Blogging At Today Dot Com: Would You Blog for $1/post?
84Blogging For Money at TodayDotCom
Would you write a 100-word post for a $1? Well the answer probably depends: depends on where you live, depends on what your cost of living is, and depends on how much you need a $1.
There are heaps of "get paid to blog" and "make money from home" ads out there, its how sites like hubpages get new authors. Some are good some are not.
Almost always though the reality is a little different from the hype. Knowing that there is no free money in this world I tend to dig a lot more than I used to before I sign up for anything and the questions I ask are:
- what's the catch,
- will they really pay me?
- is it worth it?
- how can I make it work for me!
So is today dot com the real deal? The details are interesting: both good and bad, but mainly good and some aren't advertised. Read on for my review.
What is Today Dot Com Offering?
They are asking for "VIP Bloggers" to apply for a blog which, if approved, they will be paid per a post. The pay is quoted at a rate of $1 per post, maximum one post per day.
The approval process sounds daunting and despite comments I found on the internet that bloggers needed to apply with writing samples, this is no longer the case. In fact as soon as I entered the blog name I wanted I got what must have been an automatic approval: ie the name was available I got it!
Every blog is a subdomain of the today.com domain that means the name comes first so my "Australia" blog's address is Australia.today.com - so you can have some fun with the name! The fact that I could get "Australia" means that there are plenty of good names still available, I certainly couldn't have got australia.blogspot.com!
What they are offering is your own blog which you can customise quite nicely but which they run their own Adsense ads on: this is what pays the bills and the bloggers.
Will They Really Pay a $1/post?
This appears to be a legit, but fairly new company. They are certainly paying people now so I am sure they intend to continue to do that, assuming they are not a victim of the economic crises I think they will pay - but as usual you need to
Check the Fine Print
What they actually say in the somewhat hidden FAQ is this:
"To get you started we guarantee you will earn at least $1.00 per daily post for at least 1 month. Your blog will be evaluated monthly and payments may be adjusted up or down depending on how well you are doing."
So they are guaranteeing a $1/day for the first MONTH - so around $30 IF you post every day for that first month.
They pay by paypal and the minimum payout is $50: so here is a potential problem! If you never get any traffic you may never make the minimum payout. Comment is though that they do continue to pay after the 30 days - just remember they are NOT obliged to and you do get a traffic bonus too based on unique visits.
UPDATE 8 Nov 08: Country Availability
OK Today has expanded their original rather short list of country availability to a much longer one.
Australia Austria Barbados Belarusia Bermuda Canada Czeck Republic Denmark Estonia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Finland France Germany Greece Greenland Guernsey and Alderney Hong Kong, (China) Iceland India Ireland Israel Italy Japan Korea, South Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malaysia Monaco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal Singapore Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Taiwan UK USA
Why I like Today Dot Com for SEO
Sites with a lot of rapidly changing content gain "authority" in the eyes of Google: pages on the site are indexed quickly and gain page rank quickly. HubPages is an authority site, Squidoo was but they got slapped for too much spam and duplicate content and fell out of favour. That's why its important for sites to have unique high quality content which is updated often.
I checked out a bunch of the today.com blogs - they are quality, in fact, in my opinion, they are often too good. People are writing really well there, and most of them will not be pulling in a $1/day in Adsense revenue: so long-term they are not going to keep on being paid. So the bottom line is you need some strategy to get traffic to your blog and here are two I know of.
Two Approaches to Get Traffic to Your Today Dot Com Blog
Social Traffic
There is a lot of chat in the today forums about "buzzing" "stumbling" "entrecard dropping" "digging" etc. I personally can't be bothered but as today.com is paying for traffic NOT direct Adsense revenue if you can play these sites well you will get good traffic. In fact October's most popular blog winner is an almost entirely photo blog which made page 1 of digg: hence the traffic.
Ranking in the Search Engines
First your post must be indexed. To get a post indexed on a today.com blog - at least a new one - you need to write at least 250 words, Google is consistently ignoring my shorter posts.
I am not sure why today.com has a minimum word count of 100 words. It may be just not to scare people off, but also I notice that longer running, popular blogs do seem to get shorter posts indexed - maybe once your blog has prooved itself Google gets more friendly? I am using Trends Blogging successfully with today.com but it turned into a whole hub of its own!
Using Today Dot Com For Do Follow Back Links
Today dot com allows anchored links in your posts. They forbid links directly to affiliates such as Amazon but you are allowed to link out to other sites, afterall that's what's blogging is about surely?
Blogs at today dot com have links which are do-follow: all links are do-follow including links in the sidebar and links within the post. Unfortunately links for commentators are NOT do-follow.
This is HUGE
Today.com will pay ME to get an anchored, contextual backlink - many webmasters pay FOR backlinks, this is an about face, but is in fact a win-win.
Caution: if you abuse this you will probably get banned from today.com.
How to do it right.
Its not hard.
- Write a useful post e.g. Obama just won the Presideny: how are satirists going to take off Obama: Bush was so easy - Obama is a lot harder, and he's Black, what implications does that have. I wrote a genuine opinion piece: I think the answers will say a lot about modern US society. That's UNIQUE content too - no cut and paste from elsewhere on the web.
- Recently I wrote a hub about an Australian satirist called John Clarke: he takes off George Bush well, will he do the same for Obama? - there's a link to my hub in the context of my post.
- Make the post 250-300 words. Google is to date ignoring my 100 word posts - they aren't getting indexed which is a problem if you are using them for backlinks.
