For example, ever heard of get-paid-to write articles?

About a year or so ago while I was researching “get paid to write articles” sites, I ran across eHow.com. This site features articles on basically “How to” do everything and anything you can possible think of. So, to experiment with their revenue sharing program, I signed up and started writing and posting a few articles to their site. Now, you don’t earn a flat-fee or anything for writing an article.

Your articles earn you money by the eHow’s revenue-sharing program. Basically it works just like Google Adsense Ads. If you’re not familiar with that, then here’s how it works: People view and read your articles. People click on the advertisements and links that eHow displays on the pages of your articles. When that happens, eHow shares an undisclosed percentage of that revenue with you.

eHow has a super-easy user interface to write and publish articles. What’s better is that I earned money a lot quicker from my articles than I have from other “get paid to write articles” sites.

The minimum payout to receive a payment each month is only $10.00. And, they send you payments directly to your PayPal account. Plus, when I first started and for 2 months in-a-row, the good folks at eHow.com invited me to participate in their Bonus Programs. It was fast and easy and they paid me an extra $150.00 on top on my regular revenue-sharing earnings.

Their revenue sharing program is way better then getting paid a flat-fee or rate for writing an article! Why? Because your articles continue to make you money over and over, month after month, year after year!

It’s been months and months since I’ve written and posted a new article – but all my articles continue to make me money. It’s like doing the work once and getting paid for it over and over again. Skeptical? Have a look at some of my earnings reports since I started writing articles on eHow: 

And NO, you don’t have to be some English and grammar expert either! You just have to write half-way literate so the vast majority of common folks like you and me can understand!

And EVERYONE knows how to do stuff! Yep, even you! You can write about super simple stuff or really complicated things. Anyone can do this – I’ll prove it!

One of my most profitable articles that I’ve written was simply telling people how to find online coupons. Seriously! The article took me like 20 minutes to write and then like another 10 minutes to create a graphic and upload it.

So, for about 30 minutes of work… This one article has made me $1,164.26 so far! And, I wrote it well over a year ago! Here’s how much this one little article has earned me each month since I wrote it (March 2009 earnings are just for this month so far) : 

Why has this little article made me so much? Because it’s about something relevant to today and it’s about something people are searching for.

So, think about stuff you already know about and know how to do. Then write one of these easy How To articles and tell people how to do it. The more popular your articles are – the more money you will make!

FreeGasMoneyOnline.com – brand new incentive-reward site!

Got pain in the gas?  Get relief and ease your pain at the pumps by getting FreeGasMoneyOnline (FGMO)!

No kidding!  Earn free cash and prepaid gas cards for many of your everyday online activities – stuff that you’re probably already doing for nothing.

FGMO rewards and pays you for fast, easy and typical online activities like:  Visiting Websites, Reading Emails, Taking Surveys, Shopping, Requesting Free Samples, Trying New Offers, Entering Contests and Sweeps, Online Research, Referring Friends, Playing Games and more.

Sign-Up FREE and get a free $5.00 Sign-Up Bonus!

The concept is pretty simple.  Bloggers get paid to add relevant advertiser links to their blogroll on a 30-day basis.

Once a blogger joins BlogRolled.com and is accepted to the marketplace, advertisers can purchase listings/links on your blogroll.  Looks like the minimum an advertiser can offer is $5.

I registered yesterday and my blog was accepted in just a few hours, so it looks like they’re pretty quick about approving accounts.  I logged in, but don’t have any blogroll offers yet.   Will have to wait and see how this one works out.

Let me know what you think of BlogRolled.com.

I’ve had this site for almost 2 years now and do all the research and listings myself. Recently I’ve been in the process of upgrading this site into an easy to navigate web directory. Have a look and let me know what you think.

For hundreds of legit home based jobs, visit: Paylinkpal’s Free Work at Home Jobs Directory.

What kind of sites and programs are we talking about? Content-based sites like article directories and news, blogger, forum and other user-based communities that compensate their contributors, members and/or users.

What kind of revenue sharing are we talking about? There are 2 common types of ad-revenue sharing models that sites and programs use. There’s the Google Adsense Ad-Revenue Sharing Model and the Site Managed Ad-Revenue Sharing Model.

It’s my article so I get to name them what I want..

