Well, my earnings for November were highly disappointing. I eanred just over $39, which is a few dollars more than my average, but much lower than I anticapted given my "experiment". I have yet to hear anything regarding my articles being taken down/suspended/or however else the site puts it since the switch to Yahoo! Voices.
I am still averaging higher page view wise at Suite 101 and my Hubpages are doing well. I changed the site to a combination of HubPages and Adsense earnings. That led to a little over $2 in Adsense earnings and close to $2 in Hubpages earnings within a week. Given that I am still in the process of figuring out keywords and uploading information, I think I am doing pretty well.
I plan on creating Xomba and InfoBarrel accounts and spreading my work around the different sites, which should increase earnings. I also got approved as a dessert Examiner, which should be fun. Soon I will have the following sites for passive income:
Yahoo! Voices
HubPages
Suite 101
Examiner
Squidoo
InfoBarrel
Xomba
When I factor in my Kindle plans, I only need to make $300 per site to make enough to support myself without needing to write articles for others. Keep reading my blog and see how close I come.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
December Goals
Here is what I have coming up for December:
Rent - $565
Electric - $130
Water - $35 (technically due in January)
Cable - $170 (one month behind)
Gas - $100 (estimate)
That brings me up to $1,000 total. Then come the other "expenses"...
Christmas Gifts - $500 (total estimate! I have three nieces, two nephews, two sister-in-laws, two brothers, parents, and a boyfriend).
Christmas Cookies - $100 (another estimate, want to try new recipes this year)
Christmas Decorations - $100 (lost most of mine during the last move)
Add that $700 to the other total and factor in the costs of living expenses, i.e. gas and food, and the price keeps rising.
To reach my goals, I want to get two ebooks loaded onto the Kindle platform. Both are haunted tales and both just need a final edit and cover finished. I also plan on writing for five content mills/private clients and publishing five articles per week on Suite 101 and possibly YCN. The YCN articles will likely be page views only and uploaded as "Display Only". I also have a chance to write for another client that will put $200 to $500 in my pocket each week, which would be very nice right now!
Rent - $565
Electric - $130
Water - $35 (technically due in January)
Cable - $170 (one month behind)
Gas - $100 (estimate)
That brings me up to $1,000 total. Then come the other "expenses"...
Christmas Gifts - $500 (total estimate! I have three nieces, two nephews, two sister-in-laws, two brothers, parents, and a boyfriend).
Christmas Cookies - $100 (another estimate, want to try new recipes this year)
Christmas Decorations - $100 (lost most of mine during the last move)
Add that $700 to the other total and factor in the costs of living expenses, i.e. gas and food, and the price keeps rising.
To reach my goals, I want to get two ebooks loaded onto the Kindle platform. Both are haunted tales and both just need a final edit and cover finished. I also plan on writing for five content mills/private clients and publishing five articles per week on Suite 101 and possibly YCN. The YCN articles will likely be page views only and uploaded as "Display Only". I also have a chance to write for another client that will put $200 to $500 in my pocket each week, which would be very nice right now!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
AC Experiment = Huge Failure
Well, my Associated Content Experiment (now known as the Yahoo! Voices Experiment, I guess) was a huge failure. I no longer even look at the number of articles I submitted because each came with a bright red rejection notice. I only submitted two articles since the last time I posted and each came with a rejection attached.
I decided to do some more on haunted places because (a) I was getting a reputation as the haunted girl and (b) the articles do fairly well year-round. I submitted two and both came with a rejection. One was on ghosts of a major amusement park, which surprisingly no one covered on AC before. It was rejected because apparently it is not a popular search term. I beg to differ, given that it is commonly discussed on forums/message boards, but very little articles actually exist.
The other article was rejected because I did not cite sources. That was my own fault, but given the other rejection, I doubt the editor would have approved it anyway...
I decided to do some more on haunted places because (a) I was getting a reputation as the haunted girl and (b) the articles do fairly well year-round. I submitted two and both came with a rejection. One was on ghosts of a major amusement park, which surprisingly no one covered on AC before. It was rejected because apparently it is not a popular search term. I beg to differ, given that it is commonly discussed on forums/message boards, but very little articles actually exist.
