Writing Sites Have Become Rare
@DeborahDiane (40292)
Laguna Woods, California
April 27, 2017 5:50pm CST
About 8 or 9 years ago, when I first started writing online, I saw a story about it on our local news and thought it would be a fun way to earn a little extra money.
I was right. I have had a great time over the years and earned thousands of dollars writing online. I also had the opportunity to learn from and get to know many other writers, including several whom I have actually met in person, such as @ElizabethWallace.
Sadly, many of the sites where I used to write have closed down. The list below does not include all the closed sites, but here are the ones I know about:
eHow
Squidoo
Bubblews
WebAnswers
Triond
SheToldMe
Flixya
Xomba
Snipsly
Post-Ur-Own
Bukisa
Zujava
InfoPirate
Seeky
Helium
Associated Content
Examiner
AllVoices
Wikinut
I earned money from most of the above sites at one time or another. The first time I heard of @DaddyEvil and @PrettyEvil was through WebAnswers. The three of us were among the top 50 people on that site at one time. At the time the site closed, I had answered over 6000 questions!
Until Squidoo closed, I was doing pretty well with my articles there, too.
Recently, the writers on InfoBarrel have sounded the alarm that InfoBarrel is also having problems. It has become difficult, if not impossible, to edit old articles or add Amazon modules, which is the primary way to make money there. This is often the first sign that a site will be closing soon.
Hubpages is still open and doing OK, but writers constantly have to edit their articles and my income on that site has dropped dramatically, too. Today, I removed several articles which were no longer worth maintaining.
It is sad to see how the world of online writing has collapsed in less than a decade.
Have you ever written on any sites other than MyLot? What was your experience? Are there other sites I should add to my obituary of closed sites?
20 people like this
20 responses
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Apr 17
I remember Zomba and Bukisa. There were also Helium and Associated Content which became Yahoo Voices.
6 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@JohnRoberts - I forgot about Helium and Associated Content. I just added them to my list, too. It is sad to see it growing so long.
4 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@carebear29 - I never wrote for them, but I know a lot of people who liked Helium. I just added it to the list.
4 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
28 Apr 17
Earning from those sites for years had many of us convinced we would always be able to work online for an income that made some sense.
Who wouldn't love to see some sites like Bubblews and Examiner again?
6 people like this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
29 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane We are waiting for something wonderful to appear! Nah. Time to move on.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@PatZAnthony - I just added Examiner to the list, too. I forgot about them, and I had several friends who wrote for them. I was considering applying to Examiner when they fell apart. I agree that the writing sites on my list had many of us convinced we would eventually be able to make a living by writing online. It is disappointing to see what has happened.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (471497)
• Switzerland
29 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane I was highly deceived by Hubpages, I have never liked that site.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
30 Apr 17
@LadyDuck - I feel the same way. It is such an irritating site. Who wants to constantly have to re-write old articles?
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@LadyDuck - I liked Squidoo, too. I was doing very well there, also. Sadly, Hubpages ruined the articles. The income from them dropped off quickly after they took over.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 May 17
@DianneN - Actually, I'm OK. I have my blog and my books, so I'm as busy as I want to be with my writing. I learned so much from the other online writers, that it makes me sad to see the sites close.
The same publishing house which will produce Elizabeth Wallace's book has also requested one from me. I have completed the writing; they are doing the editing, design work and promotion ... at their cost. We're both excited about our books, which should be out later this year. I'll write a post about them, when they are available. Elizabeth's book will be out about three or four months before mine.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
3 May 17
@DeborahDiane Super news and many congratulations!!!!!!!
1 person likes this
@divalounger (6117)
• United States
28 Apr 17
I like the interaction here--I keep hearing that Hubpages and Infobarrel are going to merge at some point
4 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@JudyEv - I thought I remembered that you were on InfoBarrel when I first got to know you. However, I learned much more about you when you were writing on Bubblews and MyLot. It has been years since I added any new articles on InfoBarrel. I used to really enjoy it, and I learned so much from the writers on the forum. I would not be where I am today if it had not been for the writers, there.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (339930)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Apr 17
@divalounger I hadn't heard that but as I said I rarely go there now. Certainly there wasn't much interaction.
2 people like this
@danielasilva (176)
•
28 Apr 17
Interesting ... Of the ones you mentioned, which ones are still working?
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@danielasilva - On the list above, NONE of them continue to operate and pay writers. A couple of them may still have articles online, but the writers are not getting paid. InfoBarrel and Hubpages still exist. Writers have been having a lot of trouble with InfoBarrel and Hubpages is very time-consuming because you have to keep editing your articles. It is frustrating.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@tallawah - Yes, my experience has been that Hubpages is way too much work for the money.
1 person likes this
@divalounger (6117)
• United States
28 Apr 17
I am on hubpages and that is one of the places I post poetry--I was on bubblews and persona paper for a while--it seems as though these sites often have a poorly thought out business plan--where are all us online writers going to go?
2 people like this
@divalounger (6117)
• United States
28 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane Hubpages has been good to me, and they have been around a long time--the days of making lots of money are gone there, but I know several people there that make 200-400 a month--
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@divalounger - I have often wondered the same thing ... where are the writers going to go? I agree about the poor business plans. I think part of the problem is that some of the big companies, like Time, Huffington Post, US News, and others, are now posting their articles online, so there is less of a market for freelance writers who are sharing their knowledge and experience. If you write poetry, Hubpages is as good a site as any to publish it.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@divalounger - I would be thrilled if I made even $100 a month from them. Right now, with over 200 articles on the sites, I rarely make over $3 a month.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
28 Apr 17
sometimes when i look up food online, then scroll down to the comments, the format of the site looks like hubpages, but i see 'delishably' at the top, not hubpages. i guess it's one of their niches?