(1) Google Adsense Ad-Revenue Sharing Model

This model requires you to have your own unique Google Adsense Publisher ID. If you don’t already have one you can get one by applying directly to Google:

Sites running this model use Google Adsense to serve relevant ads on and throughout the pages of their site. You, as a site contributor, provide the site with your Google Adsense Publisher ID.

These sites then apply your Google Adsense Publisher ID in order to share their Adsense Revenue with you. This is done by allowing Google to credit a percentage (typically between 50% and 90%) of the ad-revenue generated from the pages your contributed content appears.

Your earnings are then directly linked, tracked and reported to your own Google Adsense Account. Google pays you for your accumulated earnings – not the site or program owner.

Site and/or program owners do not have access to your Google Adsense Account. They can only view your earnings. BTW, in case you didn’t know, your Google Adsense Publisher ID is not a secret. Anyone can view a site’s Publisher ID simply by doing a view page source.

However, you can control which sites you approve to use your Publisher ID. So, if you run into trouble with a site that’s running your Publisher ID, you can block it by editing the settings in your Adsense account.

Is all this against Google’s TOS? The short answer is no. But, get all the facts and information for yourself by reading Google’s Terms and Policies. And remember, it is ultimately up to you to investigate the legitimacy and reputation of any site or program.

Are you a webmaster, site owner or program developer? Want to start your own Google Adsense Ad-Revenue Sharing Program on your site? Google calls it Adsense API. Get the details from Google’s Flexible Revenue Share Program first. Plus, here’s a list of sites that provide ad-revenue sharing software and platforms:

• Invision Power Board
• Adsense Revenue Sharing WordPress Plugin
• Adsense Revenue Sharing Module
• Google Adsense Revenue Sharing
• Google Adsense Revenue Sharing Lightweight

(2) Site Managed Ad-Revenue Sharing Model

This model doesn’t require or use your Adsense Publisher ID – so you don’t need one.

Basically, here’s how this model then works:

These sites use Google, Yahoo or other ad networks to serve and display relevant ads on and throughout their site.

Then, using their own site managed member accounts and ad-tracking systems, they share with you their ad-revenue generated from the pages your contributed content appears.

As a contributor, stats and earnings are reported to your site managed member account. You then receive your payments directly from these site and/or program owners.

Although these sites can be a little more elusive regarding exact revenue sharing percentages, CPM and CPC they can be quite profitable.

Both ad-revenue sharing models are widely used on both small and large scaled sites. And, both have become popular methods in establishing a Win-Win situation for content publishers and site owners.

Ad-Revenue Sharing Sites and Programs List:

Google Adsense Ad-Revenue Sharing Model sites marked with a (g).
Site Managed Ad-Revenue Sharing Model sites marked with a (s).

1. HubPages (g) – Article-style submission site and directory.
2. eHow (s) – How to articles submission site and directory.
3. Triond (s) – User-generated article, news, video, media and content site.
4. Xomba (g) – Article, blog posting, social and community-based site.
5. Helium (s) – Article, essay, debate and feedback submission community.
6. AssociatedContent (s) – Articles, news, videos, audio, images, etc.
7. DotNetSpider (g) – Tech-related articles, tutorials and information.
8. DigitalPointForums (g) – SEO, webmasters, affiliates & marketing forum.
9. Squidoo (g) – Articles, news, blurbs and all types of content – community.
10. Webmaster-Talk (g) – Webmaster forum.
11. ArticleCodex (g) – Article submission and directory site.
12. MeshPlex (g) – Tutorial, Wiki submission directory and database.
13. ShareYourExpertise (g) – Information sharing community.
14. ScreenDig (g) – TV shows, movies, celebrities and games.
15. NamePros (g) – Buy, sell and discuss domain names – forum.
16. BloggerParty (g) – Revenue sharing blogging community.
17. YouSayToo (s) – Social revenue sharing community.
18. RateItAll (g) – Consumer based ratings and reviews community.
19. ArticleWise (g) – Article submission and directory site.
20. HowToDoThings (g) – How to and tutorial submission site.
21. SpeakAboutIt (g) – Articles, opinions, information – community.
22. PrintnPost (g) – Articles and blogging submission and directory site.

Know of another site or program to add to this list? Let me know.

