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Friday, September 17, 2010

List My Five: Not eHow, but ...

"Writers Compensation Program." "Residual Income." "(Your Name Here)'s Articles." Sound familiar?

No, it's not eHow. It's not even close. But the name of their revenue-sharing program, also abbreviated by its initials, WCP, and the promise of residual income based on user-submitted content's popularity, topic, quality and number of pieces written, sure sounds like it comes from somebody at least familiar with the eHow model.

It's called ... List My Five

And while the ListMyFive.com site is brand-spanking new (the first time I searched Google for "List My Five" it wasn't even on the first or second page) it's well done, with a simple, attractive, user-friendly interface. The content submission form works properly and has already evolved since my first perusal: you can now add links in a resources section after the article's content (hmmm, where have I seen that before?).

Sadly, the RRC folks will have a field day on ListMyFive: their FAQ includes the following as a factor that will increase earnings: "User response to your lists, such as positive ratings and comments." Oh, dear. Do they realize what they have unleashed? [For those unfamiliar with the day-to-day life on eHow forums during their WCP heyday, there was  Read, Rate, Comment Club on eHow whose devotees would spam inboxes and forum posts with pleas for other site members to "Read my articles so I can earn more! I'll return the favor!"]

List My Five Communication ... not great.
On September 6, I requested via email to interview the site owners or representative via email or phone. I received a prompt reply:

Maria,


Thanks for taking interest in List My Five.  We would be happy to provide information about our website and opportunities with our WCP for your blog.  We would ask that you send us an email or form with a list of questions we could answer for your blog, along with your blog's URL. We will return your requested information asap.


Sincerely, 


The List My Five Team.
I sent the required information and waited. I followed up politely, and then heard back on September 9:

Maria,
We have forwarded your request and it should be completed by the founders at their earliest convenience.

Thanks for your patience,

The List My Five Team.
 
But despite two follow-up emails from me since then, I haven't received another reply and none of my questions were ever answered. I wish they had been, because I could share the information and probably help them increase interest in the site.

Just today, a new "Support" tab appeared in the user panel. So it's clear the site is being maintained and updated; I wouldn't be surprised if they add forums soon too. Perhaps as the site grows there will be better response from the folks behind it, but I had better communication from eHow, InfoBarrel and Bukisa in those sites' early days.

ListMyFive for Residual Income
There's no way to know, yet, what to expect from earnings at this new site. It's just way too young and there haven't been any results to analyze yet. Well, one of my articles has earned a penny ... but I wouldn't stake your hopes and dreams on a penny.

Since the site is so new, it doesn't have the page rank or search engine strength to boost your submitted articles to the front page of Google the way eHow did. To achieve this, your strategy would have to be very heavy on building backlinks to your published top-5 lists.

In which case, adding content to your own niche sites and topic-specific blogs would be in may ways superior as you OWN them. As someone whose monthly online earnings are still top-heavy with eHow, I am focusing on building my residual income through affiliate marketing and personally recommend that at least half your web-based income come via sties that you personally own and control.

That being said, my hunch is that ListMyFive will grow quickly and have a wider user base than other rev-share start-ups, such as InfoBarrel. The site is so easy to use and the articles are quick and fun to write: that's hugely attractive to web writers. The talk of residual income will be endearing as well. So in a nutshell ... write a few articles, link to them, and see where the site goes.

I'll be keeping an eye on ListMyFive ... and publishing my own lists there from time to time. What about you?

21 comments:

Gayle said...

Maria--I heard about Listmyfive on Facebook from Janet Ford. I have only been there a week and have five lists. I have made $.42 so far, but I am encouraged. It reminds me of eHow in the early days. Yes if they encourage reading and rating, they will soon find out that is a nightmare. I too, encourage people to put a few lists on and see for themselves. Gayle

Christina Fernando said...

I've written 21 lists on the site, but have only earned a few pennies so far. I will continue adding content to ListMyFive while also writing other places too.

Tiffany said...

I haven't heard of listmyfive yet, but I don't really pay attention to content sites that much anymore. I still write a few articles for Suite101 here and there but that is about it. Right now I am super busy gearing up for the holiday season and my own sites, but I may check this site out in the next few months. Thanks!

Kidgas said...

Maria,
I appreciate you writing about this site. I am certainly intrigued and joined tonight after reading your post. I published two lists and will see what happens in terms of earnings, although I am sure that I will publish more over the next several days (don't know that I will get 21 done, however). Anyway, thanks again. We'll see how it goes.

Peggy said...

I'm ListingToTheLeft on List My Five (and in real life most days) and like it so far too. I've earned a whopping 7 cents with 10 lists so far. But it hasn't updated my earnings since Tuesday so I'm hoping for a windfall any day now. A girl can hope! But I agree that's it's easy to use and fun to write.

Unknown said...

