Of course after a momentary celebration, I had to take a more detailed look at how I did it and how I should approach this residual writing stuff going forward.  Here’s how I got there this year:

• eHow 49%
• Suite 24%
• Google 16%
• Infolinks 4%
• Text Link Ads 2%
• Amazon 1%
• Chitika 1% (I’ve since dropped Chitika)
• Affiliate sales 2%
• Kontera, Orato and AdBrite 1%

Earning $20,000 in residual income is especially exciting considering how much it cost for me to do it.  My top two money makers cost $0 to join.  Most of the rest of my income is tied into my own sites which cost me about $100 per year in hosting and $10 per domain name (I’ve registered about 5 domain names this year and only used 2). When I renewed my existing domains last year, I renewed them for multiple years so I didn’t incur the expense this year.

So far in 2010, I spent about $150 (although, this doesn’t include purchasing a new USB headset when my other one crapped out on me a couple of weeks ago).  When I compare my current expenses to the expenses I incurred driving to a part-time job 5 days a week, I’ve got to say that quitting that part-time job and working from home was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. After all, the part-time job only paid $8.38 an hour.

My Goals Going Forward

It is quite obvious after looking at the percentages that I’ve got a lot of work to do. I need to balance my numbers a bit more and add one or two more revenue sources.  In addition to more diversification, I need to beef up my numbers all around.  By increasing everything else, my eHow percentage will have less of an impact on my income. I’m not comfortable with them being the lion share of my revenue source.

I also want to invest in my money making resources.  I need to do things like upgrade my computer software, blog themes and some of my computer hardware.  My existing software/hardware has done a fine job in getting me to where I am, but I’d like to ramp things up a bit going forward.

In addition to the physical ramping up, I’ve got some mental ramping to do.  I’ve got to spend more time studying, learning and improving on what I’ve done in the past three years.  The Internet is constantly changing and if I want my earnings to grow (I’m still aiming for $10,000 per month in residual income), I’ve got to change along with it.

Well, there you have it, $20,000 in residual income.  If I can do it, I KNOW you can too.

So, of course I went over to Amazon and accessed the Kindle Publishing for Blogs page to check it out.

Quick and Easy Kindle Sign Up Process

It took me about 15 minutes to create an account. Those 15 minutes included taking a screen capture of my blog and copying the logo to upload to the Kindle Publishing interface.

Once you provide the necessary information such as name, address, blog URL, blog feed, your own address and, of course, your Tax ID and bank information, you’re pretty much good to go (no, you can’t use your Amazon affiliate sign on to access the Kindle blog signup). It takes about two days for them to review and approve your blog.

Kindle Blog Subscriptions

The Kindle blog subscription fee is $1.99 and I get 30% of that. No, I won’t get rich off of 30% of 1.99, but it is a nice way to get additional exposure.

When I first added my blog, I was able to preview how it would look on a Kindle. It appears that the ads don’t display, but that’s okay, NJFM isn’t much of a money maker anyway. I guess my true excitement would be if someone is actually willing to spend $1.99 to subscribe.

Go check it out. If you have a blog, you have nothing to lose (sign up is free) and much to gain.

I knew the 300th post was coming up, but it caught me at a time where I’m feeling a little singed around the edges.

Although my November earnings were higher than my October earnings, my residual income was down by a little over $200; nothing to lose sleep about, but something to take into considering when relying on residual income. My upfront payments with Demand Studios made up the difference.

I find that writing for Demand Studios, is like having a job. I’ve got to admit that this time around, the writing experience is a lot better than what I’ve experienced in the past. It seems like they listened to the writers’ complaints and took steps to make things better. Better writing experience or not, it still feels like a job.

Singe Out (Not Burn Out)

I think the approaching holidays along with the desire to spend most of my time away from the computer has led to a little singe out. It started just before Thanksgiving. It’s not that I’ve got writer’s block and have nothing to write about, I just don’t feel like writing.

So, if my posts here are a little sparse over the next couple of weeks, it’s not because I’ve abandoned my blog or online writing career, it’s just that I’m feeling the need to spend more time doing things that don’t require reading glasses (I’d really like to get the guest bedroom painted before Christmas).

Oh, BTW, if you haven’t signed up for Xomba, give it a shot. I’ve found that posting one or two Xomblurbs in the morning while drinking my coffee tolerable during my singe out. The earnings are also beginning to trickle in at a steadier pace.

Man, I think the internet is broken. I’ve been looking over my earnings and they seem to be down this month. The funny thing is that it’s not just one website, it’s across the board.

I can’t remember the last time my Suite daily earnings were in the single digit dollar range. Yesterday’s earnings were $9.16.

When I compare this month’s residual earnings to this date last month, I’m down about $250 or so. I realize the holidays are here and some of the evergreen content is taking a hit, but I don’t quite remember it taking so much of a hit last year.

Wait a minute, why am I complaining? As I check my numbers, I am only $15 away from officially doubling my last year’s residual income of $7,140.01. Okay, I’m really $15.05 away from doubling it, but why split hairs?

Demand Studios to the Rescue?

I never thought that I would look forward to writing for Demand Studios, but their up front pay is helping me to make up the $250 difference this month. I don’t know if the residual earnings will pick up over the next few days, but if it doesn’t, it’s all good.

Hope you guys are faring better than I am.

Oh, if things get a little too busy around the house because of Thanksgiving, cooking and all, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I’m excited because I get to cook using the new oven that I bought with my Suite/eHow earnings (and some say writing on line isn’t worth the time…they couldn’t be more wrong).

In the midst of her freelance writing Grandma discovered a need that was not being met by the existing ‘articles for sale’ type of websites. She wanted to find a way to sell her own work without having to give a portion of the income to the site owner. She also wanted a place to showcase her talents (without them being plagiarized) and reap the financial benefit from her hard work.

Rather than griping and complaining about the fact that there wasn’t a website that met her needs, she decided to create one. It’s obvious that Grandma doesn’t subscribe to the “woe is me” victim mentality. She found a need, thought of a solution and implemented it. Good for you Grandma!

I’m sure she expects some bumps and bruises along the way, but I salute you Grandma and think you deserve this shout out.

So, if you’re a web content publisher and are looking to purchase quality articles from an innovative and experienced writer, check out Text Article Sale to see what Grandma (aka Linda) can do for you.

Way to go Grandma!