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There is an article that sits upon the top of Triond’s ‘Hot Content’ list that I wish to publicly refute. While I am sure the author wrote the piece did so with good intent, upon reading it, I feel there is a significant chance it may be doing a disservice to many of the aspiring writers who use this site. But first, rather than taking a chance at misquoting, I will provide a link here. I encourage you to read it for yourself.

Why Hard Work Will Not Get You Onto The Hot Content List

Where to begin? To start with, the list itself. I have had a total of 52 articles make the top 10. As the author stated, it doesn’t always require a large number of views. I have made it with as few as 30. And it isn’t as if being there garners a million views; landing in the top 3 may get you a hundred or two. But I don’t think the list is about generating views. We are writers, and writers who publish want recognition. Having an article up there is like having your name in lights.

That being said, hard work absolutely will get you there… if it’s done correctly. I am proof of that. I am by no means a great writer. Some would say I am not even a good writer, although I would like to believe I am at least passable. But (and this might very well be the cardinal rule of Triond) regardless of how talented a writer you are, without effective promotion, you will not find many readers. If you want to attract enough viewers to make money (and the list) you need to get your work out into the web, not let it sit here.

I published a number of the articles the author pointed out on how to make money doing this. Surprisingly, I received a significant amount of ‘hate mail’ over these articles. Some claiming I did it simply to make money (and I did make a bit; there were about a half dozen of them, and I have made all of $10 or so from them) But most were genuinely upset with me. Who was I to share the ’secrets’ with people? And a number of articles were published disputing my methods. Discouraging people serves no purpose I can see, and while that may not be the intent of the article, the title sure comes across as discouraging to many.

So I will tell people that it simply isn’t true. I have never had an article reach 300 views first day and not hit the list. It’s a matter of working smart and hard. You can waste your time taking part in the ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ gambits that plague Triond, wasting hours to pick up a few dozen views and artificial strokes in your comment section, or you can learn how to do this the right way.

Let’s say that you spend 4 hours a week reading, commenting, pouring through a bunch of articles, 80% of which hold no specific interest for you. This works if you’re only here for the feedback; if youre here to make money, or to reach a larger audience it’s a futile effort.

My “Secrets” to Making Money and Publishing in Forums
How to Publish Your Writing Online and Get Paid for It
How to Market Your Articles in Forums and Chat Rooms
Successful Online Writing: How to Find Thousands of Views (and Still Write What You Want)

These are the articles I put together on how I do this. And it works. Before you get discouraged, or listen to discouraging advice, I would suggest you at least try these. The internet is more than big enough for us all to make money. Let’s stop holding our ’secrets’ to our chest and discouraging new members. There’s already a place for that… it’s called MySpace. This isn’t n exclusive little club, it’s a forum- a place for the sharing and exchange of ideas. Arrogance and greed are without point here. Let’s grow up a bit.