If you're like me, it may seem like your AdSense pennies are not trickling in fast enough. HowToDoThings.com in my experiences is by far the best site for a freelance journalist to gain exposure, and maybe make a few bucks in the process. I know it may take a while to see some monetary progress, so why don't we speed up the process?
Your article may be great, but how will it stay fresh for months or years to come? It won't, unless people continue to talk about it. If you wrote "How To Get Tickets To The 2006 Super Bowl", well that article is probably dead now; but it doesn't have to be. When someone comments on your article it's as if they threw some fertilizer on it and asked you to water it back to life.
At least that's how the search engines will look at it. A single comment has the potential of stirring up an endless debate, which will add content and quality to your article. Here's what you'll need to do to nurse it back to life:
- Respond to comments. Every time you respond to a comment on your article, you are opening the door for a response, and refreshing your article's expiration date.
- Comment on another HTDT member's article. You'd be surprised at the turn-around ratio here. Most HTDT contributors will see your comment and shoot one right back to one of your articles.
- Leave only quality comments. If you're gonna leave a generic comment such as "great article" or "very interesting", you may as well slap the author across his/her face. Take the time to read it (it's only a page) and comment truthfully. If you don't like what they wrote tell them. I'm sure most authors here would welcome the criticism in hope of improving.
Believe me, a simple comment can go a long way. It will only take you a few minutes of time to read an article, and a few taps on the keyboard to leave a comment. You'll never know what you may have gotten in return if you don't try. Good Luck, and God Bless.
Delicious
Digg
Google
Yahoo- Login or register to post comments
Comments
good tips, but I wonder how by leaving comments, the earning will increase, I am not clear..
Leaving comments keeps an article "alive" for the writer. The article can be picked up by search engines if it has been recently commented upon. Kind of like when a post is added to a blog at regular intervals, it ensures it's life doesn't go out.
I would also add that linking other relevant HTDT articles to your own article - as a hyperlink within the body or a Useful Link - also helps keep their articles alive.
Yes Sadaf, I agree totally. A link within an article which points toward another relevant article may be the best way to optimize an article. But keep in mind that keyword; "relevant". If you have a published article "How To Play Basketball" I may be inclined to click on a link within that page for your other article "How To Shoot Free Throws".
However if you put a link in that article for "How To Swing A Baseball Bat", I'm not interested. Also don't get carried away with adding links to your article. What you think is relevant; the editors at HTDT may not. You don't want your article to be rejected because it has irrelevant links, and trust me it will be.
You have made me to know what i didn't know since i joined this site.i will be looking for comments on my articles every time, thanks
I didn't have any idea about this. You're a smart man Dave! I will try to implement this from now on.
Hi Dave, I am lucky enough to see your article at the headstart when I am done with only 1 article.. very well explained, thanks !
Dalton, Ameya and Akhil,
Thanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you've found this article helpful. You may also be interested in tracking each of your articles individually. This will allow you to not only see which topics are interesting to your your readers, but also how many readers are clicking on your adsense ads each day! Now you can customize articles ! It's a piece of cake to do, check out this link for directions: http://www.howtodothings.com/computers-internet/how-to-track-adsense-art...
