Set it and Forget it

I have to admit that I don't remember exactly which infomercial this phrase came from. I think it had something to do with Ron Popeil and a chicken roaster, though I can't say for sure. The words, however, convey truly sage-like wisdom. "Set it and Forget it." How many parts of our lives could we apply this philosophy? I know I can think of a few, starting with my writing.

I've realized this philosophy is what I have been lacking as a freelance writer. Though it can be helpful to analyze one's earnings, I find I spend so much time checking and obsessing over my stats. If I would just spend that time writing, I probably wouldn't need to spend as much time worrying. It is always so much easier though to stare at a revenue chart and hit refresh repeatedly in hopes of new income. I, however, am now choosing to "write it and forget it", at least in the short term.

I need to really earn some money from this endeavor now, and the only way I can do that is to write, write, oh and write. So now I am going to spend the majority of my online time typing away at the keyboard and adding to my residual earnings.

But what about writer's block? Isn't that why so many of us end up squandering time online? Well, I have discovered that some sites require more writing effort than others. I can bust out five to ten Bukisa articles in two hours, whereas I might just be able to write one good Suite101 article during that time. If I find that I'm hitting my head on a brick wall at one site, I can always switch to the easier sites and get in some fast articles. Either way, I'm making money instead of just staring at the computer in a fog.

I hope to someday not need to write so much in a day, but I need to make money and this seems like the best way in the short term to do it. I want to have a substantial residual revenue stream and that only comes with a large amount of quality articles. So, with that in mind, I'm going to write, write, oh and write my way to a steady income from residuals.

Broke, Busy and Bustin a Move with Bukisa

Well, as the title above indicates, I'm pretty broke right now. Sure, I'm paying the bills, but my goal is to increase my residual income, and it seems to be stagnating. So no time for moping around, I'll just work harder and evaluate my goals.

Originally, I was spending most of my time writing for Suite101. Though I'm still writing quite a bit for the site, my earnings seem to be standing still. Who knows if this will turn around in the short term, though I'm sure that the earnings will pick up over time as I write more content. That said, I need to put my eggs in a few different baskets. With that in mind, I have decided to pursue another 100 article challenge.

My next goal is to publish 100 articles on Bukisa and track their earnings. I primarily use Bukisa as a place to promote my articles for other sites. Their 200-word requirement makes writing articles a breeze, and I have seen some decent earnings for the minimal amount of work involved. I might as well track those earnings and see just how profitable Bukisa actually is.

I have already done this experiment with eHow articles, and it will be interesting to compare my earnings from eHow with the earnings from Bukisa. I'd like to get 100 articles completed within two months, but this is also a very hectic jewelry-making time for me, so we'll see how things go.

Anyway, feel free to try this experiment with me. I would love to see exactly how much one can actually benefit from the earnings on Bukisa. I'm excited to track the progress. Be looking soon for my 100th article announcement.

Use Bukisa to Increase Page Views on Other Writing Sites

 Bukisa is an online writing site that pays residuals to writers. The site works on a revenue-share basis and writers receive money based on page views. At a minimum of only 250 words, Bukisa articles are short and simple to write. Membership to the site is free and anyone can quickly sign up and start writing.

Beyond the potential to make money with Bukisa articles, writers can also use the site to drive traffic back to articles on other sites. By using this simple strategy, writers can increase their income.

Start by finding articles you wrote that highlight a couple of different points. For instance, say you wrote an article entitled, "The Top Three Sushi Restaurants in Chicago" or "Three Green Craft Projects that use Recycled Supplies"? Both of those articles highlight three distinct items under one unifying theme.

After finding these articles, start promoting them through Bukisa. Start by writing a short article about one of the topics in your larger article. For instance, if you want to link back to the article on the top three sushi restaurants, write a Bukisa article on one of those restaurants. Because the original article contains three restaurants, three seperate Bukisa articles can be created and linked back to promote the original article. So for each larger article, you will create multiple Bukisa articles that link back to it.

