Passive income for freelance writers worldwide

Being paid a direct royalty is an easy way to get started. No need to sign up to affiliates, no need to get your own Adsense account - just sign up and give it a go. Payments from all of these can be made by Paypal to anyone in the world.

Squidoo
Squidoo.com
A fun place to write and to earn a direct revenue share for your articles. You can also earn by recommending other people to Squidoo. It's easy to get started. You'll get paid a monthly payment from Squidoo according to how well your lenses are performing. Payments of $5+ paid through Paypal. If you sign up using my referral link you might earn me a small bonus down the track. Thanks!

Triond
Triond.com
Triond is a site for creators of any type of content to earn a passive income. Write, make a video, record some audio - anything! They publish your work on the most relevant place within their network of niche blogs. You can keep track of each one through Triond, create a profile which features all of your efforts and publicise yourself as a content creator. Triond share 50% of the revenue with you. Payments are monthly and can be made via Paypal, Western Union or cheque.

Whether you write, photograph, record or compose, you can submit your creation to Triond. We accept all original content on any topic, including written articles, pictures, audio, and video. No matter how you created it, we can publish it. - Triond Guide.

Helium
Helium.com
Your Helium revenue share income is determined by the quality, ranking, traffic and advertiser interest of your articles. There's a monthly bonus of US$0.50-$2.50 given to high-ranking articles in eligible categories. There's also an option for your work to be used as "Stock Content", meaning that your work is licensed for use elsewhere and payment goes directly to you through Helium. There's also contests, a freelancer marketplace (earn from US$16 to $200 for articles), earnings for rating other people's work and for inviting new users. All of these could earn you quick money directly through Helium. Payments are made via Paypal monthly. You can request to be paid when your payments are at least US$25 for the month.

Associated Content
AssociatedContent.com
Associated Content allows anyone to join and make money from performance payments, however only US citizens can get upfront payments for articles. Same goes for many of the contests and promotions. Current performance payment baseline is US$1.50 per 1000 page views. Payments of $1.50+ are made monthly by Paypal. You may only have one account and when you earn $500 you need to submit a W-9 form for US tax purposes.

Bukisa
Bukisa.com
Articles of video, audio or writing can be made. Bukisa limit you to 25 article submissions per day. Revenue is calculated on the performance of each article. 1000 page views will earn you the value of Bukisa Index (which is calculated monthly and currently sitting around US$4). There's also extra revenue generated by the performance of all the people you helped to sign up to Bukisa. Payments are made by Paypal.

None of these websites will pay you directly. You need to sign up with Google Adsense and connect your account to these article directories in order to earn money. Google Adsense can pay you wherever you are in the world via cheque in your local currency. Minimum payout is US$100.

Another popular affiliate used with these directories is Amazon Affiliates. Note: If you don't live in the US, Amazon Affiliates income is best paid to you as credit in your Amazon account. Cheques and international transfers are far too expensive to be worth it.

HubPages
HubPages.com
Writing for Hubpages gets you Adsense (and other affiliate) revenue created by 60% of the page impressions. You can also generate extra income by referring people to Hubpages. Google Adsense pays you directly.

Xomba
Xomba.com
Xomba splits the money each article earns 50/50 with you. Google Adsense pays you directly. Please sign up using my referral link. Makes no difference to you, but makes a bit of money for me. Thanks!

InfoBarrel
InfoBarrel.com
Write your unique articles and earn 75% of the Google Adsense revenue for each page view. Also earn 2% revenue from anyone you refer. Google Adsense pays you directly. If I have inspired you to write for Infobarrel too, please sign up with my referral link. It makes no difference to you, but it earns me a little bit extra. Thanks!

Your Own Blog
Don't forget that if you've signed up for a Google Adsense account (or other affiliate earning) that you can earn money from your own blog. If you're not hosting your own blog, check the terms and conditions before you do this!

Constant Content
ConstantContent.com
Write articles on any topic you like, whenever you like and then get paid for them later if and when someone wants to purchase. It's a little bit of a gamble, but then so are all passive income earners. The beauty of Constant Content is that you can name your price for the article. So, you know how much you will be paid, but not when. Payments $5+ are made by PayPal (payments of $500+ can also be made by Western Union transfer).

Constant Content retains 35% of the gross proceeds from each sale (writers earn 65 % of each sale) - Constant Content FAQ

Constant Content also have a facility for buyers to suggest topics, but if you write that article there's no guarantee that anyone will buy it.

Promote your work everywhere
Promote pay-per-view articles back and forth across article databases. Promote your blog posts. Make sure that each article you write has worthwhile content, but don't be shy about sending someone to another similar article you've written elsewhere. You've already honed your content down to a short article or a lens. Obviously anyone reading that is interested in your topic and will know if they like the way you write. Note: If you're not hosting your own blog, check the terms and conditions before you do promote affiliate links or articles where you earn money!

Extend your affiliate earnings
Earn money through affiliates in any of these article directory websites (according to the terms and conditions of each site). Some will allow you to link to eBay stores, to promote a Cafepress store or to link to other affiliates like Allposters.com. There are numerous affiliates out there. If you're keen to work with them, see how your favourite article directories respond to affiliate programs and expand your earnings.

Diversify your income
A rule for earning money anywhere: Diversify your income.

• Earn money from more than one article directory. Don't just work for one employer.
  
• Ensure your earnings aren't coming from just one primary source. Most of these directories are based directly or indirectly on Google Adsense income. What if Adsense closes?
  
• Balance your passive income earning with some paid work. Write some articles which get you paid straight away - guest blogging, magazines etc.
  
• Diversify your currency. You don't want to be earning only US$ if the US$ is falling.
  
• Balance online earnings with local real-life earnings.