Writing Online for Profit: Tips and Tricks

The Frugal Freelancer

2010-06-09T19:02:00.003-04:00

With the take over of eHow by Demand Studios, my posts here have somewhat slowed down. Writing for other sites has really opened up a whole new avenue for me, which is really exciting.

I would like to invite everyone to come over to my new blog, The Frugal Freelancer. As my work as a freelancer writer evolves, I have decided to bring my blogging to a new level as well. I have found that there are many people who have made freelance writing on the web a full time job. Freelance income combined with residual income allows for freedoms traditional careers do not.

Over the next few months I will be exploring this new aspect of freelancing to a new level. The Frugal Freelancer will be a reference for those seeking the same freedom and luxury of working from home as I am. The site will offer honest reviews and discussions about online magazines and other freelance writing opportunities.

Use Correct Grammar and Punctuation

2010-06-09T19:00:00.002-04:00

Resources:
Accept or except--Use the correct word in online writing by Peggy Hazelwood

Backlinks

2010-06-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

Below are some great articles about building backlinks to your articles and websites:

eHow 101 by David Sarokin
Building Anchored Backlinks with Content Websites and Article Directories by Chezfat
Using InfoBarrel for Backlinks by Chezfat

Adding Advertising Links to Your Website or Blog with Infolinks

2010-04-02T09:26:00.004-04:00

Tammy Frost posted some great information on her website the other day about Infolinks. They offer advertising for websites and blogs. They are the inline, highlighted ads you see on web pages and articles.

You can see Tammy's full post here: eHow Members: Make more money and be a featured visitor.

After applying you immediately receive a code to place in the HTML of your website, blog or article. I placed the codes as instructed and within two days I had inline text ads on my sites earning!

2009 eHow Earnings Poll Numbers are In

2010-02-05T11:15:00.005-05:00

Janet Ford, a contributing writer at eHow, posted a poll in the forums for writers to anonymously post their total 2009 income for eHow. The results are in!

What was your 2009 ehow income?

Poll Results: 296 Total Votes

84 Votes (28.4%)		Under $100
75 Votes (25.3%)		$100 - $499
31 Votes (10.5%)		$500 - $799
10 Votes (3.4%)		$800 - $999
55 Votes (18.6%)		$1,000 - $2,999
12 Votes (4.1%)		$3,000 - $4,999
18 Votes (6.1%)		$5,000 - $9,999
4 Votes (1.4%)		$10,000 - $14,999
2 Votes (0.7%)		$15,000 - $19,999
5 Votes (1.7%)		Over $20,000

As you can see there are several members who make a pretty nice chunk of change with their articles, still others who have made a nice stream of residual income for themselves. If they can do it, we all can do it too! Keep writing and check back for more tips and tricks...

Success Stories and Inspiration for Keeping your Goals

2010-01-31T21:52:00.003-05:00

Need some inspiration (or a reality check) to keep your online writing goals on track? Check out these fellow online content writers and their success stories:

List will be updated as I stumble across sites that are inspirational or detail driven, so bookmark this page or check back often!

Creating Residual Income for your Online Content Using RedGage - Tip 21

2010-01-30T11:21:00.005-05:00

A fellow Suite101 contributor, David Harris-Gershon, alerted me to a new do-follow site for promoting articles, blogs and websites, RedGage.

From their site RedGage is defined as, "RedGage is a website that pays you for your content and monetizes

your social activity. RedGage helps you make money for what you're already doing online and by building traffic to your content on RedGage you can maximize your earnings."

I decided to sign-up and give it a try. After completing the necessary profile info, activating the my membership and uploading only 9 links to my existing articles and have already begun earning. Yes it is only pennies, but in my opinion, any residual income is good residual income and when it begins to drive more traffic - yay!

RedGage pays in the form of Visa Gift Cards in increments of $25.00. My goal will be to upload all my content this week and I will report earnings at the end of February.

They also have a referral program and increase your earnings for the next month if you refer 3 people during the current week. Click to sign up for RedGage, add me as a friend, and please remember to use my member ID (riefderrico) when asked who referred you!

Update January 31, 2010 - So far I am really impressed! Yesterday I added 9 articles which began earning immediately. This morning there was $0.23 in my account for doing nothing but adding links. Today my goal was to add more links and categorize my articles into collections. With 148 links earnings are up to $1.94. Checkout this members profile earnings for the potential of this site.

eHow News: Contributors will be Compensated for eHow UK site earnings!