The great thing about this strategy is the fact that you end up making money on all fronts. You increase your  page views for your other writing sites. You also earn residual income from your Bukisa articles. It's also a simple way to create a great amount of content with the same key words and topics. This helps to prevent research burnout and writer's block.

Use this writing strategy to work smarter instead of harder. Sign up for Bukisa and start writing short articles that can promote larger articles. It's one way to generate a larger audience and greater income without much more effort.

Why am I Not Writing More for Bukisa?

So I just realized that I have only two active articles on Bukisa. To be honest, I'm not really sure why I haven't written more articles for the site.

Though Bukisa doesn't seem to show a great PPM (pay per 1000 views), it does provide a great venue for writing many articles in a short amount of time and could turn out to be another decent money-maker.

Bukisa articles need only to be 250 words long and can be written on any topic. Like eHow, Bukisa's articles are simple to write and anyone can crank out quite a bit of content in a short amount of time. Though it would be tough to make decent money on Bukisa alone, it could help to add to my income from my other residual sites.

For this reason, I am going to try to increase my Bukisa articles over the next couple of months. I'm dedicating one day of the week solely to my writing and the rest will be primarily focused on jewelry. Hopefully by diversifying the sites I use, I will be able to make a more steady stream of monthly income.

My ultimate goal is to pay my mortgage solely from residual income. This will take pressure off of my jewelry business and will help when I have lean financial months. I'll try to keep everyone posted on my Bukisa experience. Hopefully I will have some good news to post.

Make $5000 a Month Freelancing

Okay, maybe $5000 a month is shooting for the stars, but it is possible. This week Suite101 sent out a letter to announce that a member made $5000 in residuals over a one month period. As a struggling freelancer, this news is incredibly encouraging. Though I realize that I probably won't be anywhere near this number for a long time, it is great to keep in mind that I could possibly make this much in the future. I would be happy with half of this amount, but I won't be able to get there without consistently adding articles to residual sites.

I think that often times it's easy to start strong as an SEO writer and then fizzle out, but I'm going to focus on frequently adding content to my online sites so that I can one day get to that $5000 mark. If you want to give it a go as well, click on the Suite101 or Bukisa widgets on the side of this blog to join and start writing for residuals.

Be the Tortoise When Writing for Residual Income

Though I have not been writing for residual income for long, I have seen the potential for making money long-term with seo writing. For instance, I have seen my E-how monthly income rise by $5 a month since I started writing. Though this meager amount is nothing to get excited about now, it shows that I can build my residual income over the long run. So in short, slow and steady wins the race and it pays to be the tortoise rather than the hare.

That said, I think it is important to write as many articles as you can when you are starting out. I look at it like banking. The more money you are able to place in savings when you are younger, the more money you will be able to earn through interest. I see the residual writing game in much the same light. Compiling a large collection of articles on many sites early in the game, will help you see your residuals grow more in the long term.

Ofcourse, like any good savings plan, regular deposits are a must. Once you have reached an initial goal of 50-100 articles on any site, start a new minimum goal for each site. You could require yourself to write at least one article a week, or two a month. As long as you are contributing regularly, you can see steady residual growth.

Staying with the savings and banking analogy, make sure to also diversify your deposits. Bank articles in many different residual sites to see money from each. Each site will have its own positives and negatives. Having articles in many online communities and sites will help you establish your online presence and bring in more revenue. Some online residual sites to consider include ehow, bukisa, associated content, suite101 and hub pages. Any of these sites, with the exception of associated content, can be accessed by clicking on the links on the side bar of this page.

Remember that slow and steady wins the race. If you stick with it, you will see returns and growth. Good Luck!

Diversify Without Spreading Yourself Too Thin

Online freelance writers or SEO writers can easily find themselves spread thin trying to write for the many residual and up-front payment sites available. Freelance writing is as much about being a multitasker and time manager as it is about being a skilled writer and researcher. So how do you know where and how to spend your time?

