If you’ve done any research at all up to this point, you know that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of article submission sites where you can publish your writing on the Internet. If you’ve done just a smidgen more research, you have learned that most of them don’t pay you anything to write. The ones that do pay you to write typically operate on what I like to call “Eyeball Earnings” - they pay you a given amount for each page view of your article. Just a small handful of those sites will offer any form of up-front payment whatsoever for Internet writing. Here is a guide to the sites that I have used in the past, and the results that I have experienced:
Associated Content - I start with Associated for two reasons: First, I’m doing this directory in alphabetical order. Second, I believe that Associated is the best place for a new Internet writer to cut their teeth. Associated content has two options for your article submissions. The first option pays you only for page views, but publishes your article quicker. The second option pays you a certain amount up front (typically from $3 to $40) for an approved article. I’ve used both methods, and had success with both. The web site itself is relatively easy to navigate, and the actual process of publishing your Internet writing is a breeze. If you’re new to article writing, I’d start with Associated Content.
Constant Content - Unlike Associated, CC Is a site I wouldn’t recommend if you are especially new to Internet writing. Constant Content is more of a broker than it is an article repository. Essentially, you can browse through the various article requests at Constant, and then write articles to fill those requests. However, they won’t always be accepted. In addition, until you’ve got a good handle on the various types of article rights(full rights, usage rights, etc).
eHow - My experience with eHow has been mixed. I’ve found that, maybe even more than some of the article sites where I’ve sent my Internet writing, the topic of an eHow article really determines how much you will make. As an example, I wrote an article about starting a running exercise program. At 128 page views, the article had made $0.55. I wrote an article the previous month about creating a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. At 400+ page views, it had earned $0.12. You might get lucky with eHow and find that your particular area of interest might be a higher paying one than mine have been.
eZineArticles - I have mixed emotions about eZineArticles. eZineArticles doesn’t offer its Internet writers any part of the revenue it received from the articles you submit. Instead, eZineArticles relies on its heavy traffic to click through your author links to generate hits on your web site. My problem here is that almost all of the article writing sites provide that same link. eZineArticles seems to work best if you’ve got a product to sell on a web site. In fact, I’ve made money on eZineArticles indirectly by doing paid Internet writing for those kinds of companies, who then submit the articles to eZineArticles to pull traffic to their own web sites.
Helium. I’m new to the helium world, but I’m intrigued. Helium seems to combine the basic revenue-sharing model of a site like eHow with the marketplace model like in Constant Content. This one, I think, has some excellent potential for Internet writers. On top of everything else, the site navigation is relatively simple, which is always a plus for me. ***Update on Helium.com for March 1, 2008: See The Helium Experiment for how you can use Helium.com today to make a bunch of money!***
The five sites above probably have enough potential for any new Internet writer to hone his or her writing skills, and make a few dollars in the process. While there are those that claim to earn a full-time income from some of these sites, I can’t say that I’ve done it this way myself or known anyone who has.
If those five sites aren’t enough for you, there are some other sites that I’ve seen recommended in the past but have not used (yet). If you use them, feel free to let me know how it works out for you and I can add your review to this directory. Here are the untested sites:
11 comments ↓
If you write well Associated Content will pay you a modest upfront payment for an article they accept. They don’t like subjects that have been dealt with already (or too often) on the site. Once they accept your article it can then earn, on a per-click basis. If they don’t want to pay for your article you can still post it and have it earn those pennies (which can accumulate over time).
Helium is a good site. I’ve been a member for close to a year now. If you market the way they tell you to market, write material that is rated well, enter their contests, and get material purchased by their publishers there can be money in it. Someone with over a thousand articles says she makes between 300 and 500 a month each month. A lot of people just don’t make anything near that, although many don’t have 1000 articles that have been sitting on there for over a year.
Once they’re written they’re earning you pennies, and you’re not doing anything - so why not post there? You keep your rights, although if the material is rated highly it will get a top place in search engines, making other sites less interested in posting the same material.
Hi Lisa, and thanks for stopping in!
I appreciate your insights. The big thing, for me, about these sites is the recursive income: there are topics on Helium that I know will consistently make me money for years to come.
The best way, in my mind, to reuse material is through other media - via e-books, pdf reports (I’m hoping to put out a free report on Helium after my experiment is done) etc. Once something appears twice it kills the page rank on both of them, so I try not to use the same material from site to site without reworking it significantly.
[...] Younce presents A Directory of Internet Article Writing Sites at The Writing Journey posted at The Writing [...]
This is great stuff. I’m comparing EZineArticles and Associated Content for a guest article on VigorousWriting.net that should come out here shortly. Meantime I’m looking at several of the sites you mentioned but didn’t get into. So far ArticleCity looks like it gives good distribution.
A potential experiment that I may write about would be to take an article and modify it slightly, then google the results to see who has the best distribution.
[...] it’s not surprising that article submission boards have risen in popularity. Bob Younce recently surveyed five such sites and still had nine left [...]
I have written a few articles and had them submitted to article directories. However, I have this concern that if the same article appeared in different directories and at the same time in my own blog, would it have a bad effect on my blog? I understand from a friend that I’ll get penalized for duplicate content.
BKs last blog post..Breaking Through Your Limits!
@ BK - I hit this question for you on the latest post. In short, it can indeed hurt you in search engine rankings.
[...] Younce presents A Directory of Internet Article Writing Sites posted at The Writing Journey, saying, “Bob Younce takes a look at the options writers have [...]
I tried Informative Post and it was okay, too. Basically, you earn two ways: upfront pay (rather small sum 3-4 dollars for 300 words) and per hit.
Nice list! I’ll probably link to this if you don’t mind. Thanks!
What do you think about hubpages.com? I have wrote a few articles on this site with little money made, but I am also new to article writing.
Спасибо!
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