MoneyOnComputer

[MeiEden]

Which have you had more success with? The thing I like about revenue sharing sites is that you don't have to be tied down to a single niche. You can write a few great articles in several different categories. If you own an independent blog, although you get 100% of the ad revenue, it can be difficult to find a good niche and market the site yourself to gain traffic.

[Sugarhill]

Why can't you make your opinion on the world and it's events your niche? If you can create compelling content, then it won't matter if your blog is varied, people will want to hear what you have to say.

[boyuancy]

I, for some reason, cannot write for a personal blog. I write religiously only for about a week, and lose an interest soon after. One of the reasons might be that I cannot see my earnings grow instantaneously.
Revenue sharing on the other hand, pays almost from the word "GO". I have written for Knoji, and I am very satisfied in terms of my earnings - not with the revenue that I'm given, but with the upfront fee that I'm paid.
So, its revenue sharing for me, all the way.

[dasani]

I suggest blogging. I do both. With revenue sharing you don't have full control of your content especially if you write on a site like Associated Content. They give you options of how much control you give up, but if you don't give up full control you barely make any money. With blogging, get yourself some Adsense, respond to other related bloggers and you'll get a little audience.

[UmmiNoor]

There are pros and cons for both of these methods for earning from writing articles. I prefer revenue sharing because I for one am unable to be consistently online all the time and therefore cannot see myself maintaining a blog or a website. With revenue sharing, I can just concentrate on writing and the nitty-gritty of maintaining the website is left to the site owners. I don't mind not getting 100% of the ad revenue generated because I don't own the websites. I don't even spend any money getting my articles published on the website so whatever I earn is 100% profit.

[MeiEden]

Well it looks like your opinions all pair up well with the research I've done. In the end, I'm probably going to do both for a while and see how successful I am. Then maybe I'll settle on one - or do one more and the other one just for fun in my free time. Thanks for your opinions.

Sugarhill - That is a good point, actually. I think I was so caught up in the "advice" given online that in order to blog successfully, you HAVE to have a niche. Or at least your advertisers can target viewers more effectively that way. I agree though that as long as a blog continues to have compelling content and pulls enough users, chances are, there will be ad conversions. I guess I don't have enough confidence yet that my writing voice is interesting enough to draw readers to a single blog!

[dziomek]

I do both revenue share and blogging. I am starting to see some consistent income from HubPages, and I have been submitting articles there since January 2010. I do have to point out I only have 56 articles submitted on the site; had I been more diligent in submitting there I am sure the revenue shares would be much higher than they are. I have also submitted over 50 articles to Triond, over 50 to Helium and several others on a few other RS sites. I think had I concentrated on two or three sites my revenues would have been higher.

My blogs and website are monetized by sources such as Amazon, AdSense and a limited number of other affiliate programs. I must say I have made more via RS than blogging, but I often direct traffic from my blogs to my articles. I am, in a sense, making money both ways. Doing both is, in my opinion, the better route to take.

[Sugarhill]

So, I have a question about these sites, that I suppose I could find out on my own, but I'll ask anyway. Are you submitting articles on subjects that they want or is it more like you are writing a blog, but they have the site for you to house your work? I get the views, get money part, but I'm more interested in the content that you are submitting.

[dziomek]

So, I have a question about these sites, that I suppose I could find out on my own, but I'll ask anyway. Are you submitting articles on subjects that they want or is it more like you are writing a blog, but they have the site for you to house your work? I get the views, get money part, but I'm more interested in the content that you are submitting.

That is a valid question to ask. The nice thing about the revenue sharing sites is I am able to write about what interests me. Depending on the site, the articles are not always is "blog" format. HubPages encourages personal experience included in the articles, while sites like Knoji frown upon it. It is also best to keep your articles "evergreen", which simply means it should be relevant today, tomorrow and 10 years from now. Current events stories are great for immediate views, but even two months down the road the number of views will be minimal.

I trust this answered your question; if not feel free to post again or PM me.

[Waynefire]

The independent site is nearly impossible to get noticed and you may have a long time to wait before you start to make money. However, the other sites are generally already indexed and a great way to supplement the money you make while waiting for your site to get noticed like the other sites do.

[Sugarhill]

So, I have a question about these sites, that I suppose I could find out on my own, but I'll ask anyway. Are you submitting articles on subjects that they want or is it more like you are writing a blog, but they have the site for you to house your work? I get the views, get money part, but I'm more interested in the content that you are submitting.

That is a valid question to ask. The nice thing about the revenue sharing sites is I am able to write about what interests me. Depending on the site, the articles are not always is "blog" format. HubPages encourages personal experience included in the articles, while sites like Knoji frown upon it. It is also best to keep your articles "evergreen", which simply means it should be relevant today, tomorrow and 10 years from now. Current events stories are great for immediate views, but even two months down the road the number of views will be minimal.

I trust this answered your question; if not feel free to post again or PM me.

Thanks for responding. It's a starting point and gives me something to consider regarding these types of sites. I may have a few more questions, but for now, this was good. Thanks again.

[dziomek]

@Sugarhill - You're very welcome. I wish I had known some of these things when I started, but at least now I can help others who are just getting going. If I can help others avoid some of the mistakes I made than I am very happy.