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!

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.

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?