2010-01-30T09:00:00.001-05:00

Yes you read the headline correctly, eHow contributors will be receiving compensation for their cloned UK articles. eHow just released a video blog explaining the details. I actually had to replay it a couple times to make sure I had heard it correctly. Contributors that were affected by the cloned UK site will receive compensation for the issue with their January earnings. This payment will be received in early February.

This is great news for contributors and especially good news for those with large article libraries and those who have been contributors for a long period of time. I expect some of these "bonuses" will be quite significant since the creation of the UK site dates back to April 2009. This will be an interesting development to say the least - stay tuned!

Ehow Points - Tip 20

2010-01-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

Currently there are three levels in the eHow point system, Novice (0-299 points), Enthusiast (300-2,000 points), Authority (2,000+ points). These points are based on the number of articles and photos you have published as a contributor.

Each article by it self is worth 100 points. Each photo is worth 10 additional points. For example, if you write one article (100 points), add the main photo (10 points), and have three steps with one photo each (30 points), this particular article will add 140 points to your profile once it goes live.

Many contributors will argue points, stars, recommendations, ratings and such do absolutely nothing for your earnings. I agree that these statuses don't do anything to increase or decrease earnings directly. I emphasize the word directly because in my experience these items do influence these things indirectly.

Long before I was an eHow contributor I was an avid eHow user. I have been a member since 2007, but only published my first article in September 2009. Not knowing anything about eHow points, ratings, recommendations or comments, I used these things to determine if an article I clicked on was worth my time. If the person was recommended highly and if they had a lot of points, then of course I would read their article over someone who did not have these mile markers. These items consistently influenced my decision about an article long before I would read the lead.

Of course now I know better, but it is something to keep in mind. After all your target audience isn't other contributors but the average Joe.

Why use Photos in my Articles? - Tip 19

2010-01-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

Why use additional photos in my articles? I have been asking this exact question since I started. To me they junk it up and make it seem cluttered. The the pics do not match in style and content they can seem unprofessional and amateurish. Not to mention how much of a royal pain it is to find one picture, let alone 5 or 6 copyright free pics.

Well, now I know the secret.
Additional pics equals additional keyword action which equals additional traffic!

The actual photos by themselves do little for your article, but the keywords and keyword phrases, that's a whole other story. By adding photos to your article it gives you the opportunity to add additional higher paying CPC keywords. This is extremely important to bring in good paying ads for articles that are ad click based.

There are quite a few good paying keywords that are hard to put into the context of your article, but by using them as a picture captions it allows you to use even the strangest keywords, attract additional traffic and higher paying ads.

Content Writing for Freelance Writers, Where to Write - Tip 18

2010-01-08T23:33:00.002-05:00

I intended to write a post about different places to write content, publish articles and generally make money content writing online, but during my research for this post I stumbled a cross this article

in progress by a fellow eHow writer: 101 Best Websites for the Freelance Writer

I was absolutely floored by the content already posted. From them comments posted, Heather plans on writing reviews for the top 10 once they have been established. Check out all the sites she has listed and the different venues - it's great!

Remember, if you would like to write for Examiner.com, please be sure to use my ID number (22920) and shoot me an email. I'll notify my channel manager and send in a written referral.

Additional Resources:
Use Book Writer Promotion to promote your book by Peggy Hazelwood

Having Trouble Reaching Article Length? - Tip 17

2010-01-02T20:18:00.001-05:00

Have you ever gone to publish your eHow articles and been told it was too short? There is a simple solution to this problem. Instead of racking your brain for an additional sentence or step, just move a tip or warning to the sections above.

Tips and warnings do not count towards the word count of an article. By changing one of the items into an additional step or move it up to the opening paragraph you can easily extend the length of your article.

If you are only short a few words, try adding the words "see the resource section..." or "be sure to scroll down for additional tips" etc...

Change, Edit, Append to eHow articles without Resubmitting - Tip 16

2010-01-02T14:08:00.001-05:00

As of today, it is taking up to 36 hours for new eHow articles to be approved and go live. Starting the process again will take existing articles off line and cause readers to be re-directed, causing you to loose traffic. If you edit and resubmit an article it will go through the same process. There is a way to edit, change, and append existing eHow articles without resubmitting them.

Once an article has be approved and goes live you may want to add resources, pictures or make corrections once you have been able to view the live version. Go to the article's edit screen as usual. Click on the "expanded view" button at the very top of the edit screen, this will enable you to change all the parts of the article without having to change screens. Make your corrections or additions. Instead of clicking on the "Submit Article" button click the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen. It is that simple.

Finding Earnings when eHow Earnings Tool has a Glitch - Tip 15

2010-01-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Seems like this morning there is yet another glitch on the eHow site getting everyone in an up roar. Apparently the earnings tool has not updated for the year end and has a glitch. All earnings have disappeared and previous months can not be accessed via the "My Earnings" button on the left of the profile page.

