How it’s really done.
Much has been written about how to make individual articles do well. One need only to type ‘making money’ into the explore section on Triond, and you will be served a nearly endless (and, in most cases, useless) articles giving tips on exactly this. And while there is a good deal of excitement to be found in making the hot content list, and watching the initial wave of views on a successful article, the truth is that if you really are here to make money, these aren’t the things you should concern yourself with.
Some facts that need to be considered:
I do several Sports series articles. They do extremely well, with views numbering in the tens of thousands. And they are what I call ‘flash pieces’; in other words, they do very well for a very short period of time, but burn out quickly. Guaranteed Picks for NFL Week 7 looks great for a while; it will sit on the hot content list for a few days, but as soon as week 8 arrives, this article is dead.
Which brings me to my first point; articles must be written with longevity in mind.
Hairless Cats, Feline Humor, and Why I Love My Stupid Dog
Women Who Rock: Oh, How We Love It Dirty
13 Songs in The Key of Angry
11 Movies That Will Make a Grown Man Cry
Memory Boxes: A Way to Preserve Your Kid’s Childhood
The titles tell you all you need to know here. These are articles that have no time limit; they will be as relevant in two years as they are today. And as such, if promoted properly (we’ll get to that) they will continue to attract views. There are two types of titles that work well for articles such as these; tongue in cheek (which, as you can see I use at times) or straight forward. If you are just starting, stick with straight forward. An article about changing the oil on your car should probably be called “How to Change the Oil In Your Car.”
Make sure you make your articles clear and concise. Use spell check. The more user friendly it is, the more it will be used.
Promoting the ‘Big Hit’ articles is very time consuming. As most of us have jobs, families, and lives, there is only so much time left for writing and promoting. So keep it simple. The two most important aspects of your finished articles are using good keywords and getting them submitted to search engines like Yahoo and Google. For the latter I recommend Submit Express, a free service that will plug you in to more than 20 of them in moments. (That tip came from Louie Jerome, many thanks). Don’t waste your time with the likes of Digg and Reddit for this type of writing.
As far as key words (tags), be creative. I ask myself this question: “If I were googling ??????, what would I type in? Better too many than not enough. Look at other articles on similar subjects online to find ideas. Remember, these words are the magnets that draw those views.
Keep an idea book. I keep it in the notes on my phone. If you have an idea for an article, jot it down. Ever had an idea for an article, forgotten it, and seen down the road that someone else did it?
Write often. This is where the silly articles about so many views per day come in to play. The five articles listed above average anywhere from 50-100 views per day. High end, that’s a nickel or a dime a day. But for that one animal article, I will make that nickel a day every day. It doesn’t sound like much, but that nickel a day is $1.50 a month. 100 of those, and I’m generating $150.00 a month. Not every article will do that. Some may only get you 10 hits a day, but it still adds up.
Don’t publish crap. Take the time to do your research. Garbage has a tendency of sinking to the bottom, and the equation goes both ways… people don’t use garbage again.
Finally, link your articles to other relevant articles.
Use other sites where you can recycle your works. Bukisa, Redgage, and Shetoldme are good examples. This gives you the chance to make the same pennies again, and fits in because it takes only moments.
To summarize:
- Write articles that are informative and have no expiration date.
- Give it attractive tags
- Use a title that will attract the type of attention you want
- Submit it to search engines
If you can manage an article a day, and it gets 10 views a day, in a year you have 300+ articles. even if each one earned just a penny a day, you’d be looking at $3.00 a day. That’s 90 bucks a month. Do the math.
So if you really are here for the money, don’t waste time trying to reach the hot content list; some of Triond’s most lucrative earners have never seen it. True money making here is about longevity.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:24 am
I will add submit express to my list…thanks for the info
October 20th, 2009 at 5:31 am
excellent
October 20th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Experts written…Thanks!
October 20th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Thanks for the share a great write from you its nice to have a helping hand!
October 20th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Very helpful. One thing I can’t understand is that the Top Search Phrases that show up on my dashboard are usually completely different from the sort of phrases I would use when Googling something!
October 20th, 2009 at 8:13 am
A very helpful and informative article. Thanks for sharing.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:44 am
thanks for another great piece, yet again.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
You’re okay Mnof…I don’t care what Jeffy says about ya.
Actually, I wrote one of my last articles specifically following the keyword rule of using as many keywords as possible in the first 100 words.
That article has recieved more views in five days than my formerly most viewed article received in four months.
Thanks for providing the link to submit express. I remember Louie Jerome talking about that but I couldn’t find it again.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Very useful. I wirte from time to time about sports, but scuba diving is not the most popular one
October 20th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I find stumble upon does well for me, and my longivity articles on Thanksgiving and Christmas, because people will keep searching for it,
If you add ever green content, and submit, and use proper SEO you will gain views, I do know some on AC that make several hundreds of dollars a month on OLD ARTICLES
it takes time is all
October 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
This is some of the most helpful information I’ve ever found online about writing. I have returned to it twice to reread….Thanks so much.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
great advice
October 20th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
the only thing with submit express that needs to be mentioned, only once a month can the site be submitted, and I think it is more your personal blog, or site, or maybe triond page, not individual links like digg,
i submitted my wordpress blog..thanks for the advice on that one
October 20th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
> use spell check. The more user friendly it is, the more it will be
> used.
This is true, and a good spell check and grammar check program is Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It works in all programs, including blogs, and email.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:27 am
Really wise advice, I think. Will have to follow them.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:29 am
very informative, i will add this site on my list thank you.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Kool Beans,
Thanks for the wonderful article.