Getting a site to rank in Google's search engine rankings (SERPs)is the holy grail of internet marketing. Once you are on page 1 you have traffic, once you have traffic you can make money. To get a site to rank the most important thing is the number, quality and diversity of back links, links from other sites. Sites such as today.com can be very useful, but many marketers forget that you have to give back to the community to get your promotion in. Don't be a selfish marketer and you will find that karma really does exist, and you will get banned a lot less often.
Bottom Line: Can You Make Money With Today Dot Com?
To take advantage of their offer of $1/post you must :
- have a paypal account: paypal doesn't exist in all countries and if you don't have a paypal account your won't get paid;
- be able to write coherantly and regularly (you can schedule posts so you don't HAVE to write every day);
- be prepared to write for 2 blogs unless you are confident that you can bring traffic in to make the minimum payout threashold.
You do NOT need an Adsense account to make money at today dot com, which will an advantage for some people to.
If you do this there is no reason why you shouldn't get a a deposit of $50-$60 within 5 weeks of starting (that's a fairly quick payment system to for the internet).
But There's More.
To be honest $50-$60 will give me around A$75-A$100 which will pay for a nice meal out for my partner and I. If I did the minimum of 100/words a post - thats around 6000 words: OK, but but not fantastic pay.
The backlinks however will keep my sites ranking in the search engines: that's worth a lot more. Maybe not next month, but long-term, and that's why I like the site and I am prepared to put a bit of effort in.
Referral Program
Today has a referral program. If you refer another blogger to their site and that person writes 10 approved posts within 3 months then you get paid $5 ($10 special promotion at the moment) for the referral.
Therefore if you want to try out today dot com please click on any of the posts on my today blogs and then click the taste red-flashing widget 1/2 way down the right which says something like "JOIN NOW, Get Paid to Blog".
Extra Special Bonus - Read This NOW!
Or you can go to the site direct and I wont get paid, :-( But if you do join up as a referral I will be able to thank you personally! So as a very special, one-time offer, ONLY open to hubbers, and anyone else who signs up I have an extra special bonus for you!
IF you sign up via ONE OF MY BLOGS I will come and harrass you until you get those first 10 posts done. One on one! At NO EXTRA cost! How much does a personal trainer cost at a gym?$597? $197? But here is the same service: motivation for FREE ! I will STALK YOUR BLOG until you get your 10 posts done! I will comment and complain until you understand the meaning of "taking action"! Free one-on-one harrassment for each of your today blogs but act quickly,
THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER - ACT NOW!
Be quick for this one-time limited offer - its only available for the first 20 people who register through my links! Be one of the special ones! Act NOW! Sign Up!
More About Blogging at Today Dot Com
- Making your Today Dot Com Blog Pretty
Whether you want to know how to customise your today dot com paid blog or whether you are setting up your own WordPress blog this article should help: lots of pictures!
Travel @ Today by Lissie
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia Travel Photos
Angkor Wat is a city lost in time. - 6 days ago
- Camping in the Rain.
Ever been camping and then it rains? - 6 days ago
- Travel For the Over 30s in 2009
Wow its the last year of the decade; can you remember when we all partied like it was 1999 and waited for the millennium bug to stop civilization in its tracks? - 8 days ago
- New Year’s Eve in Australia: Visitor’s Guide
New Year’s eve is a bit of an odd holiday as far as I am concerned - the 31st isn’t actually an Australian public holiday anyway though quite a lot of people will get extra leave days between Christmas and New Year especially if the holidays are split from the weekend. - 9 days ago
- Taking an Over 30s Gap Year in 2009?
Are you thinking about taking a 2009 Adult Gap Year? - 10 days ago
- Best 2009 Travel Deals for Australians
What's going to happen with the Australian travel industry in 2009 – in light of the economic crises both within and outside of Australia? - 2 weeks ago
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Comments
Oh it worked then! I did the second blog the day after I'd done the first one and posted one post to it. When you go onto the main page after logging in there is a button to apply for the 2nd blog. You have the same name on both so they are both tided to the same user account!
I got a " Registration unavailable in your location." Sigh! SY
Damme - Sybille where are you? I will try to find out their geographic scope. Does your country allow paypal?
I am now living in the Czech Republic. But I might have found a workaround ;-) Can you see who your referrals are? Tell me if you can "see" me. SY
Same problem here in Spain. It might be they're not allowing non-English speaking countries in, which if that's the case is pretty unfair as there are plenty of native English speakers living in other parts of the world. This would be an excellent way of getting links and being paid for it is a nice bonus.
Hi Lissie, very interesting post here, 60 dollars a month will be a good bonus...but just wondering is todaydotcom using a wordpress platform? I am not very familiar using Wordpress.....
will just some of your post..thanks MM
SY yes I can and no I'm not - have you posted 1 post: that may make it show up!
I agree Terry - lets see how my natural marketing skills go with the support people - who are probably all asleep at the moment
Hi MM - yes it is WordPress - a simplified version: they actually step you thru a wizart to start if you want to. I will post another hub on a step by step with pictures but probably not for another day or so (have to do some paid writing lOL) Seriously if you can hub you can do this- and the forum is very useful and alot of people are very, very new to the internet
Quick update - people applying from Western Europe are getting a "not allowed in your location" message. I am trying to find out what is going on with support - as an Ausralian I was fine with registering so I assumed it was open to overseas residents - maybe they think no one in Europe speaks English LOL
I have raised the issue with their support - see what happens, I'll update here when I have an answer
Hi Lissie, thanks for investigating that for us ;-) SY
Lissie, this is interesting--I hadn't heard of them but I will check them out. If I join I'll do it through you for sure so you can get the $5 and I can get the free coaching from you the first month. lol!
