Webupon

I’ve been writing for web sites for over two years now, and in the beginning, I struggled to earn just a few pennies, then a few dollars here and there for my articles. I kept adding content at sites that paid for page views from my articles, expecting my revenues to rise as I published more and more stories. However, I quickly discovered that publishing articles on sites that paid me according to the number of page views was never going to help me achieve my goal of being a full time freelance writer.

After being frustrated by the dismally low pay rates on some of the writing sites out there, I stumbled across a web site called Xomba. Last fall I saw a posting by a Xomba member called GoingtoOahu and she mentioned earning over $1,000 a month spending a few hours a day working on Xomba and another site called Flixya. I was amazed and wondered could these earnings really be possible? I decided to sign up at Xomba.com (using her referral link) and see for myself if I could make a good living writing for the site.

My Experience Writing for Xomba

Xomba is an AdSense revenue sharing site, and Xomba shares a 50/50 split of the income from ads that display on your posts (your ads are displayed half the time, and Xomba’s ads are displayed half the time). Xomba writers can post Xombytes (articles of at least 150 words each) and Xomblurbs (bookmarks of videos, articles, blogs or photos that have a brief written description of the bookmark).

I joined Xomba in late September 2008, and at first I was very skeptical about the whole concept of sharing in AdSense revenues from ads displayed on my articles, versus getting paid for page views on my stories. Things were slow for me on Xomba at first, I was still getting the hang of the site and my earnings were 4 cents that September!

Then I got excited, because as I added some Xomblurbs and Xombytes, I started seeing a trickle of income pouring in! At the end of October 2008, I was pleased to discover my earnings were about $15. I still had a long way to go to earn that first AdSense check, because AdSense members only qualify for a payment when their earnings reach $100. It seemed eons away at that point, but I decided to devote myself to adding more content to Xomba and seeing what could happen.

$15 doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’ve found that it can be hard to earn that much in one month on sites that pay according to page views on articles. AdSense revenue sharing, in my opinion, was shaping up to be a lot more lucrative way to earn money as an online writer. I pressed forward and earned about $60 the next two months on Xomba, closing out 2008 by qualifying for my first AdSense check. This check was for approximately $149, which represented all of my Xomba earnings since I signed up for the site.

Boy was I ever excited to trudge out to the mailbox and receive my first Google AdSense check, it was such a thrill! I continued working on Xomba but after the New Year, my earnings started to dip slightly but I kept working at the site, and in the spring, things started looking up again. In April, I qualified for another check of just over $100. Throughout most of the summer, my earnings settled at about $60 per month, meaning I’d qualify for an AdSense check about every other month.

In late summer 2009, I decided to really pour it on and work hard on Xomba to reach a goal of having over 1,000 Xomblurbs posted at the site. I started posting even more Xomblurbs, and August 2009 was the first month I qualified for my AdSense check by earning over $100 in one month. In late September 2009, more exciting things happened for me on Xomba. I set a goal of trying to earn $10 in one day with AdSense (from my Xomba writing.) I kept coming closer and closer, and finally it happened: one day in the last week of September I logged in to discover I had made over $10 the day before!

The next day I earned almost $20 in AdSense earnings in one day! Now my AdSense income has settled back into a pattern of $5 to $10 per day. In the Xomba newsletter sent to Xomba members, the Xomba team mentions that some Xombies (Xomba writers) do earn $1,000 per month or more. For September 2009, I hope to earn $200 this month and I’m already very close to this goal.

Most amazing of all is the fact that I earn money with Xomba and AdSense even on days that I don’t get to add new content there. For example, I’ve had the flu for a week and had lots of other things going on in my life that slowed me down and kept me from working on Xomba, yet my earnings have soared based on my existing work on Xomba. I feel that Xomba represents one of the best ways to earn passive residual income as a freelance writer.

