Sometimes blogs and websites can get bogged down with advertising and lose its basic message. I decided to try and minimize the amount of advertising I'm inundating my regular readers with. This blog is about writing and how my life in constantly turned upside down in the pursuit of that. While ads may be a necessary evil, why draw more attention to it than I have to?
There will still be the occasional paid blog posts, but for anything that does not require a post, I'm adding it to my Hot Deals! tab so that if you want to take advantage of the offers, you can. If you don't, you don't have to look at them. It's a win-win for us all.
Showing posts with label paid ads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paid ads. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, March 08, 2010
Mistakes that All Freelancers Can Learn From
I started my full-time writing career in January 2008. Since then, I have worked for more than a dozen companies and many more private clients. Most of these relationships, though not particularly fair when it came to the price I was paid, worked out well. They gave me directions, I created the content and I was paid what I was promised. But there are some companies that have been reluctant or unwilling to pay me for my services, and for all of the new freelancers out there, I wanted to give you a heads up about these companies. You can decide for yourself whether you want to risk working for them, but I have to say that if my bad experience is not the only incident, think carefully whether you want to waste your time or not.
Content Gurus
The Situation: I started working for this company in the summer of 2008. At first, they seemed pretty reliable. Writers were able to take sets of articles for a flat fee. All writers had seven days to complete and submit the set. I was paid regularly for every two weeks—for awhile. I really got into writing these articles, making sure to meet the needs of the topic as well as keyword ratios. One week I completed more than $400 of work. That's when I stopped seeing payments. At first, I was just missing that one large payment—the admins had responded to my first email, telling me they weren't sure why the system didn't pay me, but they would look into it. Weeks passed. Anything I earned above $150 was no longer being paid and my concerns were no longer being answered. I told them that I would not write another article until I was paid what I was due, because it was only fair. Since I didn't complete at least 1 assignment within a week (terms of the contract) privileges were revoked and my emails continued to go unanswered. I thought it was just me for the longest time, but recently I did some research on other writer's experiences with this company and found how common it really was. Steer clear if you expect a steady paycheck.
Blog Advertising Store (formerly Paying Post)
The Situation: Many of you who read this blog regularly know that I openly admit that I post some paid advertisements on this blog. Though these have steadied to a trickle, I thought this was another way to boost my freelance income. I worked for three different blog advertising companies at one time. Two of them paid regularly and on a timely manner. Blog Advertising Store, however, has failed miserably.
When the company was known as Pay Post, there was a $50 minimum all bloggers had meet before getting paid. My blog is not that big, doesn't have the traffic that would attract a lot of different offers, so it took more than six months to reach the $50 minimum. Unbeknownst to me, Paying Post had changed its name to Blog Advertising Store and had also bumped up the $50 minimum to $100. They cite that too many bloggers had removed posts from their blog once they were paid, which was against the terms of service. Alright, so I worked even harder to get more opportunities. Finally, in January I earned a total of $102, surpassing the minimum. Bloggers are told that they will be paid the first of the month after meeting that threshold. February 1st came and went. No money. I used the contact form on the website (the only way to get in contact with the business). I explained the situation and asked someone to contact me. No reply. I sent two more messages, but still not a single reply. I then tried an old support email address from Paying Post. No reply.
Now I'm upset, fearing that the contact page for the business is really just a dummy page and no one gets the message. I check the terms of service to see if they have made a mistake, or if I have in any way. I find this:
“Do not sent a zillion e-mails because your chance to get a [replay] is reduced to ZERO, since you will be marked as SPAM.”
Would 3 be considered too many? If so, they apparently have the right to not pay me for asking a question.
It's past March 1st now, and I have little hope I will be paid for this. Bloggers, please don't let this happen to you. I also checked on this one, and many bloggers have not been paid.
While I may be out of a few hundred bucks, I have learned a big lesson about freelancing online. I hope you can learn from it too.
Content Gurus
The Situation: I started working for this company in the summer of 2008. At first, they seemed pretty reliable. Writers were able to take sets of articles for a flat fee. All writers had seven days to complete and submit the set. I was paid regularly for every two weeks—for awhile. I really got into writing these articles, making sure to meet the needs of the topic as well as keyword ratios. One week I completed more than $400 of work. That's when I stopped seeing payments. At first, I was just missing that one large payment—the admins had responded to my first email, telling me they weren't sure why the system didn't pay me, but they would look into it. Weeks passed. Anything I earned above $150 was no longer being paid and my concerns were no longer being answered. I told them that I would not write another article until I was paid what I was due, because it was only fair. Since I didn't complete at least 1 assignment within a week (terms of the contract) privileges were revoked and my emails continued to go unanswered. I thought it was just me for the longest time, but recently I did some research on other writer's experiences with this company and found how common it really was. Steer clear if you expect a steady paycheck.
