Write an article. Submit it to a publisher. Get paid. Spend the payment. Rinse and repeat. For many years, people have earned a living creating content for magazines or online publications for a one-time payment. However, recently, quite a few of these people have discovered a way to create content once and collect money from it for years to come. Although creating content that earns residual income may mean less money in the short run, the long term benefits make this business model a profitable option.
Earn Residual Income by Working as a Freelancer
For people who don't enjoy worrying about maintaining websites and spending time on major promotional efforts, a freelance content provider business makes sense. These people can concentrate on writing articles, taking photos, or creating videos to put on sites that pay them with a portion of the ad revenue. Some sites, such as Associated Content and Bright Hub, provide writers with a combination of compensation methods such as an upfront payment and a portion of ad revenue for each article.
Of course, this type of business is not without drawbacks. Freelance writers who are used to payments of $50 or more for an article may have a hard time transitioning to the unguaranteed income model of a residual payment system. Also, publishing content on someone else's site means that the other person has control over where ads are placed, the site promotion plan and whether the site continues to be online year after year.
Another big drawback for freelancers who choose to earn residual income from writing for other sites is the difficulty of keeping up with the many changes that content site owners make as they work to improve their sites' function, profitability and appearance. Freelancers typically have to keep up with changes such as:
- Increases or decreases in required word counts.
- Changes in manager hierarchy.
- Changes in image requirements.
- Increased weekly or month article quotas.
- Changes in revenue sharing plans.
Earn Residual Income with a Content Site
People who prefer to have more control or who don't want to share revenue from their content often opt to create their own content sites. These sites can be as simple as a blog or as elaborate as an entire content management system. While having a site of their own gives content providers some great benefits, there are also some big drawbacks.
To set up a content site, a freelancer will have to be willing to pay hosting, domain name and design costs. He or she will need to learn to use all of the site's back-end programs and will need to make sure the front-end design is user friendly and optimized for ad revenue. He or she will also have to take on additional tasks, such as drumming up publicity, increasing traffic and generating advertising.
So, which model is a better fit for a freelancer who wants to generate revenue? The best answer is both. Many freelancers begin writing content for a content site and then decide to branch out and write for their own sites, as well. The content the writer has contributed to established sites brings in a steady revenue stream while he or she concentrates on getting the new venture off the ground.
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