Diversify Income Streams to Survive a Recession

As many who have recently been laid off or lost their job can attest, depending on a single source of income can be quite risky, especially if the job is in a non-essential sector or one likely to suffer during a recession. Some sectors are more recession-proof than others, for certain, and those will fare far better. But there is ultimately less security when one depends on a single company or other entity for income, rather than drawing income from a variety of means.

I am not necessarily advocating that every 9-to-5 worker open an entrepreneurial side business, but increasing one's diversification of income can certainly improve your ability to weather the tough economic times we are suddenly hearing so much about--and for many of us, actually experiencing in our own families, jobs and investments.

For the work at home mom (WAHM) or other freelancer, entrepreneur or online adventurer, this can mean a variety of things.

• Writers may diversify by increasing the number and variety of writing clients, actively seeking new clients to replace those with less work. Never rely solely on just one or two big clients.
  
• Residual income builders should add multiple income streams to their sites and content articles, such as affiliate programs, ad words, paid advertisements, information products, referral links and e-newsletters.
• Webmasters should diversify their niche site topics. Even as advertising in some sectors plummets, it rises in others. Anticipate these changes and consider niche topics likely to be in demand despite -- or because of -- a poor economy.
• eBay Sellers should also diversify what they sell to anticipate sluggish consumer spending. People still have some money; find out what they are spending it on and make some money doing it. Check out the knowledgeable eBay Coach for advice.
  

Whatever your area of expertise, and no matter what you do for income as a work at home mom (or dad, or anyone else) increase your sources of income during the coming year. Anticipate, rather than react, to what's going on in the economy and how that will affect what you do. Did you know there were many who made money during the Great Depression?

How do you plan to increase your income, despite a poor economic outlook for 2009?

Site Build It 2-for-1 Holiday Sale

My niche sites are a small but growing part of my residual income streams. My fist site, one on health and nutrition, I built with Site Build It! last Decmeber and January. The step-by-step guide was a crash course in web content writing and SEO, providing me the skills to build my pages as well as write profitable content articles for eHow and other sites.

My experience with Site Build It! is a large part of the reason I have been able to build residual income online--the knowledge I gained was well worth the subscription cost, and then some.

If you are interested in building a niche website, and don't know where to start ... you need Site Build It!

If you are already a webmaster, but you've seen lackluster results with your sites ... you need Site Build It!

Now is the best time to buy SBI!, as there is a Buy One, Get One Free sale in progress that ends December 25 -- take advantage of this special if you have any plans to create profitable niche websites in the coming year. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you aren't satisfied, your price will be refunded ... but chances are, you will love the incredible wealth of resources provided by SBI! and become one of their many success stories.

In addition to eHow, Bukisa, my eHow ebook and my blog, I will be increasing my residual income in 2009 by building up my Site Build It! website and creating another 2-4 niche websites.

I think diversification is key to maximizing your profits online -- so if you are currently working for clients or writing for content sites but don't have your own, consider brainstorming a niche topic and starting your own site as a way to write for yourself as you build your online income.

Best of luck in all your endeavors, and have a very happy holiday season!

Bukisa Earnings: Report from Month One

My Bukisa earnings are impressive to me considering the number of articles I have on the site, Bukisa's young age and the amount of traffic on the site (it's not terribly high yet). I joined Bukisa on November 8, 2008, and wrote five pieces of content, which have simply been sitting there for the past few weeks.

I also promoted my sign-up link in order to build my network, which is now 50-members strong, although only about half have contributed content and earned money. I think that building a strong network is key to Bukisa success, as it is a secondary income stream that could easily rival or beat the earnings from your own content.

Following is a screen shot of my Bukisa after one month:


For five pieces of content on a new site, $17.20 is excellent. That is a better outcome than my HubPages and Associated Content experiments. The network potential is one of Bukisa's main attractions to me. That, coupled with the ability to create in-text links in my articles, is why I've diverted some of my online writing time to this new start-up site.

The only negative aspect of Bukisa, as I see it, is the "Index" that can change and which determines pays per view. Since some writers socially promote the heck out of their articles, bringing the less-quality traffic that rarely clicks ads or follows through, the overall profitability of the traffic goes down and the Index -- which went from 4.2 down to 3. 95 over the last month -- changes to reflect that. Personally, I did not use social promotion on any of my Bukisa articles -- social promotion has its place, but not for your average content articles. Save the Stumbles and Diggs for your stellar pieces.

Are you on Bukisa? What do you like -- or dislike -- about the site?

Top Earning eHow Articles

Inspired by a post on the eHow Community Chatter forum, I've decided to share a screen shot of my highest earning article amounts.

I remember when I first posted about my eHow article earnings on a writer's forum. My initial article had earned less than a dime, but I wanted to share the info with other writers. Months later, in another post about writing for residual income, another poster scoffed about "WriterGig's six-cent eHow articles."

Now, just over a year later, I am please to say that that article has earned me over $100. I guess I had the last laugh after all. But I hope other writers, especially other moms and dads struggling to make ends meet during tough economic times, will take note and be inspired about the potential from online writing, on eHow and elsewhere.

Following is a screenshot of my highest-earning eHow articles. You can click the image to enlarge it.

(image copyright 2008 WriterGig)

I don't share the titles because some were quite original and I'd rather people find their own niches rather than try to duplicate mine. There is plenty of room on eHow and plenty of titles not yet written, so I encourage everyone to find their own groove, so to speak.

Learn how to Increase Residual Income on eHow.com to build your own passive income online. After one year of writing eHow articles with the site's Writers Compensation Program (WCP), I am consistently earning over $1,000 a month in residuals ... and I am planning to double and triple that in the coming year. You can too ... buy my eHow ebook and learn how, today!

What's the most you ever made from a single online article, on eHow or elswhere? Do you prefer to write for up front payment or long-term residual income?

My First Commission Junction Payment

At the end of November, I received my first Commission Junction payment of $111.81. While I had earned few small commissions earlier in the year, CJ.com has a minimum payout of $50. Thus it was not until my sales really took off in October that I earned enough for payout.

(Click to enlarge:)


Commission Junction has an application process, and you need to have a website or blog to apply. I am not sure how strict they are when processing applications; I used one of my niche sites that had 30 content pages at the time and very little advertising (just some Amazon links).

Once you are approved and become a CJ publisher, you can create multiple channels using your content article profile link and links to your other blogs or sites. You just need a good site to help you get your foot in the door, so to speak.

While commission vary, most of my sales this past month were for 10% commission. I also had two $7.50 commissions for providing leads to a tutoring site, who pays based on people who sign up through an affiliate's link.

