Lessons learned from a year writing on Triond

I first signed up with Triond in May of 2009 after researching many different online content publishing sites. Like many others who had come before me, I was hoping to be able to make money with Triond through my online writing. Initially I had hoped my 20 years of experience as a newspaper journalist would help me jump to the top of the pack of Triond writers, but while I've done okay, I wouldn't claim to be the best or even the most prolific writer on Triond.

My first lesson

 

What did I learn first on Triond? That getting views for one's articles is no easy task (and views are important because that's how you make money). Sure, I've signed up for plenty of social and linking networking sites such as StumbleUpon, Reddit, SheToldMe and others. Those sites do help, sometimes tremendously, but there's more work involved in gaining viewers than just adding a link to some site. For one thing, you have to spend time on those sites commenting on others' links, making friends, being social and hanging out; if you don't, you're not likely to get very many views.

It also doesn't hurt to utilize other writing sites, such as Bukisa or Gather or RedGage or other sites, because on most sites you can link back and forth between articles which can help drive traffic from one site to another. The key though is not to put a bunch of links in your articles, especially ones that are not appropriate, because this will look like spamming and will drive readers away. Two or three article links at the end of, or throughout, one of your articles is generally appropriate.

Quality isn't everything

 

When it comes to Triond, quality writing is not the key to success. I learned that very early. So what is the key to success? Quantity can help, but it's not a given having a bunch of articles on Triond will necessarily bring you a bunch of readers.

What draws readers are articles that are interesting to them. Sometimes such an article can be a simple how-to article, or a health article. Other times it can be an article that's tantalizing, the practically screams weirdness or unorthodoxy. It takes some experimentation here to find what works best for any given Triond writer; health articles and articles about writing tend to work pretty well for me, but I've also had good luck writing about movies, firearms and sometimes goofball stuff that just popped into my head one day.

Sorry, but I've seen no evidence that fiction or poetry does well at all on Triond. If you are using Triond in hopes of making money on your poems or short stories, it's probably not going to happen. Still, Triond can be a good place for beginning writers to get feedback on their writing.

AdSense

 

Thank all that's holy for AdSense. I have used Google's AdSense for my blogs, but my online earnings really took off a few months ago when Triond began allowing its writer to earn from AdSense in their Triond articles. I easily make three times more money using AdSense with Triond than I do with Triond alone.

I know some who report having bad experiences with AdSense or who don't like some of Google's rules, but so far I have no complaints. Each month my earnings on AdSense have been double what they were the month before. I hope that trend continues.

Focus

 

Since making money through Triond was and remains one of my goals, I've also learned that publishing steadily on Triond helps to increase my readership (and thus my money intake). While I said above that quantity isn't so important, I will backtrack a little and suggest publishing at least one article a day does help to increase viewership.

I've noticed that if I go several days without publishing on Triond, overall my general number of views will wilt. But every day when I publish at least one article, the viewership of my other articles tend to go up some. I'm not sure if this is because readers are checking out my other articles or if those who publish often on Triond are given some kind of deference. Either way, writing and publishing every day does seem to help.
But what doesn't help much, at least in my experience, is publishing ten articles a day. Yes, it helped early on when I was starting at Triond, but over time it seemed if I published a bunch of articles in one day, I would end up getting fewer viewers overall.

A goal, then, should be to keep focus, to try to write and publish at least one article every single day.

Writing for money

 

I want to add here that while I do write for money, I don't write ONLY for money. I write because I like to. And because I'm decent at it. I'm also experienced at writing and editing. As I've said elsewhere, my professional experience as a writing might not always shine through on Triond, but that's because I allow myself a huge amount of leeway on Triond that I wouldn't in other, more professional venues. Why? Because quality isn't everything on Triond. Remember?

In closing

 

These are just a few of things I've learned on Triond during the last year. I've learned plenty of other lessons, such as that the Triond forums are pretty much a waste of time unless you're just wanting to hang out and shoot the breeze with some folks; the forums will help you to make friends on Triond, but they're not usually going to net you a whole bunch of readers to your articles.

