I Earned $0.02 by Getting on The Hot Content List
Is making it onto the Hot Content list all that it’s cracked up to be?
The Coveted Spot: The Hot Content List
A search for “Hot Content” on the Triond Explore section returns page after page of articles explaining tips and tricks for getting an article on the Hot Content list. You can find all the information you could ever need or want about how to land an article on the Hot Content list by writing about intriguing topics, by improving the quality of your articles, by writing interesting titles for your articles, and by ferociously marketing your work to increase your hits.
Making it on the Hot Content list is viewed by many Trionders as a milestone, an indication that what they are writing is finally hitting the Big Time, and that success is now within their grasp.
But is the Hot Content List all that it’s cracked up to be?
My Experience on the Hot Content List
I’ve been writing for Triond for a little over three months now. It’s been a slow process, but I’m gradually learning how to write articles that people respond to. I’m also learning quite a bit about networking and marketing.
And, finally, on September 3,voila, all of my hard work paid off!
Or did it?
I published an article called How I Cat-Proofed My Home: Strategies for Dealing with Fur, Litter, and Throw Up. I’ve been writing a lot of cat articles as of late for a few reasons: 1) I LOVE cats! 2) My cat articles are outperforming all of my articles on other subjects in terms of hits and earnings. 3) Triond has promised higher payouts on the Real Owner site through the end of October.
Making the Hot Content List
How I Cat-Proofed My Home was published in the middle of the night (U.S. time) on September 3, so I don’t exactly know when it hit the Hot Content list. I’m assuming it was placed on this list fairly soon after it was published because I received several comments from people who had never commented on my work before in the early morning hours. Around 10:00 a.m., I noticed the article was on the Hot Content list. At this point, it had a grand total of 20 views. Yes, you read that correctly, 20 views!
So this leads me to believe that the number of views that an article receives is not the primary, or at least not the only factor, that determines which articles are elevated to Hot Content status.
110 Views and $0.02
By the end of September 3, How I Cat-Proofed My Home had received around 110 views and had received a payout for the day of $0.02. You read that right, too: $0.02. This was more than a little surprising to me. I’ve had many other articles that have substantially outperformed How I Cat-Proofed My Home, but they have not received any recognition from Triond. For instance, 12 Cats Caught in Funny, Embarrassing, Bizarre, and Compromising Situations received around 200 views its first day, earning around $1.50, and currently has nearly 770 hits, for total earnings of $5.07.
So, this brings up another question in my mind–why were the earnings on How I Cat-Proofed My Home so pitifilly low? All that I can think is that when the majority of hits come from Trionders, the ad revenue is not as high.
Great Comments and Support from Trionders
My 24 hours on the Hot Content list have led me to conclude that the best rewards from writing for Triond are not monetary. I received many wonderful, supportive comments from new and old friends on How I Cat-Proofed My Home. That was a huge confidence booster for me and has also given me a lot of incentive to continue writing.
My Two Cents
So . . . here are my two cents (pun intended!), for what they’re worth:
By all means, strive for the Hot Content list! But recognize that the highest-performing articles are not always the ones that land there. Reach for the stars so that you can meet more fellow writers who have hopes and dreams as big as yours, and who are ready and willing to support you in your writing endeavors.
I wish you all great success with your writing dreams.
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Tags: cat, cats, earning, hot content list, incentive, income, making money, the Real Owner, triond, why write, Writing
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September 5th, 2009 at 4:13 am
This is actually quite interesting but you know, I was on the ‘Hot Content’ list 4 times but oddly enough, only one of those articles managed to sustain its position on the ‘Hot Content’ list.
Triond does need to sort out its hot content though because like you said, your article was published at midnight and I live in the UK so I don’t know when it gets published. I know it doesn’t get published immediately which is a shame because there aren’t going to be very many people awake at 1 a.m. who really do want to read my article.
I think you have to fight and survive on the ‘Hot Content’ list if you want to make it big, but you know, loads of other writers say too that the ‘Hot Content’ list just puts you in the spotlight, how you display yourself, is up to you.
Good article though and an experience is always part of the learning curve. Hope to see more of your articles on Triond.
September 5th, 2009 at 4:50 am
This is great stuff mate. My goal is to get up on the list too! With the help you provided on this article, I feel a lot more confident to do so!
September 5th, 2009 at 5:33 am
I have a similar experience. I wrote an article on Ragdolls for The Real Owner and 300+ hots earned me over $1.50, yet my Toyger article, which has nearly 450 hits, has earned my just six cents! And it had nearly 400 hits in one day yet it didn’t make the hot list. Triond needs to be more consistent….
September 5th, 2009 at 11:24 am
This makes very interesting reading. The hot content list is an enigma, but I agree, it is not the only goal to strive for. I’m not sure what algorithm is used to determine the list, but it may include a bias towards articles on sites that are being promoted at that time.
I had one article (and only one) that received over 38000 hits in one day a couple of months back, but I have still to achieve a hot content listing. As you mention above, it’s the comments that make it all worth while.
Having said that, the hot content list is still an achievement and congratulations on making it there.
September 5th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
The ‘hot content’ debate continues! It’s still a mystery to me, though I do read some of the articles that appear on there.
September 6th, 2009 at 9:53 am
The hot content list baffles me. It seems to have no logical correlation between an articles popularity and actually being listed. Alas I’ve given up trying, I just strive for interesting content, more views and comments. That way I know I’m doing something right!
Great article =]
September 7th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Congratulations on this article getting on Hot Content!
But, I know where you’re coming from… I had an article on the hot content list. Believe it or not, I can’t remember how many views it got, but I know I was surprised. I don’t even think I made 2 cents.
However, I don’t write for the money. I write because that’s what I enjoy and the only reason it’s here is because I absolutely love hearing the comments of other users.
Nice article!
September 7th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
This confuses me too – because a Triond editor said pays come from views, but I don’t think that is accurate. If it were, then there would be an easily calculable ratio of views to pay. There doesn’t seem to be one; so my conclusion is that pays come from clicks on the advertising. When I have my head screwed on, I sometimes consider what advertisements might pop up on the article page I am writing. Usually though, I just write whatever I am interested in writing about at the moment.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:54 am
@ Atikin — Yeah, the Hot Content list doesn’t seem to have much to do with the number of views you get–at least not initially–but maybe you have to get a lot of hits to stay there.
@ CaSundara — I wish I knew how the pay works on Triond. I wonder if it is based on how many people are clicking on ads. That would explain the discrepancies.
@ Gary Wallace — Thank you for your note. I’m not sure there’s really much of a rhyme or reason to the Hot Content list.
@ Lostash — Yes, indeed, it is a great mystery.
@ emmahaynes — I saw that you currently have an article on the Hot Content list. Congrats!
@ Bailey Thompson — The comments definitely do make the writing worthwhile.
@ Louis T Wermann — The clicks on the ads are the only way to account for the differences in pay per hits on the articles–I agree.
September 11th, 2009 at 3:53 am
It really depends on the articless on the Hot Content List too, I guess. The frst time an article of mine landed on the list was after two months of being here too, an article about writing, then it was followed by my next post on the similar topic. Then I waited for a while before a poem landed on the list too.
I have benn writing health articles for some time, but the first time I hit the list was just a month ago, and since then almost all of my articles have made it. But views are still not that great.
Earnings depend on where your piece is published. Some sites pay high, some pay very low.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
I like cats to. I read as much as possible