The other article was rejected because I did not cite sources. That was my own fault, but given the other rejection, I doubt the editor would have approved it anyway...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
YCN/Associated Content Vs. Suite 101
I mentioned in a past post that I started writing for Suite 101. I have a total of 30 articles on the site and I am still learning the basics of posting, providing sources, and figuring out the right voice. On Associated Content, I currently have a little over $24 in page views for the month, which is ridiculously low. I don't know if Panda reared its ugly head again or what.
On Suite 101, I'm noticing that my page views climb a little bit each day. I currently have much less in earnings, but also a lot less articles on the site. Suite 101 picked two of my wedding articles and featured those on the Home & Style section. I also had another article picked as a featured article on the home page! That was incredibly exciting for me!
I have to say that I'm actually liking Suite 101 a lot better than Associated Content right now. The editors are incredibly nice and leave comments that actually help. An editor pulled one article, sent me a message about finding sources, and when I added a sources, it went live again with a note from the editor, saying she appreciated my hard work.
With Associated Content, you get one shot and that is it. If an editor does not like one thing, your article is rejected for upfront payment. Suite 101 does not do upfront payments, but the editors are much more helpful. As of Saturday, I had around 700 page views and already exceeded the page view payment from YCN. I have the highest clout level, so I earn $2 per 1,000 page views at YCN.
Once I get more attuned to the type of articles and keyword basics, I think I can earn 3+ times on page views from Suite 101. I would like Associated Content to start buying some of my articles, but at the rate it's going now, I'm better off skipping the site and posting the articles on Suite 101.
On Suite 101, I'm noticing that my page views climb a little bit each day. I currently have much less in earnings, but also a lot less articles on the site. Suite 101 picked two of my wedding articles and featured those on the Home & Style section. I also had another article picked as a featured article on the home page! That was incredibly exciting for me!
I have to say that I'm actually liking Suite 101 a lot better than Associated Content right now. The editors are incredibly nice and leave comments that actually help. An editor pulled one article, sent me a message about finding sources, and when I added a sources, it went live again with a note from the editor, saying she appreciated my hard work.
With Associated Content, you get one shot and that is it. If an editor does not like one thing, your article is rejected for upfront payment. Suite 101 does not do upfront payments, but the editors are much more helpful. As of Saturday, I had around 700 page views and already exceeded the page view payment from YCN. I have the highest clout level, so I earn $2 per 1,000 page views at YCN.
Once I get more attuned to the type of articles and keyword basics, I think I can earn 3+ times on page views from Suite 101. I would like Associated Content to start buying some of my articles, but at the rate it's going now, I'm better off skipping the site and posting the articles on Suite 101.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Kindle Publishing Thoughts
I doubt that I will ever see myself making millions of dollars off my writing, but I would like to earn thousands. I'm seriously contemplating publishing a few books on the Kindle platform, in the hopes of increasing my residual income.
I found 40 pages of a book idea I started working on a few years ago. I assumed the work was long gone, given my bad luck with computers. Imagine my surprise when I uncovered the file hidden on an old laptop. I showed the work to my ex-boyfriend, who pretty much shot down the idea quickly. He had always helped me in the past, so if he said it was bad, I assumed that it was.
Reading through it now, it seems like something that would actually work. I think I could break it down into multiple stories, instead of doing one long book. I really like it and actually got hooked into the story when I re-read it. I might do a series on another idea too, but I'm not sure yet.
I found 40 pages of a book idea I started working on a few years ago. I assumed the work was long gone, given my bad luck with computers. Imagine my surprise when I uncovered the file hidden on an old laptop. I showed the work to my ex-boyfriend, who pretty much shot down the idea quickly. He had always helped me in the past, so if he said it was bad, I assumed that it was.
