Adventures In Freelancing

Type-A Mom is a wonderful site for moms to get information from other moms.  It's a place where moms can share experiences and learn from each other.  It's also a place where you can get paid for your writing, if you're a mom!  I asked the site's creator, Kelby Carr, for some information about how things work, and she gave me an in-depth look at the whole process.  Here it is, in her own words.

On Type-A Mom, writers get a 50-50 split of ad impressions (as in, if
you have an article half of the time Type-A Mom Adsense ads show and
half the time the author's Adsense ads show).

What you also get that you don't get on many other online sites is the
100 percent revenue from in-content text affiliate ads (for example,
you write a review of a book and link the title to Amazon... and
anytime someone buys it, you would keep all Amazon associate revenue).
There are more details at
http://typeamom.net/Latest/Earning-Affiliate-Revenue-in-Mom-Articles.html

Editors in charge of topic sections also get either two free 300x250
ad slots or one 160x600 ad slot that they can use for an affiliate
banner (again, they keep all revenue, no sharing there), an ad to
their own site, or even an ad for a charity. These ads run not only on
editors' own pages, but on those of any other article in that topic.
These ads may need to be suspended to make room for a direct ad sale
banner, but the editor would want that because the editors get half of
the direct ad sales for ads in their topic. I'm pretty sure most
revenue sharing sites do NOT share direct ad sales revenue, but I
could be wrong there. You could find out more about the ad setup here:
http://typeamom.net/Mom-Writers-and-Editors/Affiliate-Banner-Ads-for-Editors.html

Managing editors, which I recently added, also get an extra bottom ad
slot for their whole section (actually pretty large... for example the
Stages managing editor gets lower-page ads on every category from
Trying to Conceive to Grandmothering). This does NOT take away from
author ads. Basically, instead of Type-A Mom getting half the ad
impressions for that position, the managing editor gets the half that
the author doesn't get.

I know some of this is more complicated to digest than many of the
sites, but that is partly because I am trying to share every manner
possible... and because I am aiming for as much transparency as
possible.

Right now, the only ad revenue I am not sharing is BlogHer, but that
is primarily because it is way too small an amount and there is no way
to break it down by category. Even if I did, it would be a matter of
pocket change once it's divided between 40-some editors. As it is now,
the BlogHer revenue really hardly covers the semi-dedicated hosting
needed for the site and the purchasing of components to enhance
features.

So swing by Type-A Mom and take a look around.  Let me know if you decide to write there.  I plan to contribute in the new year.

Do you write for content sites like Suite 101 or Demand Studios?  I've signed up, but I haven't gotten started because I fear spending an inordinate amouint of time just to make some pitiful sum.  So I asked around.  My online friend, Angela England, gave me this summary of some of the most popular paid content writing sites.

Suite101 is my favorite site to write for but is a long-term game just so you know. They pay their writers a percentage of the ad clicks from the google ads on the site. The thing is - this doesn't make you much money at first. You may have 10 articles up and only get 26 cents the first month. A year later when you have 100 articles you will make more than 10 times that amount though - it grows exponentially. AND you continue to get paid. forever.

The articles I wrote two years ago I continue to get paid for. I now make enough each month to cover my car payment but only contribute a handful of articles each month. SO it's easy work now on the top side - it jsut takes a little while to build it up.

Rights - you keep all rights except one year web exclusive rights. So after one year you can put elsewhere on the web. You ALWAYS maintain print rights and I recently reworked (expanded) one of my massage articles and sold it to Massage and Bodywork Magazine! I also have plans to compile a couple other articles into ebooks and offer them for sale that way as well. You can write about any topic you want. You can also apply to be a feature writer in a particular topic, which I have done for plants and bulbs. http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/angengland is the link to my profile.

Suite101 is pretty tough to get into and only about 20% of applicants are accepted. So the writing quality is very high and the content produced is usually very nice.

BellaOnline is set up differently. You maintain ALL rights to your content from the start but are not guarenteed any payment at all. You might not make a dime. You don't get paid for your articles persay - you get to keep 100% of affiliate links you place within your articles. For example, books I use to reference my articles I make clickeable to Amazon. Last month I made $2.46 with 24 articles up.
They also have an ebook creation course to help you bundle your content into saleable books which they will promote and sell on the BellaOnline website FOR FREE - they don't take a cut....Lisa's goal is to help promote her writers. It is a very nice feel.
On BellaOnline you can only write within your chosen topic. Conversely - no one else is writing in your topic so you have a lot of control over what is happening to your site. which is nice. BellaOnline has no true editorial oversight. Suite101 has section editors that will flag your content if it doesn't fit with house style. You can see my topic here http://pregnancy.bellaonline.com/Site.asp

Associated Content is easier to get started with. Just start writing. Articles pay best when given to them as exclusive upfront payment option. But their upfront payment sucks. Like maybe $3-10. I averaged more than most (mediocure) writers there at $9 per article abverage. They also pay a continuous payment of $1.50 for every 1000 page views on existing content. I still get about $10 per month from the 40 articles I originally wrote there (before finding out about Suite101). There is no editorial oversight and the site itself looks much more cluttered with ads put into your article after submission and lots of ads everywhere. Plus you cannot edit material after submitting. However - the upfront pay is nice to have and certainly adds up. Plus not only do you get a few bucks right away, but then you continue getting paid for good content that has lots of readers. You can join here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=26212 This is the first site I joined for content writing w hen I had ZERO experience at all.

Demand Studios is another content site. Editorial oversight - articles must be written within their house style. They are very easy to write in my opinion and require litle research if you pick a topic you know fiarly well. You do not keep any rights and can't change things once it's published. They pay one-time $15 per article. Period. Once it pays it is paid. Which is nice if you need a little extra money right away. but there is no long-term pay off like with Suite101.

Hubpages is a more recent thing I am testing out. My profile is here http://hubpages.com/_24u27xop911bh/profile/AngEngland.  And you can see how easy each individual page is to create and set up. Each page stands alone but can be tied to other hubpages. Another BellaOnline editor said she completely supports her and her daughter from the BellaOnline content and the hubpages she has (over 100 now). I began creating hubpages from the year-old articles I had up on Suite101...the two lavender hubpages you can see. The other two I just created off my head very quickly and linked to other articles on Suite101 and BellaOnline. They are easy to make and fun and quick and, like the Suite101 content, you continue to earn money over a long period of time.

Angela was not only kind enough to provide us with this information, she'd also like me to pass along her Twitter handle. You can find her on Twitter at @AngEngland.  Follow her and feel free to ask her questions.  She's the best!