I just started at Listmyfive as well. I love making lists and watching "countdown shows" so it's right up my alley! haha I've made $0.11 so far, but I've only done 5 or 6 lists. I hope it grows and makes me a little extra cash. :) I miss being able to write directly for eHow, so this might have to fill the void as I try to get Demand Studios to take my work still. haha Good luck to you and Gayle and Cindy! :)

Ally said...

I signed up there a couple weeks ago but haven't written anything yet. I'm doing pretty good on Info Barrel so I was going to use ListMyFive for back-links to my articles. It would be awesome if I could make some money there while getting backlinks.

Candace said...

Thanks for bringing list my five to my attention! I can't wait to check it out!

Sharla said...

Thank you for keeping updated on all that's new in the online writing market and passing on your knowledge.

Joey V. said...

I have been having fun there and see many of the old eHow people there. They are implementing several new things and a forum is coming, too. I think they are quite busy and teachable as Diane Cass has suggested things and the next day there were changes. I am jseven on there and have made .24 cents in a week, so I am hopeful that they will make the front page of Google soon enough. We should warn them about the rrc problems.

1 Buddha's Mom said...

Thanks for posting about this! I signed up and have written one list so far. It is fun and easy and maybe it will be as good as, or better than, ehow:)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Shirley said...

You're right that it's too early to tell about ListMyFive and it's potential for monetary reward. I believe it's going to take quantity, just like eHow did, to see substantial results for any of us. To me it's a mistake to only do one or two and wait and see.

FundingTravel said...

I am a bit confused. Has LM5 changed its payment scheme?

This is what was posted in the forums, by the company.

List My Five Team Member 10/13/2010 12:46 PM

Number 3: Payments – [...]We don’t only pay on clicks though. We use many other variables, it is not a trivial algorithm, it is well thought out, and benefits those that benefit LM5 the most. If you see a penny here and penny there, you were most likely paid from the algorithm and not an ad click. The algorithm can pay much more than a penny here and there as well. [...] We need strong solid users initially to make that a future reality. We feel we have a great core of users, and we are very grateful for them.

But this is what they posted on their WPC page..

You will earn advertising revenue share based on a variety of factors generated from each list you publish. The more lists you create and publish, the more money you can earn.

So, which one is it guys? Doesn’t the “great core of users” that you “are very grateful for” deserve to know?

bestmommy said...

I'm encouraged! I've been participating in a LM5 Twitter Blitz the past few days where a group of us have tweeted and re-tweeted each others lists. It definitely made a difference for my lists. My pageviews have quadrupled in the past 3 days and my earnings have more than doubled. Twitter is going to be a big factor in growing the site. So if you want to join in, keep tweeting and re-tweeting lists with the hashtag #LM5 and you should see some RT's from others in return. My ehow articles have surged a bit as well since I've been linking them to my lists :D

College Advice Blog said...

Hi,

I am really liking LM5 thus far. I think I am going to keep writing on it and see what happens. I know that some people are already making payout each month, so there is a lot of potential there.

A lot of eHowers are there too, so it's like a big reunion!

Life-is-sweet

Alrady said...

WRITERGIG. .nice to see ya! I agree totally with you and I don't
have the high hopes for revenue that others have. I think that at some point the 5's have a limit. NOt totally sure but just don't see it taking off like ehow did. THE RRC thing is a concern, for sure. The writing is easy and unlike a how to it is subjective - which has its own appeal for readers.

Emma Riley Sutton said...

As a writer at List My Five, I am impressed with the money I am making there so far. It is coming in much faster than when I started at other writing site - already established writing sites. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Emma Riley Sutton

Anonymous said...

I did check out the site. I am a marketing major. So I understand what customers/readers really want. To be honest, list my 5 is a weak concept. It just has a short shelf life. I mean the more writers will join to do their lists the more this site will lose credibility and readers. There are too many reasons behind it. I cannot mention them here right now. But I must say that writers should be careful in how many articles they publish there. You do not want to put all your eggs in one basket after all.

Mandy said...

I have not made enough for payout there yet, but I do plan to keep writing from time to time just in case.

Ruth Perkins said...

Hi
I was looking up ListMyFive to check my WCP when your post came up. I was interested in it especially because you'd mentioned the "Club".
I am disappointed in ListMyFive. I've stopped writing lists because the writer accounts are not updated frequently; sometimes as often as 10 days.
I've contacted admin through the contact button and never get a response.
The forums disappeared.
The community of writers there have different opinions about ListMyFive yet most of us agreed and moaned about the absence of updating our WCP in a timely manner and the poor quality of many front page lists that remain on the front page "forever" and not daily.
My disappointment with the writing community is that there is also a deceiving "Read/Rate/Comment Club going on there as well.
I started a forum about it before the forums disappeared. Some of the writers were previous members of other writing communities that had shut down for one reason or another and these writers were not happy with my "Club"-exposing forum.
I don't claim to be an awesome writer but I do strive to be a quality writer who gets traffic based on honest skills and content.
If you're writing lists I wish you luck. Perhaps things will improve. As for me I've stopped the list writing and check my WCP every so often.
I appreciate your post.
Thanks
Rap