Freelance Writing Jobs » Web Content

About Hub Pages: An Interview with Ryan “Hup” Hupfer

Deb — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:00:14 +0000

Deb’s note: This interview is part two in a series featuring content sites. As there have been much speculation and a few rather lopsided “investigations” regarding content sites, I thought it would be fair to talk to the people behind the content sites and let them tell the FWJ community a little about what they do, the benefits to their writers and why their sites are unique. Please note, these interviews aren’t endorsements, freelancers are always encouraged to make the decisions that work out best for them.

Please see Part 1: About Suite101: An Interview with Editor in Chief Colin Smith

I met “Hup” Hupfer at BlogWorld last month and we instantly connected. In fact, it was my discussion with Hup that is the inspiration behind this series. After seeing his genuine passion for HubPages, and sharing some feedback about what I know about HubPages, I felt some interviews with the folks behind the content sites would help to balance out a few of the negative, one-sided reports we’re finding online lately. Some of us read “web content” and run screaming for the hills. The truth is, most of the people I talk to aren’t smarmy content purveyors. They have a love for writing and care for the people who write for them. Hup isn’t looking to collect low paying content, he’s interested in giving writers (of all levels) a voice.

I give you…the other side of the story.

What is HubPages?
If you would like to know how me and the rest of the HubPages team officially defines it internally, HubPages is the most rewarding online content-based community that allows anyone to easily share the topics they’re interested in with the rest of the world. A more people-friendly version would be something like HubPages is a place where all types of people can hang out, write and generate earnings based upon the content that they create. I’m not sure if there’s really much of a difference between those two definitions, but there ya go.

How is HubPages different from other writing and blogging sites?
I’m a big fan of reading lists when I am reading an interview like this, so I’m going to take that approach if you don’t mind. Here are some of the main differences that I would say make HubPages stand out from the rest of the writing and blogging sites out there (and yes, there are a lot of them).

You own all of the content that you publish in HubPages – Yep, it’s true — our Hubbers (members of the HubPages community) retain all ownership and rights to all of the Hubs (articles on HubPages) that they publish. So, if for some reason you get mad at us and want to delete your account, pack your suitcase with all of your content and take the first train out of HubPages town, that’s cool with us. It’s all yours, so please feel free to take it all with you (although we’ll probably miss you).

We have a rockin’ (and very helpful) community of awesome Hubbers – Not only are we a great place to write online, but we’re also a great place to learn, interact and hang out with other writers who are all about helping each other become successful. We have over 100,000 Hubbers who have published something on HubPages and that number is growing every single day.

We are very transparent and open with our Hubbers – Something that several Hubbers have told me over the past year or so when I ask them what they really like about HubPages versus other places is that our platform and our staff are both very open and transparent with the community. Want to know how many Hubs we have written and how many users we have? Easy, check out our stats page when you get a chance. Want to know how much money you’re going to make this month? There’s never any question how much you’ve made due to the fact that you are paid directly from the various networks that you sign up for (Google AdSense, Amazon Associate, eBay Partner Network, etc.). Oh, and if you have any questions beyond these, we’re always willing to actually answer your emails or posts in our forums. I know…crazy, huh?

We have one of the best views per published content ratios of any other writing, blog or any other content site, which you can read more about over here in this blog post. We work very hard at keeping the content on HubPages as high-quality as possible and I think that this ratio shows us that it’s worth it.

One final thing is that unlike most blogs and other content sites, on HubPages you aren’t at all limited to writing about any particular topic or niche, which gives you a lot of freedom to write about what you want.

Tell us a little about the history of HubPages…
You can read all about the full history of HubPages over in these two Hubs that one of our founders, Paul Edmondson, wrote (he writes a lot of Hubs):

The Story Of HubPages

The Story Of HubPages Part 2

But, for those of you who aren’t big on clicking links, here’s a quick rundown of how HubPages started:

- HubPages was founded in 2006 by three guys who sold a startup called Mongo Music to Microsoft
- HubPages was created to be the best, easiest and most transparent place for writers to make money publishing online
- First Hub was published on June 28th, 2006
- 100,000th Hub was published on April 23rd, 2008 (20 months later)
- 200,000th Hub was published on October 30th, 2008 (8 months later)
- 300,000th Hub was published on April 23rd, 2009 (5 months later)
- 400,000th Hub was published on July 14th, 2009 (2.5 months later)
- 500,000th Hub was published on September 21st, 2009 (a little over 2 months later)
- We currently only have 7 full-time employees at HubPages, which means that we’re lean and mean (well, we’re not that mean)
- We acquired our first official mascot (my Pug, Frank ) in July 2009.

How many active writers are with HubPages now?
Nearly half of the 100,000+ Hubbers who have published at least one Hub have been active on HubPages sometime in the past 3 months. For all of you non-math people such as myself, that’s almost 50,000 active writers.

What does HubPages offer as incentive and pay for their freelance writers?
As far as incentives go, I like to break them up into 3 different categories:

1. Financial – This is probably our most well-known incentive and one that we feel gives our writers an awesome opportunity to generate earnings from their content. The way that our Hubbers get paid is simple, we offer up 60% of all Hub impressions to the author and we take the other 40%. This means that no matter if you’re getting an AdSense click, an Amazon sale or any other kind of revenue generating activity on your Hubs, if it happens during your 60% of your impressions you keep 100% of it. If the clicks occur on our 40% of your Hub’s impressions, then we keep 100% of it. Make sense? Here’s a great blog post that helps explain how earnings are generated and split on HubPages.

2. Social - Although some people are definitely out to generate some cash on HubPages, there are also many who see the social side of HubPages as the biggest benefit of our platform, with the revenue potential coming in a close second. These social incentives include getting your content read, commented on and recognized by other Hubbers as well as the benefit of some basic human-nature type of relationship building with the rest of the community. I think that it’s safe to say that not very many people like to write in a vacuum where there’s no opportunity for feedback from others and HubPages makes it easy to get this type of feedback from the community quickly.

