Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Results of Breaking From Writing Online Content

So I experimented. I didn't publish any new articles on content websites for a month. And nothing much changed. What I earned stayed the same. I got approximately the same number of views: between 550 and 600.
  I did cave in after a month and wrote two articles on the topic of breast cancer, one decrying the sale of pink cupcakes for breast cancer awareness and another listing foods/supplements known to help treat or prevent breast cancer, simply because I felt the need to get info out there. After those two, I took another month off. The results? I got about 100 fewer views and made approximately half the amount of revenue. I can't know, however, whether that difference was only because I wasn't outputting anything new or if it was largely due to the holiday month--I know I didn't take the time to read the stuff I normally do online--I was too busy baking and sewing.

Now, I could take that as encouraging--doing nothing for a month, and then another I was still earning residual income on articles I wrote in the past. But because the sum is so low, I can also look at that and see the futility in writing more. (Granted, I do understand that those ramifications would show up later on down the road, not necessarily right now.) Either way, with both those outlooks, I've not been greatly prodded to produce more writing for that publishing venue.

Some day when I have time, I want to look over my list of 50-some articles and do the quick math of seeing which ones are the most viewed/highest earners. I did a quick perusal the other day and was surprised.

One thing I've also noticed--though I'm roundly disappointed with how well these articles are circulated, I am earning twice as much as I used to per number of views. My viewing numbers went down in November, but my earnings stayed generally the same because the articles I've published more recently, using the SEO info I've learned, earn twice as much than the older ones (on average).

I took a break from content writing, first to put more effort into writing for print publications, and second to take advantage of a novel critique group. I just published one online article, Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day? I guess I'm still just observing, re-evaluating....

Articles I've published:
Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?

Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays

Breast Cancer Less About Genetics Than We Used to Think

What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?

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