Tips and Tricks After 350 Pages on Wizzley

Since the beginning of time (well, last January, but it does feel like a long time ago), fellow Wizzley author Sam has been telling me to write a book. 

She's not alone.  There's a bit of a queue for that, but all of the others are pointing at fan fiction. I kept telling her that I'd think about it.  I did think about it, but not with any actual ideas behind it. Then I finally had one.

Has no-one thought it suspicious that I suddenly appeared fixated on a very narrow moment in Jacobean history?

There are those who would consider it a general interest in history; and they'd be right.  There are others who might note that it all started around Bonfire Night, so was quite topical.  They'd be right, as would the people observing that between Anonymous and the popularity of V for Vendetta, that particular history is always topical.

But there's another word for a close examination of everything to do with a specific thing.  It's called research.

I've had my idea for my eBook.  Sam can stop nagging me.  I've even asked around those looking for less formal fan fiction.  The feedback went along the lines of, 'I would read the &%$& out of that!!'  So yes, I'm writing it.

In the meantime, my research notes are all articles on Wizzley.  I hope that you're enjoying them!

This is the bit which everyone (new and prospective writers especially) is really interested in.  It's not my 1337 gaming tips.

It's taken me eleven months to get into triple figures in a month here.  The veterans did it much sooner.

Bear in mind that I'm new to writing online overall; and I'm doing it without Google Adsense, which is apparently the internet's cash cow. 

Anyone who's read all of the previous Tips and Tricks will have followed my progress with money-making. From the earliest days of rebellion against 'sales' articles, to learning how to love them, it's been an exercise in working it all out.

The buzz has always been that 'sales' articles do better financially than 'information' articles.  I didn't want to!  Back in the Tips and Tricks for 100 pages, I even resorted to singing West Side Story songs in protest.  The experienced writers maintained that it was the way forward.

Well, I've been there now.  I have data.  I know much better what is going to work for me.  ('It isn't true, not for me! It's true for you, not for me!'  Sorry, West Side Story attacked again...)

As you can probably tell by all of the Halloween and Christmas Wizzles, I've discovered that 'sales' articles can be quite lucrative.  They were all right.  Every single person who kindly repeated the mantra to me when I was young and foolish. 

Up to a point.

Did I sell a lot of Halloween costumes?  Yes, I did.  Not enough to buy a tropical island to retire upon, but there was a smile on my face as I checked Amazon. But they are not where the bulk of my earnings have come from.

The top two articles in my 'module clicks' tabs are both 'information' ones.  The most consistently lucrative Wizzle, in actual sales, is most definitely an 'information' one.  (I really didn't expect to sell a thing off it!  And it's been steady for three months now.)  The biggest single sale that I had from any article at all was an 'information' one. 

Maybe I'm an anomaly, I don't know.  My experiences have definitely been swimming against the tide of the perceived wisdom passed down by our wise, tribal elders.  Please note that I'm not saying that my 'sales' articles have yielded nothing, they have; but my 'information' articles have monetized much better so far.

Obviously this is an unfolding story, so watch this space.

• Wizzley doesn't add the price by default.  I'm experimenting with removing the title too.  You can have that in your module title, which looks much neater.  But by removing all information from the module, you're also encouraging people to click on Amazon, Zazzle or wherever.  Otherwise they only have a picture and your waffle to go on.  Surely that's the name of the game here?
• Don't just repeat everything that you've read on Amazon, Zazzle etc, then rehash it into an article.  It's boring and you're contributing nothing new to the wealth of knowledge.  Why should a reader come to you for recommendations?  They could just cut out the middle person and search those sites for themselves.   Be original, so that you earn your commission.
• The bigger the picture, the more enticing it looks.  If the British government think that they can stop cigarette sales by hiding them behind counter shutters, then there's obviously something in seeing = buying.  Extrapolate the marketing information and think big on your product images.  On the other hand, we're all still buying cigarettes...
• Watch your keywords and phrases, as gathered in the stats page for each article.  They will tell you what people are actually searching to find your Wizzle.  This is good for both 'sales' and 'information' articles, because each keyword or term is a potential title for another Wizzle.

Back in the summer, I needed motivation.  The prevailing wisdom was that the more you write, the better your chances of making it as an online writer.

