Writing for Peanuts: Did All of Us Web Writers Go Mad?

I recently read a good article on why writers shouldn’t be using revenue sharing sites (such as Bukisa, Factoidz, Triond or others).

But here I am, back at Triond, writing another article for a revenue share site. Now for those of you who didn’t feel like reading that article, it basically suggests that writing for such sites do not compensate for the effort and the time spent. Even though the author had some remarkable success with one his article on such a site, he believes that the success was just coincidental and there is no way of knowing which articles will bring in some cash. And he is right. But when it comes to revenue sharing sites, writers more often have more things in their minds than just the paycheck.

Don’t get me wrong, it would be awesome if my Triond or Factoidz articles earned me a good monthly income. But to be honest, the highest check I got from Triond was over  $14 (October special – they paid %20 in addition to the income you made, provided that you published at least 5 articles).  And as far as Factoidz is concerned, while my paychecks increase every month, my highest so far is $64, which is in no condition to pay any bills, in fact it barely covers my coffee. So why do we keep writing for peanuts then?

1)      -Self-expression. We’re writers. We have stuff to say and we are opinionated about it. And Triond allows as personal and opinionated as you want to be. And to have this freedom, you either need to be an established author with his own column, or at your own blog. And Triond gives you the chance to express yourself. Sure, it is mostly for pennies but we need the freedom. While Factoidz is a better-paying option for productive writers (you get a certain bonus for each article you publish- even if it is just $0,10,$0,50 or more), you don’t get paid for your opinions on Factoidz. As the name suggest, it is about facts. And while it can be fun, I need Triond and my blogs to speak my mind more freely.

2)      -Community: I have blogs, so why do I keep coming back here? It is simple. I am a writer, and I need to connect with other writers. As I also mentioned in my article “To write or not to write for Triond”, Triond has a great community. So does Factoidz, by the way.

3)       – Ego boost. It takes ages from editors of many publications and freelance job ad posters to get back to you, if they ever do. Worst case scenario, Triond takes about 48 hours to publish your material. If you are lucky, it can even be a matter of minutes. With Factoidz, after you become a staff writer, it is published immediately. Instead of waiting for no reply and rejections, you get it out of your system and share it with the world. I am not saying you shouldn’t be applying to other gigs- to the contrary, you should. But an instant ego boost, along with a little passive income is not so bad.

4)      Passive income. Well, at first it is not passive at all- there is writing, editing, formatting, keyword research, promotion…But after a certain bulk of writing is online, you make money, even if you don’t publish anything new.

5)      Affiliate links: Factoidz doesn’t allow it but thankfully Triond does. If people get to sign up for products and services you are an affiliate of, you get to make some extra on the side. Add that to the money you make from the page views and the result might put a smile on your face. I got sign ups through my articles for mylikes.com, neobux.com and more, and these sign ups made me some money.

6)      Link building: I have blogs. Both my blogs and revenue share sites have audience. So I combine them. My blog readers earn me money by visiting my articles on these sites and others come to visit my blog. Win-win.

7)      Portfolio. Sure, it may not mean much for some publications that you are prolific author of several revenue share sites but a little material on the web is better than no material anywhere. When you are asked for samples and/or links, it is good to show them something.

Yes, hopefully one day our writing efforts will pay such great amounts that we won’t be really writing for peanuts. But even when we do, these peanuts will continue to come as well. What do you think?

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