There are CJ advertisers who offer high commissions, in the 20% and higher range, but some of those are quite seasonal or for items harder to sell. The products with the best conversion rates typically have lower percentage commissions.

As a CJ publisher, you have to apply for each company whose products you want to sell. Some approve you automatically, and others have a more extensive review process.

I was quite please to receive my first Commission Junction payment, and look forward to the next one -- happily, I have reached the minimum for payout again.

If you are a CJ affiliate, what products do you sell? If you haven't tried CJ, what's holding you back?

Niche Affiliate Marketing

I've increased my online residual income with niche affiliate marketing. Affiliate sales can be a great way to diversify income streams online, and while they are not my largest money maker, they do add up.

Affiliate success takes time, but it is well worth the effort to add affiliate links to articles, resource sections and forum signatures. The most important thing is to target your affiliate links to your specific audience. It almost goes without saying, but since it is important for success, I always reiterate the necessity to have well-targeted products that will appeal to your audience in any particular article, forum or blog.

It's very important to promote good affiliate products, and to know what you're promoting. For example, I would never promote a web hosting service I haven't tried and could answer readers questions about if they arise. That's why I only promote Site Build It and HostGator -- I have websites with both and can truly stand behind my recommendations. Other web hosting companies have great affiliate progrmas, but I haven't tried them and don't know first hand if they are reccomendable.

Make your text links interesting, without being too much like an advertisement. FOr example, when creating a link to an Amazon health product I included the basic description but left out "Buy 6 get one FREE." It looked to ad-y to me.

While it is not always the most lucrative, Amazon's affiliate program is one of the easiest affiliate programs to join and generate decent conversions.

This is a screen shot of my November Amazon affiliate income, which you can actually see if you click on it:

With a down economy to contend with (experts say the worst since the Great Depression) and lower sales accross the board, I was happy with November. It's all residuals, though I did add a few new links to articles I wrote in November.

December is on track to beat November's Amazon affiliate income, as I have already sold 47 items during the first week. Some were inexpensive books, but one was a pricey water filter that netted me $10. I put the link to the water filter in one of my articles some time ago, and it took less than a minute to copy and paste the code. This is residual income at its best: being paid $10 for a minute's work done months ago.

Previously, December has always been my best month and I am expecting great things in the days to come.

Take away:

• Target the products you recommend to the audience who is likely to read your articles, online profile or other material.
  
• Only promote affiliate products you truly believe in. You'll lose your audience if you promote non-quality items just to make a buck.
  
• Create interesting text links for your affiliate products to pique readers' interest and increase their likelihood of clicking you link.
  

Do you include affiliate advertisements on your blogs, websites or articles? Are you pleased with the results?

The Groundhog and the Hen

I enjoyed Aesop's fables as a young girl. The message of each short story was somewhat subtle, yet evident, even to a child such as myself. Fables generally portray animals with human characteristics in order to communicate a message, often called the "moral of the story."

This fable attempts to articulate something that has been impressed upon me lately as I watch my babies grow. As much as my family needs my income and I enjoy my work, I must never lose sight of what is most important.

The Groundhog and the Hen

The Groundhog loved being a mom to her baby groundhogs. She spent time cuddling at night and frolicking with them during the day. Sometimes Groundhog wasted time that could have been better spent readying the burrow for winter, just playing with her young.

The Hen, conversely, was busy and responsible. Not a moment was wasted when there was work at hand. If her chicks chirped at her to come play, she told them she was busy finding beetles for them. She made sure they would have more than she did as a chick, and that the other chickens wouldn't look down on her family. Thus she didn't allow their childlike antics distract her from providing for her brood.

One day, Groundhog saw the hen busy working while her children played nearby. "Hen, don't you want to play with your chicks now-- they are so much fun while they are young!" she said with an encouraging smile.

"Groundhog, I for one don't know how you can sleep in your barren burrow at night knowing winter's a-coming and you could've spent more time building a better nest. The children will wait, and I must work to give them a better life."

The groundhog's babies grew up, as did the hen's. Groundhog's young moved into burrows nearby and frequently were seen chattering with their older mother during the day. They took time from their jobs to be with her, just because it was fun.

The hen's children, though, were busy with their new lives, some in faraway places and some nearby. They saw their mother occasionally, but there wasn't time to be wasted. After all, they had important responsibilities now and much to accomplish.

When it comes to children, time is the most precious investment.

eHow vs. Bukisa

Bukisa, a new online content website with its own revenue-sharing compensation program, has captured my interest in the past few days. I signed up ten days ago, following covewriter's lead. I have to say, I am impressed with the site's structure, layout and possibilities.

I really like their three-tier earnings structure, where users make money for their own content as well as a smaller portion of the page view revenue from writers they refer to the sight. This means two ways to earn income and eventually, two residual income streams: your articles and your network's articles. 

In my quest to build up a variety of residual and passive income streams through online writing, I've added Bukisa to the mix. I began writing for eHow's new Writers Compensation Program (WCP) as an experiment, and I'm happy to jump in with Bukisa in its early stages too. 

Several readers have asked me if it's okay to copy their eHow articles onto Bukisa. While it's allowed by both eHow and Bukisa as long as the material is owned by the author, I wouldn't reccomend doing it that way. Here's why.

Duplicate content, in general, is not well ranked by Google. It appears as having been copied, and Google likes original content. Secondly, since you can choose to allow syndication of your content on Bukisa, there is the possibility, at least, that the same article will be published multiple times online.

Some argue that eHow has sucha  high page rank that it's better just to write there, but I disagree. I am doing well with eHow, but diversifying and having a variety of sites -- both for income and increasing traffic and backlinks --  is important. 

So, for the successful eHow writer who is, what is Bukisa good for?

• Original content that doesn't fit on eHow (i.e. not how-to format) or has already been written about by another eHow author.
• Re-written articles from your other sites or content database profiles.
• Articles written specifically to drive traffic to your blog, websites or other content.
• Diversification.

After ten days, with five articles to my name, I've earned $4.85 on Bukisa. Half of that is from page views on my content and half is from my network's earnings. This is the first article promotion I've done as I've been focusing on eHow and a few other projects.

Ways that eHow is better than Bukisa:

• High page rank, established site, credible company (Demand Media).
• Strong user community.
• Amazing monthly traffic stats.
• History of prompt payments.
• Good to excellent earning potential.
• Revenue sharing is based on actual earnings.

