Throughout 2011, WordGigs.com was an enticing choice for freelance writers because it offered steady work and the application process was relatively simple. In the months that followed, though, work became nonexistent. Some users received notifications that hiring was no longer actively being conducted, while some accounts on the site were disabled. At the beginning of April 2013, the website appeared to be back in action, but it is still a viable place to earn money?

Various Levels and Earning Potential

 A couple of years ago, the website received some negative user feedback because it required people to watch lengthy training videos in order to access work. Those videos are still there, but have been upgraded and are now easier to understand. Writers can achieve various skill levels, and those who reach the highest potential are promised the largest earnings, but there’s still some ambiguity about the exact amounts available to earn at the top level.

Writers who aren’t at the elite level are given access to projects of several word lengths and earning amounts as mentioned in one of the training videos. Earnings are paid out twice a month through PayPal.

Great Flexibility

Despite requiring extensive training, WordGigs is an appealing opportunity for freelance writers who know the importance of working for various companies to gain new skills and increase marketability.

Some people who specialize in writing about organic gardening, for example, could easily branch into the kind of work required at WordGigs. Many of the website’s clients represent businesses and need content that promotes their strengths.

Although WordGigs requires users to remain active to avoid having their accounts disabled, it does not currently enforce a weekly quota. Also, users have the flexibility to login at any time and complete work as long as it’s finished before the deadline. This is helpful for writers who know they perform best at certain times of the day outside of traditional office hours.

Lots of E-mails

Writers receive information about website changes and policy reminders through e-mail. This method works, but can sometimes be a hassle, because a person might get several e-mails per day. Because correspondence is often packed with information that’s hard to find elsewhere on the website, it’s a smart to create a separate e-mail folder for WordGigs messages.

Like many freelance writing opportunities, WordGigs has both positive and negative factors. These are all worth consideration; fortunately, because the website is free to use, there’s no harm in giving it a try to see if it’s a good fit for your writing needs.

Guest Post by Katie Elizabeth, a keen freelance writer and content coordinator

The post WordGigs: Is it Worth Your Time? appeared first on Earnings Area.

It was initially and theoretically introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, however this is not considered as the real name of the person who brought it up or even a group of people is alleged to be behind this concept, by others. In 2009, the first Bitcoin client is a reality along with the issue of the first bitcoins.

Bitcoin has decentralized structure which means that the system’s operation depends on a network of computer miners that determine the validity of transactions between the users, taking as reward a part of the fees of every transaction made as well as a proportion of the newly created Bitcoins circulating the network.

The allocation of the newly created Bitcoins has been set on a 10 minute frequency and 25 BTC quantity, meaning that 25 Bitcoins have been being generated every 10 minutes by the system (miners). The supply of Bitcoins won’t be infinite and it’s planned to be stopped when the number reaches the amount of 21 million Bitcoins

The currency became rapidly popular especially this year when the people realized that their money are not totally secured by storing them in a bank account (Cypriot Bank Run), hence  the value of Bitcoin was raised exponentially to $260. The exchange rates are determined by major exchangers that provide an online platform for such arrangements. So you can exchange Bitcoins with all the major fiat currencies such as Euro, US Dollar, British Pound.

Some analysts deny to consider Bitcoin as regular currency because there is no central authority which controls it (Central Bank) and also the fluctuations upon the value of Bitcoin are frequent and colossal comparing it to the ones of every other fiat currency. It’s classified as commodity like gold by them but personally I don’t find any valid ground for this grouping, considering the virtual existence and use of this entity.

Bitcoin is not the only crypto-currency but certainly the most famous, however it is still not highly usable. But then again and as the time goes, a broader acceptance of Bitcoin by online merchants is expected. With that said, a rise on the demand for Bitcoins is estimated as well.

At this point we just mentioned the basic info in regards to bitcoins and we are stopping here. How to get started, ways of earning, names, links and related info will follow very soon. Till then..

Bye!

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iWriter comes in handy to a rookie for reasons we will analyze later. First of all, a brief introduction. iWriter was created by Brad Callen in 2011. Brad Callen is known in marketing world as SEO expert and it seems that has earned a high reputation around this niche. So you expect something positive by this venture too. Correct. iWriter is already very successful in terms of high ranking, delivery-demand promptness and fast track, however it doesn’t mean that it is perfect for everyone or we prefer it better over another site for freelance writers.

First of all you can either be a writer or client. There is no limitation and you are not liable to register a separate account and follow a different interface. The layout is very neat and beautiful for those admiring beauties. :) Although we “warned” you that you can be Dr. Jekyll (client) and Mister Hyde (writer) the same time we are going to divide the presentation into two detached perspectives. Client’s and writer’s.

