For an enthusiastic writer there are plenty of good alternatives to having a personal blog, and most of these alternatives have higher earning potential than a personal blog. Joining online communities where writers publish their own content can reward writers with a greater number of readers, the opportunity to earn more ad revenue and additional ways to make money.
◊ Creating hubs, lenses and zones.
Alternatives to having a personal blog page include website pages known as hubs, lenses and zones, depending on which online community you decide to join.
HubPages is an online community for writers who want to create website pages known as hubs, on topics of their own choice. Each hub will have content similar to a blog post or an online article. Images and links can be added. Members who are affiliates of eBay or Amazon, and have an account with Google Adsense or Kontera, can make more money on HubPages.
Squidoo is a big community where members create website pages, this time known as lenses. Each lens is a page with its own topic, and can be linked to other lenses. Content should include some interesting and informative writing. There are opportunities to make money from affiliate programs and ads on each lens.
Helium is an article writing community, where members can also set up individual zones on different subjects. A zone can feature images and video content, along with article links and extracts. Extra income can be earned from a zone with an Amazon affiliate block or a personal Adsense code.
◊ Writing articles for content websites.
Helium is the biggest online writing community, and publishing articles at Helium can be a good alternative to having a personal blog. Helium articles must be written to a good standard of English, and there is a minimum length requirement of 400 words. This is a highly competitive community where articles are rated against others written to the same title.
Writers who gain stars at Helium for writing and for rating can earn regular income from upfront payments, empty title bonuses, cash prizes in writing contests and payment for successful Marketplace assignments, in addition to getting long term residual income (shared ad revenue) from page views.
Income can be earned in other online content writing communities where articles can get a lot of page views. These include Associated Content, Bukisa, and Triond.
Writing online articles can be more lucrative than having a personal blog because big writing communities have high page rank at Google and get a lot of traffic. Each article is indexed by search engines and has a better chance of being found and read than a post published on a free blog page. There is no cost involved in joining a good online writing community, or for publishing content. Finding alternatives to a personal blog can benefit a writer who wants to do more than maintain a blog.