[Content site] Examiner.com

There are several threads about them in the freelancing area.

bkwriter said:

Hello, so I applied for examiner and they said I was accepted but I didn't get back to them until the forth day. The email said they wouldn't get back to me for two weeks. Anyway it said the one I wanted might be gone so I sent in all they said to send in and it's been a week and heard from know one.

Just wonering if I should write them?

thanks

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Send a polite email to the contact and ask if you need to do anything else.

While I have heard secondhand reports of people making decent money from Examiner, almost everyone I know who has tried it has struggled to hit the $25 mark, the minimum for Examiner to cut you a check.

Usually the folks you hear about now and then who make hundreds each month were able to snag a one-in-a-million topic (e.g. theme parks in Orlando, Fla.) and run with it.

Personally, if you want to make money freelancing and build up your clips, I'd give Examiner a miss and approach your local paper, businesses or query magazines and websites.

The downside of Examiner:

* You are very unlikely to make as much money as you could at other freelancing gigs.
* Examiner takes all rights to your content (you can't sell the pieces elsewhere once they're posted to the site)
* Since there's no editorial gate keeping, you can't really use the pieces as clips or pro writing credits

Some people use Examiner to build up their readership or establish themselves as an expert in a certain field. If this is one of your goals, you're much better off blogging, IMHO. At least with a blog, you keep all rights to the content if you want to expand a story and sell it later.

I tried it twice and found it, even compared to similar content writing gigs, to be chaotic and low paying. I gave up the second time after the introduced multiple pop-up ads on all of the pages.

I have a column for Examiner.com that I've kept up since August 2009. At first it was VERY slow moving with getting hits, but with persistence and frequent posting my readership grew. I'm not rolling in the cash, but it's a great platform. I have a topic that doesn't relate to my novels, or blog but it drives people to my other sites. As a result I have over 3,500 followers on twitter. If you're looking to supplement your income, try other venues, BUT if you're looking for a little exposure...why not? I don't just stop at Examiner, I still write other short stories, articles, etc for freelance jobs with editors and the like. The most important thing I've learned is to pick a subject you're passionate about, or else it's reeeeally hard to keep writing content.

Plus, hopefully when (if) the time ever comes for my novel to hit shelves, I'll have a wide spread group of people who might do a write-up for me. Hey, ya never know right?!