Originally, I thought that I would spend most of my time writing for up-front payment sites like DemandStudios because it seemed like I could make the most money from those sites. After I thought about it though, I realized that they couldn't pay me what they were offering for my articles if they weren't making money off of them. That's when I realized that writing for residual pay had the most potential for long-term money making. That's not to say that I didn't still write an occasional up-front payment article. It's always nice to have immediate money. I just figured that I wasn't going to spend much more time with up-front payment sites than I needed to.

So, I am currently trying to add as much quality content as I can to two residual sites: E-how and Suite101. I think that these two sites have the greatest money-making potential. Suite101 even offers a 10% bonus once you reach 50 articles. I am also slowly sprinkling in articles to sites like Bukisa and Associated Content. I am working hard at producing high-quality articles with optimized keyword usage. By honing the majority of my focus on two specific sites, I am able to be more productive and feel less like I am spreading myself thin.

Am I The Only One Confused By Helium?

So I am trying out Helium for the first time. I have heard very little about it and I'm blindly feeling my way through the site.

Initially it sounded pretty great because you supposedly get up-front payments and residuals on your articles. In fact, I was offered a payment of $5 for my first article.

I guess my problem is that their site is difficult to navigate and I'm taking a while to fully understand what I need to do. For instance, I wrote my first article, but I don't know where to check to know if I was paid the $5. Also, they require writers to not only write a certain amount in a given time, but also to rate a certain amount of articles in a given time. I've never worked for a site that required writers to make ratings. I guess it makes sense, but I am still confused.
I just wish there was a simpler way to check what I needed to do.

Now for what I do like about Helium. The site allows you to write about topics about which other writers are posting articles. If you are reading an article based on a writing prompt, you can click on a little pencil logo and write an article based on the same prompt.

All in all, I still think it's a little early for me to sum up my overall experience with Helium, but I hope that my confusion lessons as I continue to use the site. What are your thoughts about Helium? I would love to hear how others are using the site.

Making the Most of a Layoff

As many of you out there, I have been hit hard by the recession. I thought that I was one of the lucky few who had a job that was recession proof. As a teacher, I thought that I would certainly have a job next year. So when I was called into the principal's office and told that I was being let go due to financial and staffing issues, I was shocked. It turns out even public education has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn.

So, after allowing myself to be shell-shocked for a couple days, I decided to devise a plan of action that would allow me to make money even if I couldn't find another teaching job. I earned my first degree in journalism and I remembered my professors talking about freelance writing. I thought that I might as well give it a try. Little did I know that the Internet had made freelance writing extremely convenient and endlessly profitable.

I did a couple of searches for freelance writing sites and read a few blogs about freelance writing on the Internet. I started with a website called Ehow.com. Ehow allows writers to post articles about how to do just about anything. The articles earn residuals, that is to say that they earn money based on how many people read the articles and find them useful. The more articles you write, the more money you earn, and Ehow articles continue to make money as long as they are posted online.

I eventually went on to find more residual-based sites such as Bukisa and Suite101. These sites allow you to write about whatever you want. Writers earn more at Bukisa when they build their network by asking friends to sign up. Suite101 also pays residuals and a bonus of 10% once you publish 50 articles. The site provides excellent editor advice as well. By writing for these different sites, I am able to improve my skills and enhance my monthly earnings.

I also found some sites that pay up-front payments for articles. Demand Studios pays $15 for every article accepted. They also have a stringent editing process and many times they will ask for a rewrite of your article. If you have strong writing skills though, you will be able to make fairly decent money with Demand Studios. Demand Studios also provides a residual program but, in my opinion, I don't think you make as much money with residuals on Demand Studios as with other sites like Ehow. I also just signed up for Helium, but I haven't written any articles yet. I will report back once I see how that site works.

Anyway, I'm also starting this blog to let others know about online freelance writing. I will try to keep you posted of my trials and successes. If you are a freelance writer, I would love to hear your stories too.