Part of that is simply common sense.  Getting your name out there means that more people recognize it.  That's one way to attract readers to keep returning.  The regularity of articles may mean that you become a fixture in someone's daily routine.

One of my proudest moments was when a work colleague admitted that she's bookmarked Wizzley. On her commute each morning, she checks the news, then pops here to see what I and the others have come to tell her about today.  It passes the time until she reaches her bus-stop. 

I also recall reading Problogger Darren Rowse's views on keeping on writing. He said that each article is a chance to find a reader.  Each sales module is one more opportunity for that reader to buy a product.  To my mind, it's like ensuring that you win the lottery by buying as many lottery tickets as you can afford.  Only here, you pay in time and determination; and it's a little more guaranteed than the luck of the draw.

None of which helps, when you're back in front of a computer in the middle of summer, taking great leaps of faith that one more article is worth it.

I'm a gamer.  What can I say?  I need levels to attain and boss monsters to pwn. Veteran writers might waffle on about buying opportunities, quality, quantity and SEO, but when I think gold coins, I usually have to be pressing 'B' and knocking a wall down to ping them.

I set myself the challenge of writing 366 articles in one year. It probably owed more to Mario than Darren Rowse, but I'll deny that if you meet me in a professional capacity.

Two friends did the mathematics.  They told me straight what this would entail.  It was impossible, because I'd already messed it up by only writing 20, 19 and 18 articles in April, May and June respectively.  Ok, so not impossible, but it would involve having no life and screeching head first into burn out; plus risking learning how to hate writing.

I took it all on board.  Well, I didn't take any of it on board at all.  Except the word 'impossible', which a wise woman once told me should be believed in multiple figures before breakfast each day. 

Always better at taking advice from Alice than mathematicians, I began writing, and writing, and writing.  You can see the results on the screenshot from my Excel spreadsheet there. Only sixteen left until 366! (And twelve days to go.)

So why am I telling you all of this?  Partially because these Tips and Tricks have always been a journal too; plus the bragging rights.

But mostly because I've just written fifty-six Wizzley articles in a single month.  I've demonstrated that it can be done.  Judging by the likes, comments and other indicators, they weren't shabby either.  I tried hard to maintain the quality all along.

Those beginning their journey on Wizzley often quail under how long it takes to write an article here.  There's making it look pretty, placing modules, conjuring headers and finding images, above and beyond the actual writing. 

Fifty is the magic number.  After fifty articles, your percentage cut of the profits goes up.  In short, I'm mentioning it as it sends out a signal that you potentially could hit that major milestone in less than a month of registering at Wizzley.

Good luck!

People think that us gaming types don't pick up any transferable skills from all of those hours spent pwning pixels.  They're wrong. 

In a MMORPG that I've devoted many hours to, there's a distraction and diversion called Achievement Diaries.  Each area has an attendant list of tasks or accomplishments.  Complete them all and you get bonuses, plus an item to wear.  There will be some reward in donning it.

Here on Wizzley, we can have Achievement Diaries too.  The bonuses are implicit.  Unfortunately, we don't get the special item of clothing, unless we can persuade Ragtimelil to work out how to create one.  It's not beyond the realms of possibility.  We talked her into felting a Runescape Canifis hat!

Noob Tasks

• Write five Wizzley articles.  Your reward is that your Wizzles will hereon be automatically set to 'follow'.  No moderator will look at it before Google, Bing and all of the rest do.  You're certifiably a professional Wizzley author!
• Get an Editor's Choice Award.  Your reward is zOMG! You have an Editor's Choice Award!  That article has the 'wow' factor, as determined by a member of the Wizzley team. It will gain much more publicity, as it will spend a long time on the front page of the whole site. 
• Attract over 50 readers every day for a week.  This is all of your articles combined.  Your reward is that people are reading your articles. 
• Make a sale on Amazon.  It can take anything from days to months for this to happen.  It's cheating if you get your Mum to buy something.  Your reward is the commission.
• Make a sale on Zazzle.  See above.
• Make a sale on Vigilink.  See above, this includes anything sold in an eBay module, as that's monetized through Vigilink.
• Make a sale on All Posters.  See above.  And if you're anything like me, this is the one that you're going to really struggle to cross off your Noob Tasklist!

