How the Cash Grows

Of the online publishing sites which I have joined this year: Yahoo Contributor Network; List My 5 and Squidoo. There is a noticable disaster.

Squidoo has not lived up to it's expectations. I have had constant trouble logging in. For some reason my password keeps getting corrupted. I am unable to use all the functions when I do log in. It is just too complicated to get a lens (post) up that I lose patience and there is no real incentive to work through, the community there seem self interested and unwilling to help out. So Squidoo is not a place I like to go.

The other two publishing sites are very good for me.

List My 5 produces a good stream of views, now coming up to 10,000 in six months. I also now have a little income stream coming in from them. My lists are maturing and people are now clicking through on my links.

Prior to the Removal of my Amazon Affilliate status along with all the other California Affilliates my Amazon aStores were doing well with click throughs on List My 5, better than on my blogs or HubPages. I was really hit badly in that area with the closing of my account. But as I say I am seeing increased traffic through pay per click revenue at this time.

Yahoo Contributor network is doing very well. I have a couple of articles under review before posting. These can take a couple of weeks to be processed and one was time sensitive. It is on preparing for school and so evergreen but has missed the boat this year, hopefully it will bring some revenue over the rest of the school year, as there are ongoing improvement tips. But we have to wait for Yahoo! to publish it.

The network is also producing good viewing figures, I have risen in the contributor rankings which will pay me a higher rate per view, if current view rates are maintained by the end of the year.

Most of my articles I post directly. Waiting for review can be frustrating as I mentioned. I am now aiming to have 100 items posted on both List My 5 and YCN by the end of the year. That will triple my number of items and will need to be in addition to all my blog and HubPages work.

For YAHOO! Contributor Network articles   CLICK HERE!

For List My 5 articles     CLICK HERE!

Writer's Block

You know those days?

You sit by the computer, you go to the grocery store, to the post office, the library. You come back and stare and stare at the computer again. There is nothing. You don't have a single idea.

You long to post a new hub, a lens, a post to Yahoo Contributor Network. You sit until sweat pours from your brain and drips onto those still fingers placed upon your keyboard.

You know this is terminal. A terminal case of writer's block.

The more you try to think, the more coffee you drink, the more the cursor winks. 

Ah! The muse has struck.  :)

First Improved Squidoo Lens

My first Lens, publication, on Squidoo was a bit of a rushed affair. It was ok as a first attempt but after three weeks I felt I knew enough to go back and improve on the original.

Luckily this was easy to do. The modular design rather like HubPages does allow you to quickly adapt your articles.

You can also as you gain points add modules and widgets to your article so it is to your benefit to consider increasing the user value by adding some of the items you have access too.

My latest widget was an Amazon widget. OK so does that work if I am in California?
To be honest I don't know but I added a couple anyway. I want to create a page for the reader, Amazon have a product, so in my view I may as well learn how to use a widget and give readers the choice, even though I now personally cannot benefit. Maybe you might see that as hypocritical of me? I would be interested to know what you think?

Playing with new lens capsules also adds photograph elements and increased discussion areas.

I like the point system that Squidoo use. Basic programs and capsules are available to the beginner. As you visit you gain points, as you comment you gain points and as you add tools you gain points. Points add levels and levels give you a higher level of interface options.

In short as you use and learn, you gain more options so increasing your ability to produce high quality articles. This prevents the initial shock of too many tools being used too quickly in a jumble of unco-ordinated capsules spoiling your work. Or the shock of too many options too soon scaring you into writers paralysis. as you wonder. How do I use this program?

To see my newly edited Squidoo lens on Gadgets for the visually impaired CLICK HERE!