Is Suite101 Worth Your Time?: An Insider Look at The Site
After a few weeks on Associated Content, Constant Content, Demand Studios, and Suite101, I would like to share my initial experience of these sites with you. This is the fourth article in a series of four articles that closely examines each of these sites. This article takes a look at Suite101.
I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from Triond to explore some other online writing opportunities. Of all the sites that I’ve dabbled with so far, I believe Suite101 has the most to offer in terms of what a writer gets out of the experience monetarily and otherwise.
Application Process at Suite101
To be a writer at Suite101, you must apply. The application process requires that you describe yourself and then submit two writing samples of 600 words maximum.
It appears that the application has been simplified a bit since I applied. When I applied, I had to also list my publication credits and what topics I was interested in writing about for Suite101. I had to describe how how my experience qualified me to write on these topics.
Tips for Being Accepted as a Suite101 Writer
I’m a newbie on Suite101, but from hanging out a bit on the site, I have some unofficial recommendations for being accepted as a Suite101 writer.
Suite101 does not accept every writer who applies, so some strategizing is in order. I would suggest that you include your publication credits in your application. Suite101 loves to see professional writing experience. They also tend to favor writers who are working on or have earned a degree. List any schooling you have.
For your writing samples, I would include professional samples written in the third person (no “I,” “you,” “we”). Suite101 articles are all written in the third person. It would also be good to include articles in which you cite your sources since Suite101 requires that all Suite articles include sources.
Writing the First Article for Suite101
I found writing my first article for Suite101 to be a bit daunting. I think I spent about 10 hours on it. It took me so long because I was trying to learn and apply the principles from the Suite101 handbook that all writers must follow.
Your first article at Suite101 is carefully reviewed by an editor. The editor flags the article for issues that you must resolve before the article goes live. My first article was flagged because it was too long. The editor suggested I break it into two articles. She also suggested improvements for my use of keywords and asked me to cite my sources. Suite101 likes all articles to link to two external sources (other credible websites, books, and so on) and two internal sources (Suite101 articles).
After your first article goes live, your subsequent articles go live immediately. The editors review these subsequent articles after they have been published. If they find problems, they will flag them and you will have to go back and revise them. So far I’ve written 12 articles for Suite101. In addition to the flags on my first article, I’ve had one other article flagged. I’ve found that the editorial flags have been worthwhile and have helped me improve my online writing.
Suite101, a Professional Site with High Standards
I am very impressed with the professionalism of Suite101, and I wholeheartedly recommend them first and foremost because of this. Suite101 takes online writing very seriously and has high standards. They employ professional editors, who take an active interest in writers and help them to improve their skills. Suite101 also has a great community of writers, who are passionate about writing and about helping one another. I have learned more at Suite101 in a few months about being a successful online freelance writer than in my previous six months of writing online by sort of winging it.
Learning the Art of Writing Online at Suite101
Suite101 has many resources to help new Suite writers. There is an extensive Learning Hub, with tutorials on where to find images, how to write SEO keyword phrases, how to write good titles for articles, how to generate revenue, how to promote articles, and so on. The Suite101 forums are also especially useful for new online writers to get tips and advice from seasoned writers.
Payment at Suite101, Pros and Cons
Now on to what most writers who apply to write for Suite101 want to know: how much does the site pay? Well, payment on Suite101 isn’t quite as straightforward as pay-per-page-view sites. Suite101 pays solely on ad clicks. In other words, it doesn’t matter how many people read your article; it only matters how many ad clicks your articles get.
Payment by ad click alone has its pros and cons. Writers do not necessarily have to get a high volume of traffic to their articles to earn money on Suite101. However, writers must be cognizant of what types of articles generate ad clicks. For instance, articles that do well on Triond might not do so well on Suite101 because of the way payment work. My cat humor articles do well on Triond, but probably would not fair well on Suite101 because people looking for a laugh probably aren’t looking to click on an ad to buy something.
