advice: are content sites worth my trying?

[ladyvincenza]

A while back, I tried Helium.com and a couple of other content sites and got nowhere. I also applied to examiner.com and got rejected, despite the fact that from their perspective, I'd essentially be working for free (big ouch there when you can't even give it away). I signed up for Demand Studios, but couldn't get much information about their assignments, I assume bc they are so low-paying that the less said, the better. I'm very pessimistic as to whether these will put bread on the table, but other folks have had good experiences. Is it worth it to me to try again, and if so, how?
I really don't want to gamble on what is essentially writing on spec in the hopes that I might earn a few dollars, literally.
Also, it isn't exactly a feather in my cap to have been "published" on helium.com and not have even gotten a penny. Not exactly something I can put on my resume.
Thanks!

[bkwriter]

I writer for examiner but I haven't tried anything else. I have looked at others a while back. When you reach $10 instead of $25 you get a dollar a click. It's slow but I say give it a chance.

[Creative_Solitude]

I signed up for Demand Studios, but couldn't get much information about their assignments, I assume bc they are so low-paying that the less said, the better.

Actually, no. As far as content writing sites go, Demand Studios is at the higher end of the spectrum (which isn't saying too much in the grand scheme of things). They pay $15 for each eHow article accepted and $20 for each Livestrong article accepted - both upfront, not revenue share. To those writers who always write exceptional articles, they offer them "special assignments" which are considerably higher paying.

But they've tightened up the reigns this last little while. They score you for every article you write (scores are out of 5) and anyone whose scores are below the 3.6 mark for grammar and research, will inevitably be hauled into the Writers Evaluation Program (WEP) under which a Senior Editor will evaluate three of your written articles and if you don't "Pass", you lose your writing privileges there.

[tlbodine]

Textbroker.com is hiring. I've been there for a week and made about $350 so far, although I lucked out and landed a ton of direct orders from one client on my second day.

I just got declined by DemandStudios, although I'm waiting to hear back from Wisegeek.

[kathleea]

Anyone know anything about www.savvywriters.com (http://www.savvywriters.com)?

[inkkognito]

My answer to this would have been different a few years ago, or even six months ago, when I would have wholeheartedly said, "Go for it!"

Alas, Demand Studios, which used to be a great place to write for steady, dependable income, has all but dried up, and the others (especially all rev share sites) never were worth my time, even in the glory days. I still make money at Examiner (and it helps that I have a popular topic), but people coming in now rarely seem to be able to build up enough of an audience to make it worth their while.

About.com is still good (I consider it a step above content mills because they run you ragged in the application process with no guarantee you'll even get it because they want quality), but there have been changes there, too, so we'll see. So far, though, they're the only one I'd recommend for reliable and decent $$.

[herdon]

About.com got hit by Panda just as anyone else, but Panda is subdomain specific, so each guide site is evaluated differently. New sites don't have to worry about it as much as old sites.

They've redone their contract, but it actually pays more to new writers than the old one so long as you meet all the requirements. And new guides should be meeting the requirements every month. So, in a way: pay raise.

I think they might phase out the business to business sites -- though not sure on that one -- but they are still definitely growing their site. The fact that it is set up very well in regards to each author getting their own subdomain means they don't have to worry about a little overlap, which is going to happen with a site like that.

[inkkognito]

Yes, I am indeed making more now under the new contract so I'm actually pretty happy about that. I know one guide who was hired pretty recently for a B-to-B site so I sure hope that doesn't happen. Thankfully mine is consumer-oriented, although the topic overlaps with several other topics.

Meanwhile, I hate to say it, but I don't think Demand is ever going to rebound. I've seen dry spells before, but this is more like a scorched-earth spell. I've only written a handful of articles there in weeks.

[herdon]

Demand Studios is exactly what Panda was trying to eliminate (sites like them and scraper sites). I see them as trying to go more for an About.com model in the future, perhaps not with permanent writers, but with a more measured and thought out approach.

[Overmuzed]

How can you live on $15 or even $25? That's perplexing.

[Creative_Solitude]

How can you live on $15 or even $25? That's perplexing.

While I personally never supported myself by writing for Demand Studios when I wrote for them (thankfully, I have a full time career), plenty of people did/do. There are people writing their who write anywhere from 20 - 50 articles a week. Multiply those numbers by $25 and, yes, one can live off that kind of money.

I made a very good side income writing there. But I don't miss writing there though. Thankfully, I'm focusing on my fiction writing career now.

[MaddieT]

A lot of the content mills have tanked. Out of the six I worked for, only Textbroker and MerchantCircle still have work on a regular basis.

[veinglory]

I am currently doing okay at Hubpages, but I would never use it as may staple earner because the money is still low and unreliable.

[BWriteNow]

The best content site I've found so far is WriterAccess.com. It can be a little tough since there the assignments often get snatched up pretty quickly. There are ways to leverage your time there, though, like "auditioning" to be on "Love Lists" (basically, clients' short lists, where there is less competition).

Textbroker is not a lot of fun starting out, but if you can raise your rating and/or start getting direct orders, it can be decent. Not great, but decent. You can set your own rate for direct orders, which is better than the $5-6 your likely to make per article starting out (and that is best-case).

The big plus with these two is that you're writing for clients who need content right now, instead of writing content that may or may not get sold.

Helium.com never seemed like a sure enough thing for me; Demand Studios pays too little, from what I understand.

There is a reason that content sites in general have a bad rep, but they aren't all bad. I've used them to supplement my income, and I know people who have used them to support families for a couple of months. Plus it's a good way to get your chops & build confidence if you are just starting out as a freelance writer.