3. Educational – For many traditional freelancers, beginners and other writers who are making the leap in to self-publishing online, the learning curve that’s associated with writing for the web’s ecosystem (getting search traffic with SEO, keywords, etc.) can be a tough one. HubPages helps these types of writers get up to speed thanks to the fact that we have some free, easy-to-use tools and a super-helpful online community that’s always willing to help out a fellow Hubber who has questions. So basically, for those out there who are wanting a free and easy way to learn about how to write for a search-based web, HubPages is one of the best places to do it.

What does the average Hubber earn in a given month?
This is a tricky question based upon how we pay our Hubbers, due to the fact that we don’t know exactly how much each Hubber is getting a check for each month. But, from our 40% of the impressions we are currently seeing that Hubbers are generating somewhere between $4.00 and $5.00 per 1,000 page views, which we feel is very competitive. Of course, since a majority of all Hubber’s earnings are generated from AdSense, this amount will vary quite a bit depending on what topics they choose to write about.

You can read about some of our most recent Hubbers who have hit their first $100 Google AdSense payouts over here on our blog’s Payout Chronicles section, and for a different look at how a Hubber earns money from eBay, be sure to check out this post, too.

What sort of traffic does HubPages receive on a regular basis?

Well, we’ve been growing quite a bit here lately and have just recently cracked the top 100 websites in the US (we’re #93 at the time of this writing ), but last month (October 2009) we had over 18 million unique visitors and over 85 million pageviews. This year’s numbers are over double the amount of visitors that we saw last year in October 2008, which is pretty awesome.

What are some of the more popular “Hubs?”
Well Deb, since I like you so much, I decided to take a trip in the ‘way back HubPages machine’ so that I could dig up a few of our more popular Hubs from the last year (October ‘08 – October ‘09) and here’s what I found. Each one of these six Hubs has received over 100,000 pageviews over the past year and after looking at them I think that you’ll start to realize the variety of content that can be successful on HubPages:

Also, one thing that everyone reading this needs to know is that getting a lot of traffic on HubPages doesn’t necessarily mean making a lot of money. Different topics (different ads) can pay out vastly different amounts.

What would you like to say to the people who criticize HubPages for being a low-paying content mill?
Wow Deb, this one came out of nowhere like a dagger to the throat in the middle of the night! ouch! haha

Honestly, thanks for the honest question as I know this is how many of your readers currently think about us, which makes me whimper like a little school girl (really, it does) because I think of HubPages as much, much more than a low-paying place to pump out low-quality crap. Of course, if you do plan on pumping out low-quality crap, odds are that we will be very low paying, so I guess there actually is some truth to that.

The first thing that that I would say after being asked this question is that HubPages isn’t for everyone and we don’t pretend to be. If you’re already getting paid $100 an article doing your freelance thing and can’t seem to write enough due to the current demand that you’re seeing, then obviously the amount of money that you make on HubPages might seem a little small, at least initially. But, if you’re someone who would love to earn some extra residual income, have enough patience/motivation to stick with us and enjoy a free and fun writing environment, then we are definitely a place that you should be checking out.

Also, it seems to me that some writers have trouble shifting their focus to writing for search traffic because of how much different it can be from traditionally writing an article that is going to be placed in a magazine, newspaper or on a more traditional, magazine-esque website. This is because there is a lot to learn when it comes to SEO, keyword research and finding great topics to write on, but I guarantee that after giving HubPages a shot for a couple of months nearly anyone will pick up the skills that they need to be successful on HubPages or any other site, blog, etc.

One of the other things that some writers get turned off by about HubPages is the fact that we pay strictly on performance, which means that their content needs to actually generate revenue before they see any earnings. Although this can seem like an unfair situation so some, there are a couple things that everyone who is thinking about writing on HubPages needs to realize:

1. HubPages wants to help you make more money because that’s how we make money, so it’s in our best interests to help you be as successful as possible.
2. Writing for residual income might not give you instant gratification, but if you write about evergreen topics that continue to get search traffic, you’re going to make at least the same amount of money this month as you did the last (and most likely more), even if you stopped writing altogether. I have made over $100 the past 3 months and I haven’t written a Hub since May, which is really nice.

What are your thoughts about all the other content sites? Room for everyone? Too much competition?
I have met and talked with many of the other content sites out there and as far as I can tell, we’re all doing something that’s a little bit different, which I think is pretty cool. Also, I’m well aware that many of the Hubbers that are writing on HubPages are also writing on some of these other sites as well, which we have absolutely no problem with. I actually think that all of the content sites and other ‘user-generated revenue’ sites should all get together and have a big conference or something — that would be a lot of fun and could help educate the masses on all of the opportunities that are out there as far as earning from your expertise and knowledge

What are some of the things we can expect from HubPages in the future?
First and foremost you can always expect a continued focus on making our publishing process simple. straight-forward and fast — that’s always our top priority. Besides that we are always looking to make HubPages a little more social and we also have some plans for reaching to more enthusiasts and ‘non-writers’ here in the future, which will be an ongoing challenge for us, I’m sure. Besides that, you can keep up with us through our blog or on our Facebook page and hear about any news as soon as we announce it.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Well, I guess first of all I would like to tell of your readers is that if after reading this interview they still have some questions regarding HubPages, that they can feel free to ask them below in the comments and I’ll answer them as quickly as I can. Secondly, for any of your readers that feel like HubPages might be worth trying out they can join our community by clicking here now.

Thanks, Hup!

Incidentally, Hup and I traded interviews. Look for an interview with me at HubPages shortly. As soon as it’s up, I’ll post the link here.

So what do you think? Do you have any questions for Hup regarding HubPages?

Freelance Writing Experience: Does it Matter Where Your Clips Come From?

Deb — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:56:53 +0000

Credit where it’s due: A few days Jodee Redmond wrote: “Will Taking a Low Paying Hurt Your Career.” Jodee’s post is the inspiration for this one.

