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Make Money Online: Become a Local Examiner by Laura M. Sands

Not too long ago, I finally signed up to become my local Women’s Issues Examiner. Although I’ve known about Examiner for some time and I know several people who became Examiners long before I did, it wasn’t until I learned about their referral program, or the opportunity to post backlinks, that I finally decided to take the plunge.

Examiner.com specializes in citizen journalism and Examiners (the official title given to writers) are awarded for their efforts in one of three ways:

1. Compensated per article (A dollar or two if certain conditions are met)

2. Compensated for page views (Which is never a guarantee, but some writers are doing well in this area)

3. Compensated for referrals (Up to $50 per referral if the person is accepted to write for Examiner and publishes at least one article)

My Little PayPal Surprise

I’d planned to put a lot more effort into writing for Examiner, but, so far, my schedule hasn’t allowed me to do so. Which is why I was uber surprised to receive a $52.73 PayPal payment from them recently. Completely unbeknownst to me, I’d helped someone plug into Examiner and was awarded a $50 referral fee. While I hadn’t signed up for this, I was nonetheless pleased that someone else had discovered the site and that they were kind enough to credit me as their referrer.

My Personal Reasons for Becoming an Examiner

One of the primary reasons why I applied for the position, however, is because it offers a high traffic platform to publish articles about a variety of different topics, of which one my favorites happens to be women’s issues (there are TONS more to choose from, however). I’ll admit that it’s been a little tricky figuring out how to relate these issues to my geographical location, but, luckily, Examiner doesn’t force writers to ONLY write on issues relating to their specific areas. As long as we occasionally do so, we’re allowed to write from a broader perspective.

Google Juice!

Now, the other reason I applied is because Examiner is a PR4 do-follow site that allows writers to backlink to their own personal websites and articles. For those of you unfamiliar with what this means, Examiner has a little Google juice and they’re not stingy about sharing it with their writers. This means that, as long as I don’t go crazy doing so, I can promote this website, as well as articles that I write for other sites and for private clients. For freelance writers and webmasters, this is a good thing!

Other Examiner.com Benefits and Possibilities

With Examiner, there are no deadlines to follow and, after publishing the first time, writers are pretty much left alone to do their own thing. Like I mentioned earlier, some are making quite a bit of money off of page views at Examiner and there are stories on their forums about Examiners getting book deals, being mentioned on popular mainstream news shows and being granted press passes to special events.

The Brawn Behind the Brand

It doesn’t hurt that billionaire Philip Anschultz is the main investor in Clarity Media Group, which is Examiner.com’s parent company. Anschultz also has major investments in the Los Angeles Lakers, AEG, The Staples Center, The Home Depot Center and the O2 Arena in London, England. His involvement with the brand gives me comfort in that it’s not a fly-by-night operation and that the powers that be are working hard behind the scenes to establish the brand as a front runner in citizen journalism.

Passive Income, Anyone?

I realize that some writers aren’t into the whole idea of writing for passive income. But for those who are (or who, like me, prefer a mix of upfront payments and residual payments), Examiner is worth looking into. Even if you’re not a writer, per se, but you are passionate about a particular cause or hobby, Examiner is also a great place to advertise news, information and events.

If you’re interested in applying for an Examiner position, sign up here and be sure to let them know that I referred you (you can use my name or my referral I.D. 50714). The application is pretty painless and it does involve a criminal background check (no charge for this), but most Examiners are approved in less than a week.

If you have any questions about writing for Examiner or if you’re an Examiner and you have anything to add to this post, please feel free to use the comment box below.

More information on making money with Freelance Writing

4 comments

  1. Wonderful blog! I really love how it is easy on my eyes as well as the data are well written. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which ought to do the trick! Have a nice day!

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