Showing posts with label freelance travel writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freelance travel writing. Show all posts

Monday, September 7, 2009

Xomba's Traffic Converts

Xomba Profits Increasing

Here's the newest update on my Xomba writing adventures. I've had a couple more weeks to watch the traffic from my featured travel articles trickle in, and in the last few weeks I've also been doing a ton of keyword research and SERPs checking to see how many of my other articles and websites were ranking. Along the way, I found several pieces I've written for Xomba that have managed some pretty respectable rankings, especially considering that I have never really marketed any of my Xomba writings at all or worked on getting them backlinks.

My conclusion is a stronger affirmation of what some of my earlier blog posts have hinted at: Xomba is gaining in authority and this is good for any Xomba writer who wants to make more money writing online. The new professional look of the website is also increasing click through rates, which is always fantastic.

While I can't reveal exact numbers due to needing to stay on the good side of Google's TOS, I can say that every time one of my featured articles is posted, my AdSense jumps for 2-3 days (the average amount of time that my article is one of the top two) and then while my earnings decline a little bit, they're still above average for another 2-3 days (the average amount of time I'm on the front page, period) before falling back into the normal range.

This is very exciting news for me, but it's not only because of luck or being featured. So my friends, take some notes because I'm about to tell you some of my freelance writing secrets that I use in order to keep my earnings higher.

#1: Boring photos not allowed. This should be obvious, but I'm amazed how often a good feature article has a really boring photo. A good photograph is a way to grab a reader's attention and drag them into your words. They can't click on the AdSense if they don't even bother to give you a look.

#2: Writers should have interesting titles for their articles. This is a HUGE reason why I think I experience only a minimal drop in income from being one of the two main featured articles to being listed underneath. "Frozen Outhouses in Fairbanks Alaska" and "Relishing the Sound of Silence in Isolated Alaska" are titles that get a lot of attention. They sound interesting, most people are intrigued by Alaska, and because of that I get a lot of attention.

#3: Write about an AdSense friendly topic. This is huge. If you're writing on topics where your cut is only 15-20 cents (even before splitting 50/50 with Xomba), then you're going to be hard pressed to make any money no matter how much traffic you get. Alaska keywords aren't the end all be all of AdSense, but I know from experience that my cut would be about $0.65-$1.00, so I'm getting at least some good value coming back to me from the ads that are going to be displayed around my travel articles.

#4: Try to write one featured article every week. The reason for this should be obvious. You might only be required to write one every two weeks, but if you write one every week, then the majority of the time one of your featured articles is always going to be on the front page. This keeps the AdSense writing income at a higher level.

Those are my Xomba writing tips for now. I hope you find these helpful. My next post, if all goes well, is going to be heart felt as I have to say that one of my mentors passed away recently, and I'd like to have some type of a tribute to him. Until then, keep on writing, don't give up, and if you haven't even started, SIGN UP FOR XOMBA NOW so you can start working towards your dreams. Each article written is one closer to your end goal.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Xomba's Getting Traffic

Featured Travel Article #2

I'm really digging the new design of the Xomba website, and I noticed a major jump in traffic and AdSense earnings the first couple days my first travel article was on the front page. Although you lose the picture once you're no longer one of the two most recent featured articles, the title still remains as long as yours is one of the most recent six featured articles. The very day that I saw my previous travel writing for Xomba was off the first page, I began my second Xomba featured travel article.

My second featured travel article: Relishing the Sound of Silence in Isolated Alaska, didn't have quite as catchy a title as the first article (I mean really, how do you top frozen outhouses?) but it still did very well, and Xomba will show you the total number of views the article received. Even better for me, I watched my AdSense account and sure enough, having a featured article on page one has been worth several dollars a day more, and has funneled traffic to my other sites, as well.

So once again, if you're looking to write for Xomba, I strongly recommend you look at filling a featured author spot. They're getting enough traffic to make being a featured author very much worth your time.