Disclaimer: This post isn’t encouraging writers to accept low pay, it’s merely a discussion of whether or not your low paying past will hurt you when you apply for other gigs.This discussion isn’t about low pay or whether or not writers should accept entry level opportunities. It’s whether or not these opportunities will cause you to lose work.

When I was younger it was my dream to become a newspaper columnist. I couldn’t wait to see my little picture and byline at the top of a column. Several years ago I found my chance when a new newspaper opening in a nearby major city, advertised for journalists and editors. Even though they weren’t hiring columnists, I didn’t think it could hurt to query. Taking a deep breath, I pitched anyway, for a column about saving money. All I had to show my style were a bunch of clips from entry level freelance writing jobs. I sent them, pitched and landed a regular gig as newspaper columnist. No one ever came back and said, “Sorry. You wrote for low pay. We don’t want you or your stinking clips.”

Good Writing Matters More Than Pay…or Even Experience

When a potential client asks for clips, they want to get an idea of your writing style.They want to know you can handle the material. Many times clips that are related to the potential client’s niche are fine, even if they come from a low paying market. Many times your client has no idea what the other places pay. I often recommend writers who have no experience write up a few articles and use these to apply for jobs, and more than a few have been able to land jobs using unpublished clips. Good writing stands out. You can be the most experienced writer in the world but if you send in bad clips you won’t get the gig.

To be fair, if you’re applying for a high paying journalism job and only have certain types of clips, an editor might be inclined to pass you over in favor of someone who has actual journalism experience or has written for well-known magazines. However, those same clips might land you a higher paying gig in a niche topic, if this is something you write about often.

Every career has entry level openings and positions and none of these positions hurt, they only lead to valuable experience. I believe this to be the case with low paying opportunities as well. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set your goals higher, but taking entry level gigs for the experience isn’t a terrible thing.

Who is Really Looking Down On You?

There’s a lot of speculation on the web that writers who accept entry level gigs are seen as “laughingstocks” or have “no self respect.” However, I don’t see many hiring editors say this. It’s only from anonymous commenters and freelance bloggers who don’t approve of entry level opportunities. Again, when I was first freelancing, not a single editor or client told me I couldn’t have the job because I wrote for low pay in the past. When I worked in publishing, we never looked a writer’s past pay, or even experience when considering freelancers for our magazines. We put more value into the pitch and the clips. We didn’t look down on anyone who wrote for free or earned very little money. One more time because people tend to misquote: I don’t believe every writer should only work for low payers and not aspire to do better, and that’s not what this piece is about. My point is that entry level opportunities won’t hurt your career.

Granted….

Many schools won’t accept certain content sites as sources for reports and articles. However, this has nothing to do with freelance writing jobs. In my experience, it doesn’t necessarily matter where you have worked in the past as long as you put forth a good effort. It’s sort of like an audition for a television show or movie. Sure, big names have a better chance of getting the job, but that doesn’t mean the C-list or Indy star won’t land a role in a major movie. Always put forth your best effort no matter who you write for and soon the sky will be the limit.

What is your experience? Has using clips from entry level opportunities helped or hurt your career?

About Suite 101: An Interview with Editor in Chief Colin Smith

Deb — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:59:30 +0000

Deb’s note: This interview is part one in a series featuring content sites. As there have been much speculation and a few rather lopsided “investigations” regarding content sites, I thought it would be fair to talk to the people behind the content sites and let them tell the FWJ community a little about what they do, the benefits to their writers and why their sites are unique. Please note, these interviews aren’t endorsements, freelancers are always encouraged to make the decisions that work out best for them.

In 1999, when I first began looking for freelance writing work, I came across a series of ads by a writer inviting freelancers to write for Suite101. I was accepted and wrote my column, Everyday Humor for three years. At the time “The Suite” paid a flat month fee for three posts per month. I enjoyed working for Suite101 but moved on because of higher paying opportunities. I’m pleased to bring you an interview with Editor in Chief Colin Smith.

First, tell us a little about who you are and what you do

My name is Colin Smith. I am the Editor-in-Chief for Suite101.com and I manage the editorial department for the English-language division of Suite101.com Media Inc. I am a veteran journalist and publisher with 25 years of experience in print and online operations. I love being the EiC at Suite101; it’s an honour and a privilege to help support the ambitions of freelance writers-journalists around the world.

What is Suite101?

Suite101 is an online magazine written by over 4,000 freelancer writers. Some people call us a writers network; others consider us to be one of the most respected sites in the category of “how-to” articles. We’ve been publishing freelance writing for thirteen years and we also operate sites in Germany, France and Spain. It’s our mission to create opportunities for writers.

How is Suite101 different from other writing and blogging sites?

Here are five key things that set Suite101 apart from other sites:

1. We have the best revenue-share program online: averaging $3.90 per 1000 pageviews, and writers’ earnings get paid-out forever, there’s no time limit.

2. We hire internationally: you can live anywhere and still write for us.

3. Direct contact and guidance with professional editorial staff: writers get valuable feedback and communicate with editors directly.

4. Writers keep their rights! Copyright remains with the writer, always.

5. Quality focus: we’re selective about the writers we accept and all articles are well-researched pieces. Writers must submit at least two articles to join.

Tell us a little about the history of Suite101

Suite101 was created by writers for writers thirteen years ago, and this fact continues to shape our mission. (We’re here to help writers be successful, not to amass owned content.) As a Canadian company, we also have the freedom to hire writers from any location in the world, so this attracts a lot of interested parties. Last year, we launched a site in Germany and this year, we launched sites in France and Spain.

Perhaps the most significant part of our history happened in 2005, when we realized that to succeed we needed to live and breathe the value of “writers first.” Not only has this philosophy attracted writers, but we have more than doubled our readership each year since then. We grew from two million unique visitors a month in 2005, to 24 million a month today.

How many active writers are with Suite101 now?

Over 4,000 internationally, mostly in the US but from a range of different countries.

