A Writing Contest That Pays Everybody?

I started off on the path of writing contests for the thrill of the chase.  However, the prize money made me wonder how else you can get paid as a writer. I came up with the following list, and it was in my exploration of one of these items that I found this contest that pays its participants, even if they don't win.

Ways To Get Paid as A Writer

• Get a Job in Communications - there's corporate communications, marketing, copy writing, script writing, editing, journalism, and more.
• Be a Freelancer - submit to articles, journals, blogs, and whatever else you find that needs written words.
• Publish (and sell) Books
• Win Contests
• Make a Website - make your own, or join a "content mill" and generate income from visitor traffic.

I'm just starting to learn and explore that last item. The idea is alluring - set up a website and let it sit, and get paid without having to do anything else.  Like many ideas that seem too good to be true, the reality is that there's a lot of work that goes in to generating quality, revenue making traffic.  Nevertheless, I have had fun trying this out.  I've worked on Squidoo, Bubblews, and InfoBarrel.

InfoBarrel is the site that hosts contests.  They hold monthly contests, where they award contestants points for making content, with bonuses for quality and length. However, it's mostly a quantity game.

However, if you choose to play, you will get rewarded.  Each site you publish on InfoBarrel has the ability to earn income through advertisement.  Think of it as if you just set up a billboard on a road by your house. You get a tiny bit of compensation based on the number of people driving by your billboard.  You get more compensation for anyone who buys something based on looking at that specific ad. In the context of the contest, you will get a boost in the portion of the income you earn if you meet certain threshold.

I just did the May Contest, and let me tell you, the pennies have been rolling in. But, at least it's better than nothing!