This article has been updated and republished to give more content and allow the newer Gatherer's a chance to see it. Click here for the new version.
I have recently invited a few friends to Gather and felt the need, as I have many times, to mentor them on the ins and outs of being succesful on Gather. I figured I should offer this same mentoring to all of Gather to share the knowlege I have gained in my eighteen months as a Gather member. I joined in the Beta days when we earned points but had no idea what they would one day be worth or when we would be able to spend them. I had a dream for awhile that the points would be worth a dollar a piece. It was a sad wake up call to find out that would not be the case, but I loved Gather so much I knew I would never leave.
At the first glance of learning a point is worth 1.6 cents, you may think all the hullabaloo is not worth the payout, but that 1.6 cents can add up very quickly if you know what you are doing. I have explained points further in my article: Gather Points Explained: How Can They Add Up? Take a look at the information below showing how your points can add up:
1.6 cents/point
Points x .016 = $
3125 points a month = $50 a month
781.25 points a week = $50 a month
1099 points a week = $75 a month
1562.5 points a week = $100 a month
105 points a day = $50 a month
157 points a day = $75 a month
210 points a day = $100 a month
Now, as a cash earner I no longer see my points as points, but as the dollars they have added up to. I can tell you since point spending began in May of 2006 I have never been below $50 for a month, and have earner over $200 a few times too. So I really have felt the payoff of 1.6 cents a point. I came for a contest, I have gained more than I could have ever imagined – friends, skills, recognition, a great place to show off my writing – and they want to pay me? Many places giving all of these opportunities would be asking for your credit card at the sign in screen. So, there are no complaints here!
Now, for some other resources to help you find the same or better success here on Gather. Below are links to articles by me or other Gather members that will help you to publish good quality articles and images on Gather, and learn about the ins and outs of the site. This is by all means not a complete list, and I welcome other successful Gather-ers to add comments with links and advice as well. If you have a question or need help, drop me a line and I will do my best to assist or send you to someone who can assist.
How to increase your Gather points... by j r. - J R is a new to me Gatherer, but I just loved this article of hers and her sharing spirit. If you are wondering how to get those points rolling in, she has a lot of great tips.
How to Format Your Comments - by Seth Williams - Seth is from before my time on Gather and is what I like to call a politically savvy dude and a technical Gather Guru. This article took the site by storm when it came out and is responsible for possibly 90% of the members at the time learning how to use HTML code to their favor on the site. It is on my top list of must have articles and is frequently revisited by me and many others. If you want to look professional and stand out in comments, this is a must read article. And Seth is a great guy to know too. Ask him about his vinegar pie - it's his favorite.
Creating a Comment Link Cheat Sheet - Okay, so now you know how to format your comments using easy to learn HTML code. Well, I needed it to be simpler, so I created a cheat sheet in a word document where I would copy and paste lots of codes to be copied and pasted into comments or private messages as needed. I could not live without my Comment Link Cheat sheet.
How to Create a Hyperlink Within Your Article - Well, how about putting the handy dandy links in your articles? I will be the first to tell you that a link will generate triple the traffic of as pasted url. And it looks far more professional. They can be subtly slipped in, sometimes without even saying exactly what it is, just to test your readers ability to control their curiosity. Bhuwha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Go ahead - click on it. I dare you. I double dog dare you! Leave me a comment there to show just how ballsy you are. ;- P Oh, and to learn how to put these handy dandy links in your article, go to How to Create a Hyperlink Within Your Article.
putting photos into your articles - a little bit of help by jessie voigts - Jessie is another one of my most favorite Gather-ers. If you are wondering about the lower case use - she has a painful disability which makes typing difficult. You would never know it by her content, other than noticing missing capitals. Eh - who needs 'em! She is one of the best bakers on Gather with her sweet daughter Lillie to help her out. She also has written a great tutorial about inserting photos in your articles. She is an expert at this - not the inserting part - but the photos part. I just say, simply breathtaking. I love her work and treasure her friendship. And if you really want great looking articles, you need to know how to add photos. A picture says a million words, and it also attracts readers when your article stands out in the lists with the photo showing in the synopsis.
Don't know what to publish? There are three quizzes you can copy/paste/answer in your own article. They are agreat way to have people get to know you, and a great way for you to get to know others. You can find them in the Getting to Know You group:
Getting to Know You Quiz Three
For Serious Gather Writers Seeking Future Publishing:
How will publishing on Gather affect my chances of publishing elsewhere? As an aspiring writer, I wanted to make sure I was not messing up my future writing career by publishing on Gather. This article details what I found out through researching and interviewing Gather staffers. If you want a writing career, this is a must read.