What does Suite101 offer as incentive and pay for their freelance writers?Daily revenue share for all articles published on the site, averaging $3.90US per 1000 pageviews. (Note: A writer’s revenue share is ongoing, it lasts forever. There is no limit to a writer’s earning potential.)

What does the average Suite101 columnist earn in a given month? What do the highest earners earn?

It’s fairly common to earn $200-$300 a month, with a large group of writers earning $1500-$2000 month, and our highest monthly earning was just under $5,000.

We have a group of writers too who say Suite101 pays their mortgages every month – even if they don’t write another article for us!

What sort of traffic does Suite101 receive on a regular basis?

24 million unique visitors a month

What are some of the more popular articles?

* It’s quite balanced across the site with 20 sections and 400 topics to read
* Lifestyle sections do very well: Parents & Partners, Home and Garden, Travel
* We attract less of an audience for History, Politics and Sports

What would you like to say to the people who criticize Suite101 for being a low-paying content mill?

Firstly, I would introduce them to Lena Gott. Lena is a part-time writer who has published 228 articles after two years of writing for Suite. Lena earned $5,000 for her articles in July. On average, she earns around $2,000 a month.

Secondly, I would point out there is no limit as to how much you can make on Suite101. There is also no baseline guarantee. For new writers just starting out, the latter fact can be discouraging. We see their experience change as they add more articles and continue writing here for three months, or six months.

For writers who actively engage with our site and work with our editors, Suite101 quickly produces a significant income stream. For people who give it little time and effort, they will likely not enjoy as much success. As is the case with any job, the more effort you put into it, the more reward you earn!

For people who learn, understand and practice the key concepts for great online writing, Suite101 is the best site to generate ongoing, revenue share income over the long term.

What are your thoughts about all the other content sites? Room for everyone? Too much competition?

Competition means more visibility, which is good for all sites. Just as people choose a college based on the school’s reputation and standards, writers choose online publishers with an eye for quality. We believe Suite101 is synonymous with editorial integrity and professionalism. Suite101 writers are proud to display their articles on our site; they relish the opportunity to engage other writers as part of our supportive community, plus they have a direct link with a high caliber editorial team. And of course, Suite101 writers appreciate the fact they own the copyright to their work too.

What are some of the things we can expect from Suite101 in the future?

o More features that make it even easier for writers to work with, and get feedback from, our editorial team.
o More tools and ideas focused on helping writers become successful online.
o A cleaner “look” to the website designed to make it even easier for readers to find what they’re looking for.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

We’ve built our reputation around a commitment to editorial quality and we plan to continue on this track. We invite all writers who are confident of their writing skills to apply at Suite101. If accepted, get ready to write! We look forward to meeting you.

How Long Does it REALLY Take You to Write an Article?

Deb — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:49:48 +0000

Credit where it’s due: Just got done reading Laura Spencer’s “Writing Thoughts vs. The Five Minute Article Writer.” It has me thinking a lot about article writing and what goes into writing a good article.

Can you write an article in five minutes? Me either. How about 30 minutes? Yes, sometimes. You see, I used to be a wedding writer. I worked for a wedding publication and wrote over 500 articles (over the course of a few years) for a wedding website. Though I know a little about weddings, I’m not an expert. There have been times when I wrote an “off the top of my head 300 word article” in about thirty minutes.

When people ask me if it’s true someone can really write two articles per hour, I say “yes, but it depends.”

It depends on:

The topic
The writer’s area of expertise
The writer’s experience
The amount of research
The word count
If interviews are needed

I can do a quick “how to choose a wedding veil” piece of web content in about 30 minutes. If I was to write about the wedding veil industry or changes in wedding veil trends including prices and designs, as well as interviews with wedding shop owners and wedding veil designers, this would take more of my time. Writing an in depth piece would most likely take several days to produce.

As I don’t agree with the “Google and rewrite” method of writing, I might take longer than some people to write a good article. If I’m writing a blog post off the top of my head requiring no research, I can get it done in less than 30 minutes.

Talk to me, writers. How long does it REALLY take you to write an article?

In Defense of the Freelance Writing Content Site Haters

Deb — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:01:07 +0000

I believe there are no haters, only opportunities. I always look at negative situations as a way to make lemonade. In that spirit, I’d like to defend the people who have been bashing web content sites, those who work for content sites and/or those who defend freelance writing content sites. You see, I get it. I really do. I know why some freelance writers don’t like or appreciate web content sites. For example many of them feel:

Some content writing sites pay very little money
Some content writing can be tedious
Without a strict hiring policy, poor writing is flooding the Internet
Did I mention low pay?
It appears that writers are churning out writing in an assembly line fashion
Writers (for web content) don’t have the strict training as journalists, copywriters, technical writers and other specialized writers
They feel it devalues the craft
They feel content writers don’t respect writing or themselves

I didn’t say I agreed with all the above, just that I understand why they feel the way they do.

Web writing represents many things, but especially a changing marketplace for writers. Long time journalists and copywriters are being laid off only to find out the pay rates, types of writing and even standard of writing have taken a drastic decline. It’s easy to see how distressing this can be to someone who spent four years in journalism school and thirty years in the field.

As hard as it is to explain how things have changed, it’s even harder to accept things have changed. I think some people view web content the way I view writing for free so I do understand. I don’t believe web content to be evil, only some web content. Like all writing opportunities, I believe there are both good and bad. To lump all web content together is a mistake, because not every place is the same. Web content allows for:

Beginning writers to hone their craft
Advanced writers to supplement their income
Hobbyists to earn a little money doing something they love

The way I see it, there are opportunities for all parties.

If seasoned writers don’t feel the caliber of writing is up to par, they can help to mentor those writers who may need a little help. Instead of knocking beginners, reach out to them. Offer to take one under your wing and coach. Create a series of courses or guides. Become a part of the solution.

If some writers don’t find the pay is up to stuff, help to create better opportunities. It’s one thing to complain about the rates, but many writers can’t land these opportunities. See what you can do to help out.

