My Examiner columns have been doing very poorly recently. I'm getting only a fraction of the page views I was getting just a few weeks ago (not counting the "troll attention"). That impacts my motivation to invest the time to write, which may cause a self-destructive feedback loop.
So, I need to ask if I am getting off-track or not touching on subjects that are interesting. Any suggestions (that will keep me within the guidelines Examiner.com) will be considered.
I'm an Examiner writer as well (Cheyenne Green Living Examiner) and have basically given up on the site altogether. I'm a professional writer and, to be honest, the supposed audience and payoff for Examiner.com just doesn't cut the mustard. For amateurs, it's probably OK and for those who are passionate about a specific subject and can't find a well-paying outlet, it's a great place.
ReplyDeleteMy page views were pretty paltry to start with, but went completely down the drain when Examiner.com changed their page structures, putting everything into nice little cubby holes.
Personally, I greatly enjoy your writing, but could care less if it were on Examiner.com or here on Blogger. My suggestion is that you register a domain, get hosting (all will cost you about $20 and then $7-12/month), and go it alone.
You're prolific enough that you could build real page views and AdSense (or similar) income to break even within the first six months and probably outdo your Examiner income within the first year. Plus, you can just reprint your Examiner stuff and not quit doing that until it's become a waste of time.
On top of that, you won't have to make up local news to "stay relevant" for them. :)
Here's a short list of blogs on which I've done this sort of thing:
EVMeme.com
AaronsEnvironmental.com
GreenBigTruck.com
Reprinting on MilitantLibertarian.org, the site is about self-sufficient, but has heavier hosting costs because of its larger load and large number of hack and disruption attempts. Ahh, the price of fame. :) So far, I've been able to get donations to cover the extras, but it's still a labor of love.
--Aaron
"Give me liberty or eat lead!"
Kent,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it was just my setup or not, but for a few days starting late last week, I couldn't reach your Examiner column (or either of Garry Reed's columns).
When I punched the URL in, all that came back was the Examiner page-top banner, with not page content underneath it. That was true in both Firefox and Chrome browsers.
If I was not the only one with that problem, it might account for the drop in page views.
Regards,
Tom Knapp
Kent - fwiw - the only reason I go to Examiner pages is to lend some small bit of support (page views) to a handful of contributors there - yourself, David Codrea, Garry Reed, and J. D. Tucille (who apparently dropped the Examiner gig). Personally - I'd as soon see your writing on your own webpage where as earlier suggested - you might be able to pull some income from it on your own terms.
ReplyDeleteAs to what Tom Knapp mentioned about his page rendering experience: using Firefox w/ no JS or cookies, and on win98 I was getting a banner and a large blank space as he described - but immediately below this was the content. Had to scroll more than 1/2ways down to get to your material.
Kent,
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with what you're writing about. I enjoy your essays very much. It could be an Examiner problem as another commenter mentioned. When I attempted to access your column the other day, I got a page that said, "Sorry, examiner.com is down for maintenance."
Keep up the great work.
Tom