But as I said, I've learned other lessons. To go into detail about them all would triple the length of this article, and I don't want to put you, the reader, through that. But if you are another Triond writer who has a question, please feel free to send me an e-mail or private message and I'll answer the best I can. I don't consider myself a Triond expert, but I don't mind helping other writers, so much so I've even created this blog for online content writers.

Should online content writers also blog?

Many writers turn to online content publishing sites as a way to make money or to simply express themselves and find readers. In many ways, this is a niche that has been filled by blogs over the last decade or so. Traditionally many bloggers started their own blog in hopes of making some money, but some just wanted to write and to be read.

But with more and more writers turning to content publishing sites, the question has to be raised of should these writer also blog. Often writers turn to content publishing sites because it is easy to get started and there is often a direct way to make money (though usually not a lot of money, at least not with a lot of work).

Still, it's pretty easy to start a blog. However, it's not as easy to make money from a blog. While some content publishing sites pay directly, making money from a blog is a different story. Generally bloggers have to sign up with various advertising services, then place advertisements on their blog; the hope if lots of viewers will come to the blog and click on the advertising links so the blogger will make money.

It often doesn't work out this way. Making money through blogging takes time and effort. It's work. Writing blog posts is the easy part. The hard part is drawing readers to your blog.

Still, online content writers are usually on the prowl anyway for potential readers. Many of these writers utilize various networking and linking sites in hopes of drawing those readers. The work is similar, if not often the same, as what needs to be done to bring viewers to a blog.

So, if you're already doing the work, why not also blog?

There are reasons not to blog. It's more work, for one thing. If an online writer is already busy writing for various content sites and is also busy promoting their online writing, it adds to their workload if they have another site and/or articles to promote. Also, as pointed out above, it can be difficult to make money through a blog; even if you draw in viewers, that doesn't mean they're going to click on the advertisements. Writing for a content site, such as Triond or Bukisa, that pays directly per article views can be enticing for many writers because it means they still have to get the readers but they don't have to worry about what the readers do once they get to an article or page.

However, all that being said, it's already a lot of work trying to get viewers and to make money as an online content writer. In my opinion, as one of these writers, I'm already doing much of the work that could be related to blogging. So why not blog? Yes, it will be a little more work, but I don't believe it'll be so much more work that it can't pay off eventually.

Patience is the key. Building an audience takes time, and if you can get a steady number of readers every day going to your blog, chances are some of them are going to click on your advertisements. Or they might link to your blog from their own blog or another site, which could bring even more readers. Building that audience takes time, but it might just be worth it in the long run.

Despite the claims of many sites on the Web, there are no get-rich-quick schemes that work. If you're a blogger and/or an online content provider, you've got to be willing to put in the work to draw in an audience.

So, I'll keep writing for these content sites and I'll keep blogging. Besides, blogging adds one more way I can find readers and make money, and I can use my blog to link to my online articles and my articles to link to my blogs. It only makes sense to me.

Related links
How many blogs should an online writer have?
Promote Your Writing by Promoting Others
Writing for a Living, a blog for online writers

How many blogs should an online writer have?

So you've been writing on some of the content publishing sites for a while. Your starting to make a little money. Not big money, but enough money that you see potential to make more. Maybe you've tried out other content publishing sites, spreading your writing out further on the Web in hopes of drawing more readers and making money. You've plugged in AdSense, and possibly are using some other online advertising sites. Again, there's a little money rolling in, but not big money.

Or perhaps you aren't interested in the money-making aspects of online writing. Maybe you just feel the need to express yourself and to have others read your work and possibly to comment upon it.

If that's the case, it's time for a blog. Or if you have one already, it's time to get to work publishing on your blog and marketing it.

Again, you've added a little advertising to your blog. It means a little more money. Still, you're not getting rich, but it all adds up. You're blogging every so often, enough to draw a handful of readers to you blog every day.

