I'd like to write articles online.(Think Huffington Post) The kind of page people here might go to search for answers or information. I found this list, but I was wondering what you recommend. http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-to-get-paid-blogging?

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3 Answers

Yo Kass Profile
Yo Kass answered

If you're simply interested in writing and getting your work out there, then it shouldn't be too hard to find somewhere to post your articles.

However, judging from the list you linked to - I'm guessing you'd like those articles to earn you money too?

That's where things could get a little trickier...

Yes, sites like Hubpages and Fiverr can earn you some cash, but to be honest making a proper living this way is very difficult (not impossible, but still...)

And, if you're interested in providing well-crafted content to other people's sites - you may as well be setting up your own blog/site, and serving some ads on those pages yourself. That makes a lot more sense than revenue-sharing to me.

Blogging for money

Wordpress is probably the most comprehensive blogging platform, but if you're looking for something that's easy to set up, where you can start serving ads very quickly (and without having to copy and paste any javascript) then Googe's Blogspot is also very convenient, and you can link up to Adsense in a couple of clicks too.

Serving affiliate banners on your site is another option, but to be honest none of this is going to make you anywhere near enough money unless you have one thing: TRAFFIC.

How to get traffic to your site

I could write several answers worth of advice about how to drive traffic to your site, but what it boils down to is writing good content that many people are searching for, but not many publishers are providing yet. That's where you're likely to see the biggest gains initially.

Once you've established yourself as an authority, then traffic and money should start flowing a little easier.

Traffic sources

Like I said, web traffic is the key to making money online The more visitors stop by to check out your work, the more money you can potentially make.

Most websites and blogs really on "search traffic" - users searching for information on Google, Bing, or Yahoo - and ending up on one of the sites in these search engines' listings.

There are things you can do to help your site climb these listings (or search engine result pages), but I won't get into that here.

The second major source of traffic for online content is social media. If you set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, G+ and other networks - and create enough buzz about your articles, people will begin to drop by to see what's going on.

Guest posting and becoming an authority

One major piece of advice I'd suggest you think about before you set out is what topic or niche you are going to cover.

You mentioned HuffPost, but that is a large project supported by a network of people. If you're starting off alone, I'd recommend deciding on one topic and focusing on that first.

Guest posting is something else I'd really recommend. People often agree to guest post (write for other sites for free) because they are allowed to put a back-link pointing to their site.

More than link-juice, guest posting can also give you a chance to showcase a "sample" of your work.

I'd recommend sites like Medium (or Blurtit of course), because they gladly accept public submissions, but also get enough traffic that posting on them is worthwhile.

Finally, establishing yourself as an authority or expert about a certain topic is useful for more things than just netting some ad clicks.

It's also a great way to network and meet people, and hopefully land some paid-work through the contacts you make.

1 Person thanked the writer.
Meadow Rain
Meadow Rain commented
THANK YOU! Great answer! I think my short term goal is just to get some writing experience and get myself out there. I read so many articles and think "Gosh, I could have written that in my sleep and thousands of people are "liking, pinning, and sharing THAT?!" How about if I created some really good? Write some quality articles or even just fun or random articles. I think maybe the journalist in me is creeping back up after all these years buried underground! lol The goal wasn't to make a career of it, though some payment would be nice. I do know I have a hard time narrowing in on a single thing to be an authority on which is why I love Blurtit so much! I don't have to pick one thing I can share my knowledge or research about many things.
I like your tips, Kass. I love the idea of guest posting. I'm thinking that's more of where I'd like to start out but first it sounds like I should start my own blog so I can have it refer back to me.
Looks like I have some work to do :) Seriously, again, thank you! Great answer!
Yo Kass
Yo Kass commented
Oh I'm really glad it was helpful, I was worried I'd gone off on a tangent :)

By the way, if you're interested in learning a bit more about getting your Blurtit answers or blog articles seen on Google search pages, we're organising a Blurtit Google+ Hangout about SEO soon.

Keep an eye out for today's community newslettter, there'll be a bit more info there!
Meadow Rain
Meadow Rain commented
Sounds Great! I'll check it out! And as far as tangents go, Im the "Queen of the Novel" as I've been nicknamed since I was a kid lol (no joke) It takes everything in me to try to narrow things down. I call Twitter my rehab for word overflow! This is so much fun, Kass! Thank you again for letting me be a part of this!
Petar A Profile
Petar A answered

Why don't you think about content writing on some online services? You can land on projects with various topics and articles in different length. I can recommend http://www.iwriter.com for start, where you can see various articles and choose one to work on. At the start the money isn't big but if you become elite writer you can earn some decent money. Registration is free and they pay on PayPal account. If you need any more help, please contact me. All the best!

Steve Fort Profile
Steve Fort answered

Hey I want to register on that iwritet site. What will be the article length and when will they pay? What happen if my article is unique, they accept once and then they may say no payment, then who will take responsibility for payment?

thanked the writer.
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Steve Fort
Steve Fort commented
Ok.. Sorry I forget to write in comment..
Petar A
Petar A commented
Ok, I'll answer here. First, sorry for delayed answer, my gmail put notification in SPAM folder...
- Different requesters need different articles with different length. Articles ranges from 150 words to 1000 words. My advice is to start with short articles (choose articles from 140 to 300 words). As soon as you write and submit article, requester have 72 hours to approve it or reject it (my experience was 2 to 3 hours). When requester approves it you are payed instantly.
- If requester accepts your article, he can't reject it and vice versa.
- Good thing about 72 hours wait is if requester does not approve or reject article in 72 hours, you'll get paid... :)
Steve Fort
Steve Fort commented
Thanks Petar.

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