Some Tips for Increasing AdSense Earnings with Xomba

Looking back over my incredible year with Xomba, I’ve definitely noticed that some things have helped me increase my AdSense revenues, so I’d like to share these tips about what has worked for me. First, add content to Xomba on a consistent basis. Some wonder whether it’s better to add Xombytes or Xomblurbs. For me, the answer is it’s better to add lots of Xomblurbs, but for other writers, it could be more lucrative to write lots of Xombytes. I’ve noticed that my Xombytes don’t earn nearly as much revenue as my Xomblurbs, so I tend to post more blurbs than bytes (I have 37 Xombytes and 950 Xomblurbs on Xomba as of this writing.)

In my experience, setting up AdSense channels for your Xomba work is an essential part of increasing AdSense earnings. It’s completely free to set up AdSense channels, where you can track earnings from individual URLS, such as the ones for your Xombytes and Xomblurbs. It took me a long time to set up AdSense channels to track revenues, and I wish I’d done it a lot sooner (the process seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, setting up channels is quick and easy). I have an article published in the Xomba help pages section called the Community Think Tank all about how to increase your Xomba earnings by setting up AdSense channels.

I set up an AdSense channel for each new Xomblurb or Xombyte I post to Xomba, this way I can keep track of how this new content is performing for me. By carefully studying my “Top Channels” I can determine what kind of Xomba content earns me the most revenue. I’ve learned that Xomba readers like anything about hot celebrities, current events and free things, like free coupons, deals, freebies and printables, so I try to post as many Xomblurbs about these topics as I possibly can.

I also try to make my Xomba writing as “evergreen” as possible. Earlier in the summer I made some nice income posting a ton of Xomblurbs about Father’s Day and the Fourth of July; however, when those holidays passed, I’m no longer earning any revenue at all from those postings. Now, rather than make all my Xomba writing seasonal, I post Xombytes and blurbs that will have lots of year round appeal. I’m doing some Xomblurbs about Halloween right now, but not too many, as I’d rather post about things that will interest Xomba readers all year long (guaranteeing me more steady revenues).

Promoting your referral link is another important way to increase your Xomba earnings. I sometimes mention my referral link in my articles about writing or in a follow up posting. Every time someone signs up for Xomba using your referral link, you receive 10 per cent of their earnings (they still get all of their earnings and you receive your regular earnings also, this additional ten per cent is extra!) I’ve found that this bonus from Xomba can add up over time, as I’ve tried to track some recent increases in my Xomba earnings from my AdSense channels, and can only conclude that the earnings boost may be coming from my referrals this summer.

A few weeks ago, another writer who was following me on Twitter was interested in joining Xomba and saw one of my articles about writing for Xomba. She said my article was helpful, and asked me to tweet my Xomba referral link! I tweeted my referral link and also my referral link for a site called Infopirate and she joined both sites using my referral links, which was amazing. Tweeting links to your Xomba writing and getting your Xomba referral link out there is a great way to increase Xomba earnings.

For other ways to boost your Xomba revenues, check out the help pages on Xomba, where there’s a lot of great information about how to earn money on Xomba. I confess that I don’t do much social bookmarking of my Xombytes or Xomblurbs and I’m still thrilled with my earnings. I think I get the most mileage out of tweeting my Xomba work, but there are other ways to get the word out about your Xomba writing, like Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon, and lots of other networking and bookmarking sites. (You can even include your Xomba referral link and a link to your Xomba profile page at the end of your Xombytes and Xomblurbs).

In my year of writing for Xomba, I’ve been thrilled with the community. I really like the people there and it’s been a pleasure writing for Xomba (I am proud to be a Xombie with one year under my belt!) I’ve made hundreds of dollars with Xomba and Adsense in the past year, and I’m excited to see what this upcoming year will bring. I’ve also started working with my blogs and I also post bookmarks on an AdSense revenue sharing site called Infopirate.org.

I’m really excited about the income potential of Xomba, and in my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to earn money with AdSense. Soon, I hope to be making enough income to cover monthly rent, just by working with AdSense revenue sharing sites like Xomba, Infopirate and building up my blogs. I highly recommend Xomba for anyone who is serious about making a nice part time income or even a full time income as a freelance writer.