Writer’s perspective

Start immediately

A detail that doesn’t discourage the beginner writers is that you are not obliged to pass through a hectic examination by sending a sample short piece of writing to prove your dexterity. You would tell me, whether someone is prepared to form a carrier across this area should deal with this duty like it was a piece of cake to them. I could mention instead the incident when my pathologist whom I had appointed because I had caught flu sent me for a quick examination to a cardiologist. And all that because I was very nervous during the examination and my heart’s bits was heading up to the roof. Now consider that you have to be productive. Ok, I’m just kidding.

Availability

Another good thing is that you are going to start writing immediately. There is a decent amount of requests always available even for the rookies. Except in English you can even find requests in French, Spanish, German or any other language. That’s a good thing for the multilingual guys/gals of Earnings Area but consider that come rare in amount when they come. So mainly you will find requests for articles in English.

Different types of status

Since there is no evaluation filter when you start, everyone is starting the career as standard writer. Perhaps and along with the low pay rate this is why iWriter is not highly respected by the pleura of expert writers. To become premium or elite writer you ought to complete 30 articles and receive a grade of more than 4 or 4.6 for either status respectively. Lately iWriter announced a new system the called “iWriter Fast Track Program” where you can apply to be evaluated in 3 articles avoiding the painful procedure. But you have to pay $147 to apply? No thanks.

Be afraid of the client

It seems so that some requesters are not playing a fair game or expect too much for a minor incentive. Be careful and always check the approval rate of every client. Since they have every right from the system to reject and seek for another writer without paying you. You must also be diligent with the special instructions if existed.

Payment rates and time of accomplishment

First of all you need to be fast at writing on iWriters otherwise you can’t succeed. The set time threshold is normally 3-4-5 hours for a topic of which you have no idea but you need to perform a wild research and write a unique content right away. It’s not easy when you begin but you can find a well-working pace in latter time. In such rates you need at least to complete an article every hour to collect something. Believe me. Because the rates are really low from a writer’s perspective. $2.43 for a 500 words article with special instructions included? Please mercy. Elite writers earn significantly higher earnings. Almost 4x. A nice feature is that the client can tip you for providing a work which is worth more than is paid. Good, but expect it happened rarely. You get paid weekly, every 2 weeks, every month on the 5th or every month on the 25th. You need to pick one option off of all 4.

Client’s Perspective

Cheap Rates

That’s a heaven for cheapskate content seekers. The rates are so lowered down that you can find very quality articles written by Elite users in very affordable prices for the quality you are provided with. I recommend this place blindly if your only criterion is the price.

Content quality

It’s not always good. Sometimes it is spun as well. It is supposed that all the articles pass over a check via copyscape but I have read a particular case where the system couldn’t detect the real level of plagiarism which was pretty high. Like we have mentioned before there are some really good Premium-Elite writers you could rely on. The system gives you the opportunity to add either your favorites writers or an ignore list. Check your settings.

Payment options

Unfortunately only one, Paypal and now I’m very sad because my comrades in Antarctica cannot yet been paid. I hope that Brad will consider adding a new payment option soon.

Important Links

FAQ, Contact Us

Affiliate Program

The site offers an affiliate program so you can apply for this. You can receive 50% commission everytime a client funds the account via paypal. There is a $20 minimum payout limit set and you get paid when you overpass it without request.

Bottom Line

The program like any other has its pros and cons. I’m sure that the clients could be more satisfied than the writers are because the rates are more favorable to them. I acknowledge that expert writers must have many complaints because they are not paid equally to their effort and it turns into a very unbearable situation for them. I can assure you though that the site has never lost any payment and the owner has more to lose than to gain with it. In case you found my review too phony I have listed below two very criticizing ones to seek atonement for my crime. :)

http://relationshipc.hubpages.com/hub/iWriter-review

http://www.tiffanydow.com/blog/i-went-undercover-at-iwriter/

The post iWriter – Become A Freelance Writer On Demand appeared first on Earnings Area.

Example:

http://kosanya.hubpages.com/hub/Expertscolumn-Scam

http://www.howtoee.com/expertscolumn-com-scam-expertscolumn-com-review/

The site was up for sale in September but eventually the initial monetary objectives weren’t fulfilled and the auction ended with the site unsold.

First Impression

Awful. But don’t get discouraged. It gets better. If it wasn’t recommended by someone else to me i would never register an account there. First of all. What kind of developer is this who uses Drupal instead of something custom? The front page is occupied mostly with current published columns rather than the basic info that a newbie should be finding with less effort and without distraction by a large block of text in between. On one hand is helpful for the current publishers and their articles but to me a newcomer is the most important fuel for a site’s engine since it feeds it with incessant endurance. No comment for the colour selection.