I currently work a few of these sites with both ad-revenue sharing models to different degrees of success. There are pros and cons to each. I have found that creating unique and interesting content on a regular and consistent basis works wonders.

I have found that this ad-revenue sharing content-based site is a great way to earn passive and reoccurring monthly income.

What’s great is that you write an article once, submit it and then earn money from it month after month and over and over again.

One thing I want to point out is that you’ve got to look at it as an investment. Meaning, you’ve got to give your articles some time to earn money for you.

Here’s a screenshot of some of my publish dates and earnings-to-date:

Remember, all I had to do was take the initial time to write each article and post it. Most articles only take between 30 minutes and an hour to write – once you figure out what to write about. I noticed that once I became familiar with eHow and got a little practice, the whole process got easier. I’ve written and posted about 30-35 articles so far.

Now, here’s a screenshot of my monthly earnings:

A few things to point out:

First – all my articles but 2 were written and posted during Aug, Sept, Oct and Nov of 2007. This illustrates that writing and posting these articles takes an intial investment of time and then some patience to allow them to generate passive and reoccurring income.

Second – back in January eHow changed their article format (which I didn’t know about) which made my articles all jumbled together and hard to read. I figured this out when I noticed a decrease in my earnings in Jan & Feb 2007. So, I had to re-format my articles. Once I did this my earnings started to increase again.

Third – once you post articles on eHow you can always go back and edit and/or tweak them. This is a wonderful feature folks! For example, I’ve gone back and edited a few of my articles’ categories and keywords and got better performance.

I’ve done a few articles on Helium.com and AssociatedContent.com but haven’t done nearly as well. After several months on Helium, I’ve just now reached the minimum payment amount of $25. And, I think I’ve earned about 4 cents on AssociatedContent so far.

So, if you want to try eHow, the best way to get started is sign up for eHow’s Writer Compensation Program. I only wish eHow had a referral program so I could earn money for referring and telling people about their site!

I’m looking for more writer compensation programs. Know of any?

The trouble with this one, it’s just like the Work At Home Data Entry Job schemes. These are not “jobs” in the traditional sense of the word. Job implies wages earned for time and/or work completed.

And, like the Work From Home Data Entry schemes, the Online Rebate Processor is equally misleading – therefore deemed a scam.

Now, if they advertised these schemes for what they really are – a way to make money online by affiliate marketing and online advertising – the desperate masses of people who are looking to get rich quick would not be interested. Affiliate marketing and online advertising imply that some kind of effort, knowledge, skill and/or experience may be required. And, where’s the fast and easy money in having to learn or know all that?

Scam artists are knowledgeable and skilled in the art of scamming – remember this. They know exactly how to play on the one thing that drives people to buy into their bogus programs – fear. The fear of lack . More specifically, the fear of lack of money. They also know that this fear and desperation related to lack of money is exactly what sells.

Further, these clever crafters target the unsuspecting online novice, beginner or newbie. Why? Because they know that their questionable products/services will never be purchased by a seasoned or skilled Internet user. Which is exactly why they can’t use words like affiliate marketing or online marketing. Competition for selling highly legitimate products and services in this area is already quite fierce.

So, anything that sounds like fast and easy money or a way to get rich quick attracts the masses. Here’s where the process rebates from home comes in. They basically tell you that all you have to do is “fill out simple little forms” when people ask for their rebate and you’ll earn from $10 to $20 for each one – no limit. This of course amounts to thousands of dollars per minute or per day or whatever, right?

Not exactly. Not even close. Just like in the article, “Legitimate Work At Home Data Entry Jobs”, where I explain that the actual data entry in those work at home data entry programs is actually an after-thought or means to an end, the actual form that you’re filling out to process the rebate is the same. The actual typing of the form and/or “processing” of it has nothing to do with how you earn money.

And, like the work at home data entry job schemes, what you’re paying for is some person’s version of instructions on how and where to place online ads in order to sell affiliate products and services. The only way you make money is through the actual sale of products and/or services.

Now, in order to help you sell these products or services, they explain to you how to encourage people to buy these products or services by promising to give them a partial refund (the rebate) when they make their purchase using your affiliate links. You’re basically giving them part of your commission from your affiliate sale. And, that’s pretty much all there is to it.