But you want more readers. Or maybe you want to make more money.

What to do?

Time for another blog!

Well, maybe. Maybe not. Blogging can be a lot of fun, and it is a source of making some money, but it's also a lot of work.

If you are considering having more than one blog, you have to ask yourself if you really have that many strong interests. The key to a successful blog is to write about a topic not only of which you are familiar, but also in which you have personal interests. That helps to draw readers and, hopefully, to make you a little money.

Another big factor is time management. Do you have the time to write on more than one blog regularly? When a blog is just starting out, you should probably try to have at least one post a day. Don't worry, you won't have to keep up that pace forever, but early on a blog needs as many solid posts as it can get in order to draw the interest of potential viewers. More posts also means your blog will be more noticed by search engines.

Also, you need to keep in mind if you have more than one blog, your blogs should not focus too closely on similar topics, otherwise the blogs are competing against one another for readers. What you want are blogs with different topics, or at least topics that might be related but not so much as to harm your readership. For example, yes, it would probably be okay to have a blog on book reviews and another on writing. On the flip side, you probably wouldn't want more than one blog about video games unless each blog focuses on a particular game or gaming era.

Sometimes a blog's focus can be too narrow. Again using video games as an example, if you were to focus on one particular game, you should probably make sure it's a very popular game. Otherwise, no viewers. And no money. Or you could blog about the one particular game while realizing the game will eventually lose its attraction to many gamers as they move on to other games, all the while planning on this blog being only a temporary blog.

What's a temporary blog? It's when you keep up with for a limited time period, anything from a few months to just a few years. They can be popular for a while, depending upon their topic, and they can bring in a little money. An example here would be a blog about the popular ABC television show LOST. The show is now finished, in re-runs, but while it was live on the air there were plenty of blogs about it. What's to happen to those blogs now? Most will remain, still drawing a few viewers and possibly bringing in some money, but for the most part the activity on those blogs will dwindle. There's nothing wrong with that. It was fun while it lasted.

So, you're going to have more than one blog. How many is the right number? You'll have to figure that out. Blogs come and go all the time, so don't feel too disappointed if you've tried a blog for a while, it doesn't do much for you and you have to kill it or permanently leave it alone. Some professional bloggers will try a dozen or more different blogs before settling on a few favorites that are bringing in the most money. You could try that route.

You want an exact number, or a range, on the number of blogs you should have? I'd suggest no more than six, and that's probably pushing things. If you are just starting out blogging, you probably shouldn't have more than two or three. Always remember, you can add (or delete, for that matter) a blog at any time.

And keep in mind the more blogs you have, the more work it's going to take you. Honestly, writing is the easy part. It's all the marketing and promotional work that is the really hard work. You might be able to sit down and churn out a few articles in a matter of minutes, but it's going to take a whole lot longer than that to draw attention to your blog.

But that doesn't mean it can't be done. And remember to keep it fun!

For Online Writers, Adsense Makes Sense

If you didn't know, AdSense is a Google program that enables users to place advertising on websites. The user makes money from this. The advertisements can be placed on personal sites, such as blogs, but in some instances the ads can also be placed on content publishing websites (basically a site where you write an article, it gets published online, then hopefully you can draw in readers).

The rules for each content publishing website are different. Some allow such advertising, others don't. Generally speaking, if you place an AdSense advertisement on one of your personal pages, you keep all the money made from the advertising. On content publishing sites, you usually split the money with the site.

How do you make money from AdSense? First you need to draw viewers to your pages, whether a blog or an article you've written. But that alone won't make you money. What you need to happen is for the viewers to click on the ads on your pages. This is called pay-per-click advertising, and this is where you make your money. The more people who click on ads on your pages, the more money you will make. And before you get too excited, yes, Google has rules set up so that you can't go to one of your own pages and sit there clicking ads all day long. And no, you can't hide this from them. They'll know.