If some writers feel content writers don’t have self respect, telling them they’re poor writers isn’t exactly the way to empower them. Rather than belittle, offer them encouragement and boost their self esteem.

Web content might not be for everyone, but it’s not going anywhere. I may not agree with those who feel it’s evil, but I understand where they’re coming from. Instead of bashing people for their choices, understand why they make the choices they do. Offer to help, encourage and empower. Positivity makes all the difference in the world.

FWJ Mailbox: What is a Citizen Journalist?

Deb — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:28:48 +0000

Deb’s note: I’m so bad about responding to email lately. To tell you I receive thousands of pieces of mail each week is an understatement. I’m going to try something new – responding to some frequently asked questions.

We see the words “citizen journalist” or “citizen journalism” often on user generated content sites. A citizen journalist is someone who reports news, but isn’t a traditional journalist and has no formal training. Many bloggers are considered citizen journalists when they discuss and analyze the news. Just because the word “journalist” is in the title, doesn’t mean a piece is well-written or well reported.

Is there money in citizen journalism?

Being a citizen journalist isn’t always lucrative. Most citizen journalism and user generated content sites pay by click, if at all. There’s a lot of discussion lately about responsibility to report fact over opinion on sites claiming to be the news, and many citizen journalists receive flack for editorializing. Citizen journalists used to be the people who read the news. Now, thanks to the Internet, they “report” the news as well. When you consider many citizen journalists are angry or activists, it might be best to take their reporting with a grain of salt. That isn’t to say all citizen journalism and user generated content is biased or factually incorrect. However, it’s always a good rule of thumb to consider your source before using it for a quote or information.

Where can we find work as a citizen journalist?

Honestly, I haven’t been able to find any “citizen journalism” jobs that pay much money. All Voices advertises often for citizen journalists and writers but the pay is per click and I haven’t found anyone who earns a livable wage from this website. Not all is grim, however. I found an ad today paying $20 per post for a citizen journalist for LiveCitizen. This is probably the only citizen journalism job I’ve seen that pays above the pay per click or traffic model.

Are you a citizen journalist? Do you have thoughts about citizen journalism? Please share below!

Do you have questions about freelance writing? Send it to wegetletters@gmail.com. I can’t promise to respond to it tomorrow. But I’ll respond as soon as I can.

What is a Blog…and How is Blogging Different from Article Writing?

Deb — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:15:39 +0000

When friends or neighbors ask about what I do they’ll often ask, “what is a blog?”This isn’t always easy to explain because some folks think I’m talking about article writing when I’m referring to blogging.

The line between blogging and article writing has gotten a little blurry over the past few years. Now with so many people looking to cash in on the web content writing craze or build online communities, they’re placing ads for bloggers without even knowing the difference.

What is a blog?

Blog is short for “weblog.” The first blogs were lists of links shared on a personal website. Soon they evolved into personal journals. Nowadays there are still many personal blogs, but professional bloggers do more than share personal thoughts. They teach and encourage. A blog is also an effective marketing tool.

A blog is a series of chronologically written posts, usually the newest first. Blog posts are written in a casual tone geared towards creating a discussion around the topic. Most blogs are made up of personal commentary and opinion, so they’re generally one-sided. Comments are encouraged on blogs, the more the merrier. Because so many content purveyors are hiring bloggers, they’re not necessarily personal anymore. Many blogs are started to create brand awareness or build up community around a product or service. The people who hire bloggers generally prefer a blogger’s casual tone to more antisceptic copy. Blogs are only web-based.

How is blogging different from article writing?

An article is based on fact rather than opinion. There’s no room for personal commentary on an article, instead the writer is to present all sides of a story. Articles are more authoritative but they’re not personal. While While bloggers write within their realm of expertise, articles tend to be more heavily researched. Article writers interview expert sources and read books and magazines to present the facts. Articles are also more heavily edited and the tone isn’t so casual. Articles aren’t only web-based, they’re also found in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and more. Many web based articles also allow commenting and discussion.

What are some of the differences you see between blog posts and articles?

Check out Blogging for a Living for tips for becoming a successful professional blogger. We took a brief hiatus but are returning shortly to discuss setting up and creating a blog, choosing a niche, and generally making a living as a blogger.

Exploring Web Content and Web Content Sites

Deb — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:34:37 +0000

Web content gets a bum rap. So much so that I know a few freelance writers who are embarrassed to tell others they write content. They feel they’ll be ridiculed or stereotyped. Although there are those who believe all web content is low paying and not worth the time, the truth is not all web content is the same. You can’t compare a residual based website to a site that pays a flat rate per month or per post. You also can’t compare some scammy $3 content purveyor to a site employing thousands of people

Some types of web content are lucrative, others are best to be avoided. Let’s explore web content a bit…

What is web content?

Web content is exactly what it sounds like. It’s the writing you see at the different websites. It can be informative articles, blog posts or those little captions under funny pictures. There are different reasons writers are hired to write web content. Some clients are looking to promote a product or brand. Other clients only wish to get to the top of the search engines to earn advertising revenue. Regardless of their intentions, if they want to make money online, they’re going to need web content writers.

What is a web content site?

A web content site is a website dedicated to hiring writers to write content for them. Some sites take on clients and outsource to their writers, others only want writers to stock their website. Some examples of web content sites are Associated Content, Demand Studios, LoveToKnow, WiseGeek and Examiner. Though these are all lumped together as “web content sites” they’re all very different in regard to how they pay, how they hire and what they expect from their writers.

Types of Web Content

As stated above, not all web content sites are the same. You couldn’t compare a site like LoveToKnow with a site like Today.com because they’re entirely different. One pays $1 per article and one pays $20 per article. One has a strict hiring policy, the other hires almost anyone. One is a blog site, the other is a Wiki. To say all web content sites are the same only means you don’t know a thing about this type of writing.

Let’s explore some of the different types of web content and the people who hire web content writers below.