Seriously though, I'm still struggling with how to make all this online writing truly pay. Believe it or not, I STILL don't have my website up or have WordPress installed--but I do have instructions now from agvulpes, you, Shalini Kagel, and the tech support folks at namecheap.com--I just haven't had time to actually DO it because I just started my new merchandising job this week.
I can attest that making money by writing online is labor intensive, at least the first year. I think I've made around $6K this year so far on it if I combine all income sources--Hubpages, Helium, Adsense revenue, Elance, AC, and other work I've been able to scare up online. Not impressive, as I've probably logged about a gerzillion hours making that $6K. But I'm hoping it will be cumulative (especially the ad revenue) and that 2009 will be better. We'll see.
I can't help thinking I'd be better off to get into paper print publications--they pay so much better--but there's something addictive and exciting about online writing. I think it's the instant gratification and all the cool people we get to meet.
Thanks for this hub and the info! Great job!
Pam - don't you DARE put yourself down like that $6k is a wonderful start - and yes the advertising stuff will keep on going up, mine has gone crazy this month: some on the back of a hub which will now die for a year until next year's Melbourne Cup but it is starting to get exciting and I so don't want to add the hours up!
today.com is actually running a version of WordPress so it would be a skill set you could transfer over to your own blog in due course.
I think print media will die, possibly sooner rather than later. I find the most interesting travel stuff isn't in the local newspaper or magazine: this is all just advertorial - online you get real people really reviewing place and hotels - it may not always be completely grammatically correct but its a lot more real. And when I read the paper I can't hit a comment button: very frustrating LOL
So I guess long term I don't see print media as a good bet - and who wants an editor telling you where to put a flipping comma? And yes you get a lot more but you have to really fight to get stuff accepted: or they accept it and never publish it. I like seeing my name in electrons!
As a payment for blogging that's terrible, but as a way to get backlinks, I'm definitely in! I'm looking forward to your free stalking offer...
Lets face you might even get some direct customers LOL - weirder things have happened! Hehe - I am going to be enjoying all this harrassement. I must admit with all my affiliate "offers" I find it quite easy to get people to sign up and a lot harder for them to actually DO anything! So I am confident I can enough people signed up to add a nice bottle of Australian Red - to the celebration meal - but only if we work together for you to do enough posts! These blogs will not help your backlinks at all unless you WRITE them - strange but true!
Good to hear about a legitimate blogging site. I shall be checking this out and it sounds promising. I really enjoyed this hub.
How much have your earn there, so far..
ill be running out of things to write in just 3 months...
Hey.. what happened? when I tried to register, the message came. Registration not avialable for your Country..(India)
Why?
Allrighty, my dear. I am in the USA. Your hub was so enthusiastic and inspiring that I have signed up. Kind of. I was permitted to go through the entire process, but then have a message on the screen saying their applications are so overhwelming that I may not hear from them by email for up to 30 days! WHAT have you started here, girlfriend? ;) In any event, I have my first blog written and ready to roll.
Like Trsmd registration not available in my country (South Africa) either. This is too bad! Paypal also won't pay out to South Africans either. So we feel very discriminated against!
Based on my reading of their terms of use, it appears that today.com owns whatever content you produce for them (it's a contracting agreement). On HubPages you retain ownership of your work. That doesn't mean today.com can't be a good money maker, but it does mean you have little remedy if they change their terms. On HubPages, if you don't feel like you are getting a fair deal you can always take your content somewhere else.
This is very interesting, and I will look into it, Lissie. A couple years back, I was paid the first month by such a site and then the second month, no and it was a scam, but this one sounds more legit. I write so much every day now that, finally, 250 words sounds puny :)
I like your posts over there and I'll think about joining.
I joined. ANd now I cannot edit anything on the side bars other than the widgets they post. I cannot add feed, pictures or anything. This is a crappy set up.
I noticed you had the rss for your hubpages up on yours - how did you get that there? I cannot get it on mine! Can you check it out:
www.acaliforniarepublican.today.com
Wow - I only went to sleep for a few hours! So many questions and many thanks for those who have signed up!
@sweetiepie they seem legit: I haven't run a credit check but they seem OK!
@trsmd - apologies they are restricting access to the program to only a few countries - this is nowhere on their site so I didn't know - I have now updated the hub. My first posts have been approved and my account shows $5 - but its not money until its in my paypal account as far as I'm concerned LOL
@mariane - actually in general the more I write on the internet the easier it is to think of things to write: I often buy the newspaper or check the news: that the quickest source of inspiration: remember 100 words is not very much - basically a paragraph
@maren - did you get the email by now? I got the same message and then got the follow up 2 minutes later! I seriously don't think I've had that much effect LOL
@tony - its discrimination pure and simple and I'm sorry - I hadn't realised you guys didn't have paypal either :-(
@nwunderlich - I will do another hub with pictures on how to set up the blog - it was going to be part of this one but it got too long. I'll post a link when its published
Thanks Paul - I thought that was the case, and did read the agreement but wasn't sure. There's another point people should be aware of - once someone approves your posts they are "locked" and you can't edit or delete them. If you think about it that's obviously the only way to run a human approved system: otherwise you could always got back in and put the links to Viagra and sexy girls later.
Paul is quite right if your copyright is important to you hubpages doesn't take it from you but many other places do.
At least with today.com they don't arbitary shut the entire blog down which happens quite a lot to people on wordpress.com. Even once the post is locked you can still retrieve the text by cut and paste from the website.
