She suggested that I do a review and write a post about it here on NJFM. I thought about it and then realized that Crystal is a good writer and has sound judgment. I then suggested that she do the review instead. So, instead of reinventing the wheel here at NJFM, go to Crystal’s site The Best 50 Years and read her review on Writing for Dollars.

After reading her review you should check them out.

Anyway, not feeling like doing much writing today, I decided to relax with a cup of coffee, a muffin and my laptop. Everyone is still asleep so I can wander aimlessly around the internet uninterrupted. In my aimless wandering I came across Willow Sidhe’s blog, The Freelance Home Writer.

Honestly, I’ve been to this blog before, but had not spent enough time reading all that Willow has to say. I know many of you are avid readers of her blog and I can see why. If anyone is serious about becoming a freelance writer and is looking for online opportunities, Willow’s blog is the one to follow. She gives in depth reviews, personal experience and sound advice.

It’s obvious that Willow takes freelance writing seriously because it shows in her work. She also has a passion for helping other writers. After all, her blog’s tag line is “Helping writers find real, legitimate, freelance writer jobs to produce a steady income online,” and that’s exactly what she does.

After reading this post, mosey on over to Willow’s blog. You won’t be disappointed. I’d give her blog 3 thumbs up if I had three thumbs.

Here are current stats on Digital Journal:

Alexa Page rank is currently 22,564
Google Page rank of 4
Who Is Info: Digital Journal has been around since September 1998

These stats seem solid enough to encourage me to take a further look

Becoming a Digital Journal Citizen

Digital Journal writers get paid to report the news.  Although registration is free, not everyone gets paid to write.

The free registration allows “citizens” to post blog entries, upload pictures and videos. It also has the social aspect as do many other online content writing sites. However, if you want to get paid, the money is in the journalism.

Become a Reporter

To become a paid journalist for Digital Journal you must submit a writing sample. They check to see that you use proper grammar, punctuation and have the ability to write about and research current news items. It takes about 24 to 48 hours for submissions to be approved.

How Payment Works

Payment is based on the number of pieces written, page views, popularity and number of votes. To find out how Digital Journal calculates payment, check out their Payment Structure and Bonuses blog post.

Payment is made via PayPal once the journalists have earned over $10.

What Others are Saying about Digital Journal

I looked around the internet to find out what other writers are saying about them. I couldn’t find too much about them (maybe I didn’t search hard enough), but what I did find was encouraging:

Digital Journal Review by Thomas Conroy

They seem to be a legit site. If you like writing journalistic copy, it sounds like Digital Journal is worth a try.

First Phase of Online Writing Site Testing

The first things I look at are their numbers. When I say numbers, I’m talking about the Alexa rating and Google page rank. That being said, I need to add a disclaimer. Alexa is not an accurate depiction of the site’s popularity, and as far as I’m concerned neither is the Google page rank. Google gives and it takes away.  I know first hand how that occurs so I don’t use it as a true reflection of a site’s popularity.

If I find that both the Google page rank and Alexa rating is pretty bad, I go to the Who Is database to find out how long the site has been in existence. If it’s a brand-new site, I usually wait until it’s had a chance to grow a little. Back when I first started writing, I didn’t care if the site was new or not, but as I gained experience, I realized that I preferred to write for more established sites.

Another thing I do before I sign up for an online writing site is I perform a quick search on the Internet to see if there are any current writers sharing their viewpoint. I look through forums, blogs and other online content. Again, a caveat; I understand that with any site there will be happy and unhappy writers. I read what’s being said calibrate their opinions and continue on. I tend to like doing my own experiments to get first-hand knowledge of a site before I judge.

Second Phase of Testing

If the site passes my preliminary test then I look at the terms and conditions. After all, why bother reading the fine print if the site doesn’t pass the initial test.

I look for things such as ownership rights to the article, whether not they accept reprints and if I can use the same content for off line publication. For residual articles, I like keeping ownership and full rights. As far as reprinting goes, I’m not a big fan of posting the same thing on several sites. I’ve done it in the past, but that was before I knew much about the internet.

I prefer to reword an article and place it elsewhere than copy and paste it verbatim. That being said, I did and will continue to copy and paste my ‘swept’ eHow articles .

As far as sites that allow previously printed articles, I feel it’s a refection of their standards and wonder if the site will reach the favorable Google heights it should. I always use Suite 101 as an example. They require original articles. That policy, I believe, is one of the factors that helped them to win such favor with Google. While it may be easier in the short run to copy and paste a previously written article to a site, it may not be the most financially lucrative option in the long run. I’m in this online writing stuff for the long run.

[smartads]

Third Phase of Testing

If the site passes phase one and two then comes phase three. I look at how they pay. Some pay via PayPal while others share revenue through Google AdSense and the writer gets paid directly from Google.