2 people like this
@divalounger (6117)
• United States
28 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane "Delishably" is one of the niche sites--
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@hereandthere - I know that Hubpages has some niche sites, but I have not explored them. You could be right.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@divalounger - Since I don't cook much, I haven't really checked out Delishably. I'll have to keep an eye out for their other niche sites, though. I don't know what they have.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@jstory07 - Yes, it is sad when these sites go under. Very disappointing.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25805)
• United States
28 Apr 17
I started on Bubblews when my class challenged me to try it out after seeing an article on Channel One, the in class news service. From there I migrated to Persona Paper, which is still open, but not paying. Now I am here on myLot and loving it.
I also wrote for a while on HubPages but the time involved to maintain old articles and prepare new ones, for relatively little return or interaction has kept me away for a while.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@DWDavis - Bubblews was great, while it lasted. So were some of the other sites, but they all faded away. Too bad Persona Paper no longer pays. I agree about HubPages. The site is a lot of work for very little pay. Frustrating.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@jaboUK - It seems as if all the writing sites are pretty much either non-paying or they pay poorly these days. It is pretty sad. I'm glad you are on a poetry site, though. You will get a lot of encouragement for your work, there.
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (50249)
• United States
1 May 17
Bubblews was my first and we both know how that site ended
3 people like this
@HazySue (39268)
• Gouverneur, New York
1 May 17
I used to make money on some of the sites that are now closed. Squidoo was one of my favorites - I was so sorry to see t close. I am still on HubPages but like you my earning has gone down and the constant rewriting is starting to make me crazy.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 May 17
@HazySue - I have tried to maintain at least some of my Hubpages articles, but I'm starting to give up on others. Any article which mentions products seems to be unsalvageable, so I am not going to keep updating them. Squidoo was so much easier. I'm sad to see that so many sites have closed the past few years.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 May 17
@HazySue - I agree. I really liked Squidoo and made good money there. However, keeping up the same articles on Hubpages is frustrating.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39268)
• Gouverneur, New York
2 May 17
@DeborahDiane I found that I liked writing on Squidoo. It seemed easier. I have tried to maintain on hubpages also but it has become counterproductive.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180671)
• United States
28 Apr 17
Postloop although a forum posting site has closed too. Some of the sites that are left, are pale ghosts of themselves.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Apr 17
@snowy22315 - You are so right that the sites which are left are barely in existence these days. As you said, they are pale ghosts of themselves.
1 person likes this
@carebear29 (31963)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
28 Apr 17
i miss bubblews but thankful for this site
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
28 Apr 17
@carebear29 - I miss several of the sites on that list, including Bubblews. I am also thankful for MyLot. Many of us would have disappeared, never to know each other again, if it weren't for MyLot.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 Jun 17
@dianadee - It is almost shocking how many sites have disappeared during the past couple of years. I hope this one sticks around, too!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
2 Jun 17
@dianadee - I agree that it is very demoralizing to write a lot of articles for a site and "poof" the site closes down. 
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26680)
• Singapore
8 May 17
I was with Associated Content which became Yahoo Contributor Network/ Yahoo Voices later.
Being non US based, I did not get paid but enjoyed my stint of few years there.
Then Yahoo closed it.
I was also with Bukisa for a while and still with Wikinut though not active through posting new articles.
Despite promising life time payment, they went back on their promise and that was a dampener with many either quitting or becoming inactive.
I feel myLot is alright and hope it is there to stay - siva
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
8 May 17
I hope that MyLot is hear to stay, too. I get tired of sites which say they are here to stay ... and then they close or sell themselves.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26680)
• Singapore
8 May 17
@DeborahDiane I heard Associated Content was sold to Yahoo for $100 million and for a total posts of 2 million that worked out to $50 per post.
Looks like those heady days are well over - siva
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Dec 17
@Hannihar - I like MyLot, too!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 Dec 17
Yes, I hope MyLot stays around. However, we never know. I was surprised at some of the sites which closed down.
@Hannihar (130218)
• Israel
29 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane
I will hope and pray that it stays then because I like it Deborah-Diane.
1 person likes this
@porwest (90823)
• United States
22 Apr 18
It IS sad. But it is a combination of things which has lead to the failure of these sites. I mean, not to discount ANYTHING a person writes about, but "what I had for dinner" posts are never going to pay the bills for sites like this, and with the large number of people out there claiming to be writers these days, there has always been a strong lack of real content that is of interest to drive in the most important traffic, which happens to be organic traffic. That's the traffic that pays the bills. But there is also the fact that many of these sites did not manage them well. A lot of them promised way more money than they could actually pay. And of course the writing wound up on the wall. Whether a site like MyLot gets it right is anyone's guess. I hope that they do. But I still think there needs to be enough good content to offset the bad content. I am as guilty as anyone of taking the low road and writing a mundane post so long as I know in the short term I will get paid regardless of the quality of the content. But it is what it is at the end of the day.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40292)
• Laguna Woods, California
23 Apr 18
@porwest - You make excellent points about the online writing world. I think, in addition to what you mentioned, when sites such as Time Magazine, US News, AARP, Reader's Digest and others started posting their articles online a few weeks after they are published, then people gravitated to those articles on virtually any topic, rather than articles that are primarily the opinion of non-experts on sites like InfoBarrel and Hubpages. At one time, we provided the majority of content on the Web. Now, we have been pushed aside by the big sites.
1 person likes this
@porwest (90823)
• United States
23 Apr 18
@DeborahDiane Such always happens to be the case. The little guy gets squeezed out by the big guy. The only thing we can do is try to carve out a niche if we can.
1 person likes this
@porwest (90823)
• United States
24 Apr 18
@DeborahDiane Mostly just common sense conservative politics. It seems to have a well received following.
1 person likes this