Ways that Bukisa is better than eHow:

• Allows far more flexibility as far as article structure, layout and title format.
• Can link to resources and other sites or articles in body of article.
• Allows do-follow links, building back links to whatever you like.
• Earnings are based on page views, so popular topics pay well regardless of ad revenue generated.
• Tiered earnings structure allows more residual income streams.

I'll blog more about Bukisa vs. eHow in regards payment and other aspects as time goes on.  Long term, I have no idea yet which will win out, eHow or Bukisa. I suspect a combination will be ideal. In the mean time, check out ... 

eHow articles I've written about Bukisa:

• Use Bukisa to Earn Residual Income Online
• Use Bukisa

Bukisa articles I've written:

• Optimizing Revenue on Bukisa
• Make eHow Money
• About Marketing eBooks
• Free Budget Worksheets
• Affiliate Marketing Tips

Do you write for Bukisa? Let me know your thoughts! Want to sign up for Bukisa? Use this link to join my fun and growing network!

Passive Residual Income Monthly Report

Interested in my passive, residual income progress? Well, my monthly report is here ... but I must be honest, it is with some trepidation that I post this month's totals.

I have never written about my "regular" freelance writing money, as it's not my style to discuss personal income. However, I have shared my residual income and eHow earnings from the beginning, since this was just "extra" and with eHow's vague earnings detail, I thought of it as an encouragement and service for others.

But as my readers know, I have been slowly replacing my active income with residual income streams. While I am still doing some paid freelance writing and editing, I'll soon be focusing all my work time on building ongoing income sources.

For privacy reasons, I've decided that I will no longer give monthly totals. However, I will explain HOW to achieve significant residual income, talk about maximizing income streams in detail, and I may let you know income amounts for specific sources throughout the year. For example, one month I might talk about my eHow income and the next, about Bukisa residuals.

I think through this blog I have clearly demonstrated the value of residual income streams, the unlimited possibilities of online income and that it is achievable, even by busy, overworked stay at home moms like myself.

WriterGig's Residual Income Report October 2008

eHow $1,615.17

eJunkie $646.72

CJ $115.72

Lulu $111.79

Amazon $110.38

HostGator $50.00

Adsense $4.40

TOTAL $2654.18

It was my best month ever for online residuals, and exceeded my expectations by quite a bit. My only overhead was getting my computer fixed (tax deductible $150) and webhosting ($15). I already deducted the cost of affiliate payments and host fees from the other numbers.

Sales of my eHow eBook (which is a great guide for those trying to maximize eHow earnings, by the way) were good, and I expect them to be even higher in November with the revamped sales page.

P.S. If you know me in real life ... no, I'm not rich yet. My residuals covered property taxes and unexpected income loss this month. We're still working toward our debt-free goal. ;)

P.P.S. I'd love to hear about your residual income progress or new sites you're trying. Also, let me know if this was an encouraging post for you. Please share in the comments section, below.

Write for Bukisa - Share your Knowledge, Earn Money

I just found a content/ networking site that looks very promising. Writers and contributors earn money on their articles, videos and other content.

Check out: Bukisa - Share your Knowledge, Earn Money

As always, I will share my experiences with the site and let you know what I think.

You know I love residual income, and diversifying those income streams just makes sense. My first articles is on how to earn eHow money -- hey, write what you know, right?

Of course, I compare everything to eHow, so here's hoping the revenue is as good -- or better -- than at eHow. I'll report back when I find out.

New eHow eBook Site

I just completed a new landing page for my eHow ebook. I've realized from the beginning that my sales page needed a ton of attention, but it wasn't until reading more about the importance of a good sales page that I decided to quit writing eHow articles for a few days in order to get this done.

New eHow eBook Sales Page

It features cool graphics like this one (I know, you want to click it ... cool, huh?)

In additon to the new page, I've revamped the eHow ebook affiliate program. Affiliates now receive 50% of the sales revenue they generate and can link directly to the sales page, rather than just to the checkout page at eJunkie.

While eHow was the largest single contributor to my residual income for October, my eBook was a not-too-shabby second. If it did that well with a crappy sales page (yeah, it was bad) I am expecting great things for November.

Stay tuned for a post about writing a killer sales page ... it's on my list of things to do! What's on your to-do list these days?

eHow User Forum 2008: weHow!

I had a wonderful time at the 2008 weHow event. For its first ever eHow user forum, Demand Media created a wonderful two-day conference to exchange information and ideas, as well as receive feedback from site users. That it was held in sunny southern California of course added to the appeal, and I certainly enjoyed the three-day respite from rainy cold East Coast weather.

It was fun to visit the Demand Media offices, which have the flavor of a pre-bust dot com, and meet the staff who work hard behind the scenes at eHow as well as on some of the other Demand sites. I am completely reassured about Demand's approach to their sites, as profitibility is an immediate goal and not a long term idea. I believe Demand, and eHow, are here to stay.

While I previously was wary of putting all my eggs in one basket and concentrating too much on writing for eHow, in case they yanked the Writers' Compensation Program, I am now reassured to the company's long-tem commitment to theis program as they see it as an integral part of eHow's success.

I've returned even more excited about the residual income opportunities at eHow and with many ideas for articles to write.

As a mom, I certainly missed my kids, and the first day I was a little emotional about having left them. But the trip was a great experience and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive and accommodating husband who took two days off work to be home with the kids.

The eHow forum was one of my most fun experiences as a work at home mom. I'd love to hear about your favorite times as a work at home mom (or dad!) in the comments, below.

HowHub.com: the jury is still out.

Well, I wrote my first two HowHub.com articles a couple days ago, but they still have not moved beyond "pending" status. I also noticed that How Hub's featured members layout has not changed and the article list on the front page remains the same as well.

Now I am curious as to whether this is currently an active site or not. Anyone know?

I haven't been able to uncover much information about the site, as the domain name is registered to a proxy, and there are virtually no blog posts about it.

If anyone has insight...let me know! I'll report back if anything happens with my articles.

HowHub: "A How-to Community"

I stumbled across a new user-submitted how-to article site, HowHub.

At first glance, HowHub looks like a good way to diversify writing income as well as add another residual income source. I will update as I learn more, but here are some reasons why I am impressed thus far:

• HowHub was created by the owners of Article Dashboard, an online article database that has seen some success.
  
• Writers start off earning 50% of the Adsense revenue generated from their articles.
• Earnings increase to 100% (yes, that's right, all the earnings!) once a writer has referred 10 active users to HowHub.