Now, is this whole process of affiliate marketing and online advertising a legitimate way to make money online? For the most part, sure. The scam nature of it all comes in because of the misleading advertising and promises that are made in order to get you to buy into such programs. The false claims of being able to make money by processing rebates online is the scam.

The information and training these online rebate processor schemes provide may be worth your while if you are new to the online arena and/or have no experience in selling, marketing or making money online. However, I would question the quality of it all being as how it’s coming from a misleading source to begin with. There are countless legitimate, respectable and reputable sources online that teach the basics of affiliate marketing and online advertising for free.

Paid forum posting services provide a new forum owner with the instant appearance of a popular and active forum, without having to go through the daunting and painstaking task of starting-from-scratch.

Here’s where YOU come in and get the opportunity to become a paid poster for these paid forum posting services. Now, if you can type and write half-way literate and grammatically correct, you likely qualify to get paid to post.

Getting started is a breeze…

STEP 1.
Browse and research the following list of paid forum posting services that hire forum posters :

Ideal Posting
Interested in getting paid to talk about the stuff you like? Join the talented group of Ideal Posters. Get paid up to $.50 per post (approx $20 per hour). Only write about the topics you are interested in. Enjoy participating in forums and get paid for it.

Paid Posting Tools
Online forums need writers to contribute content and attract other members. Forum owners hire paid posting services who in turn hire writers. Write as much or as little as you like and get paid for every post. It is very simple to get involved and most services pay via PayPal on a weekly basis.

Forum Angels
If you want to become a paid poster then look no further! We are constantly taking on new staff. All we require is that you can type fluent English, correct spelling, correct grammar & perfect punctuation! Do your 5 sample posts on our forum then fill out the application.

Kick Start Your Forums
Pay varies per job depending on the type of plan our clients choose. Our posters have been averaging .20 per post on most jobs however smaller jobs may pay less. All posters are paid on the completion of the entire project. Click on TOS/Now Hiring.

Community Boost
Paid Posters can benefit from our site by using there skills to work from home freelance supplying the demand for forum posting and other posting services. Posters get: Awesome percentage rates, Easy payment system using PayPal , Free escrow services and $1 for opening an account.

Fill My Forum
If you enjoy active discussion on forums online, then earn cash while doing it. FillMyForums.com is currently looking for new posting agents to work with us to build our clients forums. We pay our agents between $0.10 and $0.17 per post. Payment can be made upon request via PayPal or bank transfer. Click on “Work for us”.

Forums First
We believe we pay a good price per post and for that we expect to get relevant, well constructed posts and threads with good grammar and excellent spelling. Prior to submitting your application we require you to post a minimum of 5 posts in our forum.

CraZoo
Yes this is a paid to post forum, which means we pay you for each topic and post you make. Current rates are: $0.02 per new thread (topic), $0.015 per new post, $0.002 per referral post.

STEP 2.
Complete and submit membership applications to all sites you are qualified for in order to maximize your income potential. Additionally, some sites may not approve your application and/or may not be accepting new posters, etc… Always take the initial time to provide yourself with as many opportunities as possible.

STEP 3.
Many of these sites require sample posts of your work. Complete sample posts and/or other necessary requirements.

STEP 4.
Build a good reputation. Complete paid posting jobs as required and on-time, as this will increase your chances of getting invited and selected to do more posting jobs.

Getting started is super easy…

STEP 1.
Browse and research the following web sites that pay to answer questions and give advice :

Expert Bee
Have a Question? Get an Answer. Have an Answer? Get Paid. General – Math – Business – Science – Programming – Homework – Etc…

Know Brainers
Get paid to answer questions. Questions are asked by members of our community in a wide range of subject areas including entertainment, history, science, pet care, parenting, automotive, home contracting, computer help, health, and law.

Student Questions
After a student chooses your answer, he or she will pay you through StudentQuestions.com via PayPal. A small percentage of it will go to us as commission. Make sure the answers are complete and thorough. Students select tutors based on feedback and rating!

iWantYourAnswers
I want your answers requires experts on the various categories that we receive questions on, If you have the answers and want to earn some extra money then apply today.

Small Biz Advice
Advisors and experts. Are you a business expert? Get paid for sharing your knowledge and expertise in your spare time. Some sites provide you points and some say you can promote your services by providing answers, but on our site you can get paid for providing expert advice.

