Promoting Residual Earnings Articles Online Using Social Bookmarking Sites

For freelance writers earning via residual payments, self promotion is a vital step in increasing readership and earnings. But what are the most effective methods of doing so, and how much time does promotion take up? This article will provide clear instructions regarding successfully promoting articles using social bookmarking websites.

Anyone reading this article who is already writing for an online publisher and earning via residual payments will be only too aware of how important self-promotion is with regards to increasing readership. Internal site views simply aren't enough to generate an income, so external visitors must be garnered, and one of the easiest ways to do this is by using social bookmarking sites.

Of course, there are a huge number of social bookmarking sites - with more popping up on a daily basis - and these all have individual rules regarding site use, and whether or not self promotion is allowed. However, even on those sites where self-promotion is permitted (or overlooked), some basic guidelines should be followed in order to avoid having your account terminated for inappropriate site use, or being seen as a spammer by other members (everybody hates spam).

Basic Guidelines for Using Social Bookmarking Sites to Promote Articles:

Do:

• Invite your friends, relatives and email contacts to join the site and subscribe to your posts.
• Post links to sites you genuinely like or find interesting (especially if they re relevant to subjects you usually write about) before posting any of your own links.
• Subscribe to other members' posts and make friends with those whose interests are similar to your own before posting your own links. Without being too obvious, try to make friends with members whose friend/subscriber lists are larger than average and who are very active.
• Use the social bookmarking site regularly - people like to subscribe to active members, not people who log in once a week or so. Post something useful or interesting each day, whenever this is possible. 
• Search websites for interesting new articles to add, because eventually other members will notice you are discovering interesting material and subscribe to your feed.
• Add full reviews and/or excerpts of the articles/sites you link to wherever possible. The more information provided the more likely those with a real interest in the subject will click on your link and view your article.

Don't:

• Post links to your own articles before you have made friends or gained any subscribers. It's a waste of time, and once you've entered them other are unable to do so. Until you have a definite audience you'd do better to allow others with large subscriber groups to post your links, should they happen to come across your article/s.
• Post links solely to your own articles, and those of your fellow freelance writers. Use the social bookmarking site exactly as a normal member would. Add anything you come across and genuinely like, and network with other members.
• Post using the same name you write under. It seems less like self-promotion if you use a different name. It may also prevent you from being banned for spamming.
• Expect to gather followers/readers/subscribers without putting in some effort. The time spent networking prior to posting links will eventually pay off. Aim to spend a month or more using each social bookmarking site before adding any of your own links.

There are far too many social bookmarking sites to review - or even list! - here, but below are a few of the better ones:

Stumbleupon
Digg
Reddit
Fark

Individual social bookmarking sites will be reviewed in detail in future articles.

Which is Better for Freelance Writers: Residual Earnings or Up-Front Payments?

Upon starting a career in freelance writing online the majority of writers, when considering potential publishers, will ask themselves which is better - residual earnings or up-front payments? The answer to that question depends upon many factors, including - but not limited to - skill level, experience, SEO knowledge, marketing skills, area/s of expertise, and the publisher/employer.

Another important factor is whether or not an individual can afford to wait for residual payments to build up (a large number of articles must be published before significant earnings are generated), or whether it's necessary to earn more substantial amounts immediately. Only the individual writer can decide which system is ultimately best for their needs.

There are two main categories of payment type in the freelance writing arena: residual payments (when writers are paid per view or per ad-click, with money coming in slowly during whatever period the article remains published - which could be decades, or longer) or up-front (when a single payment of a previously agreed figure is made upon submission of a finished article). Various sites pay hugely varying rates for both residual and up-front payments, so careful research should be undertaken before choosing a publisher.

For amateur writers with poor English skills up-front payments may be entirely out of the question - at least until improvements have been made regarding writing ability. But that doesn't mean less able writers aren't able to make money writing online; it simply means they must go about it in a different manner. After all, no-one wants to buy a poorly written article, but people do click on them accidentally.

For highly skilled writers the best form of payment is usually up-front, but this depends largely on the publisher. Some sites are very particular about whom they accept as writers, whilst others are not; the level of pay is usually reflected by the publisher's discriminatory powers, so better writers will naturally be better paid, provided they find the appropriate publisher/s. 

It is possible for less able writers to find sites offering up-front payments, but these rarely exceed $5 per article, and can be as little as $1. However, for those resident in countries with currencies weaker than those of the UK, Europe, or the US, these lower figures may represent a more significant amount. A small number of online publishers offer a combination of residual and up-front payments, which some amateur writers choose to take advantage of. However, these are few and far between, and the choice between to the two is usually necessary.

Less able writers with an understanding of SEO are able to use these techniques to their advantage when it comes to residual earnings, and suffer a lesser disadvantage in this arena than they do regarding up-front payments. Providing an article is titled appropriately and keywords are used correctly it is possible for a low-skilled, amateur writer to earn more than a highly skilled writer writing for the same site.

For those professionally trained in the English language, or to whom writing well comes naturally, it should be easy to find publishers or freelance companies which pay appropriately. Equally, for those less able when it comes to writing, but willing to learn techniques such as search engine optimisation, marketing, etc., there is also the potential to build a career as a freelance writer.

Writing about the same general subjects continuously, careful use of SEO techniques, and marketing work using any of a number of online services will eventually lead to an increase in earnings. Over time, and coupled with future article submissions, this could indeed lead to a reasonable monthly wage. However, patience and perseverance will be required, and it will be a long and winding road to success for 99% of the freeelance writers who choose residual earnings.  

Of course, better writers would also do well to learn basic SEO techniques. Many freelance writing jobs consist of creating web content, which needs to be written with the correct keyword density to make it visible to search engines. A proficient writer with a good understanding of SEO can demand a high fee for creating quality web content for new website owners desiring a high page ranking and topic-specific, high-quality content, in one package.

Depending upon what subjects an individual is able to write about, some sites may be out of bounds entirely, or pay may be far lower. For example, creative writing is generally lower paid, and informative 'how to' articles are usually better paid. 

Those choosing up-front payments need to be prepared to research and write about pretty much any topic, while those preferring residual earnings can choose their topics more freely - although popularity will play a large part in determining future topics, if increasing earnings is important.

For many writers it's not a question of either/or - it's a question of bringing in money in whatever way possible, at that particular moment in time. If there are no suitable up-front payment jobs then time can be spent writing articles for sites with residual earnings. These sites usually provide a profile page with the facility to add links - or at least url addresses - for other sites. In this way they provide a way for freelance writers to market their work and abilities.