Since How Hub's page rank is still lower than eHow's (and likely will be for some time if not indefinitely) I wouldn't reccomend writing just for HowHub, or even primarily. I definitely think eHow has higher overall earning potential. But in addition to diversifying your income sources, How Hub allows you to stand out in your niche on yet another platform.

Also, if you're winning for your eHow article keywords on Google, why not have additional articles with the same keywords on the front page, too? You'll monopolize those particular searches.

I would not advise putting duplicate content up on HowHub, however. Use the same or similar keywords if you like, but rewrite your articles or write new ones to keep the content fresh. Google prefers it.

HowHub articles are not published immediately after submitted; they must first be approved by an editor. Depending on how long this process takes, it could be cumbersome for writers used to the speed of Ehow publishing.

If you decide to give it a try, I'll see you at How Hub!

eHow Earnings Just Shy of $900 for September

My eHow earnings jumped considerably this month, even with little new writing and minimal article promotion (it's been a busy month for this WAHM!). At $892.78, it was my best month of passive income to date.

With 202 published articles, I have just 11 more than I did in August when my earnings were $617 for the month. My article on How to Survive Total Economic Collapse (Google it--it's on the first page of the search results) earned $10 a day during the past week due to the economic turmoil. It was also listed on eHow's front page under "Top 10 eHows," along with my article on How to Earn Extra Money. I am sure that boost helped, in addition to increased searches on these topics.

The following screen shot shows my eHow residuals to date, by month. Click on the photo to see it magnified (and legible!)

I include my earnings information in great detail, as well as my strategy for success, in my eHow eBook. In addition to the residual income from eHow, I also earned several hundred dollars in other sources tied to my eHow articles. Tips on this topic are also included in my book.

I've set up an eHow eBook Affiliate Program and my affiliates have found great success promoting the book on their own blogs and sites, and earning money through these sales. In fact, eBayCoach Suzanne Wells won my September 2008 affiliate contest and a bonus for bringing in the most sales.

Do you write for eHow? How did September treat you? I'd love to have your comments!

Amazon Affiliate Earnings Higher this Month

My Amazon affiliate earnings are not generally very high--usually about $25-$35 in a given month. Since the recent economic turmoil, they've been on the low side. However, my Hub Pages article on Economic Collapse and my eHow article on Total Economic Collapse have generated dozens of Amazon book sales in the last few days, bringing my monthly Amazon affiliate earnings to over $53 so far. And what are the hottest sellers? Four copies of The Great Bust Ahead, three copies of Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook, and two each of Crash Proof, among several others that sold multiple copies. Someone also bought a fishing tackle set and rechargeable batteries, and another customer chose a $50 Swiss Army pocketknife.

The book topics reveal why I've seen such a jump in sales--the relevant, timely topics pertaining to the economic uncertainty facing the United States and the world.

This sudden jump in Amazon earnings shows that relevant affiliate links in timely content can increase your revenue as a writer and provide your readers with further resources on the topic they are researching--a true win-win situation. While I am sure the economic downturn and financial woes will have a negative impact on over all retail sales, certain niches will still see growth. Market those as you continue to offer your readers quality, relevant content.

This WAHM is headed to California!

I'm going to California!

One of the companies I write for invited me and about a dozen others to join them in sunny California for a couple days in October. The company is paying for airfare and accommodations, and we'll be spending time learning more about the company and website and new things to come, as well as providing them feedback from a user standpoint.

Of course, there's always a dilemma involved when you're a work at home mom. I love the writing work I do, and am thrilled to be able to produce an income while staying at home with my kids. But when it comes down to it, I'm a mom before I'm a writer, these days.

As thrilled as I was to receive the invitation, and all the while realizing what an honor it is, I still had a hard time deciding about making the trip. Since I'm on the East Coast, the travel time will be lengthy and my kids will certainly miss me (and I them).

Having decided to make the trip, I am really looking forward to the experience and and will certainly post updates here on my blog as time goes on.

Free Affiliate Masters eBook Giveaway

Are you interested in affiliate marketing as a way to increase your online income? Would you like to build a passive income stream by selling other people's products online?

Affiliate sales have boosted my residual income over the past few months as people click my Amazon, Implix and Site Build It links and make purchases. I posted some of these links almost a year ago, and many more recently, but am always pleasantly surprised when a sale is made.

I am currently reading the Affiliate Masters Course, which I received as a SiteBuildIt owner. Would you like to have a copy? This eBook is really an eCourse, as it is over 100 pages long (but an easy read with lots of space and pictures!) chock full of helpful information.

Sinply drop me a note at eireitaliaATgmail.com and I will email you your copy.

I'll also post when I am finished reading the book and let you know my thoughts and the highlights.

My eHow Payment for August: $600+

My eHow payment for August 2008 will be $617.35 USD, the highest eHow earnings I've ever received. I currently have 191 published eHow articles (and 7 pending approval). However, 12 articles were published the last week of August and have not yet earned anything. Thus, with 179 earning articles in August, they averaged $3.45 each this month. That number should keep going up as recent articles from June, July and August are indexed by Google and begin to receive more views.

There is some debate as to whether eHow earnings can be considered truly "passive," or whether promotion and continued work is necessary to create and maintain earnings. My experience shows that, because of eHow's superb search engine rankings, its daily traffic and the social aspects of the site itself, little or no promotion is necessary to yield high earnings assuming basic keyword optimization, search engine optimization and quality content.

I am planning a test of this residual income stream, this December and possibly beyond. I'll take the entire month of December "off" eHow to focus on my other writing, and see how it goes. I predict my articles won't even miss me.

Until then, I'll be researching keywords and writing more articles.

Knol for Writers

I've begun a Google Knol adventure. Gogole's new site, knol.com, has been touted as a rival to Wikipedia as well as article directories such as About.com and Associated Content. Since the site just launched to the public this summer, it really is brand new.

My first knol is about eHow Earnings and links to both an eHow article on passive income and my eHow eBook sales page. It's monetized both by the presence of these links, which lead to sources of income for me, as well as the Adsense ads displayed next to my knol.

I don't expect the knol to earn much, since knol is a new site and according to Google not receiving favortism by their search engines. I imagine eHow will be superior for earnings for some time, as the how-to site has been in existence since 1999 and is highly ranked by search engines. Knol will take time to build up the kind of traffic eHow gets on a daily basis.

Earnings aside, Knol looks like a great place to author content, articles, essays and reviews, and build a presence as a niche authority or a freelance writer.

I wrote a concise guide to Google Knol and earning money with the site; I plan to expand it as I learn more through my writing results with Knol.

