How UK Writers Can Make Money Writing Articles

Can  you make money online writing articles if you live in Britain? As a UK-based writer, that was a question I asked myself when I first began exploring online income opportunities a couple of years ago. Since that time I've signed up with many different article writing sites and have made money from a few of them, though some more than others.

It's easy to find guides to online writing opportunities but not so easy to find out which ones will pay you as a British writer. And there's nothing worse than signing up for a site, full of enthusiasm, only to discover that you are ineligible for payments. I've put together this guide to send you in the right direction, including only sites and platforms that offer genuine opportunities and will pay UK authors and content creators.

Article copyright ©WordCustard, June 2011

I've been on Squidoo longer than any other site and have seen the most success there so far.

What it is: Squidoo is a content creation site where you write pages (called 'lenses') and receive a share of the site's ad revenue plus can earn from your own affiliate links.

How it works: Squidoo is a great place to start if you are new to writing for the web. You don't need to be a member of any other programme, you simply join Squidoo and they share the ad revenue with you. As you become more experienced, you can begin to use your own affiliate links too. 

The shared ad revenue is divided between writers (lensmasters) according to how well their lenses have performed. It can be difficult for a new writer to break into the top paying tier and takes perseverence and a willingness to learn.

How you receive your pay: You get paid by Squidoo by the 15th of each month, and pay relates to the month before last (e.g. in June you are paid for the performance of your work in April). Squidoo will pay you in US dollars via PayPal. 

Yes, I've written for HubPages too, although have not been prolific over there.

What it is: HubPages is another site that is a lot like Wizzley and Squidoo. It has been around a few years and some UK writers have enjoyed success there. Unfortunately it is suffering right now from the Panda/Farmer algorithm change by Google. While HubPages is down, it is not yet out and is worth considering if you are a Brit looking to make money writing articles online.

How it works: You publish articles and HubPages shares the ad revenue with you based simply on a percentage. Some prefer this to the secret and sometimes controversial payment system used by Squidoo. You have less opportunity for making direct affiliate sales on HubPages, however.

What I do love about HubPages is the contests. I don't know if they still run these but in the past there have been daily cash prizes to be won, with larger weekly prizes. An element of peer judging does mean popular people have a better chance, especially at larger prizes, but it's possible for new writers to win. Prize payments are sent to your PayPal account in US dollars.

How you receive your pay: HubPages income goes direct to your Google AdSense account. Income from any affiliate sales you make goes to those accounts. 

I wrote for BrightHub for a brief period but am no longer active there.

What it is: BrightHub is unlike the above sites in that it has in the past had a tight focus first on Technology and Education, though has recently branched out into other topic areas. BrightHub were hard hit by the Google Panda / Farmer update and made some unpopular decisions in an attempt to recover.

How it works: You have to go through an approval process to write for BrightHub. If you write well and have some knowledge in one of their topic areas, I suspect your chances of being approved are good. You also have more freedom once you are a member to apply to write for other 'channels' than those for which you were approved. You do agree to a rather official contract when you join BrightHub which among other things prevents you from discussing how the site works in too much detail. BrightHub make an upfront payment for your work and will also pay you a small residual each month. You cannot use your own affiliate links.

How you receive your pay: You receive BrightHub income in US dollars via PayPal. You need to have made a minimum of 5$ in a month to receive a pay out. BrightHub used to pay $10 an article. This has recently increased to $15 but they have become much stricter on what they will publish. There are fewer opportunities than before and you must write 750 words as a minimum.