Freelance Writing Blog

Writers Worth: A Defining Moment in A Freelance Career

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Friendship is a wonderful thing, especially when it’s given freely and appreciated fully. Such is the friendship between Cathy Miller and me. Cathy notices things. When she saw I was writing a good bit more this Writers Worth Month than usual, she sent me a note asking if I needed more content. Now any time…

Writers Worth: Realign Your Values

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Once upon a time, I had a client who worked hard. She juggled multiple projects within her department. One of those projects was a document I was tapped to help with. Every year, we worked together to get this document ready. Time wasn’t a factor — this was a paper version of an online document….

Writers Worth: Freelance Writing Career Do’s and Don’ts

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When I asked my writer friends for guest posts, Ashley Festa was not only the first one to volunteer, but also the first one to offer two posts. That’s why I love her — she’s eager to give back to the profession and help beginning writers get a good start. What follows is a fantastic…

Writers Worth: The $100K Myth

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I was cruising a LinkedIn forum the other day when I happened upon a link to an article that made me so upset I wanted to scream at the author. The subject? How she made $100K in her fledgling years of writing without breaking a sweat. Bully for her, right? Only as I read through…

Writers Worth: Showing Confidence to Clients

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When I started seeing this one particular writer around the Internet, it was because she was saying some pretty smart things. In fact, it was one of those smart things — you’re worth more than a few pennies — compelled me to write to her. Alicia Rades is making some great progress in her career,…

Writers Worth: Building Trust

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I’ve been watching a number of conversations on LinkedIn forums and elsewhere, and it’s interesting how many people have unwarranted trust issues. Not that they don’t trust their clients — for the most part, they do (and they don’t when the client hasn’t earned it). I’m talking about writers trusting themselves. Too many freelance writers…

Writers Worth: Hanging on and Letting Go

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I love freelance writers. I love how they work, how they collaborate, and how they, the good ones at least, will help someone they barely know. So when Paula Hendrickson sent me a note saying her friend Rick wanted to post for Writers Worth, I knew instantly Rick was one of the good ones. His…

Writers Worth: Why Real Writers Cost Money (and Why They are Worth It)

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Here’s what I love about Sharon Hurley Hall — everything. Sharon is the brains behind Get Paid to Write Online, a terrific blog devoted to online writing advice. She’s also a warm, vibrant soul who shares openly her experiences and helps others improve what they’re doing. She shares good advice no matter who offers it,…

Writers Worth: Ending the Waiting Game

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About seven months ago, I had a conversation with a potential client. At the time, he and I were talking not just price but also project length, time frame, and duration. It’s a long-term, ongoing arrangement, so I was about to see my workload double, possibly triple. That takes some serious rearranging of the work…

Writers Worth: Content Mills, Desperation, and More Effective Freelance Marketing

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On Content Mills, Desperation, and More Effective Freelance Marketing [Audio Post] by Jenn Mattern Content mills have been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. I went after them harder than most for years, and for good reason. They target both new and desperate writers and they have a tendency to twist the…

11 responses to “Writers Worth: Content Mills, Desperation, and More Effective Freelance Marketing”

Cathy Miller

May 13, 2015

I've shared this story before. When I started freelancing, I did apply to a content mill. After being accepted, I explored their site and more about how it worked. I found it so inane, I walked (maybe ran) the other way. 😉

I would never judge someone who goes that route for whatever reason. But knowledge is power and the more writers discover their worth, the more doors will open for them.
Sharon Hurley Hall

May 13, 2015

Twinship again, Cathy! I had a similar experience and found that they asked for too much and provided too little.

Great segment, ladies.
Lori Widmer

May 13, 2015

Love me some Jenn Mattern wisdom in the morning! Thanks, Jenn.

Cathy and Sharon, I've never gone that route. It was tempting when I was struggling, but I didn't go there. I took jobs that paid slightly more — those business.com blog articles that paid what? $100 -150? Not great, but just a little better.

I think the reason people go this way is it seems like an easy way to get clips. It is. But I get frustrated when they get used to heavy workloads and little cash. Worse, these kinds of clips get you little attention from more legitimate clients. Content mills have a horrific reputation with regard to accuracy, plagiarism, and saturation of bad content. Best to find something that pays a little more and has a legitimate client behind it.
Anne Wayman

May 13, 2015

Yeah, Jenn and Lori… thanks for warning writers – there really is no 'easier, softer way.'
Paula

May 13, 2015

I loved hearing that "outtake," and encourage anyone who hasn't listened the the actual podcast (or any of the others) to do so. Now. You'll learn more about what real writers think and do by listening to Jenn's free podcasts than you probably would by paying for several writing classes or webinars.

I remember seeing listings for various content mills, but even at my most desperate I never fell prey because I earned my first clips writing features for a local newspaper that paid 10-cents per word. Within a few months I'd used those clips to break into some national markets. The clips from the local paper might not have the cachet of a major daily or even a regional glossy, but they were well written and published in a real newspaper that had been around for several decades.

You know how writers say they'd rather flip burgers than work for a content mill? If I were that eager to build clips I'd rather work for a reputable place that pays 10-cents a word (for more than most mills pay) than flip burgers or work for a content mill.
Jenn Mattern

May 13, 2015

Thanks ladies!

Lori — Business.com was $200 per post. They worked out well in my case because the articles assigned to me ended up being very quick — less than an hour per post. And they were all approved by my editor as-delivered (from what you've told me before, I suspect you were working with a different editor).

A while back I noticed that they moved the content to their main site, but they stripped our bylines. Not happy about that.

Paula — That's a great example of how you can use lower paying assignments to land something better. Content mills don't usually work out that way. And even when they do, the progress tends to be slower. One piece with a widely respected publication or organization can do much more for a new writer, even if they aren't paid much for it.
Lori Widmer

May 13, 2015

Jenn, I think I was. Plus mine was about insurance — specifically, trucking insurance. There was something else I did for them, but I can't remember anymore. It wasn't a bad gig, but it started to become too time-consuming.

Amen, Paula. Amen.
Ashley

May 13, 2015

I did work briefly for a content mill on the editing side. I didn't need writing clips (I had nice, legitimate ones) and I could do editing faster, so it turned into a better hourly rate than writing for practically nothing. It was so mind-numbing that I didn't do it long. My problem was that I just didn't know how to pursue bigger clients. When I finally figured out that a little extra work on the front end resulted in a much bigger pay-off in the long run, I left content mills and never looked back.
Alicia Rades

May 13, 2015

I listened to the whole thing. Great discussion! Thank you both for sharing. I'm looking forward to reading more on writer's worth this month, Lori! 🙂
Jenn Mattern

May 13, 2015

Lori, that could explain it. I think mine dealt more with recruitment and marketing for small businesses. If yours were more technical, I can easily see them taking longer.

Ashley, I think that's a big part of it. People don't know what to do to move on to something better, and sometimes the ease of the content mill work discourages them from doing something they perceive to be more difficult (which isn't always the case). The information is out there. It's just a matter of those writers reaching the point where they're ready to put it to use and make changes.

Alicia, Thanks!
10 Ways To Land Your First Freelance Writing Job - Online Studies

February 17, 2022

[…] job, and without getting pulled into the long history of exploitation of freelance marketplaces, content mills, and revenue share […]