Rest assured this is only a glitch things will be ironed out shortly. In the mean time past months earnings, as well as January earnings - although there may be nothing there yet - can be accessed through non-conventional methods.

First you will need to log into your eHow account and once you have accessed your profile page, copy and paste this URL into your browser:

https://forms.ehow.com/EarningsMonthly.aspx?period=december_2009

You can access any month this way by replacing December with the month you would like to view. For January's earnings, just replace December with January and 2009 with 2010.

It may be beneficial for you to keep a list or bookmark the URL's for the tools you use most often in case of a glitch or update.

Writing Online: What Works and What Doesn't

2009-12-04T08:20:00.002-05:00

November was a month to recovering from the eHow sweep, rewrite and rethink article placement and enjoying family and friends for the holiday. Now its time to get back to work before the next holiday week arrives.

December will be the fourth month for me and I think I'm finally getting the hang of what works and what doesn't. Keep reading to see what I have found out.

eHow
What works - short, quick how to articles; best earner - How to Make Money Easy and Still be a Stay at Home Mom; second best earner - How to Flush Your Water Heater
What doesn't work -Herbal Remedies and How to eHow articles; Holistic health related articles have been moved here to my Examiner page and I have created a second blog for all eHow related tips and tricks.
Opinion - Also it is my opinion that while after a certain period of time, articles may do fine on their own, eHow friends and the eHow community do assist in boosting an article potential in the first 4-6 months. (Note: Others will disagree with me on this point, but this is what I personally am experiencing.)
December Goal - To have a total of 50 eHow articles by the end of the month.

Examiner
What works - Time sensitive articles with an on topic twist; This is truely a news driven site. It is possible to drive traffic to evergreen articles, but for earnings, newsworthy articles published every 3-4 days min. are best; linking to other relevant articles in my library and other Examiner's, as well as sources and reference articles.

What doesn't work - Publishing newsworthy articles on top of one another (one in morning and one in afternoon), over a three week period articles posted in this manner did not drive additional traffic but actually seem to compete against each other.
December Goal - Publish 3-4 newsworthy articles each week;
Experiment - Try to work in several evergreen articles that work well with the newsworthy article and link back;

Suite -
What works - Still trying to figure out this site; and what works best.
What doesn't work - To be determined.

December Goal - Publish 2-3 articles in varying topics and 1-2 articles on topic per week to see what works and what doesn't

Looks like I'm going to be a busy camper this month. I am working on the November earnings numbers and will aim to post results this weekend.

Recovering Your Deleted Articles - Tip 14

2009-12-02T17:50:00.000-05:00

Hopefully anyone who is taking the time to write online is keeping either a hard copy or a back-up copy of their work. If you are not doing so, stop everything you are doing and save your work right now!
Sites do not guarantee your articles will not be delete or lost due to a computer glitch. Some sites (eHow) even have occasional sweeps where sub-standard articles are intentionally deleted by the site. Writers are responsible for their own record and back-up keeping.

Google's Cache Articles

Google keeps a cache with back ups of everything it indexes. These cache files are only available for a short time after the original is deleted, so you have to be quick or it may be lost forever.

Recovering Cached Articles
To recover cached articles it is best to have the exact title. This can usually be found on your earnings statement for the months prior to the article being deleted.

Go to Google.com, in the Google search box, put the title of the lost article in quotes. For common titles and phrases, add your screen name outiside of the quotes.

When you find your article, do not click on the title, this will only bring you to an error page. Click on the "cached" link just below the description. This will bring up the version of your article that was saved when Google cached your article, changes made after this may not appear.

From this page you can save your work by printing a hard copy or copy and paste it straight to your word processor.

What do you do with recovered misfits?
The very first thing you need to do is find out why it was deleted and fix it. Once it has been rewritten and corrected, you can publish it on another site, add to it or amend it. It is not, however, recommended to re-publish previously deleted articles. This could be a violation of the TOS.

How come my articles aren't earning yet? Have Patience - Tip 13

2009-12-02T17:35:00.002-05:00

Have patience with your articles, don't delete a low (or no) earner. Give them a chance to mature before deleting or tweaking any article.

It is not likely you will see hundred dollar payouts your first month. It is more likely you will see pennies (or nothing if your article isn’t keyword rich) the first month. Research consistently shows it takes time, 4 to 6 months – sometimes longer, for your article to reach peak monthly earnings.

Don’t let this discourage you. There are plenty of people who receive a nice supplemental income from freelance writing online and a few who actually make a living at it.