Jyve
Jyve only earns money when you earn money, with a conservative commission of 20%. And even when you share information for free, “askers” can still tip at their own discretion. And because it’s live, only Jyve gives you the flexibility to publish rates in your directory profile and negotiate fees in real time as you’re exploring needs with customers.

Problima
You can register at Problima as a Solution Provider. You pick categories based on your expertise. You get paid a fixed fee of $1 every time a user accepts your answer. Problima is a site that helps people with problems/questions connect with people who have solutions. People with problems get to have their questions answered and those offering solutions get paid for their solutions.

Duno
Get paid to answer questions and be involved in discussions. The better discussions you create and participate in, the more everyone on duno earns. Minimum to reach payout is $5.

STEP 2.
Complete and submit membership applications to all sites you are qualified for. Never put all your hopes and dreams on one site when you can make money from more than one source at-a-time.

STEP 3.
Complete your membership/expert profiles. This is extremely important when it comes to being accepted and approved. The more thorough you are, the better your chances of being recognized as a reliable source.

STEP 4.
When you first start out, offer answers to questions and give advice for free in order to help you build a good reputation.

Taking photos with your digital camera is a great and FREE way to earn some ongoing residual income because you get to earn cash over and over each time someone downloads one of your photos or images.

Wait-a-sec, before you start sweating-it, you don’t have to be a professional photographer — not even close! If you’re able to take half-way decent photos, you can do this! I know first-hand that anyone, with a little practice, can make some extra money with their digital camera. And since you’ll simply be uploading all of your photos from your digital camera to the Internet, you don’t need any fancy printers or photography equipment.

Now, to get you started…

STEP 1.
There are many sites that will pay you for your photos. Browse the following company sites :

BigStockPhoto.com
Make 50 cents up to 60 dollars per download! If approved, your photos are added to BigStockPhoto.com …when users download them, you earn cash. We mail checks or make payment to you via Paypal or MoneyBookers. That’s it! Upload a couple hundred popular photos and you could find you have a nice recurring monthly income on your hands.

ShutterStock.com
We get a wide variety of users subscribing – and the more images you have, the more you can make! The .25 payout adds up fast – for example, if your pictures are downloaded 1000 times over the course of a month, you will receive $250 for that month! If you make $250 per month, That’s $3000 per year off of photos that would normally be collecting dust on your hard disk!

USPhotostock.com
Once you have accumulated at least $50 in earnings we will either send you a check or Paypal deposit, at your request. Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? So join up today and start earning money on your photography today!

MicroStockPhoto.com
All you have to do is signup and upload your photos. We handle the rest. How much does it cost? Signing up and uploading your photos is Free. We handle all of the sales, promotion and customer support and take 65% commission from every photo you sell. When do I get paid? Your profit from the sales of your photos is paid to you once a month.

Dreamstime.com
Sell your stock images and get 50-80% from each sale you make. Join our powerful photo community and reach new stock photography markets.

Scoopt.com
Snap, send and sell at Scoopt. Each time we make a sale, we pay you a 40% royalty. If we don’t think we can market your photos, we’ll tell you quickly.

iStockPhoto.com
Sell your stock. Contribute your own images, illustrations, and video, for sale on iStock. Visit our training page, and start selling digital stock images to the largest design community in the world.

PhotoStockPlus.com
Photostockplus is a revolutionary concept that allow you to upload and sell your work online. We actively promote the stock database and our photographers to a wide variety of buyers guaranteeing you worldwide exposure. We provide you with the tools and client base to be successful; you keep 85% of the profits.

Shutterpoint.com
Join ShutterPoint and make money from selling your images.

CameraDollars.com
CameraDollars is a program that teaches you how to make money with your digital camera.

STEP 2.
Sign up and register for accounts with at least 2 or more of the above sites/companies. This way you’ll be able to compare site and earning results. Don’t be afraid to register with several sites – you’ll increase your earning potential by gaining greater exposure.

STEP 3.
Take the time to seek out and read the invaluable tutorials, instructions and tips that are provided on the sites you’ve registered with. Although these sites are similar, each has their own specific rules and guidelines for accepted photos, etc…

STEP 4.
Aim, shoot, upload your photos and get paid! Good luck!