Writers Unbound

There are, literally, hundreds of blog communities out there screaming for your writing ability. Be a little discriminating about which ones you choose, however, and you can actually earn money (faster). Here’s my list of good potential sites. My criteria is pretty simple: 1) legitimate, non-spammy content and 2) cash up front or very high ad revenue sharing percentage. Or both. I’m not picky.

• Mahalo. I haven’t written for Mahalo, but they are in my top five of the “next blogging community sites to try out” list. (Okay, I don’t actually have a written down list with that long of a title… but mentally, well, yes, I must admit that I do…). The Mahalo deal is a little different; it’s not technically a blog you’re writing, it’s a Search Engine Results page (SeRP in Mahalo-speak). Basically, you apply to be a Greenhouse Guide, write an SeRP from one of the available titles, submit it for consideration, and get paid if it is approved. The pay rates vary pretty wildly: from a quick $10 or $12 up to $250 for (much) more involved pages. It also looks like, depending on which category you want to write for, you might have to contact particular editors for approval even after you’re approved as a Guide. I’m not sure. Once you’re logged in as a Guide, it may all be wide open. Anyway, it’s worth applying for and you could definitely pull together some quick cash because it’s a lot more researching and organizing information than spinning beautiful prose from the top of your head. Good gig for when your brain is mushy.
• Content Quake. I’m waiting to hear back on an application I submitted a few days ago. There are quite a few blogs in need of a writer, covering lots of different topics: American Idol, Home and Garden, Technology, Digital Cameras, Entertainment, Reality Cooking, Single Parenting… and many more. Some of the blogs are already up and had a previous writer and need someone new. Some are new blogs for which you would be the original writer. Content Quake pays per post (though they don’t say how much), uses Wordpress (always a good sign), and the application is quick and simple. The overall feel of the community is clean, fresh, and professional. I hope they like me.
• Bright Hub. This is a great, professional blog community with a goal to “share knowledge about how the simplest scientific idea evolves into tomorrow’s technology.” That whole “scientific” and “technology” aspect is not going to pull me in, as I have not enough expertise in either area to write consistently about it. I guess I could go back to school and try for a degree in physics or something, but that kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? However, for those of you who do know something about science, or technology, or science and technology, or some other, unnamed combination of the two, this is a great place for you. They have clear Writer’s Guidelines, pay $10 per post of 300 to 750 words, plus future revenue sharing (rate not specified, nor when “future” begins), and the application won’t take very long.
• Wise Bread. I’m an avid Wise Bread reader, and their writers consistently produce well-researched, well-written, in-depth articles. We’re not talkinga bout chintzy 500-word posts here. These people produce good content on a regular basis. One day I will be like them… Ahem. Okay. The deal is no cash up front or pay per post, but you getr 100% of the ad revenue from the pages that host your articles. Wise Bread, or Killer Aces Media, the parent company, makes their money from the ad revenue on the shared, community pages (topic lists, introductory pages, etc.). Pretty good deal. You can read through their guidelines for application here and decide if it’s a fit for you. Let me know if you get in…
• Parenting Squad. If you love Wise Bread and you have kids, you will love Parenting Squad. It’s part of the Killer Aces Media network, too, so you’re going to find the same high-quality articles, just across a totally different set of topics.You’re also looking at the same payment set-up as Wise Bread. See their guidelines for application here. Not surprisingly, very similar to the ones that Wise Bread has. Imagine that!
• Demand Studios. Not technically a blog, either, Demand Studios is the parent company of eHow.com. Now you can go to eHow.com and join as a writer and (potentially) make money from traffic revenue. Or you can go to the Demand Studios site, apply from the back-end, and earn $15 per how-to article. Sure, it’s not a huge amount and sure, you could potentially make more from the ad revenue generated over time. But sometimes a little cash now is a whole lot better than a shadowy big pile of cash in the distant future. There are lots of titles to choose from, once you’re approved as a writer, though some are kind of, um, obscure. Still, $15 is $15. If you know something about anything, you can write some of these.

That’s it for today. More to come, as I continue to check into all the blogging job options out there. Remember, you don’t have to write anything for $2 per post. Great content can get great pay, you just have to dig a little more.

Make it a good day.