Private Clients

Many writers find private clients to be the most lucrative. Private clients might be from a business looking to use web content to lead seachers to their site or build buzz around a brand, or they can be individuals who are looking for writers for any number of reasons. With private clients it’s easier to set and negotiate a higher rate. Most web content sites have a set, non-negotiable rates. With private clients there’s more of chance for pay raises and to build a long-lasting working relationship.

Blog Networks

Blog networks are clients that hire bloggers to build traffic and community. Blogging is a more relaxed form of content writer. It’s nichier and designed to create a discussion around the day’s topic. This blog is part of the Freelance Writing Jobs network. Some other blog networks are b5Media, Today, Examiner, Sparkplugging, Creative Weblogging and Splash Press Media. Each blog network has a different set of rules and payment terms. For example, Today.com pays writers $1 per post while b5Media pays bloggers a negotiated monthly fee.

Residual Sites

Writers for residual sites earn a certain amount of money depending on how much traffic their article receives. For instance, $1 per 1,000 views. If an article doesn’t receive many page views, it’s not going to earn a lot of money. Residual writers provide content centered around popular topics using keywords in order to bring in the traffic. Writers for these websites say the appeal is that their articles continue to earn over time as opposed to articles that receive a flat rate. Some examples of residual based sites are Examiner, eHow and Suite101.

Performance Based Sites

Performance based sites also receive pay per page views, but unlike residual sites their articles or blog posts don’t continue to earn over time. They earn a monthly sum based on the amount of traffic their site, blog or online column received – for only that month.

Pay per article sites

Pay per article sites pay a monthly fee for each article. Writers are able to choose their favorite topics, and, in most cases, titles are assigned. Some sites pay as low as $5 for their content but the average is $15 to $20. Private clients generally pay a higher per article rate than web content sites, but the right web content site can also be a lucrative opportunity. Some examples of pay per article web content sites are Demand Studios, LoveToKnow and WiseGeek.

Web Magazines

There are plenty of web magazines hiring writers as well. Their content is different in that they’re not blatantly obvious about bringing in the search traffic. Some web magazines are accompaniments to popular print titles while others are web based only. Some web based magazines pay a very good per article or word rate, while others accept free content only.

PLR and Article Spinning

PLR stands for “Private Label Rights”. This is a different type of content. PLR writers create packages of content around a popular search theme, for example, window installation. They sell these bundles of window installation articles for, say, $60 for the ten, to 20 or 30 different buyers. These buyers can then post this content to their website as is, or they will hire writers to rewrite or “spin” the articles by changing them around to appear original. If you see a writing job ad for “rewriters” this often means the client purchased sets of PLR articles and is looking for a rewriter to give them a spin.

Red flags

Just because all of the different types of content sites pay, doesn’t mean they’re good places to work for. There are different levels of pay; some good, some not bad and some very good. The important thing is to make sure you’re being paid adequately for the amount of work put into each article or blog post. How can you spot a bad opportunity? There are some good warning signs in writing jobs ads:

Ridiculous expectations – Anyone with unrealistic expectations should be avoided. These clients are easy to spot. They usually want something like 100 articles on the same topic in a week – all for $2 or $3 each.
Seriously little pay – $1 or $3 for an article? You wouldn’t work in fast food for less than minimum wage, why would you do so for a writing client?
No pay – Enough said.
Not enough detail - Vague job ads can lead to some shady opportunities. Never sign on the dotted line without all the details.
Lots of exclamation points - The more exclamation points, the faster you should run.
Promises of riches - Saying you can earn “up to $10,000 a week!!!!!!” usually translates to a couple of dollars a month.
No experience needed – Content purveyor speak for “looking for cheap content”.
Perfect for… – Jobs touted as being perfect for work at home moms, retirees or college students are usually anything but.
Exposure or resume boosters - You can get a byline with your own blog. If you’re going to work for free in exchange for exposure do it for yourself and keep all the revenue. Working for Joe’s No Traffic Content Site for no pay won’t boost anything.

Good choices

Being a successful writer is all about making good choices. You know the best choices for you, so I won’t go there. I like to suggest writers make sure the end justifies the means. For example, if you’re working for a residual site, take the amount of articles you wrote over time and divide it by your monthly earnings. This will give you your per article rate. If you’re only earning $3 for every article, it might not be a good deal. Likewise those $3 articles from content purveyors. Say it takes you an hour to write an article, $3 per hour isn’t a rate anyone would accept for any job.

If you’re a beginner and want to make a start with a content site, try finding the sites paying a better hourly rate. $10, $15, $25 or $50 works better than $2. Many writers find these rates to be too low but they’re a good, livable wage and a better starting point.

As you can see, not all web content clients are the same. A $25 per article web content site can’t be lumped into the same category as a $3 PLR guy. To compare the two makes absolutely no sense. Find the jobs offering the best opportunities and stay away from the shady deals. Taking the time to compare rates and work out your best hourly wage, can mean the difference between a lucrative career and writer’s burnout.

10 Empowerment Tips for Freelance Writers

Deb — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:56:14 +0000

Some interesting discussions are unfolding regarding the decision for FWJ to partner with Demand Studios. They weren’t unexpected. I knew there were some old schoolers (and even some new schoolers) who wouldn’t agree with my decision. However, I feel I made the best decision for this community – and for me. Here’s something interesting -a buzz word is coming out of this whole thing: “empowerment.” It’s suggested that perhaps I’m not doing enough to empower writers to strive to always reach for the higher paying opportunities. I’m not quite sure what many of these bloggers feel I’ve been doing here for the past few years if not empowering writers.

What I’m not doing is closing my eyes to reality. I know writers are going to do what they have to in order to survive. I know there are writers who are always going to want to write for content sites for their convenience and ease of use. This isn’t going to change. So I can ignore it, get all negative about it, or I can discuss and compare the good types of these opportunities vs. the bad. I can help writers spot a smelly gig. I can suggest they ensure the end justifies the means. Instead of a daily rant, I like to provide useful, practical advice. Is it empowering? I suppose that’s up to the individual to decide. I like to think I do something useful here, but I suppose useful is in the eye of the beholder.

