did in 2009 and what your goals are for 2010.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a safe, healthy and prosperous 2010.
Happy writing,
DeAnna
(Photo by Owais Khan Stock.Xchng 1205301)