I personally won't be posting a whole of truely UNIQUE content on today.com because of this but what you are seeing is a lot of content which is similar subject matter to what I write elsewhere on the internet but still original content - if that makes sense. I guess this post http://australia.today.com/2008/11/04/its-melbourn which "supports" my Melbourne Cup hub is a good example
Patty that is exactly where I was coming from too. They seem to have started paying in August or July so they are past the dangerous 2 month mark. Its also why I think having 2 blogs is a very good idea to ensure that if you post at least 50 times between the 2 in the first month you will hit the minimum payout e.g. I started 1 Nov I should be due a payment by 10 Dec if I keep posting.
There are a great deal of organisations that owe me $5 or $15 but I'll never get it because I won't make the minimum. Its no doubt good business and one of the reasons that a revenue sharing model as clean and simple as HubPages is so rare on the Internet!
Patty when I started seriously writing this year it would take me hours to write 500 words! Now I can do 500 word articles and 800-1200 word hubs on auto-pilot. The 2000 word pieces take a little longer but they are getting easier too - like any skill the more you practice the faster you become.
For me the main motivation is to get the backlinks - so to write my own advertising blurb is dead simple. Its one of the reasons I only write on topics that interest me - you're never see me write about acne or hair loss!
Unfortunately I signed up a month ago, so I can't be your referral. But the info you provide is great.
Haven't really taken advantage of backlinking yet. Thanks for the "well, du-uh ..."
LOL glad to help Marian!
This looks interesting, i'll check it out.
@ Bob:
What do you find interesting?
Today.com or the promise of free harassment from Lissie :-)
I may be blind but where exactly is that flashing widget that I can sign up under?
@ Eric - its not free harassement for YOU: you'd enjoy it too much - I may have charge Tasmanians!
@Univited hmmm - click on one of my today posts in the feeds above : say this one http://travelover30s.today.com/2008/11/05/travel-o and then about 1/2 way down on the right - next to the photo if you follow this actual link you will see an ad in red/white saying "Get Paid To Blog at Today.Com" its just below the Adsense ads
Got it :) I sent in an application...
You always come so handy to me, because i already joined (and blinking my eyes) but could not understand how it can help, but your hub made everything clear now, i think i can work on it now.
OK I just published http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Customise-a-WordPre for all of those who need help making your blog pretty!
Glad to help eswar!
Lissie,
I read your post about this on a forum we both haunt and went straight tothe site and almost signed up right there, BUT the empty referral box made me feel a bit guilty (considering you put me onto this, LOL) so I backtracked to your link to this hub and I'm doubbly glad I did since I really enjoyed this hub on the Today.com site and think that I will be better off for reading it. I hope I am able to earn you that $5 sometime soon. Okay, I'm off to sign up.
Thanks again.
LOL karma got you eh? You won't get far in this game if you play fair you know - as I have been told more than once! Its why I tend to always review a site before I put an affiliate link, because then I can add some value to the person and sorta earn my commission, oh and build my "list"!
I still get: "Registration unavailable in your location." Any news on that? SY
Hi Sybille unfortunately that they are only accepting bloggers from Canada, US, UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ. They do intend to expand the areas they will accept bloggers from, Western Europe was mentioned, but I can't get a time frame out of them. They also say that they are going to start support non-English blogs as well - which would be quite an unusual step.
Apparently they "problem" is just managing their speed of growth, apparently the site is less than a year old, which I suspected.
Hi Lissie! I visited your profile and your blog-lol I'm your new follower!
Really enjoy reading your articles-Thanks for the great info!
Thanks Lissie, I just signed up and was accepted...lets hope it lasts.
Thanks washingtonson.
Fantastic Univinvited! I am looking forward to seeing that blog grow- remember you have to do the posts!
Interesting hub Lissie. I'm going to check it out. Thank you!
I'm already a member of today.com with my fantasy art blog that gets a ton of traffic, still got to work on it though, keeping on top of 36 blogs, numerous squidoo lenses and hubpages takes it out of me a bit!
When you get the chance pop by at my blog http://fantasyart.today.com
Oh one more thing I wrote a few articles in the content call feature on Today.com and I got paid $10 for both of the articles in under a week, but the thing about the content calls is they have to bring in more content requests as there are not many to be had on there, like Helium has in their writing opportunities.
The referral program is pretty good, I've already downloaded and printed the today.com poster and posted it in a couple of colleges and the university in town, just have to wait and see on the results!
This sounds like an interesting opportunity, Lissie! Thanks for sharing it!
Hey this sounds like a great opportunity - thank you for letting us know about it.
I have signed up from your blog....and I guess I had better get to work ;-)
WOW, Lissie, very useful and informative hub, thanks !
OK we now have an updated list of which countries Today accepts applications from: I have updated the hub with it
I have two blogs at today.com and I post at them every now and then. I'm always debating whether it is worth my time. So, I only blog there when I literally have nothing else to do - which lately hasn't been often. Each post takes me around 15 minutes to write - that's a dismal $4 an hour! It really needs to be on my free time.
But, this was a great hub - it gave a nice overview. And yes, they do pay - I have received a check from them.
@Waynet thanks for commenting - that's a nice blog you have featuring your art. The content call feature is currently in hiatus - they have closed the beta and are doing some development before it re-opens - how long an article was it for $10? And yes I like the referral program but of course with all these things people need to not just sign up they need to put some effort in!