Advice for Serious Writers on Being "Previously Published" on Gather by Cindy The Anti-Trite Cindy goes more in-depth on the topic of publishing on Gather and its affects on publishing in the outside world. Once again, this is a must read for any aspiring writer looking to get published.
Using Amazon Shorts to promote your book by Steve Weber Steve shines a new light on using the Amazon Shorts contest for those with books coming out. He proves it is an invaluable tool in marketing yourself to potential readers.
Preditors & Editors by Cynthia B. - Aspiring writers - DON'T GET SCAMMED! Cybthia offers great advice on how to avoid phony publishers.
Advice for New Writers by Aaron Lazar: great tips for new writers to help hone your writing skills.
More Advice for Writers: Forbidden Words by Aaron Lazar: Wise and friendly writing expert, Aaron offers a great lesson on words commonly seen as weak by editors or agents when found in manuscripts.
Gather's Hidden Tool : Research And Development by George Corneliussen: Longtime Gather member, and one of my favorite Gather Dudes, George discusses using the Gather community as a researching tool to hone your writing.
What Do Pubs and Agents Want? An Author's View: This article, written by Patty Kelley, a nonfiction writer/author who has had traditional book deals and has worked with agents, tells aspiring writers about challenges that are new to the modern day author in the publishing industry.
There is a ton more great articles to help a new Gather-er (and a few old ones too) learn howto best utilize this great Gather site and have a wonderful Gather experience. If you have advice or helpful links to offer, please post them below. As I said at the top of this article, I love Gather. With the right spirit and effort, you can too. And you just might earn some extra cash in the process. How great is that?
For more helpful articles such as this - check out Monica's How to Gather Tips and Tutorials
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 130
Also, group ownership is a GREAT way to bring in the points. To create quality groups, moderate content and feature the great content from the group in your feature section frequently. Let the member know their article is featured - use a link to the group in a comment on the article saying something like: This article is being featured on The Write Connections homepage. Thanks for posting great content!
To feature group content, you must be in the articles section of your group. You will see a link that says content settings - by clicking this link (located after the date of the article) you will come to a screen which allows you to check to either featurethe article or remove the article from the group. You can also un-feature an article through this same link.
good luck!!!
If you don't mind, I'm going to add your article to the 'Member Advice' category in my upcoming help index!
Thanks!
I seem to get a small fraction of the points you talk about. Obviously you are much more popular.
Then again: Living in Europe, those points don't do a lot for me anyway. So I can proudly claim that I am here just for the fun, the learning and the networking.
Cheers
Hajo
You said that points are worth $. If thats so, how we can we redeem them? I am unemployed for the present, so $100 a month will mean the difference between beans and steak for dinner. ROTFLOL! (My doctor won't let me eat either one) Are they like the supermarket "green stamps" of the fifties, where you had to go to a dingy storefront in a god-forsaken part of town to redeem them?
Seriously, a great article!
I do find "empty comments" a bit dispiriting, sometimes.
By the way, Miz Monica - thanks so much for taking the time to do this wonderful article!!! Salud.
This article might get me there just a tad faster.
Thanks for sharing...
Yep... it's that good.
This is great info and I can tell that you put alot of work into it. Thanks for sharing
and some folks are systematically harassed and attacked and their articles and images downranked so that they never receive the credit they deserve
and many folks might get points, but the points are wprthless because they do not live in the US.
and after a while, it gets very tedious to watch all the games and garbage on Gather earning tons of points, but people who contribute good content and photographs get trashed.
and then there are all those who earn tons of points by cutnpaste plagiarism and those who contribute contentless drivel that is always on the front page--
and that's Gather.
the more one-liners and junk you contribute that has little value, the more you earn.
so why not just go about stamping "thanks for sharing" on 40-50pages a day. It actually gets more in rewards than anything I put up that takes hours and hours of preparation
and I get little recognition, virtually no points and no reimbursement for the points or for the beautiful photography I post.
It's a very bad joke.
It took me over a year and a half to reach 3000, and 1000 of them were a gift.
Everyone - thank you for your kind comments!
If you elect to use the payout instead, do your points carry over to the next month if you don't cash out, or have not accrued enough yet?
It was incredibly gracious of you to put all your time and effort into putting this valuable information here for others. Thank You!
Dawne Joy - Once you have earned at the $50 in one month level, you would have the option to become a cash earner. You see your points as dollars instead of points but you still only cash out when you want to - so you can wait til you have $3000 if you wanted to. You can cash out as many times per month as you want or only do it once every five years - they don't care. If you earn less than $50 in a given month after being a cash earner you still have it in your account as cash = you do not revert to points nor do you lose anything.
I hope this helps!
Once again: Great work !
Looking forward to learning.
Thanks everyone for your kind comments!