Your writing options in 2011 are more limited than they were in 2010, but you still have plenty.

Writing for Directories

If you do not want the hassle of running your own site then this one is for you. You earn a share of the money that your article makes. Many writers lost their shirts when eHow closed their writers’ share program and there is widespread suspicion amongst many writers lest they be caught out again when a directory changes owners or terms.

Some directories pay up front, others give you a share of earnings as they come in.

Building Niche Sites

Niche sites are ones where you focus all your writing on a very narrow subject that you think will make you a profit. Escape Teaching is a niche site. Another of my niche sites is WritingPayingArticles.com where you will find a ton of information about article writing.

If you build a niche site to solve a problem then it will survive. If you build it in order to reap Adsense clicks it will die. Made for Adsense (MFA) sites have no future and you should forget about building them.

What nobody tells you when you start writing for directories or building niche sites is that you need to spend 10 hours writing for link building for every hour you spend writing your original articles. This is discouraging in the extreme.

Building Maxi-Sites

Maxi sites have thousands of articles and become recognised authority sites on a range of related subjects. You might build a maxi site about Flooring, Woodworking or Plumbing.

You would fill your site with information on all aspects of your subject and gradually become THE site that people turn to first for help. If you are going to be writing about one subject though, it needs to be one that you enjoy.

A well-loved maxi site will gather its own momentum and links without you building more than a few. You will be able to devote your writing time to productive articles that you enjoy writing.

Every article you write and website that you build should be designed to solve people’s problems. That way your sustained success is more likely.  Build sites that you are proud of, it’s good for the soul.