Writing for Xomba: An Update

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Writing for Xomba: An Update

Posted on October 25th, 2008 in Online Writing by Allison West

A little over a month ago, I joined the website Xomba and wrote a review about the site. This article is an update about my experience writing for Xomba.

A little over a month ago I joined Xomba, and recently wrote a review about my experiences on the site. When I first joined Xomba, I was full of high hopes, and expected great things from its earnings potential. I had read these fantastic claims about people making a living writing for Xomba, and I’m hoping to make a full time living from my online articles, so I was filled with optimism and eager to get started writing for the site.

As I started to work on Xomba, I felt frustrated because I was writing for the site, but earning next to nothing for my efforts. As I explained in my previous article about Xomba, writers don’t get paid by Xomba for page views at the site. Instead, they share in ad revenues generated from clicks on Google AdSense advertisements displayed on Xomba pages. Those who participate in Xomba must insert their Google AdSense account number into their Xomba account, as earnings from Xomba are paid directly through Google AdSense.

My Xomba Experience

I have to admit, it was certainly frustrating at first to see some really nice page views for my work on Xomba, but no income. I started out in my first weeks on Xomba posting just a few Xombytes, and a few more Xomblurbs. I was also frustrated when I found out there was an error that meant all my Xombytes didn’t link back to my Xomba profile (I thought this error might decrease my earnings if readers couldn’t find my Xombytes from my profile.)

When I wrote my review of Xomba, I had earned about 4 cents on the site in about two weeks, and I had received very few clicks. I was thinking about throwing in the towel at Xomba in favor of just spending all my time on sites like Triond and Associated Content, where I receive earnings from page views.

Despite the discouragement, this voice inside said to give Xomba more time. In one of my earliest months working on Triond I didn’t even earn enough to qualify for the minimum 50 cent payment amount at PayPal! I’ve learned as an online writer that things often take time to build, so instead of giving up, I thought I’d still work on Xomba a little bit to see what might happen.

One day shortly after writing my last Xomba review, I logged into my Google AdSense to discover I had 35 cents in my account. Then another day, I had 95 cents in earnings. These figures seem small, but in my early days on Triond and Associated Content, I remember earning literally pennies in a month. Earning almost a dollar a day wasn’t common for me, so I felt excited about these Xomba earnings.

A few days ago, I logged into my Google AdSense account on a Sunday afternoon to discover I had earned $3.88 the day before. I was really thrilled to discover that much money from my Xomba earnings. I do have a blog that displays AdSense, but I don’t get much traffic because my blog is more of a personal journal, and I don’t really monetize or promote my blog right now. I feel that most of the money in my Google AdSense account has been earned from working on Xomba.

Tips for Working on Xomba

If you’d like to give Xomba a try, here are some tips that I believe are working for me. So far I’ve been on Xomba just over a month and I’ve earned almost ten dollars. It takes a hundred dollars in AdSense earnings to qualify for a payout; however, I have a feeling I’m well on my way to reaching my first hundred dollars on Google AdSense.

As I write this review, I currently have 6 Xombytes and 28 Xomblurbs posted on Xomba. I find that I receive small revenues in my AdSense account each day, even though I haven’t invested any time in social bookmarking my Xomba articles. Even though the error in my Xomba account means that my Xombytes aren’t linked to my Xomba profile, I don’t believe that has really hurt my revenues (because my most recent posts are featured on my profile page and my Xombytes are discoverable to readers by the way they are tagged).

Xomba lists the most popular tags on the site, so I try to create Xomblurbs around these popular tags as much as possible (for example, travel is a popular tag, so I’ve done some Xomblurbs about travel articles, making sure I also tag my Xomblurb with the word “travel”). I also try to create a wide variety of Xomblurbs on lots of different topics, hoping something will catch a reader’s eye (and perhaps increase my revenues).