Intermediate Tasks

• Write fifty Wizzley articles.  Your reward is that your monetization percentage will go from 50/50 to 55/45 in your favor!  The team behind Wizzley will cry, but you'll be quids in.  Bread on the table, that's what we're aiming for here.
• Get a second Editor's Choice Award.  Your reward is zOMG! You have TWO Editor's Choice Awards!  This has all of the bonuses of the first one, but in addition, it's moved you one step closer to the elite three ECAs.  That's just boosted your position in the Wizzley author boards.
• Attract over 100 readers every day for a week.  This is all of your articles combined.  Your reward is that more people are reading your articles.  It's all building from here!
• Make regular sales on Amazon.  It can take anything from months (maybe years) for this to happen.  But it's the biggest indicator yet that everything is working as it should.  Plus it's a much shorter leap from here to making a proper livelihood, than it was from one or two sales to this point.
• Make regular sales on Zazzle.  See above.
• Make regular sales on Vigilink.  See above, this includes anything sold in an eBay module, as that's monetized through Vigilink.
• Make regular sales on All Posters.  See the note on the Noob Tasks, then sob.

Advanced Tasks

• Write one hundred Wizzley articles.  Your reward is that your Wizzles will firstly and rightly be the bragging rights.  This is huge!  Well done!  Then it'll be that your monetization percentage just leapt to 60/40 in your favor.  ChefKeem will need a stiff drink, but it's happy days for you.
• Get a third Editor's Choice Award.  Congratulations!  You now have a rosette next to your name on your profile.  Every fellow author and reader will know that you're a quality writer and that your work is worth reading.  You'll be on the first or second page of the Wizzley authors, and you have the potential to be at the very top of the list!  Very well done again.
• Attract over 500 readers every day for a week.  This is all of your articles combined.  Your reward is that your articles are patently maturing very nicely.  They are being read long after you've written them (unless you've got one going viral!).  This is precisely what this game is all about.  You're doing brilliantly. 
• Make a livelihood on Amazon.  It will take years for this to happen.  Your reward is that technically you can retire now.
• Make a livelihood on Zazzle.  See above.
• Make a livelihood on Vigilink.  See above, this includes anything sold in an eBay module, as that's monetized through Vigilink.
• Make a livelihood on All Posters.  See above.  See the previous notes.  Remember that it's better to laugh than cry.  Good luck!

Elite Tasks

• Write one thousand Wizzley articles.  Your reward is that no-one has ever done it before.  Currently the most prolific Wizzley author is Ryank.  You would own the hiscores, if Wizzley had any.  Plus all of those articles would be bringing in readers and potential shoppers too.
• Get ten Editor's Choice Awards. No-one will ever be able to knock you off the front page of the Wizzley authors.  Plus it's only ever been done once before.  *takes a bow*
• Attract over 1000 readers every day for a week.  This is all of your articles combined.  Your reward is that your articles are seriously doing their job. You have the authority to attract readers; you have made your name.  Now you just need to be patient and keep going.  Very well done!
• Get stinking rich through Amazon.  This might never happen.  If it does, then you don't need me to tell you what your reward is here!
• Get stinking rich through Zazzle.  See above.
• Get stinking rich through Vigilink.  See above, this includes anything sold in an eBay module, as that's monetized through Vigilink.
• Get stinking rich through All Posters.  See above.  See all of the previous notes.  Enjoy a wry smile.

Enough of this tomfoolery!  Onto the statistics section, so you can all see if I'm worth paying attention to on these things.

I've been so proud of myself!   Back in the earliest days of my deciding to be an online writer, I heard that you've made it if you have 1000 readers a day on your profile.  I've since heard that it was a throwaway comment, not to be heeded.

But it stuck in my mind.  It was the first level up that I ever strove to reach.  Now I'm finally there. 

On November 21st 2012, I managed a whole week with over 1000 hits on Wizzley.  On the 28th, that made it a fortnight.  If I can keep that up today and tomorrow, then it'll be three weeks.  I think I've made it.   LEVEL UP!

That little spike, on November 11th, came when a reader posted the below article onto Reddit. They appeared to like it.

There are lots of people coming to read Wizzley authors!  If you're not one of us yet, please do consider registering.  It's hours of fun (and games)!