Registration & Approval

Once  you are done with the registration you will receive an e-mail asking you to send a sample article of over 300 words selecting one of the common listed categories. This measure concerns the users registered after October 15, 2012. Unfortunately they answer back very late. The approval of your account can go up to 10 days  and until then you cannot publish anything. Be careful with the writing guidelines. Read them before you send your first column for approval here.

If you get approved you will be receive an e-mail along with the status change and you should be able to visit the add-column page to write your first column. –>> Here

See how it looks like:

To keep your account in approved state, the content you publish must be always unique and over the min. limit of 300 words unless it is a poem which should be over 200 words.

Overall Earnings

The main advantage of Expertscolumn is the CPM rate of crediting. Meaning that you earn credit out of impressions and not when a reader clicks on the Adsense or Infolinks banner or text respectively. Note that your content together with the traffic you manage to drive to your articles must be adsense friendly otherwise you will have a big trouble with the rules and you may confront even a permanent suspension. The earning rate differentiates from country to country either of the columnist and the visitor. Additionally the site offers a referral program which grants you the 10% of your referral’s earned balance. For using your ref. link visit your referral’s page located here.

Payout Minimum, Time And E-wallets

Here is the good news. The minimum payout is $5 and you can get paid every 5 days if you manage to reach the minimum every time as your request as well. From the FAQ:

When shall I be paid?

We clear payments on every 5 days gap i.e. on 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st and 26th of every month. But for the payout to happen it is compulsory that you manually request a payout from us by logging into your account. If you have requested the payment on 17th then it will get cleared by 21st of that month. Similarly payment requested on 5th will get cleared by 6th of that month.

The post Expertscolumn – Become A Columnist appeared first on Earnings Area.

First Glance

As we’ve been doing it normally we administer a weight on the appearance of any site we use and Xomba couldn’t be an exception. It’s very colorful site with nice subject arrangement and moderate page padding. We are not here to judge the style because it is a strictly personal and less objective matter, however the template has something original upon it and helps the site to brand itself and become more popular. We assume, this detail can’t help it anymore because it is already an oldie.

Registration and Approval

After your registration, your account is not automatically activated. You need to pass the stage where you get approved by the administration by sending a 300+ word sample article. You can pick a topic to write about, however you need to consult the given category list to avoid clutter. Simply, respond back to the e-mail with the title: “Account details for [your username] at Xomba (pending admin approval)“. Include in the response the sample article you have written and wait. The account  is activated after 1-2 working days if you get approved. Really fast.

Write Your First Article

It’s very easy to start. Just hit the workplace link on the top and right of your screen and then the “Create  new post” under your profile’s pic. You will notice 5 different categories. Every category relies on its own structure but the general rules of posting content is somehow the same. Keep your text family friendly, don’t break intellectual rules, don’t post affiliate links because this is considered as spam. You can include links for reference though. The content must be authentic but belongs to you as a property and you can even secure the ownership with a Creative Commons seal.

Post’s Categories

As we mentioned above, the site gives the opportunity to create 5 different types of article:

• Blog – Anything you can think of (300+ words)
• Bookmark – A link introduction including a short description (100+ words)
• List – The list can go up to 20 items big with a 50 words intro.
• Recipe – Do you know how to cook? Enlighten us! (50 words intro plus ingredients and proper guidance is required.)
• Review – Same as a blog plus you need to rate. (300+ words)

Except the typical blog, you can even publish recipes or lists with your favorite bands, books, movies etc. A variation in the form differentiates the 5 categories to help you out with the final outcome.

Subject’s Categories

There is a standard categorization placed without major variations and further sub-categorization levels. Everything is clean. You are required to declare in which categories are you mostly eager to contribute more before the approval. Here’s a snap to take a quick view.

Earnings and Redemption

The only way of earning provided is by connecting your Google Adsense account with Xomba. Xomba gives you the opportunity to earn revenue by the banners placed in your articles in a 60/40 ratio. 60% for you and 40% for Xomba. The percentage stands for the time of exposure and it’s not a direct dividend of the revenue. For how to connect your Adsense account with Xomba and for additional info about the Earnings follow the links below:

Setting up Adsense

Earnings Guide

Socialization

You can connect yourself with other users by following each other and even exchange private messages. An easy way to connect with someone is by browsing the categories. This way you can find a user with similar interests and communicate freely and more sensibly seeking the chance to build up your own fan club of followers.

