Writing Articles For Money - The Truth

I'm sure you have read it at least once -- writing articles for money is one of the simplest ways to success online. I beg to differ. While it's not impossible to make a good living writer and/or blogger, it does take special soul to write well and write often.

Moreover, you must love writing -- especially during the times when you are at a total loss for words. It's called writers' block but it goes a lot deeper than a simple block. Whenever I am faced with this situation, I write gibberish but I write.

If you plan to write articles for money, but don't have a real passion for writing, it may prove a little more difficult than the hyped ads have led you to believe. If you do have the passion, things will go a whole lot smoother.

If I haven't scared you away with the truth about writing online -- let's continue. Below, you will find some great resources and information that will help you get started with your writing venture, or expand on your current efforts.

For sure, there is no shortage of sites and blogs that will pay you to write articles. In fact, the sheer number of choices can be downright confusing.

The purpose of this Hub is to strip away the confusion and give you a birds-eye view of the article writing landscape. Each review and synopsis will be in it's own module for quick and easy reference.

I will attempt to provide you with the most important information and data about each resource and writing job. This approach should help you make a well-educated decision about where to focus your writing efforts for maximum results.

http://www.hubpages.com

Since I will be focusing most of my efforts on creating Hubs, I will do my best to remain unbiased regarding the writing opportunities with HubPages.

Required Writing Skills: Beginner to Professional

As long as your Hubs deliver beneficial information and are not filled with obvious spelling and punctuation errors, you will do fine writing for HubPages.

Income Potential: Minimal to High

While HubPages appears to pay better than most over the long haul, your earnings will be a direct reflection of your efforts. Do some keyword research to find hot, in-demand topics to write about.

Now, let's look at the many ways you can get paid to write for HubPages. While some Hubbers claim that they earn more Adsense income by disabling HubPages Ad Program, I strongly suggest you activate all your residual income options.

• Google AdSense - This will generally be your best earner overall. Last I read, HubPages displays ads under your Adsense account approximately 60% of the time and 40% of the time, under the Hubpages Adsense account. This is great profit sharing method and sends your Adsense earnings directly to your PayPal account.
• HubPages Ad Program - This program allows you to get paid from companies and individuals who pay to advertise on HubPages. When this program was first launched, HubPages stated that nine beta tester Hubbers experienced an average earnings increase of 50% over a two month (January and February 2011 ) period.
• Amazon - If you don't have an Amazon Affiliate ID, get one. This will allow you to earn commission when a reader makes a purchase via an Amazon ad or link on your Hubs. Create an account by going to http://www.amazon.com/affiliate
• eBay - Similar to Amazon, you will earn commissions when someone joins or buys something from eBay through an eBay link or ad on your Hubs. Visit the eBay Partner Network to create an account.

All earnings are sent to the PayPal account you specify in your account area. Note that Adsense pays once your earnings total $100.

TIP: Read my HubPages. I do extensive keyword research prior to writing and posting Hubs. You will learn a lot just by reading and asking questions via the comments section.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/

YCN/AC is a hybrid content aggregator model/social community model. Yahoo bought the company in 2010. Even with the disadvantages associated with Yahoo Content Network, it still offers some great benefits to writers at all experience levels.

Required Writing Skills: Beginner to Professional

This is an excellent venue for beginning writers. They will generally make an offer on fair and better articles. Watch you spelling and punctuation and the vast majority of your articles will be accepted.

With that said...I can attest to the fact that I have come across hundreds of articles in which the spelling and punctuation left much to be desired. The good news is that the "bar" is low -- which makes Yahoo Contributor Network and excellent launching point for beginning online article writers.

Income Potential: Minimal to Moderate

One of the predominant complaints is the rate of pay they offer for submitted articles. In my humble opinion, this is offset by the ease of entry for beginning article writers.

There are three primary ways to get paid for your articles on Associated Content.

1. Up-Front Payments - While YCN claims that they offer up-front payment ranging from $4 to $20 for each article submission, you would do well to set your expectations at $3 to $4 per submission.

With up-front payments, you have to options. You can sell Exclusive Rights. With this option, you can not publish your article on your site or other sites.

Your second option -- sell Non-Exclusive Rights to your article. This allows you to post the article anywhere you choose after publication by Yahoo Content Network.

My suggestion, go with Non-Exclusive Rights. I have tried it both ways and the additional income from selling Exclusive Rights was negligible. I earn more by posting may non-exclusive articles to sites like EzineArticles.

2. Performance Payments - Initially, you earn $1.50 for every 1,000 views your articles get. After reaching a certain "Clout" levels, you earn $1.55 to a maximum of $2.00 per 1,000 view.

3. Performance Only Payments - There will be times when you submit articles with low demand. YCN will decline it and suggest that you publish the article and accept "performance only payments." You will not get an up-front payment but you will earn $1.50 to $2.00 per 1,000 views.

In most cases, you may want to see if the article would be more valuable by publishing it somewhere else. The only requirement is that the alternate publisher generate earnings greater than the $1.50 to $2.00 per thousand views offered by YCN.

All payments for article submissions are sent to your PayPal account.