How much money can you make? It all depends. Some advertising pays more. Some hardly pays at all. A lot of it will depend upon the content on your page, because AdSense will attempt to match up appropriate ads with a page's content. Some days you might not make any money, or you might make a few cents. Other days you might make ten dollars or more. Theoretically, the amount of money you make is unlimited because any number of people could view your pages and click on the ads.

The trick here is to drive traffic to your pages. You want people to see your pages, because the more people who view your blog or read your articles, the better chance you have of some of them clicking on ads and making you money.

One particular online content publishing site that accommodates its users with AdSense is Triond. Another is Xomba. Infopirate does the same. Even the online linking site SheToldMe lets its users use Adsense, as does YouSayToo, a blog sharing site.

But some online content providers, meaning mostly writers, are skeptical of using AdSense. Some seem intimidated by another website with which they have to become familiar, AdSense itself. Others don't like some of the rules of AdSense (though I've personally not found those rules overly strict). Some writers even have horror stories about AdSense, or at least they've heard horror stories about AdSense.

It is true that AdSense does not payout until you have reached at least $100 earned from AdSense advertising. It's also true you have to have a bank account. So, I can seem some hesitation and limitations for those reason.

But the truth is, if you can use AdSense, you should. Nay, you must.

Why?

Well, if you're not intersted in making money off the content you publish online, don't worry about it. In fact, you can probably stop reading this article if you've made it this far.

But if you are interested in making money from AdSense, then read on.

Here's why I suggest AdSense for online writers: AdSense has more than tripled the amount of money I make each month from my online writing. Not only that, but during the six months I've been using AdSense, the amount of money I make from AdSense has doubled each month.

See where I'm going?

At this rate, in a year I could be making four or five figures a month from AdSense alone.

Of course something could change or could go wrong. I'm a skeptic. I fully expect at some point that my AdSense earnings will level out. I just hope it doesn't happen for a few more months. Or it's also possible my earnings will continue to go up, but at a much lower rate.

But there are ways of dealing with this. There are ways I can help. I can keep writing, which builds my online content. I currently have five blogs, so I can make sure those are updated and I can keep trying to drive traffic to them.

It's really up to me. And as of yet, I've seen no reason not to use AdSense.

It only makes sense.

Sometimes a writer has to take a break

You've been slaving away for weeks on your novel, or maybe you've been keeping busy writing a few online articles every day. Or possibly you have several blogs which you try to keep updated as often as possible.

It's work, a lot of work. You can get burned out on it. But that's not what you want to happen.

What to do?

You could take a break. There's nothing wrong with that, though some writers don't like it because it halts their momentum. Some writers need to write every day to keep feeling like they are accomplishing something, to keep from feeling as if they are lettings themselves down. The big fear here is that a break of one day will lead to a break of two days, which eventually could lead to a break of a week or a month or forever. Some writers need that daily motivation. Others don't, able to temporarily drop a project then pick it back up in a few days or weeks.

If you fear taking a break, another choice would be to shift gears and try something different, perhaps something entirely new. If you write lots of news articles online, perhaps trying your hand at poetry could help prevent any possibilities of burnout. Or if you write a lot of prose fiction, maybe you should try your hand at screenwriting. There are lots of possibilities.

The type of break you take, however, is up to you. Just keep your regular projects in the back of your mind and go ahead and change gears for a while. You might discover a new project that brings you joy that might also be lucrative. You could also find that taking a break helps to rejuvenate your mental muscles, giving you new ideas you might not have thought of otherwise.

If you are worried about taking that break from writing, realizing suffering a burnout could be worse than the break. One day you could wake up and scream "I just can't write today!" Or it could be a gradual process, your mind and spirit worn down a little more each day until you become numb and immobile, unable to type another word on your keyboard or to put pen to paper. It happens. It's scary. That's why taking a break, choosing a different path for a while, can be a good thing. It ultimately helps to keep you on track while giving the mind a little relaxation time.