To do well on Suite101, it is imperative to use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to research keywords, research that includes the competition for ads, CPC (cost per click) for ads, number of monthly searches, and so on. There is a big learning curve. However, the skills that you learn on Suite101 can translate into your writing on other sites. This knowledge can come in especially handy on Triond since Triond has now integrated with Google AdSense.
The Bottom Line About Suite101
Some writers on Suite101 are doing very well. It was recently disclosed that one writer, Lena Gott, recently earned $5,000 in one month. Other writers are earning enough to pay for their mortgages each month. The site has great potential for those who stick with it and pour in the time and energy needed to learn the ropes of successful online writing.
Suite101 also offers perks for writers who stick with them. All writers must sign a contract to produce 10 articles every three months. Writers earn a 10 percent bonus on all earnings after they publish 50 articles. Writers who are promoted to Feature Writer status earn an additional 20 percent bonus on all earnings. Feature writers specialize in one particular topic area, and must produce a certain amount of content for that area, but are also free to publish in other topic areas.
I definitely recommend Suite101. Nevertheless, time will tell if I will reach the level of success on the site I would like to. For now, I’m content increasing my earnings by a few pennies each week, and I’m anxiously awaiting the day I will reach the $10 payment threshold.
If you write for Suite101, please post a comment sharing your experience.
Readers may also enjoy reading about my experience on Associated Content, Constant Content, and Demand Studios.
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November 11th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Nice info.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Great information thanks for the tips and updates.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Great piece! Thank you for sharing this
November 11th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Very interesting. I’m here at Triond for the long term; but I definitely want to stay informed about other pay-for-content writing sites. I really do believe that once I put up 500 pieces on Triond I’ll start making money that will impact my income. I have 300 pieces to go. And I prefer PPV. It’s like buying stock that becomes more valuble every month and the income is for life; or until Triond goes out of business.
A very informative article.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Very helpful information, thank you.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Wow – - thank you for this wonderful article.
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:24 am
great post!..very useful information..thanks a lot my friend
November 12th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Very useful and detailed info….thank you so much for sharing!
November 12th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Thanks for sharing this. Interesting!
November 12th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Well done, I couldn’t tell it better. I write for the german version of Suite101. I also need much more time to write an article there than at my own blog. But on Suite101 I wrote much better and more journalism, I think.
That’s why I’m just writing there (to learn more about writing), the money isn’t the reason to do that.
[Bad English, I know, but I hope you understand]
November 12th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I must say I enjoy Suite101. I have been at it for a few months and enjoy the freedom to write whatever and whenever as long as I am publishing 10 articles every 3 months. It’s more or less a casual hobby for me, so I’m happy with the $15 a month revenue I’m earning on about 35 articles. I can see it being lucrative if you are able to write a few articles a week.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
I write for Suite101 and have done for about two years now. I was introduced to it by their travel feature writer who had been writing for them for some time, we are both published travel writers in various media.
Despite 30 years of writing for print publications I found the process of writing for the so-called new media of e-magazines a little onerous at the beginning but the help I received from the editors at Suite101 has been, and continues to be invaluable. They have taught me much about on-line writing and optimising search engine keywords etc.
Earnings are variable depending on what type of article is written and which category you write for. It appears that finance and business based pieces generate the best income.
I can say that although it was strange for me to write in the third person (and it still is) I soon got used to it and indeed I think it has improved my writing.
Even if you leave Suite101, or have not contributed for a while payments continue to be received. And they accrue throughout time also.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Suite101 looks like a demanding site. Good luck.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I’m going to apply to Suite 101 after Christmas. Until then I’m going to be concentrating on one particular site (not one you’ve covered in these articles) and will continue to post the odd article here, too. Like you say, some articles do better on certain sites, and I know what pays best here now so will stick to that. I need to find somewhere else that pays more for the subjects I really want to write about. I put so much time into my article on Eliphas Levi, yet it gets so few views and will probably never be worth the effort.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:34 am
A very detailed article, I am glad you are doing well on suite 101, it all sounds a little daunting to me! the very best of luck to you!