Blog Advertising Store (formerly Paying Post)
The Situation: Many of you who read this blog regularly know that I openly admit that I post some paid advertisements on this blog. Though these have steadied to a trickle, I thought this was another way to boost my freelance income. I worked for three different blog advertising companies at one time. Two of them paid regularly and on a timely manner. Blog Advertising Store, however, has failed miserably.
When the company was known as Pay Post, there was a $50 minimum all bloggers had meet before getting paid. My blog is not that big, doesn't have the traffic that would attract a lot of different offers, so it took more than six months to reach the $50 minimum. Unbeknownst to me, Paying Post had changed its name to Blog Advertising Store and had also bumped up the $50 minimum to $100. They cite that too many bloggers had removed posts from their blog once they were paid, which was against the terms of service. Alright, so I worked even harder to get more opportunities. Finally, in January I earned a total of $102, surpassing the minimum. Bloggers are told that they will be paid the first of the month after meeting that threshold. February 1st came and went. No money. I used the contact form on the website (the only way to get in contact with the business). I explained the situation and asked someone to contact me. No reply. I sent two more messages, but still not a single reply. I then tried an old support email address from Paying Post. No reply.
Now I'm upset, fearing that the contact page for the business is really just a dummy page and no one gets the message. I check the terms of service to see if they have made a mistake, or if I have in any way. I find this:
“Do not sent a zillion e-mails because your chance to get a [replay] is reduced to ZERO, since you will be marked as SPAM.”
Would 3 be considered too many? If so, they apparently have the right to not pay me for asking a question.
It's past March 1st now, and I have little hope I will be paid for this. Bloggers, please don't let this happen to you. I also checked on this one, and many bloggers have not been paid.
While I may be out of a few hundred bucks, I have learned a big lesson about freelancing online. I hope you can learn from it too.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Real life can take a back seat
Now that all of the packing is done, I just have to venture back to the old apartment tomorrow to let the movers in for the big stuff. My lease isn't up until the end of August, so I will have plenty of time to clean and pick up those last few pieces of mail that I didn't get forwarded.
All my attention can now be focused on my writing career. Not that it's spectacular in any way, it's just that when I want to make money, I neglect my fiction. Fiction is the one writing style that I'm hoping to get paid for one day instead of writing 200 words on a keyword that doesn't make sense in any sentence. My schedule is working, and I'm glad I have to the determination to stick to it this time!
I can't neglect other areas of my writing either--such as this blog. You all are a big part of my motivation. Knowing that even just a few of you read my blog on a regular basis has pushed me to write better, more informative posts. You are keeping me accountable for what I put on the Internet, and I appreciate it.
To continue to show my appreciation, I'm also developing those interview questions I have been promising for the last few months. Once they are complete (no later than the end of September), I will send out requests to interview writers who blog or bloggers who write, depending on how they seem themselves. Those will be featured on Friday's posts.
I am also contemplating a change in the ads that I post on this blog. Right now, most are through pay-per-blog opportunities. I would rather have ads that better reflect the needs of the freelance writer/blogger, so once I come up with a fair price to place ads here, I will let you all know.
All my attention can now be focused on my writing career. Not that it's spectacular in any way, it's just that when I want to make money, I neglect my fiction. Fiction is the one writing style that I'm hoping to get paid for one day instead of writing 200 words on a keyword that doesn't make sense in any sentence. My schedule is working, and I'm glad I have to the determination to stick to it this time!
I can't neglect other areas of my writing either--such as this blog. You all are a big part of my motivation. Knowing that even just a few of you read my blog on a regular basis has pushed me to write better, more informative posts. You are keeping me accountable for what I put on the Internet, and I appreciate it.
To continue to show my appreciation, I'm also developing those interview questions I have been promising for the last few months. Once they are complete (no later than the end of September), I will send out requests to interview writers who blog or bloggers who write, depending on how they seem themselves. Those will be featured on Friday's posts.
I am also contemplating a change in the ads that I post on this blog. Right now, most are through pay-per-blog opportunities. I would rather have ads that better reflect the needs of the freelance writer/blogger, so once I come up with a fair price to place ads here, I will let you all know.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
It never ends...
Getting motivated for a new job search is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Because of all the communication problems I was having at this last job, I was ready to move on a month ago. Now I'm stuck. I don't want to actively look for another writing gig. I don't even want to work on my novel at the moment. I tell myself every morning when I wake up that I need to do this, I need to find that, and somehow I get off track and can't get back on. I don't know why I'm in such a mood, but it needs to end now. Writing is all I have at the moment. And if I don't write, all I am is a lazy bum. It's true I could see this time as a summer vacation (or stay-cation, I guess), but eventually this lie won't have a foothold. Enough ranting. Writing this blog post counts as writing and as work, so I'm being productive.
My attitude needs an adjustment, but other than that I have the time and opportunity to really get into the revisions on my novel. I'm breaking it out this afternoon. The biggest motivation for working on it is to get the hard copy of the first draft thrown in the trash before my mom comes to help pack more boxes. I have a thing about sharing my writing with family. They don't get to read it. Ever. It's the best motivation I have at the moment.
