How sweet is Suite101.com and does the site make sense as part of a residual income plan? The evidence suggests that, for a skilled writer, it can make some good sense.
Suite101 has been around since 1996 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. It has a generally very good reputation among writers. The site has evolved into a type of virtual magazine, with articles that are nice to browse through. Traffic is said to be, not surprisingly, mostly from Google searches.
Suite101 pays based on a secret formula mostly tied to Adsense earnings. Suite101 is more open about the formula than eHow/Demand Studios is but not as clear as Infobarrel’s unambiguous minimum 75% of Adsense earnings. Suite 101 writers can increase their daily earnings by 10% for reaching 50 articles and another 10% for reaching 100 articles. Payment is by Paypal only.
A small matter is that the site also makes some money off banner ads that is not shared with writers. At least they are clear on this and say that if this revenue goes up they can share more Adsense revenue with writers.
Positives:
• High standards and a stepped review process for acceptance. This keeps the number of competing articles and writers down and makes the site more creditable to viewers.
• Encourages writers to submit regularly by requiring 10 articles a quarter to continue as an approved writer (requirement now reportedly dropped)
• If a writer stops writing for the Suite101 they still get paid on their article library forever.
• Copyright remains with the Author. It is not ok to publish the article elsewhere online for a year (exclusive digital rights) but you can license the article for print use anytime.
• Clear FAQs cover most questions
• There is a tool to show what articles are getting views and where the views are coming from. This should help with optimizing articles and getting targeted links.
• Any writer in the world eligible for a Paypal account can work with Suite101.
• Ability to link Suite101 profile (only) to blog or other content.
Negatives:
• No referral program. Therefore there is no way to benefit financially by driving traffic or writers to the Suite101.
Writing sites like Infobarrel and Constant Content do give a small residual for helping recruit writers, which fits well into the quest for passive income.
• You must use your real name as your byline, not a pen name, initials, or pseudonym. Suite101 says this policy encourages transparency , legal and ethical responsibility in the writers and adds a degree of authenticity and credibility to Suite101 as a whole. The downside is that writers who use a pen name elsewhere can’t build on the pen name with Suite101.
• Suite101 prohibits linking articles to the writer’s blog, revenue sharing articles, websites or the use of affiliate links. This reduces the value of the article to a writer looking for blog traffic and the multiple streams of passive income that are possible on sites like Infobarrel that provide appropriate alternative earning opportunities.
My Verdict?
Suite101 has a place in the content writer’s business model. It looks like a good place to put well written SEO articles with high value key words. The site has demonstrated staying power and loyal writers, so it should be a good home for evergreen articles.
I want to disclose that I do not write for Suite101, and that this review is based on reading other writer’s experiences, reviewing an interview with Suite101‘s Editor in Chief, the wikipedia article on Suite 101, comments here, and reading all available Suite101.com pages about the company.
Do you write for Suite101? I’d love to hear your feedback on the site in the comments,
JadeDragon
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I got accepted to write there, and I’m still not sure whether I want to agree. The revenue earning potential sounds questionable, but I basically either want to write for AssociatedContent or Suite101. I keep hearing that AC is the way to go.
I’m an indecisive person anyway, so I suppose I will do a little bit more research.
I write for Suite101 and I’ve been there for a little over 2 years. My minimum commitment takes about 4 hours a month and for that I earn between $600 and $1200. Some of my articles are seasonal in nature, hence the fluctuation. Suite101 does an excellent job of teaching web writers how to use SEO. Since writing for Suite, I have created several niche blogs of my own and now my passive income supports my entire family of 8. Suite101 has played a HUGE part in the success of my niche blogging and web writing career.
Wow thank-you for sharing Lisa. This is the kind of feedback our readers are looking for.
I started writing for Suite in late October. I earned about $29 my first month, $67 the next, $80 or so for the next two months, $118 last month, and I’m on track to break $200 this month.
