examiner.com-- anyone written for it?

ladyvincenza · Apr 29, 2010

What has been your experience using examiner.com? On one hand, it might be a good networking tool, but on the other hand, I am very cautious about getting some kind of paid-per-click post. It smells like writing for free to me. If it is no money, is it worth it?
I've been suckered into writing articles for Helium in the past in the hopes that they might pay off and never got a penny.
Thanks!

HeidiW · Apr 29, 2010

Hi ladyv. Lots of folks on AW write for Examiner, you can search for existing threads and read all about the varied experiences. Some Examiners do very well, others earn a few pennies. It depends a lot on your topic and venue (national or specific city), as well as how often you write and how much SEO and promotion you do.

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have beyond what's already been shared on the threads, and I'm sure others here would gladly do the same. Also there's a sticky at the top of this forum where many Examiners list their sites so you can check out what folks are already doing.

Keep in mind that if you decide to apply (assuming you haven't already) you can list someone as referring you and that person gets a bonus. So check out what the existing Examiners have to say on here and if you decide to apply, pick someone you find particularly helpful (or likable) and list that person on the application as the one referring you.

take care,
Heidi

veinglory · Apr 30, 2010

It also depends just on Examiners innate qualities, including limitations.

ladyvincenza · May 6, 2010

Thanks- I will check out the other threads on this.

SouthernFriedJulie · May 12, 2010

You get about a penny per view.

Examiner took forever to send me my $50 bonus for recruiting someone. I've heard quite a few people complain about not being paid on time. I keep getting emails from the darn place and all of my information was never deleted there, I just mark it as spam now.

The bright side- I hear from a lot of PR agents that found my information through Examiner.

envision · May 25, 2010

I write for examiner

. I'm not earning much, but I'm becoming more recognized by some really interesting names. I am trying to post more regularly so I can earn a second title.

mommyjo2 · Jun 13, 2010

I wrote two columns/pages/sites for them but quit. PM me if you want details.

I did not get all my promised compensation, but that was only part of it.

Laurie PK · Jun 14, 2010

I've heard both good and bad about examiner -- but I've never tried writing for them, so I have no personal experience. I think it's one of those things that fits some writers like a glove, but leaves others out in the cold. Shivering. Bitter.

hillaryjacques · Jun 14, 2010

If you don't mind my asking, what is examiner.com?

KathleenD · Jun 14, 2010

I did pretty well - made grocery money every month. But I came into it with a known name in the field I was writing about, and a personal blog with a few hundred visitors a day.

Not the blog in my sig file here - this is my erotic romance identity. Don't cross the streams, the man said

midgedear · Jun 28, 2010

Keep in mind that if you decide to apply (assuming you haven't already) you can list someone as referring you and that person gets a bonus.

I wish I had known this before I applied. I wish I'd have checked this site. I could have helped someone out. Sorry folks. Still kind of new to AW. Live and learn, I guess.

veinglory · Jun 29, 2010

hillaryjacques said:
If you don't mind my asking, what is examiner.com?

http://www.examiner.com

zanizh · Jul 7, 2010

I've always been paid on time, been paid what I'm supposed to be paid, and have been paid all the referrals and local incentives that I'm supposed to be. Examiner's pay system is a little complicated but it's never been a problem for me. There was one month a couple of months ago where PayPal screwed up but people were eventually paid.

The only reason some people would call it a scam is if they couldn't figure out the SEO of content writing or didn't give themselves a chance to build up a network. It won't happen overnight and it takes work. I always make above payout every month on my two topics.

Is Examiner.com Worth It?

veinglory · Jul 7, 2010

I don't think many people call it a scam. They just question the work to profit ratio.

Lyra Jean · Jul 7, 2010

I quit Examiner.com. I wrote history for it but instead of writing about my whole state I ended up just writing for my county. I found it too difficult and stopped writing for them.

PM me for more details.

zanizh · Jul 7, 2010

veinglory said:
I don't think many people call it a scam. They just question the work to profit ratio.