Reading through it now, it seems like something that would actually work. I think I could break it down into multiple stories, instead of doing one long book. I really like it and actually got hooked into the story when I re-read it. I might do a series on another idea too, but I'm not sure yet.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Extremely Frustrated at YCN/Associated Content
I am extremely frustrated with Associated Content, i.e. Yahoo Contributor's Network right now. Of that last 13 articles I submitted for upfront payment, all 13 were denied. Half the articles were declined because the review said that the articles would not bring traffic to the site, the other half said information on the topic was readily available online.
What really annoys me is an article I wrote on "How to Avoid ___ and ___ This Winter." It was denied for upfront payment because the topic was too readily available. One week later, I came across an article just published on the site that was titled "Tips for Avoiding ___ and ___ During the Winter." I checked out the article and it included the same tips I used, except this writer is one of the top 100 contributors, so of course got paid for the piece.
I knew I would never get rich from the site, but I still expected to at least get something. I only had two articles receive upfront payments in the last few weeks. Oddly enough, one was one hotel discounts and it got a $4 upfront. I had another one turned down, with the comment that it would not draw traffic to the site. Yet in the first day it went live (display only), I got almost 300 page views and the views kept rising.
Maybe posting recipes on the site is hurting me? The recipes bring in a few pennies and page views a day, but not like the big power YCN peeps. On top of that, I had a news article rejected because I did not include a link on how I knew the actor went to school in a specific town. Um, maybe because I live there and have for most of my life? It also took over 24 hours to review the article, so I deleted it. What is the point of posting a news story if it posts days after it occurs?
What really annoys me is an article I wrote on "How to Avoid ___ and ___ This Winter." It was denied for upfront payment because the topic was too readily available. One week later, I came across an article just published on the site that was titled "Tips for Avoiding ___ and ___ During the Winter." I checked out the article and it included the same tips I used, except this writer is one of the top 100 contributors, so of course got paid for the piece.
I knew I would never get rich from the site, but I still expected to at least get something. I only had two articles receive upfront payments in the last few weeks. Oddly enough, one was one hotel discounts and it got a $4 upfront. I had another one turned down, with the comment that it would not draw traffic to the site. Yet in the first day it went live (display only), I got almost 300 page views and the views kept rising.
Maybe posting recipes on the site is hurting me? The recipes bring in a few pennies and page views a day, but not like the big power YCN peeps. On top of that, I had a news article rejected because I did not include a link on how I knew the actor went to school in a specific town. Um, maybe because I live there and have for most of my life? It also took over 24 hours to review the article, so I deleted it. What is the point of posting a news story if it posts days after it occurs?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Grr and Argh
I think something fishy is going on with YCN. Over the past few days, the site listed a messaging, saying that page views were not updating. Now that they have, my page views took a huge nosedive. My lowest day in October was just over 2,000 views, which is far less than a lot of other writers. Since November 1, my highest page views were at around 700.
Granted I do have a lot of articles on haunted places and ghosts, but those page views are still seriously low. I cannot even remember the last time I logged on and saw page views that far down!
I also discovered that most of my articles I submitted last week were turned down for upfront payments. Apparently the site now requires that you include a photo you took yourself for craft articles. Sorry, but when you only give me a total of $3-4, you are not getting one of my own photos. I also had one on Charlie Brown get turned down because it wasn't a popular search term. I'm sure that the millions of Peanuts fans are sorely disappointed.
On a positive note, I had my first article for Suite 101 approved, so I can now post without going through the editor. My favorite part is that the article was a craft article that YCN turned down. It made $.08 in its first day without any marketing on my part. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Granted I do have a lot of articles on haunted places and ghosts, but those page views are still seriously low. I cannot even remember the last time I logged on and saw page views that far down!
I also discovered that most of my articles I submitted last week were turned down for upfront payments. Apparently the site now requires that you include a photo you took yourself for craft articles. Sorry, but when you only give me a total of $3-4, you are not getting one of my own photos. I also had one on Charlie Brown get turned down because it wasn't a popular search term. I'm sure that the millions of Peanuts fans are sorely disappointed.
On a positive note, I had my first article for Suite 101 approved, so I can now post without going through the editor. My favorite part is that the article was a craft article that YCN turned down. It made $.08 in its first day without any marketing on my part. I can't wait to see what happens next!
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