3 Easy Steps to Make More Money with Your Writing

This information is for you, if you write articles and web content for:  Associated Content (AC), Bukisa, Constant Content (CC), Demand Studios (DS), HubPages, yes, and even Experts123.  Each one of these six sites, especially Experts123, provides very unique opportunities for online article writers.  Experts123 allows skilled writers to gain online exposure by submitting content in their field of expertise.  Your article and content writing also ties directly into whatever form of affiliate marketing you’re involved in. 

Affiliates and Other Income Sources

Writers don’t always see themselves as marketers, even though they promote a number of different types of affiliate programs.  Google Adsense, Konterra and other context related advertising are typical income sources for article writers.  Some writing sites even allow other common affiliate links like Amazon, Ebay, Commission Junction and more.  Other income sources associated with writers include receiving residuals from page views, earning upfront payments and having articles purchased outright.  Although all these different income sources exist, not every writing site provides them all.  That is why it is a good ideal to write for multiple websites.  But the key is strategically selecting the writing websites you write for.

One Mistake many Writers Make

One mistake many writers tend to make (especially new ones) is not recognizing the strength of a particular writing site.  One site may be known for quick upfront payments, but slow on accumulating revenue shares.  Another may have a slow article review process, but they are quick to make payments.  To help drive this point home, notice the three sites for writers that are mentioned below.   Recognizing the pros and cons of sites like Demand Studios, Associated Content, and Constant Content can help writers tailor their writing activities to accommodate each site.

Pros and Cons of 3 Different Writing Websites

The most positive thing about Demand Studios is that it provides titles for writers to select from and make upfront cash.  An average 400-500 word article typically pays $15 upfront when it is well researched and well written.  The site reviews articles and pays pretty timely, however, their downfall is the editorial process.  Writers of all levels complain about the editors who constantly make requests for time consuming rewrites.  Another downside is, when writers are paid the $15 upfront payment, they relinquish all rights to the article.  There are no more profits to be made from this article.

Associated Content has the reputation of being a leader in providing quality web articles to those looking for web content.  Writers can benefit from small upfront payments averaging from $2 – $4 for a 400-500 word article.  Some writers are said to earn a lot more than $4 for upfront payments, and article lengths can vary, but the 400-500 word length is the standard.  In addition to the upfront payment, authors continue to earn money on the same published article, by means of revenue shares.  So writers who promote their articles will receive more page views, and thus more revenue shares.

Just like Demand Studios and Associated Content, Constant Content actually has multiple benefits to be gained for writing for them.  But there is a particular option that is a big plus, and freelance writers often overlook this advantage.  Constant Content allows writers to offer a "usage" fee for their articles that have been published elsewhere.  The usage option amounts to renting or leasing the article out, so the paying customer can use it.  Constant Content showcases a portion of the article, just enough to allow customers to make a decision about choosing the article.   Since it has been published on another site, the writer can set whatever usage price they want to offer.  Some writers fail to recognize what an awesome opportunity this is for them and their writing!

Retaining Copyrights Important

You may have never thought seriously about it, but retaining certain copyrights to your work can be very important.  You can always learn specific details about the 3 paying markets we just discussed, as well as view some previous payments.  There is however, one thing to remember before considering the 3 easy steps that will help you make more money.  Both Associated Content, and Constant Content are two crucial elements to the strategy you are about to learn.  The fact that both these sites allow writers to publish their articles as non-exclusive content is important.   The three simple steps you are about to learn are dependent on retaining your copyrights and the freedom to strategically reprint your articles.

STEP 1

Write an article for Demand Studios.  To make it worthwhile, you can select a title from their “About” format.  Not only is it a pretty straightforward format, but it pays $15 (usually the highest payment option actually available). 

Key to Step 1:  Since the downfall of Demand Studios is the whole issue of “rewrites”, here is a positive way to overcome this obstacle.  If your article is accepted, use it as a basis for writing a SECOND related article.  Simply take a different approach, or even the same approach, just make sure to do a complete rewrite, no copy and pasting.  You already have your article outline and research, so creating a second article should only take a fraction of the time.  You’ve probably earned your $15 from DS by creating a quality article on a good topic.   Now you’re just creating a new title, and second article by piggybacking off the first one.  The second article will be published at Associated Content.  

NOTE:  Even if your article was actually rejected by DS and they requested a "rewrite", simply change the title (because the title belongs to DS), and go to Step 2 by submitting the article as it is, to Associated Content  (You can remove the mandatory references to your research that Demand Studios requires).

STEP 2

If you didn’t get paid your $15 DS payment because an editor wanted a rewrite, you’re probably a little bugged out.  Don’t be!  There are still a couple of ways you can get paid with this article.  Since you never published the actual article and you changed the title to one of your own, this is still an original article.  Publish it at Associated Content, but be sure to select the NON-EXCLUSIVE content option, when asked.  You can still get paid upfront cash AND still earn revenue shares when you select Non-Exclusive.

Key to Step 2:  You can actually use other popular writing sites in this step, as long as they let you keep your article reprint rights.  Most sites generally only care about being the first to publish the article.  The important thing to remember in this step is that you want to publish the article where it benefits you in multiple ways.  At AC, you earn upfront pay, and revenue shares, in addition to the option to reprint the article somewhere else.  That means potentially more income.  Other alternatives to Associated Content include Experts123 and HubPages.

Experts123 – where you can earn revenue shares and increase your expertise status.  More article exposure means more overall author exposure and page views. .

HubPages – allows you to earn from Google Adsense and Konterra contextual advertising, and also from Amazon and Ebay affiliates.

STEP 3

Now that you have gotten paid upfront cash (from DS, AC or both), and you are earning some sort of residual income from your article, it’s time to prepare it to create yet one more source of income.  Constant Content offers multiple ways to earn with your writing.  Since one of those ways allows you to post your articles from other sites, you can submit the same article you have published at AC, and put a rental price on it.   

Key to Step 3:  Constant Content provides guidelines to help you set a reasonable usage price.  Based on the material and the demand for the information, you could find yourself making a tidy sum with this one article.  This is great for the ego, especially if the article happened to be a DS rewrite request.

Points to Remember

There are two final points to remember when it comes to using this easy 3 step writing process.  Whatever writing sites you write for, make sure you use the same name for all three sites.  There can be no discrepancy when it comes to your username, user ID, pen name, or whatever else the website calls the name you write under.  There can be no question as to your right to reprint an article when Constant Content verifies whether your article has actually been published before (step 3).  Also, make sure when you initially select Demand Studios titles to write about, keep your Constant Content customers in mind.  Try to choose topics that website owners will want to use.

Want an added advantage over some of the other online writers?  Start using the Yahoo Style Guide, created specifically for online writers.  It is packed with lots of other ways to improve on your writing and make more money online.