@Everyone who signs up - I mean it I will come and comment on your blog - but you have to put at least one post up! The default post (Hello World) you have to delete so there is no point me commenting on that one! Also in the referrals I can see your blog but not who you are - so don't be upset if I ask who you are LOL
@Katherine Thanks for commenting. Its always good to hear people are being paid! I think the pay by paypal feature is new this month: US checks cost a fortune for me to cash so I avoid them. $4/hour is poor pay in my country - though a US$1 is worth around 35% more than it was several months ago! As I said the backlinks are worth more to me long-term and of course maybe someone from today may sign up on hubpages under my referral here - it becomes very much a tangled marketing web we weave!
Also just a heads up on the approval process: it seems around once a week they go thru your posts and approve them. I have yet to have anything marked as "problem" but I suspect as long as your posts will pass copyscape are the right length and are reasonably comprehensible and comply with the Adsense terms you should be fine. Once posts are "approved" they are locked - you can neither edit them or delete them - that the price for the $1
If, by chance you have a life, and don't want to post every day - you can schedule posts to post in the future - you know if you were away from a computer on holiday or somthing dramatic like that! The "clock" seems to be on deep South time - Alabama - I'm not sure what time zone that is except its around 9 hours behind Perth (I guess that doesn't help!)
Also just a heads up on the approval process: it seems around once a week they go thru your posts and approve them. I have yet to have anything marked as "problem" but I suspect as long as your posts will pass copyscape are the right length and are reasonably comprehensible and are with the Adsense terms you should be fine. Once posts are "approved" they are locked - you can neither edit them or delete them - that the price for the $1
If, by chance you have a life, and don't want to post every day - you can schedule posts to post in the future - you know if you were away from a computer on holiday or somthing dramatic like that! The "clock" seems to be on deep South time - Alabama - I'm not sure what time zone that is except its around 9 hours behind Perth (I guess that doesn't help!)
Thanks for the help, Lissie, seems I could finally register, I used your link so hopefully you make some referral cents for all the hazzle you went through. SY
Thats great news Sybille - of course I will only make the cents if you do some posts LOL
I'll try my best, btw do I show up correctly in your list? SY
I've written my first "real" post Lizzie.
I've already earned 1 cent on 7 views of my blog :)
Hi, Lissie. Are you happy blogging there? Posting a blog everyday seems difficult. Anyway, good luck. Happy blogging. :)
wonderful post
I signed up through you too....please visit!
www.acaliforniarepublican.today.com
If people post their today blogs here I promise to add them to my blogroller and read them every day if you will do the same!
I havent signed up to Today yet, just because I am still in the process of learning how to work Hubs. But once I have learn how to used it, I will go ahead and signed in, just based on this great review. Thanks.
@Lissie - One article was a 300 word article about the relevancy of Youtube, the other was a chance to research something that I don't really have much interest in which was a car review and that was around 400 words mentioning the car name title three times within the post, both articles I was paid $5 for each article within a week at that time, cheers for the heads up about it being taken off for refining.
You could do what you said I believe you could persuade people to carry on writing their ten posts, a dedicated series of hubs or a focused blog could bring about some experimentation with more referrals.
@SY - I see you but I don't see any posts yet :-( - I want pictures and I know you can deliver!
@Uninvited - your second post is intereresting too - I commented on both - remember to keep the conversation going LOL
@Beats Me - slightly odd question ? The site is legit, doesn't freeze or break, has a nice community and provides me with free backlinks :-)
@nwunderlich - that's a really good idea I am going to do the same thing - I will add a blogroll of all hubber's today blogs on my today.com blogs. Only caveat - there has to be at least ONE real post! I'm seeing lots of blogs set up but no posting :-( Makes me sad all those urls going to waste LOL.
BTW I've dropped a couple of comments you blog and someone else is arguing with you already - make sure you keep the conversation going!
@Waynet - that's not a terribly good rate for a 400-word article -but the speed of payment is excellent!
OK here is the current list of known hubbers who have a blog at today and at least one post! I don't necessarily know who owns the blog so if you want admit authorship thats cool!
As you add your own first post feel free to add your link in a comment too.
http://entrepreneurs.today.com/
http://acaliforniarepublican.today.com/
http://cllintroduction.today.com/
I'm at:
http://greenburb.today.com
Lissie, I just realized you were the one who commented on my sustainable shopping post. Hi, there!
@RACM - that makes a lot of sense - there is so much cool stuff on the internet its easy to get caught doing a lot of stuff badly instead of focussing on 1 thing at a time!
@Marian - I hadn't realised it was you either!
Guys - I am Lis Sowerbutts at today - why - well its my name - blame my farther LOL
H-E-L-P!!! Help me, puh-leeze, Lissie. I am having "opportunities for learning" at Today.com. (In other words, I've really ferhoodled things.) I have written three "things," but I think they are all under one blog when I wanted them to be three separate blogs. Also, I have the yuckiest domain name with today, when I was just trying to name an article. And, what is a backlink, how does it earn you money?
Thanks. I'd sign up and have fun.
Thanks for the backlink idea. The possibility of getting paid to post my own backlinks seems pretty good.
LOL Maren - I sent you an email with details - short answer you will have to contact support at today to delete your blog and start again. Remember the blog name is the general subject you are going to write about, rather than the specific article names. The blog posts titles are the equivalent of a hub or a article!
Backlinks are more than a comment - I'll write another hub - not today - I am putting the PC down for the rest of today!
@increaemileage -its really,really nice isn't it!
@Benson - cool I'll add you to my blog roll!
