8 Residual Income Content Websites: Who Should You Write For?

Photo by green kozi (flickr)

There are so many residual income content websites floating around the Internet. How do you choose which one is right for you?

For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about diversifying my residual income. I’ve absolutely fell in love with the eHow earnings I’ve been getting month after month, since I don’t have to put in any additional work to earn money from eHow. Since writing is a strong point of mine, I quickly began researching various residual income content websites I could contribute to. I compiled a list of the most well-known content websites that pay writers residual income and thought, “Why not share this list with my readers?” So, here’s my list. I hope you find it useful. (more…)

Debate: Write for Residual Income or Write Copy for Clients?

After reading very disturbing comments on a Suite101 review, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about this topic in more detail.

Photo by Razvan Caliman (flickr)

Specifically, why would some people work their asses off writing for web content sites only to get a small return? Many copywriters seem to think this way, as it just doesn’t make sense to them why someone would work for pennies and accept low pay. They seem to think that other freelance writers out there, often the ones just stepping in the door, aren’t getting what they’re worth and therefore are the reason why the rest of the world believes that freelance writing is a low paying job. When people believe this, why would clients spend over $1,000 for a direct mail package? What’s the purpose of wasting so much money for a brochure when writers shouldn’t be charged so much? (more…)

Using Your Own Name to Title Your Blog: Pros & Cons

Thinking about using your own name to title your blog? Or maybe you’re unsure of a blog title, so figured your own name would be the best way to go? Choosing a blog title isn’t easy, that’s for sure. However, choosing a blog title is also one of the most important steps of blogging. In years to come, people will associate your blog with your blog title. So, you want your blog title to be the best it can be.

Photo by Brian Burger (flickr)

Should you use your own name to title your blog? Well, it depends on your own personal preferences and what you want your blog to offer. Many top bloggers will advise against using your own name, though there have been some successful bloggers who have made it to the top using their own names as their blog titles. For example, Chris Garrett made a blog with the domain name of Chrisg.com and it’s doing quite well. That doesn’t exactly mean that your blog will have the same result. Let’s take a look at why you should and shouldn’t use your own name to title your blog. (more…)

6 Major Benefits of Blogging and How to Incorporate Them on Your Blog

Why create a blog? If you’re asking this question, most likely you don’t know the benefits of blogging. There are many reasons why people blog. Some just do it to pass time. Others do it for money. Still others do it to teach.

Take a look at the most essential benefits of blogging. As you read each one, ask yourself if your blog makes use of the benefit. If it doesn’t, find ways you can incorporate it into your blog. If you do all these steps on a regular basis, I guarantee that you’ll have a successful blog within the next 6 months.

Don’t have a blog yet? You don’t have to make one now, but you should (even if it’s just to try). You can create a free blog on Blogger or WordPress for now, but consider moving your blog to your own hosting as the blog grows. (more…)

What is a Blog?

Have you ever asked yourself what a blog actually is or, more precisely, what the meaning behind a blog is supposed to be? If I chose 20 random people and told them to describe what a blog is to them, how would they respond? More importantly, would their responses be the same?

Let’s look at what famous bloggers have to say:

‘A blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.’

- Darren Rowse, author of ProBlogger

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Choosing a Blog Title Isn’t Easy: The Process I Went Through

One of the hardest tasks of creating a blog is choosing the blog title. You want your blog title to be creative, relate to your niche and, at the same time, attract traffic to your website. In fact, choosing a blog title can be just as difficult as launching your blog for the first time and increasing your subscriber count. On eHow, I touched on this topic briefly with my How to Choose a Personal Blog Title article.

It takes time to craft a blog title that will turn heads and make visitors on your website want to stay. At the same time, you also want a blog title that goes with your theme and overall brand. A blog on simplicity, for example, wouldn’t have a long or complex title, since the blog deals with simplifying your life. Just like a blog about peace and calm wouldn’t have a logo displaying loud, bright colors, since this would have the opposite effect of peacefulness. (more…)

Blog Carnivals Increase Blog Traffic – And Lifetime Readership Too!

I’ve been using blog carnivals for a few years now. Blog carnivals are really just a page or two of web addresses linking back to quality articles or content. These articles must be related to a certain niche, though. A finance blog won’t link back to a health article, for example. Any website can host a blog carnival, though hosting one isn’t easy. You’ll need to review many articles submitted to you and choose the best ones to display in your carnival. People host blog carnivals because it creates a buzz and encourages other bloggers or webmasters to talk about it if their article is featured. As a result, you receive more backlinks and blog traffic, which will ultimately help with search engine optimization. (more…)

Demand Studios Holiday Club

Demand Studios is apparently hosting a Holiday Club event! They’re giving away $500 to one copy editor and one writer Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. For specifics, here’s a copy of the email:

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eHow Writing Platform Switch: Good or Bad?

For the past year, eHow has been continuously changing their eHow writing platform so that users have to get used to the new set of rules again and again. It first started with their article sweeps, where thousands of eHow articles were removed if they didn’t meet eHow’s new guidelines. This created a lot of frustration in the eHow community and some members lost as much as 50 articles to the sweeps. Other eHow members had their whole article library wiped out. Luckily, I only had about 10 articles deleted during the time. Freelance writers began disappearing, upset with all the hard work and effort spent in articles that just got tossed down the drain without a second thought. A few dedicated writers, including myself, continued to write for eHow.

However, the problems didn’t stop there. The eHow website started shutting down at random times of the day, articles stopped publishing, and pictures stopped uploading. Several more eHow writers left, deciding to find more stable sources of income and not wanting to deal with any more issues from the eHow writing platform. Again, many hopeful eHow freelance writers remained, thinking that all of eHow’s problems will soon be fixed. After all, they were still getting paid and they had already invested months, and in many cases, years of time into eHow.

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Rejected Demand Studios Application: Secrets to Another Chance (Bonus)

This is the Bonus Part of the series Become a Successful Demand Studios Writer.

Usually if you get your Demand Studios application rejected, you won’t have another chance to submit another application for approval. That’s why many freelance writers suggest that you make sure your writer’s resume and writing samples are nothing but perfect when you submit your first Demand Studios application. However, what if you did submit a perfect application, or one you thought was flawless, and you still received that rejection notice? Are there no other options for you as a Demand Studios writer?

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