Examiner: New Payments Program starts soon

CHANGES IN THE WIND

Today,  Examiner sent out a message that changes to the site will impact future earnings.  The word and rumor has been out for a while that the earnings structure will change.   Whether the change will hurt earnings or not  remains to be seen.

Taking a lesson from other writing sites that have done abrupt changes,  Examiner has extended the platform changes for  an additional month.  Examiner is has designed a new dashboard so that writers can preview and adjust actions to accomodate the new pay structure.  

The change most likely to be well accepted is the advertising changes.  Popup ads that interfere with writing and checking  earnings -  should be a thing of the past.  The 'popups' and the 'popunders' are removed from the site to help improve readability for our audience.   Examiner is right... there is loud applause for the removal of popups by this writer.  No longer will subscribers and casual readers be driven from the site by pesky popup ads.

"What doesnt kill you makes you stronger" seems to be the logo for most online writing websites.  ON line the only thing certain is that things will be in a  state of flux.   Taking a word of wisdom from a friend, I am flexing.   It may be rough, but at least Examiner gave one month to adjust to the new pay structure, and threw in the carrot of popup removal.  For those that write locally this means that  local incentive pay will be available for the next 4-5 weeks.

"You’ll hear from us again with a firm launch date and additional details. Still fuzzy on how it’s going to work? Brush up by re-reading our original messaging or head over to the Support Center to check out the Compensation FAQs." - Examiner email quote

How this will impact the newer writers  is anyone's guess.  Of course we all hope this will increase earnings, as the last two changes left writers earning less per view than previously.
Let us know how it works out for you and what you think of the new changes.

Mystery Shopping and Freelance Writing

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Mystery shopping and freelance writing go hand-in-hand quite easily. Most mystery shopping jobs require the shopper to fill out a form, for which good writing skills are crucial, as with writing jobs. Tax write-offs for mystery shopping can lend themselves easily to paying less income tax for the freelance writer. Mystery shopping jobs are paid per job, whereas many online freelance jobs pay residual income, so mystery shopping can supplement freelance writing jobs nicely.

HOW TO START

To begin mystery shopping, a good website to check out to start is volition.com. This site posts an extensive list of legitimate mystery shopping companies to try. Once on the site, click on "Get Paid" then "Get Paid to Shop". Find companies who work nationally or with companies in your area. Currently I am signed up to work with about 20 different companies. These companies send lists of shops to be completed via email, so available jobs show in an email inbox every day.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Mystery shopping jobs have two main components: the shop itself and the form to fill out after the shop is completed. Mystery shops are generally explained very thoroughly, and if one does not understand exactly what is expected, a good scheduler will work with the shopper to ensure the shop gets done correctly. As with freelance writing, good grammar skills are a must when filling out forms online.

TAXES AND THE MYSTERY SHOPPER

For income tax purposes, the mystery shopper is considered an independent agent, the same as a freelance writer. For tax preparation, fees paid for mystery shopping and residual income from freelance writing should be added separately then figured together to find the total money owed minus deductions.

As a mystery shopper/freelance writer, 50% of my time on the computer is used for work, so 50% of the cost of my internet can be deducted, as well as mileage for mystery shops and other miscellaneous items such as printer ink and paper, notebooks, et cetra. Mystery shopping typically has more deductions available for business expenses, and especially miliage, so when added together the mystery shopper/freelance writer would pay less income tax than an individual who either mystery shops or writes freelance.

CASH FLOW AND THE MYSTERY SHOPPER

The final benefit of mystery shopping and freelance writing together is the upfront money. Residual income is nice, but so are upfront fees. Payment for mystery shops typically are in the form of reimbursements for money paid by the shopper to buy required items for the shop and a fee paid to the shopper for work completed satisfactorily. Most mystery shopping companies pay about two months after work has been completed. If mystery shops are done on a regular basis, this can be quite a lucrative cash stream to supplement residual income earned by freelance writing.

Mystery shopping and freelance writing done together can be a very profitable endeavor!

Break Studios & Bright Hub

Hello all, and thank you Darla for giving me this opportunity.

I write for both Break Studios, and Bright Hub. Just wanted to give you a little report of them.

Break Studios: pays $8/article, pay day is on the 1st and 15th of the month. They require APA format, min. word count is 250. Their titles are not as obscure as DS and (I Think) are easier to write. The CE's are friendly, and you can do more than one rewrite if necessary to get it right. The really big downside is that the review time is around 4-6 days. You sell all rights to your content.

Bright Hub: pays $10+rev share/article. Pay is once a month after you hit the $20 min. payout. There is no specific format to use, unless a managing editor (ME) requires one for their channel. Word count min. is 450. Reference requirements are set by the ME. The CE's for each channel are friendly, and you can ask them questions if you receive a rewrite. You also have more than one chance for a rewrite. Their articles can sometimes be difficult to write simply because of the length, but since they pay both upfront and residuals, I think it is worth it to get the best of both worlds. Articles must be original, and you cannot republish once they are on Bright Hub.

Since I prefer upfront pay I find these plus DS the best. For residuals, I prefer Examiner, and Firehow. I don't do DS for rev-share, I prefer the upfront.

                                                                                                       

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About the Author:

Melissa Van Horn is a work from home, homeschool mom. She has spent several years and several thousand dollars searching for the perfect home based business. She has finally found that with Ameriplan®. She has a passion for sharing her experiences with others through Examiner. In addition to running her Ameriplan® business, Melissa has a Barefoot Books business and does freelance writing for several clients.Melissa can be contacted here.

                                                                                                      

Sharing information and tips to increase earnings. Increase your passive, residual income. Make money faster than greased lightening. If you love writing for Examiner, Ehow, Bukisa, Hub, Squidoo, share your stuff here! Guest bloggers welcome!