I’ve got to say, It took me quite some time to get on board with inserting my Google AdSense number on content sites. I protected my Google publisher code like I protect my social security number. I was slow to get on board with this type of revenue share, but I’ve since evolved and do participate on a few sites that pay via Google. I make sure, however, that the sites are reputable.

The Fourth and Final Gut Phase

After going through phases one, two and three I enter the gut phase. In the gut phase I browse around the site again. This time I’m looking at the site as a reader. I look to see what type articles are being posted to the site. I check grammar, punctuation and topics written about (we all make mistakes but too many in one article is a bit tough to stomach). I allow my gut to reign supreme. If my gut says no at this point, then I’m on to the next. I’ve learned never to ignore the gut (except when it wants to eat an entire Boston Crème Pie).

Anxious Newbie Mistakes

New freelance writers who are just cutting their teeth are sometimes so anxious to place their work on a site that they don’t take the time to see whether or not this site is worth their writing. That’s not a horrible mistake, but the more a person learns about this online writing world of search engine optimization and the ability to make money, writers soon find it is a waste of time to place their well-written content on a site that is not going to reward them adequately. This is especially painful if they don’t retain the rights to their work and cannot place the piece elsewhere.

I often see new sites and appreciate their design, ease of navigation and their intention, but at this point in my career, I choose not to write for sites with good intentions. I tend to go for sites with more of a proven track record.

Signing up for sites that are just getting off the ground means I will have to work harder in order to gain the amount of traffic necessary to earn a decent residual income. At this point in the game, I’d rather not do that. I’d rather work smarter by placing my articles on an established site or three (or four or five or…) and let the site’s reputation do the hard work in generating traffic to my articles. Any social networking or backlinking I do will only be the icing on the cake.

Compare the Established against the Established

There are also established sites that have been around for quite some time but when I compare their pay schedule to other sites, even though they have a proven track record, it’s just not financially worth it to build a base of articles there. I want to work smarter, not harder.

This is just one person’s opinion. I have only been at this for about 2 1/2 years and I know I have a lot more to learn, but if I can save you the time of making the mistakes I made, it’s worth it.

Oh…One More Thing

I also checked to see whether or not the site accepts international writers. Although living in the US it seems I have more writing opportunities available to me than my overseas brothers and sisters do, I still feel their pain.  So, when I come across a viable opportunity that accepts international writers, I like to share.

(EGADS! I was a blabber mouth today. Sorry for the long post.)

It’s been around since 1998, but recently hired some big guns to revamp the site and take it in a new direction. I’m not familiar with all of the names on the management team but Lisa Mansfield, the Managing Editor and Joy Guegeler, Publisher/Editor in Chief were previously with Suite 101. They did a tremendous job in helping to make Suite 101 the successful content site it is today.

With Lisa and Joy behind the scenes, I have no doubt that Orato.com will be a site worth writing for.

That being said, Orato is still undergoing some growing pains. This happens with all reputable sites in the process of change. I spent a little time perusing the site to see what it was all about. Feeling confident that management will do what it takes to make the site grow and gain respect, I wanted to see what writers get out of it.

Orato’s Positive Features

• What I did like about the site is they offer personalized editor feedback and instructional videos. I believe that a large part of Suite 101’s success is due to the fact that they take the time to interact with writers and educate them on how to write compelling online copy. Unlike eHow, who undergoes occasional article sweeps to remove unwanted content, Suite makes sure the content is up to it’s standards at publication or very shortly thereafter.

• Orato has a reward system for writers with 25 articles and 3 Editor’s Choice awards. The reward is an additional 10% in ad revenue share and a buy line of “Special Correspondent.”

• Writers retain the copyright on their articles.

• There are no monthly minimum article count, the revenue is based on pay per click, not page views and writers earn revenue on their content for as long as the content remains on the site.

• Orato currently has a 5 Page Rank and an Alexa score of 158,000 (not too shabby).

• Registration is as simple as providing a name address and password to log in. No request for social security numbers, resumes or sample work. Based in Canada, Orato accepts international writers.

Orato.com Negatives (maybe)

• Writers only receive 20%of ad revenue share.

When I first looked at Orato, I was taken aback by the 20% revenue share, but then I thought about it for a minute. I realized that I don’t have a clue as to how Suite 101 pays its writers. Who knows, I might have started out at 20% there too and later received a boost when I became a Feature Writer.

My intention was to write a review and recommend writers to stay away from Orato.com because of the low earning percentage, but upon further investigation, I think it could be a winner. My opinion is largely based on the fact that Orato appears to be  incorporating some of the successful features of the Suite 101 model.

Any Orato writers care to share their experience?