by Kathy Fisk

Created on: November 11, 2009

There are "tricks of the trade" that successful web writers use to evaluate whether or not a website will help or hinder your online writing career. Learning to distinguish the difference between a good opportunity and a bad opportunity is just a matter of comparing apples to apples. Unfortunately, there are thousands of apple varieties.

Residual Pay Websites

A website that offers residual pay compensates writers by splitting the advertising revenue. To succeed in this sort of environment, you need to brush up on your Search Engine Optimization skills because success in a revenue share model depends upon relevant ads and lots of search engine traffic. If you know how to write SEO web content, then a revenue sharing model might work for you. Some revenue-sharing sites, like Suite101.com, Orato.com, Squidoo.com, Hubpages.com and eHow.com, offer extensive writer training and forums where writers can interact. Identify the high earners and follow their advice. At both Suite101 and eHow writers retain full ownership of their copyright, however Suite101 requires one year exclusivity for electronic publishing.

Sites That Offer up-Front Pay

If the idea of having your income dependent upon revenue share scares you, then sites that offer pay up front might be a better idea. Helium.com's marketplace offers up-front pay. Demand Studios pays writers $3-$25, depending upon the topic and word count. Textbroker.com offers up-front pay, ranging from half a cent to 5 cents per word, depending upon the wrod count and the writer's quality level. QualityGal, BrightHub and HotelsbyCity.net also pay writers a flat fee per published article. Often, when working for a flat rate, writers retain no copyright ownership of their work and do not have the ability to edit their work after publication.

Sites That Allow Affiliate Linking

If you plan to use your article writing to link to your own website or for affiliate marketing, you need to write for sites which allow that. Examiner.com allows it, as does eHow.com, Bukisa.com, Xomba.com, 30Queries30days.com, HomemadeBirthdays.com, CheapDecorating.info and EzineArticles.com. Of all these sites, Ezinearticles.com is the only one that doesn't pay writers for their work, but writers like it because of the possibilty that their work may be republished on other sites, including their link.

Building Your Own Website

If you're handy with web design, you can work for yourself. When you build niche blogs, you create articles targeted to specific consumers

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