I think Suite works well for writers who are willing to *learn* about SEO and who don’t think they already know it all when they join Suite. You also need to understand the concept of income multipliers. For instance, many new writers complain that they “only” have $5 or $8 after 11 or 12 articles and a month on Suite. What they don’t understand is that if every day you earn $.03 per article, that’s nearly $12 per article per year. Do the math and keep writing, and someone with 500 articles can make $500/month.
3 weeks into writing at Suite I had earned $11.44. I now make more than that in 2 days. It’s all about quantity AND SEO quality AND CRO AND content quality – no one will stay on an article that isn’t written well.
Thanks for your detailed feedback MB. This page gets significant organic traffic from people looking for information on Suite101 (more than I would have ever guessed) so feedback directly from Suite101 writers is very much appreciated.
Hi – MB again. I thought I’d mention the power of residual income and how adding more (and better) content = more money. I finished March at $250 or so on Suite, and just finished April with $650 or so. It’s a GREAT site if you follow the Learning Hub instructions, read the forums and absorb what the “heavy hitters” are doing, and are willing to adapt.
Congratulations that is some awesome passive income growth.
I also write for Suite101, but I don’t earn as much as the other posters here.
@MB: how were you able to lift your income on Suite101 to that level? Did you write a lot of articles or did you concentrate fully on SEO?
Two things in this review are no longer true. As of this month, Suite has lifted the quota for regular contributors and there is no longer a minimum number of articles per month. (For the hard-to-get Feature Writer positions, there is still a quota of I think one article per week.) Also, Suite has started sharing other income streams with writers, including the one obtained from banner ads.
The bad news is that Suite is in the middle of a major tech upgrade and has had four major technical problems in nine days. One resulted in almost no page views for most contributors I heard from, for an entire day. Another problem, which seems to arise at Google, is currently resulting in new articles not being indexed.
I started writing for Suite only eight days ago and have posted five articles, with an income of $0.03 so far. I’ve temporarily stopped publishing articles there until the system upgrade is finished and the major technical issues stop happening.
Thanks for the update on Suite 101 Michael. Good luck on the site and your quest for passive income.
There is no doubt that Suite101 is a great website for people who want to make passive income. You will get accepted to write content for them if you are a brilliant writer.
I just got approved to write for Suite 101 and plan to get started soon. Thanks for the great article.
.-= Paula Owner of Diabetic Dog´s last blog ..Vetsulin Critical Need Program =-.
Congratulations on getting accepted at Suite 101 and may you earn a lot o passive income there. Check Michael Smoker’s comments on how the site has changed since I wrote this post.
The Suite101 policies have changed a bit. For example you no longer need to write 10 articles every three months to maintain your position and first person reporting is allowed.
For me it regularly generates pretty decent page views and revenue to match. It is also open to international citizens unlike AC.
Anish Dasgupta´s last [type] ..Literary Sources of Ancient and Medieval Indian History
I appreciate Suite 101 for being open to non-Americans. I guess the Canadian base and European ownership drive the international flavor of the organization.
If you don’t get accepted, are you allowed to apply again?
Not sure about that – maybe contact Suite 101 support or just submit another writing sample and see where it goes.
I took a break from Suite between the tail end of August and the second week of November. In that time I earned substantially less than $1 on four active articles. Since then I’m up to 11 articles and my income has increased by a factor of nine. The technical issues seem to be resolved, and it’s a great site to write for now.
Glad to see Suite 101 is starting to pay off for you.
Alright, I was accepted to Suite101 a couple of months ago and submitted the three articles as sort of a “test” to feel the waters and see if it was right for me. Now I will make no claims on residual income as I have only submitted ten articles and my account is at $.09 at the moment, but I have noticed that the amount went up much quicker once I added more articles. Now I’m off to research what the heavy hitters are writing about to see if it helps me out along with adding more articles to my library. The comments on here are encouraging and definitely reinforce what my thinking was about writing for them. Thanks for the tips and the experience stories!