You're right.

Problem is, a lot of people don't give it enough time to take root. They see they only make a few dollars the first couple of months and then they quit without learning more about how to write good content or building a network.

All I'm saying is that it pays off for me now. But that's only because I stuck with it, handed out cards, networked, etc. That and I am passionate about my topics so there's little chance of burnout.

If you're not willing to put in the legwork and time, even when you are just making very little to start, you'll never be happy with it in the long run. It's the same principle as starting your own blog and putting adsense on it. If you're not passionate about the topic and you're only starting one to make money, you'll be really disappointed.

herdon · Jul 8, 2010

Examiner's problem is that it doesn't give any real training on the type of writing it takes to make money through it -- specifically how to write evergreen content with solid SEO -- and it doesn't provide the tools to maximize your payviews -- which includes a bad "non-sticky" website and the lack of basic features like multi-page articles (outside of slideshows).

In short: There's nothing wrong with how Examiner pays its writers, and the idea itself (hyper-local content) is very good. But the execution of those ideas grades out at a F+.

The pay scale is still above average, but it is dropping. And I expect it to continue to drop. But I still make money writing from them even if I'm not altogether active these days.

zanizh · Jul 8, 2010

No site gives any specific training on writing evergreen with SEO. It is up to the writer to learn these things for themselves. There's a ton of information out there on the subject, writer's forums such as this one or forums on the sites themselves where people can get advice on how to better their page views, tons of articles on the subject and more.

We are in agreement that Examiner needs a huge overhaul for better organization in order to up our views and I'm hoping that their upcoming redesign will make it better.

But as far as the actual writing, most of the problem lies with the writer (notice I said 'most', not all), not the site. In my experience, even when people come to you and want you to help them understand why their page views aren't high, they often don't want to hear what you have to say. Instead of utilizing the advice, they want to write what they want to write and then still complain that they aren't getting page views and that the SEO line is crap without even trying to practice at it enough to get better. Then they give up.

inkkognito · Jul 8, 2010

I've been at Examiner for ages now. Still enjoying it and still making decent $$ but I'm really lucky to have a good topic. If you don't get a popular topic or already have a platform you're not going to make much $$. Almost everybody loves Orlando Theme Parks so I have a robust readership. This is my column: http://www.examiner.com/x-2200-Orlando-Theme-Parks-Examiner

Lyra Jean · Jul 8, 2010

yeah for me it was the history of Palm Beach County. I was able to get up two articles pretty quick. But then I got busy with other things in life and learned that since I hadn't updated in awhile I stopped getting paid for my page views. I don't know if they changed that or not but it turned me off.

herdon · Jul 8, 2010

zanizh said:
No site gives any specific training on writing evergreen with SEO.

About.com offers this training.

Certainly, About.com is a bit different than sites like Examiner.com, Suite101, Associated Content, etc. But one of the reasons they *are* different is that they actively train their writers. (Another big reason being that they are highly selective of who writes for them.)

kristin724 · Aug 7, 2010

I've just signed up to give Examiner ago. A lot of the other sites like Helium and FireFox News or Today.com didn't pan out for me after a few months, but neither has my adsense or amazon associates or similar programs. So we'll see. I don't have a book coming out at the end of this year like last year so I have a season to build it up and give it a go.

I do agree however, that the trouble with a lot of these AC sites is that their front pages and main site styles are dang confusing and a little tough to navigate. You inundated with so much, that you really need to know what you're looking ahead of time. I've got a topic I know a bit about a feel comfortable with, so a few articles a day will be fun-to start. Depending on how it turns out, that might not be so fun! ;0)

herdon · Aug 8, 2010

Kristin, your traffic isn't going to come from people going to the main site and navigating to your pages. Your traffic is mainly going to come from search engines like Google, which is why it is important to learn about SEO in order to make sure your writing can be found.

You can make decent cash on places like Examiner.com if you have the right topic and know how to write with good SEO.

examiner.com-- anyone written for it?

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