Hi, Lissie! I just signed up at today.com.... if you happen to see "Favorite Things" that's me. I'm waiting for my confirmation e-mail, but if it doesn't come soon I'm going to head to bed and worry about it in the morning. :)
Here you go Lissie ;-) First post on second blog is written! http://prague.today.com/ I added you to my blogroll, if anybody else wants to exchange "blogroll links" feel free to drop me a comment on my blog at http://prague.today.com/2008/11/09/reason-to-visit and I add your blog to my blogroll and trust that you do the same for me, SY
Great post and great Q&A in the comment section too. Not much of an hourly rate for the Today.com blog posts, but who knows.... Backlinks are good, and they don't pay at ezinearticles.com at all, so what I might give it a shot!
Here's my link: http://favoritethings.today.com/
It's definitely a work in progress, but I'm having a lot of fun learning!
And here post one on blog one, I am going for the "wordy" look as you can see, for this blog I am looking to add links to my blogroll that are photography/ illustration/ graphic design related. Leave a comment if you are interested in such a bloglink exchange! SY
And here post one on blog one, http://microstock.today.com/ I am going for the "wordy" look as you can see, for this blog I am looking to add links to my blogroll that are photography/ illustration/ graphic design related. Leave a comment if you are interested in such a bloglink exchange! SY
oops, double post, sorry ;-( SY
BTW, Lissie, I am just giving your travelover30s blog one of my secret stumble pushes, as a little thank you! Hope a lot of traffic comes your way! SY
@Em - well done getting that first post up seems to be a hurdle for some people! Once you've done that it all gets easier!
@Elisabeth - nice to meet someone else who spells my name correctly :-) agree we spend a lot of tme getting "free" backlinks from places like ezines and is someone offering to pay us for them! Just be safe and write around 250 words if you want the post to get indexed
@Sybille - you're on a roll - there are some nice blog urls available - I doubt that you have prague.blogspot.com or wordpress.com available !
Sybille I have an unexplained surge of hits from stumbleupon on the travel blog - would that be you - thanks!
First off wanted to say great hub. Very informative. I have been around the whole marketing scene for a while now and have learned many different ways to make money online.
The payout to me personaly is not worth the time for the amount they offer.
To those in the US another good way to make money online with writing is through Associated Content. I mean if you can do say 400-600 word unique articles then they will pay out $3-$5 per article written. This is not a hub jack but just letting everyone know there are many ways to make that all mighty dollar.
Profithound - its fair comment to say that the payout is not worth if for you personally - but then you contradict yourself. today pays out $1/100 words - so getting paid $3-$5 dollars for 400-600 words is worse pay not better! In fact if I want to write articles to sell I use Constant Content and expect to get paid around $25 (after commission)per article I reviewed the site here http://hubpages.com/hub/Recycle-Your-Articles-for- and its not just for US writers either!
Also as an experienced marketer you should know that the backlinks and site authority are the important thing here not the $1 !
Yes of course there are many ways to make money online - I never said there weren't! Thanks for visiting
Hi Lissie, glad to hear that my stumble friends liked your blog ;-) And yes, I got two great names *insert happy smiley here* SY
Lissie, I found your hubs on the Today forum, and have to say, you're putting out very useful information. However, there are a few points about today.com that need to be clarified. Traffic has no effect on your payments, at least not for the first few months. They give you a chance to build traffic, and if you don't meet the minimum payment requirement in one month, with just one blog, it is carried over.
More important, there are other opportunities to make money. You mentioned referrals, but they also pay $2.00 per 1,000 page views, and that accumulates along with your base pay. You don't have to wait for a separate minimum, like on Associated Content. There is also a program, temporarily (I hope) suspended while they work to improve and expand it, where outside requests give you a chance to write articles on demand. I submitted one shortly after signing up with Today, and it was accepted by the buyer. Another $5.00 in my account. I don't mean to criticize, but sometimes, giving out information about a site you just joined means that you don't know all the ins and outs, and some of what you write may be misleading.
sounds cool. i am going to try this one.
sukkran
Hey! Thanks for this post, I actually saw the job posted and signed up yesterday....so sorry I didnt go through you=(
Im confused about the whole backlinking thing.
Anyway, my page is Skills4teaching.today.com
Hope you enjoy!
worth a try.Thanks!!!!
I don't like how they have to approve your second blog. I tried to get one, and sent it in for approval, and now the link hasn't been created for my scecond blog. It is like they are saying "no" to having peole with two blogs! Grrrr.
My second blog was approved quickly. There is a drop down box for you to switch blogs in the control panel.
It's called Scotland.today.com. I figured I'd join the list of geographic blogs at Today :)
I agree whole heartedly that the backlinks are a #1 priority to get ranked.
I should have elaborated a little more I guess in the fact that yes you would be getting roughly the same payout $1 for 100 words at AC, but you can also submit 5 to 10 a day so $25 to $50 per day for doing what you would be doing already.
Please don't think I am discounting or knocking this program as that is not my intention at all.
Would like to say thank you for the link to the additional Hub I will check that one out. I have heard good things about Constant Content.
Have a great day!
Kevin
Even though I have little time to blog this days I could not turn away from the possibility of being harassed by Lissie LOL. I´m counting on you Lissie, don´t let me down :D
@nwunderlich - I had the same experience as UW - I applied for 2nd blog from the main control panel and got instant approval - ie the name was available. Its a little confusing switching between the 2 especially in teh stats panel but it definitly works!
@uninvited - we are getting some great locality hubs: they are dead easy to get ranked for in google - just find a curent headline and do your intrepretation on it!
@Kevin - no problem at all I dont know AC because I stopped reading when they said they didn't pay foreigners! I do know people say they prefer CC - perhaps you should do a hub comparing the 2 :-)
@missG - a backlink hub is on my to do list !