Update February 6, 2010:

eHow Poll Results: 47 Total Votes
How long does it take an article to mature?

4 Votes (8.5%)		1 month
6 Votes (12.8%)		2 months
12 Votes (25.5%)		3 months
25 Votes (53.2%)		4 months or longer

Promoting Your Articles, Website or Blog - Tip 12

2009-11-27T05:41:00.002-05:00

Starting to freelance, blog or run a website? Trying to get traffic but don’t know where to start? Then keep reading.

Increase Traffic with Social Network and Bookmarking Sites
Entering into the world of freelance writing can be tricky and a tad overwhelming for a beginner. Building readership and increasing page views is important to the success of your new career. Social networking sites and other internet communities allow you to submit or post your article, blog or web-site, increasing your page views and hopefully build readership.

Remember, increased page views does not necessarily equate to increased revenue. Increased pages view, increases the likelihood of readers clicking on adds which will increase revenue.

Difference between Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites
The difference between a Social Networking site and a Bookmarking Site is huge, but the purpose is the same - increase traffic, increase backlinks, and drive traffic to your articles.

A bookmarking site does just that, it keeps track of your favorite sites. It also creates another place your article can be found in the eyes of a search engine. This is called a backlink. Search engines use backlinks to determine the popularity of a particular site or page. The more popular an article the higher the ranking, the higher the ranking. Page ranking determines where on the results page your site or article will appear when someone initiates a search on the topic you wrote about.

A social networking site is where you meet up with friends and family to chat and keep up with each other. Sometimes sharing an article on one of these sites will cause the article to "go viral", meaning it will be e-mailed and shared all over the web. This is what you hope for, but it doesn't happen very often.

Although social networking sites are great place to share your work, don't overload your friends with articles and comments. They will eventually ignore you and possibly unfriend you.

Different Social and Networking Sites to Consider
If you already have accounts at any of the social networking sites below, those would be the place to start. If not, you can sign up for a free account.
Facebook - Share a link to your article on your wall.
Myspace - Include a link to your article, blog or site when you update your Status and Mood on your MySpace page.
Twitter - Tweet your article.
Digg - Submit your new article to Digg, be sure to include your keywords and tags.
Stumbleupon - This site is really cool. Based on your search criteria you can 'stumble' and it will take you to sites that fit your personality - stuff you'd never probably find on your own. Its great!
Delicious - Submit your articles to Delicious. Then go back and write a brief review. This site is really awesome because after you have listed your site, it will show you how many other people have your page bookmarked. You can see if you have any fans!
SheToldMe - Similar to Digg and Stumble but with the added benefit of Adsense and Chitika revenue, plus referral revenue!

For Advanced Users:
AddThis - is a tool bar for Internet Explorer and/or Firefox that will also add your site to social networking and bookmarking sites of your choice, but you have to enter your info each time.
SocialMarker - Is a site that will post your article to several bookmarking and social networking sites, but you only have to enter your info one time. The first time you use this site be prepared to be required to set up a lot of accounts before you are able to post. Some sites make you wait a few hours to a few days before submission is allowed.

Other possible submission sites you may want to check out are: Reddit, Ping-O-Matic (blogs), Buzz.Yahoo.com, Mixx, Folkd, Shoutwire, Mister-Wong.

A Word of Warning
Don’t go on Social Networking Sites to just post articles. You must participate and interact with others or be tagged a spammer.

Additional Sources:
How to Make More Money with Your Existing eHow Articles by Thomas Clough

Promoting your Articles with Search Engine Submission Sites - Tip 11

2009-11-27T05:15:00.001-05:00

Use free search engine submission sites to get your article noticed quickly. This step is essential for newsworthy or timely articles.

It can take an hour for search engines like Google to find your article or it can take weeks. It just depends on when they are scheduled to crawl the site again. You can submit your new articles directly to Google, Bing.com, and Yahoo.com. FreeWebSubmission.com will submit your article or site to 50+ directories and search engines.

Deleting an eHow Article or Draft - Tip 10

2009-11-27T05:06:00.001-05:00

You decided that your article will have better results at a different site or after reading it you really don't like it that much and want to delete it.

To Delete an eHow Article or Draft
Go into Edit as if you're going to change your article. At the top of the edit screen, click ‘expanded view’. At the bottom of the page, next to publish article in small type print (no box) click on ‘delete article’.

Notepad and Sending a Note to eHow Writers - Tip 9

2009-11-27T05:04:00.000-05:00

Sending a Note

I know when I first began contributing articles receiving encouraging words and comments on my articles really inspired me to keep writing. I try to pay it forward whenever I can.

