Suite101, More than Revenue Share

[ad#Google Adsense]Billing itself as a resource for readers hungry for introductory information on every topic under the sun, from business to chemistry to the Kabbalah, Suite101 pays freelance writers to publish content. As a passive income source, Suite is a staple in the portfolio of many serious online freelancers.

How Does Suite101 Work?

It’s fairly simple. Writers publish articles on their topics of choice. Once published, the section editors peruse the articles to ensure that they meet Suite’s quality standards. Articles not making the cut are flagged for edits or disabled.

Unlike sites like Bukisa or Associated Content that work on page views, success on Suite101 relies heavily on AdSense conversion. The more a writer’s content performs, the more he gets paid.

Why Do Freelancers Write for Suite101?

Suite101 offers skilled writers a unique opportunity to publish quality content and earn cash within a supportive and professional community. Because the editorial standards are high, many writers feel that working with Suite rubs off on their reputations.

Other writers also use Suite to strengthen their credentials. Like some other websites, Suite has a couple of tiers for their writers, “Contributing Writers” and “Feature Writers.” FWs on Suite enjoy a higher revenue share contribution, site credentials, a blog on the site and priority placement of their articles.

Also, many freelance writers make decent pay with Suite despite its revenue share model. The key here, as with any website offering residuals for pay, is quantity. The more articles you have on the site, the higher the page views, the higher the probability that someone will click on an AdSense advertisement while reading your articles.

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What’s the Downside?

Revenue share does not pay in the short-term. If you’re looking to make a check quickly or if you’re less than adept at SEO, you won’t be happy writing for the site.

Also, one of the most common complaints of the site is the contract which requires writers to give Suite first-time electronic rights for one year following publication and obligates Contributing Writers to publish at least 10 articles with the site every 3 months in order to remain active.

Another not-so-pleasant part of writing with Suite101 is the amount of time that it takes to craft an article to publish on the site. Because it’s based on a revenue share model, the cost-benefit ratio of the time investment to the financial return does not always seem to make sense. Between the very strict editorial guidelines, finding the obligatory photo and working within their format, it takes much longer to write a Suite article than it does to write an article for Bukisa or AC.

What Do I Think of Suite101?

I’m fairly new to Suite and to passive income opportunities in general, but with what I’ve seen, I plan continue to write for the site for at least the next 3-6 months to see how it develops.

The negative side of what I’ve experienced with Suite so far:

• Sometimes I find myself frustrated with the editorial guidelines.
• I don’t particularly like the idea of not having the right to redistribute the content.
• I hate not having the power to remove content that I’ve added to Suite101
  At times, I question the return on investment for the amount of effort.

The positive side of my experience with Suite so far:

• My articles are getting great traffic with many of them showing up in the first 5 results on Google searches for a variety of keyword combinations
• My earnings are still small but building faster than they are most other revenue share sites that I write on, second only to eHow.
• The support from the editorial staff and other Suite writers has been phenomenal!

Going forward, putting the editorial support to my advantage, I plan to utilize Suite101 more to house a portfolio of pieces more relevant to my career than to rely on for passive income. As one of the few sites where I publish content under my real name, Suite offers the kind of reputation that I can use to build my professional name.

I’ll keep you posted on my experience with Suite101 as it unfolds. In the meantime, if you work with Suite, I’d love to hear about your experiences by way of the comment box!

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Tags: Revenue Share, Suite101