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I’ve recently begun writing about gardening in the Detroit edition of examiner.com, an online magazine specializing in local coverage of multiple markets (currently ~40). But getting viewers of this site to read those posts, while nice, is not the reason for posting this.
Although I have been taking a breather from posting (anywhere) while I deal with a recurrent health problem, after several months experience with The Examiner I can attest that they pay their bills and that income continues to accrue even if you have to take a break from writing.
If this sounds appealing to you, I’d like you to follow TWO links. The first is a short video about how to fill in the application so that I will get the referral fee. If you do not fill in my “Examiner number” (5189) in the correct place, I don’t get paid for the referral. Links after the break.
The Examiner pays this fee, not you, so please don’t skip this step.
The second link is the link to the actual application. As soon as you are accepted and have posted two articles, I am credited with your referral and you become eligible for the referral program yourself.
Here’s the link to the actual application.
Is this a good thing? Yes. Right now they are running a contest which includes not only their standard $50 referral fee, but prizes for the top 20 referrers nationwide.
If you can generate 20 new writers you will earn $1,000 plus have a shot at a Kindle, Wii or other cool loot. All of this, of course, is on top of the penny per page view.
I am a Christian and, as such, subscribe to the Golden Rule of doing to others only as I would have them do to me. That’s a part of why I am recommending this employer.
However, I also know that many of my readers are either Wiccan or Pagan (the gardening crowd seems to include a lot of people who reverence the creation), so I would remind them of the Laws of Three-fold Return and the Law of Seven-fold Return. You can take this employment tip as just one more ‘internet freebie’ or you can acknowledge the worth of this tip by giving me credit for presenting it to you. In either case, it’s only reasonable for you to expect others to treat you the same … and then some.
With 40 markets, The Examiner still has vacancies for hundreds of topical writers (it needn’t be about gardening). I’ve referred four IRL friends. Three have read the deal, liked it and signed up. None of them chose to write about gardening. Whether you want to write about fine wine, cheap tools, elephant lingerie or off-grid survival, The Examiner can probably accommodate you.
I’ll get a referral fee. You’ll get a writing job. Sound fair?m
Each article you post will pay about a penny per view (cross-linking of serial / related posts really pays off here!). And, once you have been accepted and begun to publish, you’ll also be able to receive the referral bonus for encouraging others to apply.
They are not demanding a Michener / Buck / Steinbeck … just a reliable blogger who can write in ‘third person’, stay on topic, be worth reading, paste on a (legal) photo and do the same thing all over again in a day or two. One short article won’t pay you much … not this month, not next, not ever. But a regular series of short articles will add up this month plus next month plus next month … year after year. I’m looking to ‘officially’ retire in the near future, and this is one of the ways I intend to get past the Alpo aisle in the grocery store.
One nice feature Examiner offers is that you can use content there that you have also posted elsewhere and you can use (your original) content that you first posted there anywhere else you choose … book, blog, magazine … wherever. I’m not a lawyer, but that’s how I understand the agreement I signed. So a series of blog entries could, when re-edited, become that book you’ve always wanted to write. Think about that.
Tell’ ‘em Bill Canaday (#5189) sent you! 
PS This is a straight referral program, not MLM.
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