@funride - get you a into g and get those posts out - I'll be over you know! I know where you live!
@nwunderlich - I had the same experience as UW - I applied for 2nd blog from the main control panel and got instant approval - ie the name was available. Its a little confusing switching between the 2 especially in teh stats panel but it definitly works!
@uninvited - we are getting some great locality hubs: they are dead easy to get ranked for in google - just find a curent headline and do your intrepretation on it!
@Kevin - no problem at all I dont know AC because I stopped reading when they said they didn't pay foreigners! I do know people say they prefer CC - perhaps you should do a hub comparing the 2 :-)
@missG - a backlink hub is on my to do list !
@funride - get you a into g and get those posts out - I'll be over you know! I know where you live!
@catana welcome to hubpages! Yes totally fair comment that I am brand new to today! At least I didn't get anything wrong! Re the payments of $1/post - they definitly only guarantee for the first month (I got that confirmed either in the forums or a support call I forget which) - the fact that they are paying out for longer is fantastic and great news - but cannot be relied on going forward because its not in the contract! Therefore I needed to point it out.
The content call stuff I did notice but then it shut again, because they have finished beta testing. I'm sure they will re-open again and yes there is an earning opportunity there - though to be honest I can make better money elsewhere with articles - so again I wanted to evaluae the "get paid to blog" part of the business which is what they advertise as.
The pay per/view again I deliberatly left that off. a) - its a nice bonus when people realise you get it and b) again its not guaranteed and I know when I started blogging (somewhere else) I was lucky if 1/2 person came buy every 2nd day! It takes some skills and experience to get people to view blogs and its not just about the writing skills :-) As you can see from some of the questions - there are quite a number of brand new bloggers here.
Anyway thanks very much for the comments and hope you have a look around hubpages: I actually think hubpages and today complement each other very nicely
Thanks for bringing this site to our attention. I will definately check it out through one of your blogs.
Here we are, Tuesday in my world. Lissie, thanks, as always, for your encouragement and help. I have 2 blogs at TODAY.com. They are cllintroduction and voterspumped. As you and I sorted out via email, these were not good choices for blog names. However, I have been able to do a customized header for each -- replacing those names with what are much more general ones. Today's customer support has not gotten back to me about name switching. So, if I must live with URLs that have these names...not a big problem. Getting credit for all my posts and getting paid: these are more important to me. So, according to my figuring, I have seven posts between the two. Do you need me to write ten for you to collect? Common, sweet lady, pour on the harassment. :)
So, is it legite or not???? I have been trying to find a way to make money at home online for months. Still don't have an idea of what to do. I have bought several "gimics" I think several of us have gone down that road.. I would just like to find a supplemental income that wouldn't so technical. I have been looking At adsense and boy... Am I stupid or is it complicated...
Lost in Ky
@Maren - I have the last week or so posts outstanding - they seem to do the approvals in groups and they have probably been busy getting last month's payments out (for the 10th) so maybe they will start approving the next batch - My very first post on my first blog was approved the same day - but the lday was the last of the month ... You're earn $7 for those posts plus a bonus for page views - click VIP stats on the main page (after you logged in) and then use the drop down at the top to switch between blogs. Remember you have to earn $50 to get paid out - so right 50 posts (no more than 1 day per a blog) by the end of Nov and you will hit the $50 (if my maths is write) and get paid around the 10 Dec
If they have a problem with a post you get a chance to fix it - it hasnt happened to me yet - the main issue Id imagine would be duplicate content
yes I need my referres to get 10 approved posts for me to get my bonus :-) - I don't know if that's between the 2 blogs or not? Must ask that questions!
@dmitch - they are a legit site. Stop spending money to learn. Spend nothing for the first 6 months on the interent trying to make money - you are a sitting duck - only spend on domains & hosting. I wrote a beginners guide here http://hubpages.com/hub/Beginners-Guide-Make-Money - you might not like it though - it takes a lot of effort and yes there is a lot to learn. If you want quick money - get a real world job!
@highfashion - thanks for signing up - now get blogging LOL
Goodness Lissie, you must be setting a record for comments on some of these "make money" Hubs! I was fired with enthusiasm and went and signed up - as you know, I'm not seriously pursuing this stuff, but reckon I could manage a post a day from work. Then I read your article more carefully and realised that I'm not going to earn if I don't get the traffic, so I need to go and think up a second blogging topic that will attract more attention. Oh well never mind. Here's the one I already started:
http://danceworld.today.com/
It's a very good point that they keep the content. HubPages is still my primary "writing" site for that reason - my posts on the Today blog will be short and chatty, stuff I don't care about the copyright for.
You know its been ages since I've done a real "social" blog -I am having a bit of fun with it! Theres a "top 10" list of today blogs which are getting the best traffic - you can see it under the VIP stats link - one of the top ones is just mainly pictures - and not even of naked girls - so I don't get it!
Thanks for the info Lissie - I just used the new "bookmark" feature here at HubPages on your blog - when I'm sure I can blog every day for a month, I plan to come back and sign up.
Its a good feature isn't it that bookmark thingy! You can schedule posts so you don't have to site down and write everyday!
Its a good feature isn't it that bookmark thingy! You can schedule posts so you don't have to site down and write everyday!
Its a good feature isn't it that bookmark thingy! You can schedule posts so you don't have to site down and write everyday!
Lissie, I am going to check it out as it sounds enticing and worth doing . Thank you for the review as I sincerely appreciate it:)
Point worth mentioning - the guaranteed $1 per post for the first month is the first CALENDAR month. So you'd be best to join on the first of the month - not mid-month like me! It means that even if I get all my posts approved on both my today dot com blogs, I won't reach the $50 mark. Bummer.