I decided to create some Xomblurbs about what I found interesting, things like fashion, or holidays. I think when you bookmark things on Xomba that you like, and write a little description to go with your Xomblurb, you can’t go wrong. Readers will pick up on your enthusiasm and in my opinion, that will lead to more readers and increased earnings.

What’s nice about Xomba is that you can bookmark your own articles from other sites. I often create Xomblurbs that link to my Triond articles, and I’ve seen Xomba members link to their blogs and websites. (Please note that creating Xomblurbs that link to your own Xombytes is strictly forbidden, and this is an important point to remember as you are working on Xomba).

Increasing the number of articles called “Xombytes” has also helped me increase my Xomba revenues. I find that the more of these articles I add on Xomba, the more money I seem to earn on the site. Xomba is a very social site, and it helps to post comments and feedback on other Xombytes and Xomblurbs. I’ve noticed that the more I comment, the more revenue appears (I think this is because it gets my profile out there so that other members can discover my work on Xomba).

I haven’t had time yet to social bookmark my Xomba articles, but Xomba makes it easy for members to do so. Driving traffic to your Xomba pages by getting the word out about them is definitely a way to increase your earnings. I am beginning to think that Xomba might yield a nice passive income stream for me, if I am patient and give it time to develop. With this in mind, I’m trying to add about three to five Xombytes or Xomblurbs a day, just like Xomba recommends in its help pages.

I only give Xomba a little bit of my time and attention and I’m totally surprised that I’ve received AdSense earnings without a lot of effort on my part. If I added hundreds of pieces of content to Xomba, and increased my Xombytes and Xomblurbs, who knows what could happen? I’m starting to get excited by Xomba’s potential (but checking my AdSense earnings throughout the day could become addictive!)

I wanted to update my earlier review about my experiences on Xomba with this new information. While Triond and Associated Content remain my favorite places to write for, and I intend to keep working on both these sites, I’m also going to keep up my work on Xomba. I’m surprised by the total turnaround in my income and the earnings so far. I think combining my earnings from page views with Google AdSense revenues is definitely the way to build a nice income stream as an online writer.

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Tags: advice, Business, earn money, Freelance Writer, freelance writers, freelance writing, How To, Internet, make money, money, online, online writer, Online Writing, secrets, success, tips, triond, writer, Writers, Writing, Writing Business, Xomba

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23 Responses to “Writing for Xomba: An Update”

Lindalulu
October 25th, 2008 at 8:12 am

I’ll have to check it out, thank you for the info.
Ancient Aspie
October 25th, 2008 at 8:32 am

Thanks for the update. I’ve been planning to try out Xomba post-NaNoWriMo, but you previous article put it in the “maybe” column. Your news is very encouraging. It does take time and patience to determine whether a site is worthwhile. I’ve had a similar experience with eHow — over a month with hundreds of views but no income. Suddenly, one article is pulling in enough to give me second thoughts.
Glynis Smy
October 25th, 2008 at 9:08 am

Interesting, thanks for the update, I will investigate sometime.
goodselfme
October 25th, 2008 at 9:28 am

I have been waiting for your review. Thank you.
Melissa Joyce
October 25th, 2008 at 9:29 am

Thanks for giving us the update. It’s interesting to learn how these sites work before giving it a try.
Verniel Cutar
October 25th, 2008 at 10:20 am

You’d be better off putting up your own blog and earning full revenue from each ad click, than write for Xomba. Im not hating on Xomba, I just feel we are free to express what we think is better when it comes to paying us for our efforts. In that sense, having your own blog is better than being a Xomba writer.

Second, being a Triond writer, in many respects, is better than having your own blog. Why? Because what I earned in Google Adsense in a year, I earned double in Triond in just four months.

Isn’t the right choice pretty obvious?

I’m not dropping Adsense, though. It’s a great sideline earner but honestly, with the “Google Slap” generation still in effect even today, the click market (pay-per-click or PPC for short) has truly waned down dramatically! Pay per view (PPV) sites such as Triond is now the new ‘perfect’ platform for content publishers.