One more thing before I leave you guys on this muggy Wednesday: I have put up some new ads on the right column of the page. I don't like to make a big deal about it, but some of the products and services are excellent for writers and other freelance contractors. These ads will also keep the number of sponsored posts down, so take a look if you have the chance. Thanks!
My attitude needs an adjustment, but other than that I have the time and opportunity to really get into the revisions on my novel. I'm breaking it out this afternoon. The biggest motivation for working on it is to get the hard copy of the first draft thrown in the trash before my mom comes to help pack more boxes. I have a thing about sharing my writing with family. They don't get to read it. Ever. It's the best motivation I have at the moment.
One more thing before I leave you guys on this muggy Wednesday: I have put up some new ads on the right column of the page. I don't like to make a big deal about it, but some of the products and services are excellent for writers and other freelance contractors. These ads will also keep the number of sponsored posts down, so take a look if you have the chance. Thanks!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Benefits of Blog Advertising
There are so many benefits to advertising on blogs. I did not realize how blog marketing could actually work for many businesses. At first I thought an advertiser would get one, maybe two hits from a blog post or cost per click ad on a blog. Even the most popular blogs couldn’t pull off that big of a profit, right? I was wrong. Especially after I watched Oprah one day and saw that a Mommy blogger earned quite a lot of money from sponsored advertising and marketing on her blog. Amazing!
I know that her situation is probably rare. Most people cannot earn a living by blogging along. Nor should they try. Blog advertising is a good way to earn a little something extra, but cannot be the backbone for your success. The blog itself should be your main concern when it comes to earning money from advertising.
The first tip for any blogger looking to make money with blog advertising is to make sure you write quality content. It does not matter how many visitors your get per day. If you content is not informative or useful in some way, you cannot build a base of regular readers. Regular readers are the ones more likely to check out your advertising in posts.
Along the same vein, whenever a blogger writes a blog post for money, it should reflect what the advertiser wants people to know about the product, but also how it personally relates to the blogger. You can start writing better reviews by carefully evaluating each paid opportunity and choosing ones that relate to your life and your blog.
And no one can ignore the power of SEO for blogs . If you have a niche blog, make sure to use SEO strategies to your advantage.
Paid posts should be a fun way to earn a little extra cash doing what you love to do anyway: blog!
I know that her situation is probably rare. Most people cannot earn a living by blogging along. Nor should they try. Blog advertising is a good way to earn a little something extra, but cannot be the backbone for your success. The blog itself should be your main concern when it comes to earning money from advertising.
The first tip for any blogger looking to make money with blog advertising is to make sure you write quality content. It does not matter how many visitors your get per day. If you content is not informative or useful in some way, you cannot build a base of regular readers. Regular readers are the ones more likely to check out your advertising in posts.
Along the same vein, whenever a blogger writes a blog post for money, it should reflect what the advertiser wants people to know about the product, but also how it personally relates to the blogger. You can start writing better reviews by carefully evaluating each paid opportunity and choosing ones that relate to your life and your blog.
And no one can ignore the power of SEO for blogs . If you have a niche blog, make sure to use SEO strategies to your advantage.
Paid posts should be a fun way to earn a little extra cash doing what you love to do anyway: blog!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Just A Little Entrecarder Rant
99% of you are great, and I really appreciate the Entrecard system as a whole. Before, I don’t think a single person visited my blog on a daily basis. So what’s my beef? It’s the whole paid ad controversy. Personally, what’s wrong with paid ads? If a blogger is considering cashing out their credits when that is available, why not help boost income for the company? I accept paid ads on Entrecard. The only time I reject an ad is if there are multiple requests for the same ad back to back. I take the first one and reject the rest until the next day.
And my problem isn’t even with those that do not want to accept paid ads. If that’s the way you feel, then by all means keep your Entrecard ad-free. But when I see blogs that are arguing to never accept paid ads, and then BUY ads to put on other Entrecard widgets, I get a little ticked. Anyone ever heard of hypocrisy? If you refuse to accept paid ads and even go as far as to recommend to others not to accept paid ads, then you should not be buying paid ads for your own blog. That’s just ridiculous! Yet, because I am trying to be as fair as possible, chances are I’ll still accept your paid ad for my widget. All I ask is this – take a look at what kind of message you are sending.
Okay – rant is over!
And my problem isn’t even with those that do not want to accept paid ads. If that’s the way you feel, then by all means keep your Entrecard ad-free. But when I see blogs that are arguing to never accept paid ads, and then BUY ads to put on other Entrecard widgets, I get a little ticked. Anyone ever heard of hypocrisy? If you refuse to accept paid ads and even go as far as to recommend to others not to accept paid ads, then you should not be buying paid ads for your own blog. That’s just ridiculous! Yet, because I am trying to be as fair as possible, chances are I’ll still accept your paid ad for my widget. All I ask is this – take a look at what kind of message you are sending.
Okay – rant is over!
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