Associated Content, Helium and the like

It depends on the site and whether its articles are professionally or semi-professionally edited. I write for Suite101 and would not go anywhere else because of that. Plus, it helps me earn a bit of money each month, but only if you write plenty of articles on the site. So overall, these kinds of sites are good or bad depending on how they're run.

See, this is the thing, you're earning a "bit of money" each month for writing "plenty of articles." I'm laying odds, that even a low-paying standard publication would pay at least the same amount, if not a little more, for a single article as you're making for all the articles you've written combined.

I read the article, and I didn't appreciate the idea that if you write for content sites you're automatically an amateur and just after a few pennies. I'm absolutely a professional writer (pay the quarterly taxes to prove it), and yes, I do some writing for Associated Content. I think it just depends on how YOU perceive it -- I will write for a content site when I don't care enough about a topic to put more effort and research into it for a larger, better paying market. I don't think there is anything wrong with said content sites, even for people who do nothing but write for them. There is such variety out there in the freelance world, if you don't like it then don't do it. There will be something else out there for you.

Not worth the money for the effort. If all you want is pocket change, get a blog, write about a topic with a hook, and get your pocket change (or maybe even more) there.

I would NEVER use any of these sites. I prefer to do things the old fashion way and I don't even glance at these landfills.

Birol said:

See, this is the thing, you're earning a "bit of money" each month for writing "plenty of articles." I'm laying odds, that even a low-paying standard publication would pay at least the same amount, if not a little more, for a single article as you're making for all the articles you've written combined.

Click to expand...

I can fire off 800 words for $400. (of course I have written for less... but this is the target I look for.)

It fills a niche and it's not a scam. What is the harm? If a person doesn't want to write for it then they don't have too.

rosemerry said:

It fills a niche and it's not a scam. What is the harm? If a person doesn't want to write for it then they don't have too.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Two years ago I wrote enough for them in one month to pay the summer electric bill, which amounted to one of my entire regular paychecks. I wrote simple articles on varied topics, AC paid me, and my air conditioner kept running. It was mind-numbingly easy, which is why the pay didn't bother me - I never would have written difficult articles or anything that required real research for them, cause the pay wasn't worth that much effort.

But for better or worse, it works for what it is.

I'm a Helium contributor and I love the site. I tend to write things for them based on opinion or personal experience, so I rarely spend over twenty minutes on one of my articles for them. With their current Reward-a-Thon competition, I am on track for a large payment next week, and their Marketplace and Contests aren't bad earnings either.

Is it anywhere near what I make per article freelancing? Of course not! However, when I began writing for them, it increased my confidence tremendously. I started feeling more comfortable pitching traditional markets and writing more involved pieces. The practice was well worth it for me. I've stayed an active member in the community because I appreciate what the experience has done for me.

For me, writing for Helium is just for fun. It just happens to be fun that also pays my cell phone bill. That's certainly better than all the websites that distract me with no financial incentive!

I have a love/hate relationship with content sites. I also have a long history -- the first one I joined was Epinions, when it first started, eight years ago. Then there was Themestream until it went bankrupt and many more up to and including AC and Helium today. I use a variety of aliases, which I tell no one. Writing for these sites always feels like a guilty pleasure.

I think the product-review sites do fulfill a real need. It's useful for consumers to get information about the experiences of other consumers who have used the products for a while. That's information that's not available from professional reviewers in magazines, even Consumer Reports, because the pro reviewers usually haven't actually lived with the products. The trick is for the sites to try to ensure that their reviews are honest. Overall, I think that the product-review sites have provided a great service that wasn't available in the pre-internet days.

The general content sites, not so much. There seems to be a race to the bottom, with the content getting worse and worse. It all tempts me to go into my Old Fart mode and start grumbling about how the kids today don't know nuthin' 'bout writing.

So why do I continue to write for these sites? I don't know. I'd probably have to be in therapy for a decade to figure that out. I guess it has something to do with what we called "egoboo" on Epinions -- that jolt of feel-good chemicals that flood your brain when you post something one minute, and someone comes along and gives you a high rating in the next. Instant ego-boosting gratification!

As for the atmosphere of the general content sites, it would be a lot better if the bad writers would just cheerfully admit that they were bad writers. Instead, they get furious at any suggestion that they are not already at the absolute top of their craft. On the boards of both AC and Helium, there were threads filled with hurt and angry responses to the article linked to above. People were deeply offended at being called "amateurs," and they lashed out, in bitter and often semi-literate posts, at the Washington Post (which is where the article originally appeared), saying that the Post writers felt threatened because the content sites were so much better than mainstream media. Some people threatened to sue for defamation (for being called "amateurs"!). It was a bit surreal, and also depressing. Anyone who thought standards were useful was dismissed as a snob.