November 14th, 2009 at 7:30 am
A very nice detailed one…
November 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Thanks for the great info in this series. I appreciate your taking the time to check our all of these freelance sites and share you knowledge. Good luck as you continue.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Interesting – appreciate the detail here. Anything that helps people improve is worthwhile.
January 10th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Thank you, I have been accepted by Suite 101 but have not signed the contract yet. After reading your article, I believe I will in order to accept all the valuable resources to improve your writing, as we all can grow with knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I’ve been writing for Suite101 for a few months now and I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said; it’s a very valuable experience, if only for the writing lessons learned.
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:56 pm
This is great information. Thank you. I am going to check them out first thing tomorrow morning.
March 26th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Feels happy to read some good words about Suite101.com
I just completed my 50th article there and plan to write more
I developed my own website with an intention of making money with google adsense and affiliate marketing. I got nothing from my website. However Suite101 offers a relativley good amount. Hats off to Suite101.com.
May 28th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
I’ve been writing for Suite101 since December 2009 and I’m really enjoying the experience. Check out my review here: http://jmcreative.ca/blog/2010/05/suite101-review/. Thanks for adding another balanced review to the mix!
May 28th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
I tend to read the TOS…and any site which gets the copyright of my article forever is a must miss. Hence your articles now belong to Suite 101 and they can do with them what they chose and, for instance, it they syndicate an article of yours, you’ve already been paid.
June 25th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
I wanted to apply however it feels like I would not pass ha ha
August 5th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Earning money has online never been this easy and transparent. You would find great tips on how to make that dream amount every month. So go ahead and click here for more details and open floodgates to your online income. All the best.
August 21st, 2010 at 6:37 am
Thanks heaps for the information- has helped me to decide between websites I could potentially become a part of for writing.
September 18th, 2010 at 1:01 am
I write for several sites, one being Suite 101. I agree that you’ll learn a bunch from writing with them, and they are picky…which I think is good! Some writers on other sites are terrible and really an embarassing reflection on other cyberjournalists that care about their work. Also, the articles I’ve written for them seem to rank well with the search engines, which increases the opportunity for revenue.
And I agree that is is important to pick the right articles for them if you want to make money. As soon as you publish you’ll see the types of ads that google pairs with your article and will get an idea of the ones that might earn a click. After a few articles, you’ll figure out what works.
I really like the fact that after you are an established writer with them you can publish your articles right away and edit them whenever you need to.
I would definitely recommend writing for Suite 101. I have had nothing but good experiences with them!
October 18th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
I write for Suite101. It has helped my writing and learning about the SEO and all that stuff. Also waiting to cross the $10 threshold ; )
Must say I am surprised to find articles on the site with spelling/grammar/shoddy research. But well, I suppose some slip under the radar.
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:53 am
Interesting observations. I only have one article in at Suite 101, it got flagged but went live as soon as I corrected the mistake.
February 7th, 2011 at 1:03 am
thanks…very helpful
February 17th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Great article. I just had my first Suite 101 article get published last week, and am looking forward to starting the next one. I’m very impressed with the site, and with the editor assigned to my article.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Hardwork pays at the end. That is a known fact by seeing the contribution of few passionate writers here at Triond.
May 2nd, 2011 at 1:22 pm
I would like to try Suite101, I was declined by Demand Studios for not having enough experience, and I am not sure that Suite101 would accept me. I guess that is the reason I’ve held back.
I write primarily for HubPages, which is similar to Triond, I have had much better luck with HubPages then Triond though. This article was very interesting. Thank You.
Rachel
October 31st, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for sharing this informative informative I must say that it comes in handy. I believe triond is a good site but it wouldn’t hurt to explore others. Thanks for sharing this article.