Links

FAQ, Contact, Posting Rules

The Bottom Line

We really like it. The atmosphere. The simplicity. It’s not one of a kind in its area because there are tons of sites like this and way more popular, however we can feel some sort of authenticity in its structure that makes it unique. The earnings are not the best but certainly you can polish your skill in writing and reading about new interesting topics; definitely whatever you are used to do in other sites plus the earnings. You can’t re-publish the content elsewhere and vice versa. No affiliate program is included as well. Only writing. ;)

The post Xomba – Share Your Knowledge And Earn Money appeared first on Earnings Area.

Foundation

RateItAll was founded in 1999 by Lawrence Coburn, a software entrepreneur. It is the competitor of Epinions -a site that has been listed in our page lately- and they started together in this area, the same year actually. It is well-established so you can be assured that your time is not going to get lost. It’s being funded by various funds and individuals including Accelerator Ventures, JAIC America and Pacific I&T Ventures.

First Glance

At first glance the site doesn’t attract the common view readily. If the visitor came from a search engine’s search, it would likely close the tab to go on the next result in case (s)he was mainly got interested by a beautiful template. Earnings Area would disagree with this type of user since it rather looks at the more essential elements of a building rather than the sensibility/aesthetics. Except the main body (and what it remains?), the header and the footer are nicely stuffed with important info so the newcomer won’t have hard time to get informed for the basics and start working on the reviews. Of course I’m talking about the users who hadn’t the chance to follow this reading and squeeze it up to the end. :p A tiny negative is that they haven’t updated the country list and in some case gives a feeling of confusion.

First Steps

The main purpose of the site is to publish reviews so why you don’t start doing it right away? Click on the “Write a Review” tab and with the help of the internal search engine you search the topic you could be mostly superior at to make a fresh start. Alternatively check the categories located at the header. There is not certain guidelines places. Just behave yourself. In case you are unsure check the site rules and try to avoid the restrictions → Site Rules. In general it’s like you rate a movie using the star system and adding a comment. So easy. :) Normally, we should list the following info in different sub-part but in this case arrange it as quickly as possible. There is no payment getaway for this service, meaning you don’t accumulate money and cash out them. In order to earn cash you must connect your Google Adsense account. It can be achieved from your account’s settings. Check the link in your profile. If you are not a Google Adsense account holder then create one. You don’t have to worry about your blog. Create one with blogger, publish an article let’s say for gardening and have your account reviewed. Then connect it with RateItAll account otherwise you ain’t gonna see a single bloody cent! :p

About Reviews, Lists and Items

What Reviews and Lists have to do with your earnings? First of all, except of reviews you can publish your own list. Simply, visit your profile and click on the “create a list” yellow tag, choose a title and connect with a current category. For instance: Title:  Best Russian Beers, Category: Drink, Subcategory: Spirits Then add description, photo and adjust the rating description according to the topic of your list unless you want to keep the default ones. Don’t forget to add tags. For more info about the lists and how you can manage them, visit the following URL -> Info about lists. Well, so going back to what we were saying, by having your review for a certain item on the top, you gain the opportunity to earn money via the Adsense banner which is located on the top of all. You can earn revenue from every list you create or for every item you add when it is approved. For more info consult in this page -> Revenue Sharing 

Socializing

That’s an option part of the site but you never know how valuable can be diverted for you. First way to find out members with common interests is via the quizzes. Quizzes are very similar to reviews in the terms of formality. You rate and put a description to every item pops up (e.g. music bands). You have the option to skip items if you are incapable of declaring your opinion. When you finish. Voila! You have a listing with suggested users with common interest in particular area. Other than that, you can visit everyone’s profile and click on the “Follow me” button. It’s a request if accepted. Otherwise move on.

Payout

There is no existed. But relax. As explained above you can earn only by connecting your Adsense account and for some may sound more comfortable. It’s international and no country borders are enabled like in other sites. If you are a blogger, you must have already held an Adsense account. If not yet then the most easy way is by opening a blog using blogger.com. Publish an article complied with Google Adsense’s guidelines and get approved.

Local Businesses

This is totally unrelated with the purpose of Earnings Area but if you have been operating a local business, you can list it on RateItAll. A good way to have your business get listed in a popular portal for free. cross your hands for good reviews. Be a good professional, there is no other way. ;p

The Bottom Line

It’s safe and you can try it. Consider it as a forum. The rules are quite soft and you can publish freely whatever you like so don’t stress much about the quality of your reviews. Just be yourself. The topics are so broad in variety and there is also huge space for new ones so as a newbie you don’t have to be afraid that you are late with it. Nonethelessm, the earnings are striclty depended by your own performance and your skill to drive readiness to your reviews, lists and items.

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