Would I like to see all writers earn hundreds of dollars for a single article? Absolutely. Do I think that’s going to happen for all writers? No. Not because writers aren’t empowered or talented enough, but because they will do what they want to do and I won’t change their minds no matter how much I rant. I can help them to achieve this goal, and I do. I can also help the writers who wish to make a living with content sites.

There are writers who don’t want to write for corporate America. There are writers who don’t want to seek out private clients. There are writers who prefer not to deal with print. I can appreciate and respect that. So instead of making them feel like they’re making a bad choice, or questioning their intelligence or ability to write well, I can encourage them to make good choices among their chosen niches and genres.

I hope I empower or, at the very least, inspire at least a few writers. In that spirit, today’s discussion:

10 Empowerment Tips for Freelance Writers

1. Know that you have talent

Some people will say you don’t have talent or you’re a plagiarist if you’re a prolific writer. We know this isn’t true. Only you know how long it takes to write within your realm of expertise. Your editors like you or you would have been fired a long time ago. Your community likes you or they wouldn’t respond so positively in the comments. The people who pay you to write for them like you, or they wouldn’t accept your submissions. So what if someone who has never done what you do says it can’t be done? You know otherwise, and when it comes down to it, you’re the only one you need to answer to.

2. Know that you control your own destiny

If you want to write for high circulation magazines, you know where to find the tools and resources to make this happen. If you want to be a freelance copywriter for a famous advertising agency, you know what you have to do to make that happen. If you want to write content for a well-known website, well, you know how to land that gig too. My fellow bloggers and I? We can help discuss options, methods and tools, but the decision of what to do with that is yours. What is your destiny?

3. Know that you are doing the best thing for you and your situation

Sometimes the choices you make aren’t the same choices someone else would make. This doesn’t mean they’re the wrong choices, it just means they’re different choices. No one should ever make you inferior because you make a different choice. Listen to all sides of the coin. Research all available opportunities and do what works best for you – not anyone else.

4. Know that you can always do better – if that’s what you choose to do

There are always going to be higher paying opportunities available, if you’re so inclined. Many times these involve more work but the higher paycheck makes them worth it. You can be satisfied with what you do now, and that’s OK if that’s your thing, or you can see what it will take to land a higher paying opportunity. Maybe you can do what I did and mix and match the two. No matter what kind of work you do, there are better opportunities. The choice is up to you to go for the gold.

5. Know that the end has to justify the means

Try this: at the end of the week divide your pay by the hours worked and note it on a spreadsheet. Do this every week. Now, what is your average hourly rate? Is it only a dollar or two? If so, you don’t have a very good opportunity going there. Is it $40 or $50? Many executives would love to earn that rate. Decide the rate that works best for you and find the jobs paying this rate or higher. Make sure the pay is worth the work put into it.

6. Know that negativity only breeds negativity

A positive attitude has a lot to do with your success. Instead of saying, “I can’t do better than my current situation” try saying, “I wonder what opportunities are available for someone in my situation” or “I wonder if my content site clips will help me land this newspaper job.” Instead of saying, “can’t” try a “what if”. A “can do” is sure to follow.

7. Know that the only one standing in your way is you

Freelance writers have a lot of silly excuses for not getting out of their comfort zones and that’s all they are – excuses. If you want to strive to do better, you have to get out of your own way. Make a list of excuses and eliminate them. Is it because you hate cold calling? Make one call, after that it will be easier. Is it because you’re afraid you don’t have a good enough query letter? Ask other writers to critique your query and help you fine tune. Is it because you’re afraid you’ll actually land the assignment and have to do the work? Well isn’t that the point? Stop making excuses. Stop getting in the way of success.

8. Know that rejection is part of the job

Everyone who writes receives rejection in one form or another. Stephen King tells the story of sticking a railroad spike into his bedroom wall and filling it with rejection slips. Don’t let rejection stop you, you’re in very good company. Know that it takes a few “thanks but no thanks” letters before you receive an acceptance – and when you do it will be so sweet.

9. Know that rates are subjective

My hourly rate and yours aren’t the same, and they shouldn’t have to be. Do you want to know why? Because you and I both have different situations. Our lifestyles are different, our family income levels are different. We pay different amounts of taxes, our mortgages are different and we’re probably doing different types of writing gigs. It makes no sense for me to tell you how much to earn when I know nothing about your situation. Rates aren’t the same for everyone and they shouldn’t have to be.

10. Know that the first step is always the hardest

Finding a private client or querying an editor takes guts. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. It takes confidence to take that first step. Once you do, it’ll get better, I promise. Once you send that first letter out or make that first phone call, the rest will be easier. Take the first step and the rest will fall into place.

Hell…I’ll even throw in a bonus

11. Know that what I think doesn’t matter

It’s about making the choices that work for YOU.

What’s your favorite empowerment tip for freelance writers?

Web Content Sites vs. Private Clients

Deb — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:38:10 +0000

Hat Tip: The inspiration for this post stemmed from a discussion at the WAHMs Who Write forum. Several of the WAHMs in that discussion raised some good points which I outlined here today.

Have you ever sat down and thought about the types of writing you do and the reasons behind your preference? Have you thought about switching from writing for various content mills in favor of private clients? Maybe you’d like to supplement your private client income with web content writing? Each have their pros and cons and there are terrific reasons for working for both. If you’re considering taking on some private clients or supplementing your freelance writing income by working for web content sites, you might be interested in this look at both options.

Web Content Sites vs. Private Clients

Pay

Depending on the type of content you’re writing and your terms, client payment might be a better per project fee. For instance, a content site might pay a firm $15 or $20 per article while a client will pay a mutually agreed upon, negotiated fee. With the proper agreement in place, a writer’s fee will go up if more research, word count, promotion and other work is involved.