Residual Income for July 2008

July was my biggest month so far for eHow earnings, and affiliate sales were good as well. One reader asked me by email if my only writing income is from these sources--the answer is no. I have several freelance writing clients and several editing gigs that keep me busy in addition to writing "for myself" as much as I am able. I don't share my regular writing income because it's just not my style, but I do like to show others how certain residual income streams are producing. I hope it's encouraging and helpful. Here's my newest tally.

July 2008 Residual Income

eHow earnings $500.56
SBI affiliate sales $74
eBook $71.52
Amazon $25.78
Google Adsense $3.20

Total $675.06

These are all true residuals. The links for Amazon books and other affiliate earnings were put up months or even a year ago in one case. I don't have time to promote my eHow articles, so those are also quite passive.

If you aren't focusing on building your residual income streams on the side, I highly recommend that you start today, even if you just write one eHow article. Start simple, and keep it up. Try setting aside 30 minutes or one hour of each day to your own writing that will continue to produce income long after you've left the computer.

Passive Income Report for May and June 2008

I took a minute to total my passive income for the past couple months, and thought I'd share the results here. I really want to encourage you to build up a passive income stream (several streams!) because the reality of earning money for articles you wrote months ago or links you posted last year can really change how you view your work and your approach to earning money.

May 2008

Residuals from my eHow.com articles: $427.13

Affiliate sales:
SBI $74.83
Amazon.com $19.35

Total May passive income: $521.31

June 2008

Residuals from my eHow.com articles: $397.20
Sales of my eHow eBook (after fees): $126.40
Affiliate sales:
Implix affiliate sales $67.90
Amazon.com $22.43

Total June passive income: $613.93

My bank of eHow articles is my biggest passive income generator, followed in June by eBooks and then affiliate sales. I have not marketed my eBook at all, except for posting a link on this site and in my WAHM profile. After I build the sales page and a little campaign around the eBook, I expect to sell quite a few downloads.

The non-Amazon affiliate sales are always a pleasant surprise. Amazon always averages about $20 a month, which is not much but it's a little extra that just comes in without effort. Implix has several software programs, but I've only linked to and sold the eBook Gold program so far.

I wrote my first eHow article less than a year ago, and in January 2008 made my New Year's resolution to build my passive income streams in 2008. In less than eight months, I
consistently earn over $500 a month just in passive income, which is in addition to my paid articles and writing done for clients.

My next goal is to reach $1,000 a month in passive income. As a work at home mom, my time is very limited. The more I can build my passive income streams, the higher my overall income potential. I can't create more hours to work, but I can maximize my earnings by focusing on work that keeps earning money long after I've put down my pen for the day.

I wish you the best success in your own passive income endeavors... get started today!

eBook Affiliate Program

I've launched a new eBook Affiliate Program to help promote my book on How to Earn Passive Income at eHow.com. Affiliate links are a great way to monetize your blog and earn extra money ... and can be another great source of passive income.

Join our eBook Affiliate Program!

The eBook sells for $25, and affiliates earn 50% commission on sales they generate. You can link to the eBook from your blog, website, social networking site, email or other electronic media.

One of the best ways I've found to make money as an affiliate is to create content articles on a related subject, optimized for search engines and readers alike, and include a simple text link to the product or program I'm promoting.

Text links for affiliate programs seem to be more successful than flashy banner ads, in my experience.

You'll need a steady stream of traffic to your blog or content in order to sell products, so promote your work through social media, online forums and blog carnivals.

Best of luck ... leave me a comment if you have any questions!

Quick Note -- Coupon Contest

The Bargain babe is holding a coupon contest over at her Bargain Bin blog ... just leave a comment on the post to enter. Let her know Maria sent you.

If you're looking for a reliable source for clipped coupons, check out the Coupon Clippers. They have a great selection and cheap prices. Also, if you have a blog, become a Coupon Clippers affiliate and earn commissions for referring people to the site.

Happy shopping ... and winning!

Frugal Homesteading Blog is Live

I've started a Frugal Homesteading blog and while I'm not thrilled with the current WordPress theme, I'm happy to have it online and plan to post daily. I'll be building up this blog for eventual monetization (you know I love multiple income streams) but I also really have a passion for the topic, which is why I chose it.

The blog will encompass a wide variety of areas, from personal finance and frugality to cooking natural foods from scratch and raising chickens for meat and eggs. I think, with the current economic downturn, combined with skyrocketing food and energy prices, that these topics are very timely.

My most recent post is titled Local Food: The Key to Surviving Record Gas Prices. I'm planning to take the kids cherry picking at the local orchard on Friday, so I'll have to post about the experience after we get back.

Passive Income through Affiliate Programs

Some of my passive income this month has been through affiliate programs, which was very encouraging (and exciting!) for me. One of the sales was for SiteBuildIt, which is a great website building program and educational course for creating successful websites. I have Site Build It! for my nutrition website and love it. That sale earned me about $75.

Then, I received emails on June 11 and June 15 from Implix letting me know someone had purchased eBook Gold through my affiliate link, for a total of $67 in affiliate sales commissions.

This is one of the things I love about making money online ... I am not a saleswoman by any stretch of the imagination in person, but with my words and an unobtrusive text link, written months ago and posted online, I earned over $140 with no further effort.

Here is one of the ads generated through my Implix affiliate account:

Turn your brain food into a $300 a day income stream, fast and easily. Click here to discover how.

But to be honest the ad that brought me both my June sales was simply "eBook Gold Writer Home" in an article about using eBook Gold. If you're interested in becoming an Implix affiliate, please click that link to sign up and then email me for tips and ideas on getting started. That's another great thing about this affiliate program--you earn a small amount for sales through affiliates directly under you.

My eHow Earnings eBook is Done!

I finished and published my first eBook!

How to Earn Passive Income at eHow.com: Residual Income for Web Content Writers

is now available at Lulu.com.

Five people have already purchased the book, and I hope they have found it helpful. I wish I'd had the information in there a year ago when I first began my online writing career. Writing for eHow.com has been a huge motivator for me to work toward building passive income streams.

For me, passive income is pure gold ... I keep earning money long after I've completed the work. This is great as a work at home mom, because it allows me to spend more time with the kids when they need me.

Working on an eBook

I made the plunge--I started writing my own eBook.

I didn't start writing because of all the hype about about eBooks and insane profits. No, this eBook came to me, I promise.

After fielding dozens of private messages and forum questions about online earnings and how to make money writing online, I decided to put it all together in a book. So that's what I'm working on -- an eBook on freelance online writing. it's actually more specific than that, but I won't spill the beans till it's ready. I'm hoping it will be fast to write so I can get back to my other writing projects.