Go triond!
Lindalulu
October 25th, 2008 at 11:18 am

Allison, I just joined and guess what? Shhhhhh…you can post your triond blogs there also !
Barbara
October 25th, 2008 at 1:25 pm

Xomba pays quite well once you get the hang of it.

They have two types of articles.

One is writing a regular magazine type article (called Xombytes) and the other is writing short social bookmarks that they call Xomblurbs.

They split the Google Adsense 50/50 and all payment is handled by Google. On average users report they earn $10-15 per 1,000 pageviews.

You can read actual member testimonials at http://www.xomba.com/xomba_testimonials

Though they have a slightly confusing site design (which they say is being redone in the next few months) the staff is pretty active with the community.

Not to mention they have an in-depth money making guide.
Terri Lane
October 25th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Another informative article. One of the things I love is that you are so honest about your earnings and so generous with your advice. Thank you.
Will Gray
October 25th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Great article with good advice!
Ken Gack
October 25th, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Thanks for an informative article Allison.
I’m still pretty new to the online writing world, and looking at what opportunities lie beyond Triond (the only site I currently write for). Thank you for sharing!
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas
October 26th, 2008 at 2:34 am

Thanks for this update, Allison. You have made me consider joining xomba too. Will contact you after i have joined, k? God bless.
Steven West
November 6th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

I appreciate the information. I write for Associated and Triond. I generally get more views from Triond. However, I get paid better per views from Associated. There are trade offs. In either case, I enjoy writing for these sites but the income is fairly minimal. I earn more per month doing surveys. This is extra money since I work full time as a parapro in a high school. Good luck with your writing.
Allison West
November 12th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

A Xomba update: I’ve been on Xomba for 8 weeks, and I’ve earned $33 so far. It’s Nov. 12, and I’ve already earned about $17 so far this month. Xomba recommends posting 3 to 5 Xombytes or blurbs a day, and I’ve been doing anywhere from 10 to 20 or even 30 a day. (I have dial up so it takes time to post many per day). Somedays I earn a few dollars a day on Xomba, and it’s exciting! I still work on Triond and Associated Content and love them both, but I’m excited about the earnings potential I see with Xomba and AdSense. It seems to be working for me right now, so I’m going for it! If you’d like to find me on xomba, my profile is:

http://www.xomba.com/user/allison_west

Some have asked if I have a Xomba referral link, so my referral link to sign up there is:

http://www.xomba.com/referral/777a8d8c

or visit Xomba.com if you’d like to explore Xomba. Thanks for all the great feedback about this article! Best of luck with your writing-Allison
hfj
December 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Sounds like your experience with Xomba has been enjoyable, and profitable. thanks for the info, and i will check Xomba out, thanks.
QueenZee
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 am

Sounds like all of these sites take a lot of patience. I think I have what it takes. I am new to all of this, but your page is very helpful to me.
TSDark
January 6th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

Great article, I was considering posting on xomba for awhile and decided to try it out for a bit as well.
Carolyn Cordon
January 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Great article, thank you lots and lots. These things do take time, and my husband and son think I’m wasting my time on the computer, trying to earn money through my writing.

Then I point out the many hours they’ve both spent with their video games, and they shut up about it again.
sheila jenkins
March 18th, 2009 at 8:04 pm

Well done. I’ll be checking these guys out.
Уилхелм Сцхнотз
May 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm

nice! I WILL GIVE IT A TRY
Neyr the Arcanist
August 22nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Very helpful review. I’m just about to join Xomba so I thought I’d hear what others who’ve tried it thought. Hearing this, i’m not overjoyed or anything but it beats all the PTC’s I’ve joined, traffic sites and whatever Adsense earnings I get on my uber-low traffic blog.
Michelle Tee
October 7th, 2009 at 6:39 am

Thanks for the post. I write for Ehow.com and Infobarrel.com
Xomba sounds great! Love the article
WriteEditSeek
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:46 am

Excellent info as always, Allison. You are such a great source of information about freelance writing. Thank you.