I've closed down my two Blogger blogs and moved all the content over to Today.com (scheduled at one post a day to the end of Nov). The Blogger blogs were doing nothing so the content was just wasted anyway. I'll be interested to see whether my posts are approved or whether they'll get penalised for duplicate content. None of them have been reviewed yet.
No and yes Marisa from their FAQ "To get you started we guarantee you will earn at least $1.00 per daily post for at least 1 month." - I don't read that as a calendar month - it can't be because my first blog started on 31 Oct. But they do assess the payouts on a monthly basis - so you may not reach $50 in the first month - but they will pay you that guaranteed $1/day but say you start on the 20th - you may have only got to $10 by the end of that month!
Their reviews seem to be very,very behind at the moment - none of mine have been reviewed for over 10 days. I checked a couple of excerts of your posts in google and the only match was your today blog - so you might be OK on the duplicate content - maybe your blogger blog wasn't even indexed!
Lissie - I asked the question on the Today forum and one of the Administrators replied to say it was calendar month not month since joining, so I'm assuming she would know what she's talking about - we'll see!
My blogger blog was indexed (I checked, as you suggested), but I did delete all the entries a few days ago so maybe I've just been lucky and the bots crawled recently! I suppose from that point of view, the longer Today takes to review my posts, the better.
I read your post on Today - Marisa - the reply is its a month from joining join on the 10th - get paid to the 9th of the following month etc.! On blogger go to the settings and turn off the option to make the blog public - that will also drop it from the serps
How are you going with getting your posts approved? I just had my first few posts reviewed and three of them were rejected. One was flagged as duplicate content (it was a rejigged Helium article, obviously not rejigged enough). The other two were rejected because I had a "self-promoting link" to a HubPages article in the post. I didn't realise that wasn't allowed!
The bummer is that they don't give you a chance to fix the problem, as we thought they did - the posts are marked as "closed" not "problem" so I can't edit them.
I thought self promoting was allowed! They have approved several of my posts with links to hubpages and other sites I write for - though they are well-behind about 15 days for both of my blogs. I'll ask in their forums for clarification
Lissie, I don't know what time it is in Australia - are you up?
I also had 2 posts with Hub links get rejected. Today.com won't let me edit them, but they are still up there, links and all, and those posts did bring some traffic to those Hubs.
Today.com does encourage VIP Boggers to post more than once per blog per day, although they will only pay for one post. Perhaps (just as a maybe) the workaround is to make 2 blog posts per day -- the first being non-Hub linked, and the second one, Hub-linked.
Marian, they look at your two blogs separately not as a whole - they haven't approved a single post on my second blog yet. Over the two blogs, I've written 30 posts of which only 2 were Hub-linked yet they were still rejected.
If they're rejected for payment, they still appear on your blog so you still get the benefit of the link.
@Marian - you can in fact post as many times as you want so this is a perfectly valid strategy Yes they certainly won't delete the post they may not pay though: do me a favour and pm me the ones that were denied - I want to see if I can figure the rules!
@Marisa - I still have almost all my posts outstanding so I wil comment further if/when I get them approved!
Hi, Lissie, I think I'm almost ready to sign up. I have two separate blog ideas with enough recyclable material (I think) to get to the first $50 payout. I have a few questions, though...First, could you give us an update on your stats? It's been 5 weeks or so since you started, right? Have you been paid yet (or do you know when to expect the check?)
And did you and Marisa figure out the calendar month versus first 30 days thing for sure? I'm wondering if I should wait until Jan. 1st. I guess technically with two blogs if I start today I can make 50 posts before the end of the month, but with the holidays, I'm not sure I want the daily pressure :-)
And how often would you recommend linking back to hubpages, since it seems to have caused problems for Marisa?
Thanks - see you on today dot com soon!
Very quick update as I am on holidays at the moment :-) I just checked today - every one of my november posts on both australia.today.com and travelover30s.today.com have been approved. Except for one which has been done for duplicate content: I emailed support at today and then said they would rectify it for me.
The important point is that most of my posts have links to hubs and other sites which I benefit from.
I haven't been paid yet - payment is due today US time so it will happen soon as I owned about $60 but as I'm not online much at the moment I probably won't check until next week. The forum is adament that today pays!
Now that my posts have been approved I can confidently say that just linking your anchored text will get approved: saying something like "read a more detailed version here" or "or for further details see here" will get you flagged.
It is the first 30 days from when you sign up the $1 is guaranteed - so join on the 15 Dec guaranteed until 14 Jan (or whatever is 30 days LOL)
They have changed the rules slightly you have to publish regularly on the first blog for a few weeks before you get the option for the 2nd blog.
See you on the other side
Thanks, Lissie - and enjoy your holidays!
Finally - thanks to Lissie - I figured out the blogroll and I think I've added everyone who has linked in the comments - except http://cllintroduction.today.com/ isn't working.
I'm at http://marriageundone.today.com - hope you will return the blogroll favor :-)
Also, sounds like the 2-fer is not going to work - according to the forums, you won't be able to start you second blog until after 30 day/posts (can't remember exactly which it said), so I missed that part of the fast-lane to the first $50 payout with my wait. But I'm still excited to be expanding my online writing experience. My first 8 posts have been approved and earned the buck each.
happy blogging!
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Mary K Weinhagen says:
2 months ago
Great review... piqued my curiosity enough to 'apply'... ;-)
I presume you sign up for a second blog after acceptance of first? Or do I go click the join button again?
Fun! Thanks Lissie!