I'm also hoping that an eBook will increase both my passive income and my writing income bottom line. I've had a successful work at home experience so far and would be thrilled to increase income, especially given the rising costs of everything.

I'm using some of the resources at All Freelance Writing's 14-Day eBook Challenge. While the challenge was months ago, the information is very timely for me.

I'll document my progress and eBook marketing ideas here, so check back for more posts on my eBook.

Keeping Kids Busy ... While I Work

While my older son and daughter were playing in the playroom, K, 1 year, decided he'd help me type. After futile attempts to distract him, I brought K to the play room and set him up with a few toys.

I returned to my desk and enjoyed a couple minutes of quiet as I worked on a new article.

"Mama." I looked up and saw my oldest in the doorway. His voice was shaky but determined.

"Mama. I am not a daycare."

Now that my son is almost five, he's becoming more interested in intricate toys. And my one-year-old just isn't up to speed on the ways of legos and Playmobil, wreaking havoc on J's setups. Sigh.

I've never tried KNEX, but since Mommy Know How is holding a contest to give a set away, I had to enter. Who knows, maybe we'll win it, and I can bribe J to play with K. You know, that's easier than daycare.

Pro Blogging, Here I Come!

I'm now a blog manager for the new Blog-Island Blog Channel. My flagship blog is Financial-Tip.com. I'm in training to become a Blog Editor and oversee more blogs as time goes on. For now, handling this blog as well as my Demand Studios work is keeping me quite busy.

Niche blogs often do quite well, attracting large, diverse readerships and making some money at the same time. I'll let you know how this goes. I hope my blog will be a help to families struggling with finances during this economy.

How to E-File a Federal Tax Extension for Free

Did you know you can file for a federal tax extension online, for free? Lucky for me, you can. Check out Tax Act Online.

It's tax time, with federal taxes due today, and since the accountant isn't finished with my husband's business taxes, and my youngest son hasn't received his social security card as yet, we need an extension.

I was glad to find a site where I can do it quickly, online, for free. In fact, think I'll file my taxes (also free) through the same site when I get everything I need together.

Don't forget that an extension doesn't mean you can put off paying the IRS -- you need to pay now to avoid late fees.

Need help with federal taxes? Get Free Tax Help from a variety of sources online and in person.

WRG Hiring Freelance Business Writers

Writers' Research Group is hiring freelance business writers. If you're just breaking in to the writing world, this could be a great start. If you're a WAHM (work at home mom) with business/ career experience, this might be a good niche.

Writers Research Group: Great for New Freelance Writers

I no longer write for Writers' Research Group, and yet I recommend them to newbies trying to land their first online writing gigs. In general, I think the drawbacks of writing for any content company outweigh the benefits for established freelance writers. However, writing for a content company can be a godsend for a new freelancer and a great way to learn the ropes of online writing.

Writers' Research Group is essentially a middle man, contracting with new and established websites for writing and editing services, which they then outsource to freelance writers. The writers are not employees, but independent contractors. Writer's Research Group has its own small staff, including the company founders, and hires freelance editors as well as the writers.

Because of the overhead involved, writers make less per article writing through the contracting company than if they wrote directly for the websites. For example, if Writer's Research Group is paid $25 per article, they may pay their contracted writers $10 apiece. And yet, there are no employee benefits, such as health care or 401ks, because writers are essentially sub-contractors.

Another aspect to consider is the non-compete clause in Writers' Research Group's contract. If you write for them, you can't write for any of their clients within a one-year period after you end your contract.

Since there is an initial difficulty in establishing a good client base, new freelance writers might consider working for WRG. It's a great way to gain experience and learn the ropes of online writing. And you're virtually guaranteed steady work (even more than you can handle) when they are writing for a large contract.

However, if you have experience as a writer, I'd recommend looking elsewhere or consider writing directly for the websites. Case in point: I make $30 per article that I write for a new health-related site; Writers' Research Group writers are paid $10 each article. An article I would have sold to Writers' Research Group for $11 has earned over $150 on eHow. I've flown the coop, and I'm not looking back.

"How to Budget Money" Is a Hit

High schoolers should learn how to make a budget, and personal finance classes should be mandatory in college. In a perfect world. But the reality is, many adults come out of school financially illiterate.

So what do people turn to when their finances are a mess and they don't know how to get them cleared up? Internet searches, of course. Oh, I'm sure some check out books from the library--I fell into that category--but many start with Google.

It's interesting to see what people are searching for on Google, and how those trends change with the times. On eHow of late, personal finance topics are big. A simple how-to on budgeting, How to Make a Budget, has already received hundreds of hits, even though it hasn't been ranked by Google for its main keywords.

In fact, my other recent articles on money topics, such as How to Avoid Paying Private Mortgage Insurance, How to Get Out of Debt Fast and How to Make Money in a Recession are also popular. As you see, they're timely topics.

If you're concerned about your writing career surviving tough financial times and a possible recession, look for a niche that will explode, and get writing now. The finance and money topics will be done to death, so be creative. What aspects of life will change in an economic downturn? What specific areas will people try to save money in? Niche and grow rich.

Freelance Writing Jobs: Persistence, Patience Pay Off

I landed two new freelance writing jobs during the past week, in addition to the blogging opportunity I wrote about. One is for a soon-to-be launched health-oriented website, and the company pays $30 per 450-word article. Since I am passionate about nutrition and fitness, I am thrilled with this gig. I got my first assignment of 10 articles last week and have completed eight. Since I already know these general topics, the material comes easily to me.

But if I hadn't been patient and persistent, I would probably be writing these same articles at $10 each. Here's the story.

A few months ago, I decided not to continue writing for a client (I'll call them Group W) because of a non-compete clause in the renewal contract. Just as I was tapering off my work on one website with Group W, they announced a new, large contract for another website, the one on health-related topics (I'll call it e-alive.com). Oooh, I wanted in on that gig! But I realized that if Group W was paying us writers $10 per article, they were receiving more than that for the articles from e-alive.com. Why not get the full amount by writing directly for e-alive.com? Also, I couldn't get past Group W's contract, which would not allow me to write for any of their contracted clients (such as eHow, e-alive.com, etc.) within a year of ceasing my work with them.

I decided to apply directly to the company behind the new website instead of writing for my Group A, much in the same way that I decided to write directly for eHow instead of the content company. Over a month went by before I heard from e-alive.com's parent company, but last week I received an email. the editor told me they received my application, were satisfied with my credentials and offered me ongoing work: when I finish my first set, I'll be assigned 10 more titles.