Sending a note to another eHow member is much easier than sending a message, but only friends can send notes. Click on the members’ profile. On the far right hand side of the screen a little ways down you will see "Notes", in the upper right hand corner of that box click on "More Notes". Then scroll down to the bottom and there will be a box where you can type the note to your friend.

Revenue - Tip 8

2009-11-27T05:03:00.001-05:00

Where Does Revenue Come From?
Revenue is generated by the advertisements on our individual articles. All of the ads are based on the article content (by keyword). When a reader clicks on an ad, the advertiser is charged this is called, pay per click or PPC. Google (or whoever is providing the advertising for the site) then gives a share of this advertising revenue to the site owner (eHow, Suite, Infobarrel, etc...), who in turn shares it with the authors.

Occasionally, there is a ad that shows up on your article that is pay-per-view or PPV. Revenue is then generated every time your page is accessed and viewed. This amount is usually pennies in comparison to PPC ads, but is nice none the less.

How do they determine what my share is?
No one knows exactly how revenue is calculated, such as what percent goes to whom etc... it is all a big secret. It is believed that to many people would figure out the algorithm and cheat the system, so it is top-secret.

Can't I just have my friends and relatives click on the ads?
No you do not want to do this. Each time an advertisement is clicked the unique IP address is recorded as a check/balance for the advertisers. When the system detects an individual IP address clicking on ads over and over, it will throw out all that computers "clicks", none of them will count. They will not charge their customer and will not pay you.

This is also a major rule violation, called click fraud. Click fraud will get your Google account closed, your articles removed and account closed at most contribution sights.

Different Sites, Different Revenue Set-Up and TOS
Each site is different and each site has a different way of calculating your revenue. Be sure to read the TOS or terms of service for each site you submit your articles to. This will educate you not only on how you are paid but what is expected of you as a contributor.

It is best to concentrate your efforts on providing keyword rich, quality content.

Friends, Friends and More Friends - Tip 7

2009-11-27T04:49:00.000-05:00

The eHow community is very friendly and helpful for a beginner freelance writer. I have found everyone there absolutely wonderful.

With the exception of a few people, most recommend supporting the community by Reading other members work, Rating the articles, leaving Comments and Recommending authors you enjoy or have been helpful - RRCR. Although I have read this is not necessary, it is fun, a great way to meet like minded people and learn new things!

Make friends, LOTS of friends.

There are several places to make new friends here at eHow. To make friends with other newbies - Log into your profile. Click on the blue community tab at the top. Click on the members tab. You will see a rotating list of 50 new eHow members! There is also a direct link under their picture to add them as a friend. (This is where we all found you when you first came on board!)

Make friends with veterans.

These folks have been here a while and will be a wealth of information and inspiration. The most active members can be located on the featured members section of the Community main page. These are the 15 most recent visitors to the site and rotate frequently.

While friends comments and page views do not necessarily directly effect your earnings the proper comments they leave will strengthen your article. A stronger article will see increased rankings in the searches and hopefully increased traffic to your page, increasing revenue.

Don't send SPAM to your new friends.

Sending e-mails to your friends asking them to read your new article(s) is not only inappropriate, but by some is against the rules. This can get you and/or your article(s) "flagged" and unfriended. Not to mention there are better ways to drive traffic to your articles. (See Tip 11 and Tip 12 for tips on how to drive traffic to your articles)

Remember although having your friends read your articles may increase page views this will not increase your revenue. (See Tip 8 for where revenue comes from).

Using HTML to Create Addional Links on Your eHow Profile - Tip 6

2009-11-25T14:58:00.000-05:00

How many profiles have you seen with links to their website or other articles and wonder "How do they do that?" Well, they use HTML to add additional links to the "about me" section of their profile.

Adding profile links in HTML is not all that hard. Just follow the steps below:

1. Log into your eHow account and click on the Edit Profile link located on the left hand side under your avatar.

2. It is easier to write all the info you want to appear in this section first then add the HTML codes after. So write all the info you want to appear, save and check your profile for spelling, formatting and content. Once your are sure it is how you want it go back in to "edit profile".

3. Adding the HTML code can be tricky, but with practice it will become easier. (Check out this fellow eHow contributor's article on HTML for specific codes: How to Capture More Article Views with Links in Your Profile)

4. Save your changes.

5. Be sure to go back out to your public profile, check your formatting and links.

Update: Virginia Allain (fellow eHow writer) posted this link to one of her new articles: How to Change Text to HTML without Knowing What You're Doing. Check it out for an awesome step-by-step and a secret! Thanks Virginia