Earning passive income from page views can have great long term benefits to an online article writer, but getting paid up-front is generally the better option for a freelance writer. Any writer who aims to earn a set amount of money each month will find it is far easier to calculate earnings from up-fronts, and can be more certain of getting paid each month when payment does not rely on page views.
• Disadvantages of making money from page views
Online article writers only get high earnings from page views when they have written a great many original articles, and when they have hundreds of pages of content on websites where they can continue to make money from page views.
Writers with few articles really need to work hard at promoting their writing in order to earn a single dollar with paid writing opportunities based entirely on page views. Some content writing websites also pay for referrals, but at Bukisa, and similar writing sites, referral income is generated only when each new member starts writing and earning money from page views. The actual amount of money earned for writing articles is a pre-set payment per thousand unique page views.
Prolific writers, some of whom can eventually have thousands of articles online, obviously benefit much more from sites that pay for page views. However, those writers could make more money at websites where ad revenue is shared. Revenue sharing means some articles make more money with fewer page views. Competitive advertisers pay more when their ads appear on pages of content closely connected with their type of business, and writers make more money when those text ads or banners are useful to readers.
Articles generate more revenue or income from page views when written for search engine optimization, but writing SEO content requires more than just making good use of keywords. There are a number of factors involved in SEO, and these can change according to the habits of people searching and using the Internet. Some writers are less adept at featuring keywords, or fail to understand basic SEO, and continue writing articles as if they were intended for publication in print. Those writers inevitably feel disappointed when they see how little they are earning from page views.
• Benefits of earning up-front payments
Online article writers can choose to submit to websites where there are more options for earning up-front payments. Different terms and conditions apply in each online writing community, and these help writers to decide which ones are most suitable to join, for getting paid to write how-to articles, news stories, reviews or essays. Usually it is necessary to qualify for up-front payments, and to produce good quality writing that performs well in a rating system or gets the most votes from other members of the community.
Up-front payments can be also be earned by completing freelance writing assignments, or by listing articles for sale in content directories.
Freelance writers can establish their own monthly income when they know how much they will be earning from up-front payments. A five star writer at Helium knows how much will be gained from each article that qualifies for this type of payment, and it would be easy to set an income goal for earning an extra $250 at Helium, or to establish a monthly income of $500, entirely from up-fronts.
Writers can take pride in being able to receive up-front payments. Writing has to be of sufficiently high quality to be rated or voted up in an online writing community making up-front payments. When content is selected and paid for, to be published in print or appear online, it must follow publishing guidelines or meet requirements set out in a content request.
While opportunities for earning up-front payments can be restrictive, a good monthly income can be made from up-front payments. Debate articles at Helium do not qualify for up-front payments, but writers with time to spare can continue submitting non-qualifying articles to provide additional page view income. Earning from page views requires a lot more time and active online marketing. Some writers simply prefer spending time on writing articles that qualify for up-front payments.