Content sites don’t necessarily raise their rates just because one topic might require more research over another. Some content emporiums do offer a base fee plus bonuses for traffic and this can work well to a writer’s benefit.

Some writers also report success with residual based websites, where they’re paid only for the amount of people who read their articles – this isn’t always a great deal however. Generally, private clients pay more, per piece, than web content portals and blogging networks.

An important thing to remember about content sites vs. private clients is that writers are able to negotiate payment with private clients. Sometimes they may have to go lower or pass on a particular client, but the writer has more control over his or her earnings. With content sites, you ‘take what you get and you don’t get upset.’ A writer can’t just apply for a content site gig and say, “hey, I want to earn $30 per article” when they only want to pay you five. There’s no negotiating.

Pay Raises

As mentioned above, private clients are generally more agreeable to raising rates when there’s an increase in the workload. Writers with private clients can also raise their base rates periodically as they build up experience and experience. Many writers give themselves annual cost of living increases, or at the very least, re-visit their finances and earnings to see if a pay raise is necessary. Some web content portals will give their longer-lasting writers an increase in pay – usually a few dollars more per article. This amount is generally non-negotiable. A client who is impressed with a writer’s work and wishes to keep retaining him usually has no problem paying a reasonable, periodic pay raise.

Experience

Private clients prefer writers with a bit of experience, especially experience writing for individuals or businesses rather than websites. While some web content sites are selective about the writers they hire, many sites will hire writers with no experience – in fact, they don’t always need writing samples. Thus, web content sites are an easier way for a brand new writer to get her foot in the proverbial door.

Job Security

Write for Cash, The Vines, Know More Media…these are all names of web content or blogging network sites that employed writers but closed their doors as soon as they ran out of money, leaving hundreds of writers without a steady income. Those writing for web content clients should probably remember these places don’t last forever. In fact, they may one day disappear, taking your writing with them. Recently, the content site E-How, which pays on a residual basis, deleted hundreds of articles without warning. The writers who wrote these articles now lost a chunk of their income and have to scramble elsewhere to make up the difference.

That isn’t to say, however, that clients don’t come and go as well. Some are good for a one off gig, while others have long term or continuous work for writers. Many writers have been with the same clients for years. Writers who prefer to work for private clients tend to work for several clients so as not to be left short if one client doesn’t have work for a while.

Finding Work

Content sites are always hiring and always advertising so it’s easy to find these types of jobs. Visit any writing blog or forum and you’ll find listings of web content sites. Private clients aren’t as easy to land. Though many do advertise on the job boards, they’re more selective with their hiring process and competition is tougher. Still, there are plenty of private clients hiring each and every day. Still more can be found via various methods including cold calling.

The Writing

Web content site articles can be fluffy, general articles which don’t require a lot of heavy research. Writers use a search engine to find information about topics and rewrite what they found via these search engines. For blogs and less research intensive sites, many bloggers and writers create general essays about topics they already know about.

Private clients expect a lot more bang for their buck. If they’re paying more money they want quality, original content. Private clients expect clean, factually correct copy. The private client will expect the writer to be an expert in the topic and write independently while meeting deadlines. Since the writing reflects the client, via website, brochure, sales letters, etc., it’s important for them to hire the best person for the job as opposed to the most prolific writers.

Editors & Rewrites

Most content sites have editors assigned to read over and approve articles before they’re posted, mostly they’re looking for typos and grammatical errors. If an article doesn’t make the cut either it will be sent back for a rewrite or rejected outright. It’s not unheard of for one content site editor to oversee twenty to thirty writers or more. It’s also not unheard of for a writer to re-write an article several times.

Private clients expect their writers to work independently. They’re willing to pay more for quality writing and don’t want to have to edit. Many private clients are trusting their writers to already know how to write well and have subject matter expertise.

The Job Hunt

Web content sites aren’t difficult to find. Visit any job search site and you’ll find tons of advertisements for content site writers. Many of these sites post dozens of job ads a day. There’s are a couple of reasons for this:

Some have a high turnover rate: Some web content sites aren’t known for paying out large sums of money. Writers use them as a starting point and move on.
Some are more interested in content than writers. Some web content site owners and editors prefer to make it about the content rather than the writers. As long as they bring in the search traffic and get the revenue flowing, it doesn’t matter if writers stay or go. Trying finding the sites that do the most for their writers and don’t make it about content only.

Private clients also advertise on job boards, their ads aren’t difficult to spot at all. However, unlike website content sites which hire multiple writers at a time, private clients only choose one or two writers out of (maybe) hundreds of applicants. Writers also use other methods, for instance cold calling, to find private clients rather than rely solely on job boards.

The Resume Factor

There’s endless debate over whether or not writers should list content sites on their resumes. For instance, many editors automatically reject resumes listing nothing but Associated Content articles. The reason for this is that Associated Content doesn’t screen writers before hiring them. They accept anyone without even having to see previous samples or proof of subject matter expertise. Also, certain schools won’t allow web content from sites such as Associated Content and Wikipedia to be used as sources for term papers or articles because the writing isn’t always factually correct. There are some web content sites with stricter acceptance policies, for example About.com, LoveToKnow and even Demand Studios that are better for listing as a reference. Think about who will look best on your resume before applying for a web content job.

Many people who hire writers find private clients to be good experience, especially if they’re a well known or prestigious brand (for example I wrote for Oxygen Media at one time). Because private clients are pickier over who they accept as writers, hiring editors are more impressed with these experiences.

Is There a Better Choice?

Is it better to write for a private client over a content site? That debate will probably go on forever. The choice is up to the writer. Many writers prefer one over the other and have very good reasons, such as those mentioned above, for doing so. Many more writers use a combination of both as the content sites are a great way to supplement income between income and jobs.

As long as the job is paying you the money you deserve and you’re not being taken advantage of, you can earn a lucrative income doing either. Just making the choices that are the best for you and your long term career.