So you see, persistence and patience pay off. That's why I put the little turtle in this post, as a reminder. Set your goals, and work toward them. One of my goals is to write for myself and increase my passive income. While there is no passive, long-term income potential with this gig, I did cut out the middle man and increased my profits more than 100% in doing so.

The kicker? Some of the contracted writers at Group W still haven't received their approval for the health-related article gig at e-alive.com. While I had to be patient to get this gig on my own, I may not have gotten it yet if I'd stuck with Group W.

What are your writing goals? What keeps you motivated to achieve them?

Rising Grocery Prices Mean Budget Adjustments

After years of relative flatness, rising grocery prices are affecting families everywhere, and many people are finding ways to cut back in the supermarket. Gas prices are on the rise as well, despite the Feral Reserve's insistence that inflation is under control. Since it's easier to cut food costs than fuel expenses, rising grocery prices mean budget adjustments for many.

I was at Trader Joe's the other day, and noticed several fairly recent price increases, from frozen fish to children's multivitamins ($2.99 compare to $1.99 in the fall). I skipped the multivitamins this time, as we still have two bottles. The 100% cranberry juice I used to buy for $3.99 was $4.49; it stayed on the shelf. However, their natural creamy peanut butter is still $1.69, an excellent buy compared to the lowest price I can find elsewhere. I also stocked up on several spice blends holding steady at $1.99 a jar.

Rising grocery prices are most noticeable on grains (flour, bread, cereal) and dairy products (milk is at an all-time high and yogurt at TJ's had increased quite a bit.) As diesel prices rise, expect to see rising grocery prices across the board, in every aisle and on every shelf.

My Trader Joe's shopping trip hit home to me. Even as prices rise, our wages are flat. There is less money to spend on necessities and luxuries alike. More and more Americans are sitting up and taking notice, and becoming more careful with their spending.

How do you cope with rising grocery prices? Have you increased your grocery budget and cut back in other areas? Or are you becoming a more frugal shopper?

The Chance to Make Money Blogging?

Make Money Blogging: A Golden Opportunity?

Intrigued by a recent post at the WAHM forum, I applied to train for an editor position with a new network of blogging channels, spearheaded by a husband and wife team with an established internet marketing business.

The concept is that each editor will oversee between 10-100 blogs, as part of a team. Editors are responsible for managing their particular channel, but generally hire out to freelancers for blog posts and wouldn't be writing all the content (or any, if she didn't want to) herself.

Since I know that you can indeed make money blogging (see my previous post, "Does Blogging Make Money?") and because I would much prefer a long-term, performance-based income structure over simple paid posting, I am very excited about the possibilities ahead. I had a good feeling about this from the start, and I still do.

However, not everyone saw this opportunity the same way that I did. Another blogger, Dana, was also chosen for an editor position with this new gig. However, she didn't think the offer was as rosy as I did, and left the project. She started a post on the WAHM forum, "A Questionable Gig" to warn other writers about the pitfalls she saw in the blogging opportunity. Dana also discusses the topic in more detail on her writer's blog.

This recent debate brought back memories of my eHow experiment. Back in October, many on the WAHM forum were annoyed by Rich from eHow, who posted several times looking for writers. Many were skeptical, since eHow's criteria is so vague about payment. I'm sure many envisioned earning only pennies for their articles. I decided just to try eHow, with a few articles, and see what happened. Well, my articles have been so successful (one has earned over $100 to date) that I foresee replacing my current main gig simply with the passive income at eHow.

But I digress. My point is, sometimes you just have to make a leap of faith, try something out and evaluate it over time to know how it will work.

There are different criteria each freelance writer uses to determine what projects to look for and what opportunities to accept. We each have our own scam radar, and for each of us, it's a little different. In the end, we all rely on a little gut instinct. I did, in this case, and I am truly confident that I'll be reporting back periodically that my gut was right.

What are your thoughts? Do you make money blogging? I'd love to hear from you ...

Does Blogging Make Money?

Are you wondering, does blogging make money? The short answer is yes. But the reality is that only a small percentage of blogs are successful. There are many gems in a large mountain of ordinary rocks, and some of those gems do quite well.

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly now blogs as a full-time occupation as of this month. He worked hard to get his blog up to speed, and a venture he started as a hobby became an excellent source of income over the course of a couple years.

I am a daily reader of Survival Blog by J.W. Rawles, author of Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse. This is another very successful, and apparently lucrative, niche blog. It will soon reach the impressive feat of 3 million visitors, with over 69,000 unique hits each week.

So does blogging make money? Only when certain factors coincide. To be a successful blogger, you'll need to:

• Know basic SEO (search engine optimization) and keyword techniques. I gained this experience writing $10 web content articles for a company that had a contract with a well-known website. There is a plethora of information available; some of the best can be found in the free Site Build It Netwriting Masters Course.
• Find a niche. What is your passion? What do you love to research and write about? What skills do you have? Choose a topic that leaves you room for years of great content, not a passing fad. Findout what people are searching for by using Wordtracker's free tools.
  
• Promote your site. Use social networking, link building and other techniques (check out Copy Blogger for more in-depth traffic-building information).
  
• Monetize your blog with affiliate products, Google adSense and paid sponsors.
  

My own little blogs, Raw Milk Mama and My Work at Home Mom Blog, both in their infant stages, have already earned a few pennies in Google ad sense revenue as well as a few dollars in Amazon commissions.

Following my own advice, I hope to grow them into profitable blogs. I'm not in it for the money, yet, but as an eventual outcome, I'd be pleased.

The Family Budget: Making it Work

I confess, I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to money. I like to have a neat family budget, with all bills, spending categories and income sources duly noted. I allocate the money, my husband looks it over, and together, we try to stick to our family budget each month. Oh, I wasn't always this way. In fact, I'm still paying off the credit card debt we incurred before we read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book.

I look back in annoyance with my old ways of handling money and the cavalier way we added so much unnecessary debt to our lives, but I try not to dwell on it. Following Dave Ramsey's suggestion, we now make a spending plan each month, a “zero-based” budget. The amount going out has to equal the amount coming in, with a net of zero. Yes, you still save money and even invest (when debt-free) but that is part of the family budget and counts as outgo.

As a work at home mom (WAHM), a careful budget is especially important because I want to make sure the time I'm spending earning an income is going to good use. Knowing how precious my time is, wasting money on things we don't need bugs me more now than when I had an office job and no kids.