Keywords – learn about keywords. Do enough research that you can write a good article on keywords and than implement your learnings. Your income will start to take off.
Hi,
I’m a college student with more time on my hands than one would expect a college student to have, and as everyone knows, WE ARE POOR. I just applied to Suite 101 last night to write about things I know best, College. I know the money won’t be great for at least the first 6 months, but this time next year, if all goes well like it has for some of these writers, maybe I can be making $50 a month, which for me, is a gold mine. I’ve been doing a lot of research and I was trying to decide between Examiner and Suite101. So far, Suite 101 seemed the most credible, and it gets a lot more Google traffic on its articles than Examiner.
Thanks for the information and good luck everyone!
Write like crazy to build up a portfolio and you can get that $50 a month in no time. You might also try Constant Content (ref) for some more immediate earnings. Good luck :)
I’ve been considering applying for a writing position with suite. I’m a budding journalist looking for some extra income and exposure. After reading the reviews, I’m not sure if it would be worth it, though. Maybe I don’t understand the income system, but it sounds like nobody is really making enough for the work they’re putting in. I get regular freelance income from different magazines that I write for, and I’m just concerned that suit isn’t honoring how much writers actually need to be paid. Am I way off the mark?
Suite and other residual income sites pay based on the advertising revenue that the article generates. You own the article, they host it, you and they share the revenue.
If you sell an article to a magazine they pay you and that’s it. The magazine takes the risk they can’t sell enough ads to justify their investment in your article. With a residual income site you share the risk (your time investment) and the site risks their work (money spent on site). You will earn on the article over time.
A lot of what this site is about is earning passive or residual income. Take a look around and consider how you can secure your future with your own passive income writing program.
hi Mel, I am a budding freelance writer, currently writing content for a wedding magazine and website. I am trying to find other freelance opportunities. I see that you are a freelance writer for a few magazines. Would you be able to give me some advice or point me in the right direction of how to look for freelance opportunities with credible magazines? Thank you!
Hi,
I was informed yesterday of Suite, and would love to try it out. My only problem is I’ve been a fiction writer for years, never an article writer. At this point, however, it’s obvious I need to participate in something like Suite to jumpstart my writing future.
Where are the best places to learn how to write articles for sites like Suite? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Meghan
Check out the deal offered here http://www.innovativepassiveincome.com/celeste-stewart/ It is a workbook/mini-course on web writing that I really recommend. By time you finish the workbook exercises you’ll have a few articles that you can sell on Constant Content or post for revenue share. Good luck as you venture forth into web writing for profit Meghan.
Thank you! Your help is greatly appreciated.
-Meghan
I just applied and have yet to see if i have been accepted. Im 18 and i will be a freshman in college next year. I’m not sure if they will accept me, but i did make sure to mention that i received a 4 on the AP composition exam, i have 10+ A college credits for writing classes, and i have received A’s in my English (and almost all other classes) since Middle School. I am enrolled in AP Literature and was in AP Composition last year. I submitted my six-page senior research paper (A+) and a short one-page scholarship essay. Between the two, i hope they expose my writing skill and style.
Michael
I’m a fiction writer/cartoonist who’s been full-time freelancing for less than a year to supplement my art. And I identify with Meghan. There are growing pains when you produce articles and content, after a lifetime of fiction.
Been with Suite only a few days, AC and Examiner a few months. My other obligations have kept me from writing on these sites a lot. And it shows: less than $10 for about 25 articles. I see that more time is necessary to begin making passive income from them.
One tip that I didn’t make up: find Facebook pages that relate to your article topic. When you see one that looks interesting, ‘like’ it, post your link, and participate with the other members over time. I’m new at it, but there’s potential for connections.
My goal (as of five days ago) is to spend three months to see how much quality content I can churn out. No repurposing. Will try to report back around Thanksgiving.
Sounds like an excellent plan. Best of luck :)