So how do you make a family budget friendly enough for a skeptical spouse and reluctant teenagers? Start by getting your spouse on the same page so you can tackle the rest of the family as a team. Make some time each week to discuss finances with your husband. Try these resources together:

*My Total Money Makeover

*Financial Peace University

*The Envelope System

With your spouse, plan out a family budget you both can live with. Allocate the set bills first, as that is easy to do (your monthly housing and debt payments should be consistent, and use the average for fluctuating electric bills and the like). Next, your disposable income. Include:

• Food (estimate $100 per person per month to start)

• Transportation (gas & oil, tolls, bus fares)

• Clothing, shoes

• Tuition, dues, subscriptions

• Household (cleaning products, repairs)

• Extra money (gifts, personal, etc.)

If you find your outgo exceeds your income, you need to Earn Extra Money. Also check out How to Save Money and Get Out of Debt.

If you have older children, it's time to get your teens on board. It's essential that you be open with them and ask them to pull together as a teem to make the family budget work. Older teens with jobs may need to pay for their own gas and clothes and even contribute something to the grocery budget, especially if you and your spouse are trying to pay off debt and get finances in order. Younger teens and children can help with extra chores if parents will be working overtime or from home to increase income.

What successes--or pitfalls--have you experienced with a family budget at your house?

Personal Finance as a Work at Home Mom

Many personal finance sites tend to focus on one end of the money equation: how you spend and save it. But in my blog, I'm focusing mostly on the other end of the equation, earning money. Specifically, I write about earning money as a stay at home mom and the unique challenges this situation presents.

When looking at a tight budget, there are two things you can do to improve the wiggle room and find money for underfunded categories (whether it be your blow money or your debt reduction).

1. Make more money.

2. Spend less money.

Really, it is that simple. You can do one or the other, or both, but those are your only options. (a huge inheritance just isn't practical for most people, and not something you can control in any case... well, let's just not go there.)

There comes a point for many people when it is easier to do the first than the second, and this is certainly true in my case. With two mortgage payments,a home equity loan payment, student loans and more, much of our monthly income is eaten up by set bills that we can't change (unless our house finally sells, but that's another post for another day).

We are very frugal with our so-called disposable income. We buy natural food in bulk, bake our own bread, plant a garden, drive old paid-for vehicles, shop at thrift stores whenever possible, and don't have TV, cable, or other entertainment extras.

To supplement my husband's income and pay for my children's Atrium class, among other things, I spend part of my day working from home, as an English grader and a freelance writer. There are many other ways to earn extra money. Here are a couple short articles with ideas for you:

How to Earn Extra Money & How to Earn Extra Money at Home on a Computer.

Making Money with Affiliate Programs

Some people make a living marketing other peoples' stuff online. One is the author of The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 Last Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online, a book that purports to show you how it is done. I don't have $75 for the book, so I am learning as I go.

I am now an affiliate for Amazon.com, eBay.com, Half.com and The Coupon Clippers. I've started posting the links on my blog, forum signatures, and articles I write for other websites.

I earn about $20 a month from Amazon, without much promotion at all. Most of my purchases are made through some plain text links on another site (not this blog).

For me, becoming an affiliate marketer allows me another opportunity to earn passive income, my new hobby. I spend a few minutes creating text links, add them to my articles or posts, and leave them alone. I log in to my Amazon Associates account a few times a week to check on the progress and am pleasantly surprised when a sale shows up.

However, I haven't made more than $5 on any one item and was slightly jealous to see that many Amazon Associates have had commissions of $100 or more on a single item. One associate mentioned selling a $1,000+ watch and earning a large commission for it. That would be nice, but for now I am content to build up my traffic and hope my referral links get the clicks.

I'll let you know how my progress goes, so keep an eye on my blog for an update.

Goals and Success as a WAHM

Setting goals (as I did in my previous blog post) is only half the battle. You have to work hard to achieve those goals, and articulate changes as you progress.

Immediate revenue needs as the impetus, I have changed my weekly work-at-home goals to reflect my current situation. I have had to put my Natural Health Information web site on hold while I work more on near-term income producers.

I do plan to get back to my website about mid year, or when we sell our home and our financial pressures ease up.

For now, I am working about 15 hours a week (3 hours a day Mon-Fri) on my English grading job online and I try to write one new eHow article each day.

The English grading is a good match for me. I don't get bored or find it tedious, but it is simple at the same time since I have graded thousands of papers by now. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an $.83/hour raise in my January paycheck ... hey, it'll add up over time.

I continue to be pleased with my eHow revenue -- you really can make money writing eHow articles, and with a large enough collection, the monthly royalties add up. I figured I would have to have thousands and thousands of dollars in a high-interest savings account to bring in the passive income I'm making from eHow. Yes, there is the work up front to write the articles, but I consider the time investment worth it to have income each month that will keep coming even if I stop writing.

No, that's not my workspace in the photo ... but it inspires me and is something I aim for. Simplicity and order help me stay on track and organized. It's amazing how much more I accomplish with a clean desk.

Write online ... for yourself.

Here's to 2008 and MMM*!

The past year as a WAHM was busy and enjoyable for me, despite finding it hard to juggle kids and work and home.

I started out the year primarily as an English grader and ended as an English grader, freelance writer and website owner. The freelance writing pays the best so far, the English grading is consistent and always available, and the website... well, it's a work in progress.

In 2008, I plan to transition to full-time freelance online writer and webmaster. I have found that writing online "for myself" pays far more than writing $11 articles for online content companies.

For example, Writer's Research Group pays $10-$11 for a 250-400 word original content article. Not bad pay, considering I could usually write 1-3 an hour. But then, at the end of October, I started writing those same articles for eHow. Several have earned more than $30 each already. Other have made far less. However, when I average it our and project the earnings over a year, they will make about $30-$40 each.

That's a lot better than $10, obviously, even if I have to wait several months or more to get to the amount I would have earned instantly by selling the pieces to Writer's Research Group.

My website, so far, has not made any money. But that's because I haven't asked it to. I have not begun to monetize the site, and won't, until I have enough traffic to warrant monetization. I'm building my site through Site Build It, following their proven success plan.



The first step is Content. That should say, content, content, content. The more I write, the easier it gets, but I still have nagging doubts about whether it "will work."

I hope, by December 2008, to have a success story of my own to share.

In 2008, I plan to:
~Add 3-5 pages to my website each week
~Update my blogs each week.
~Write 2-3 articles on eHow, Hub, Squidoo, a week.

I'd love to hear your WAHM goals for 2008!

*making more money