Content Mills. Content Farms. Holy Evil Crap.
No, I am not blind. I have read The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model and the hundreds of other articles that echoed, “Yes, content farms are exploitative and evil. They breed crap.” A lot of people fear that this is The End Of Hand Crafted Content. Most journalists and freelance writers do not like them, and for good reasons 7 Reasons Why I Won’t Write a $15 Blog.
For those of you who may not be familiar, we are talking about eHow, Mahalo, Suite101, etc. These are content mills. Freelancers get paid a low $10-$20 to write on SEO heavy articles. This or a revenue share based on page views. Given the huge volume, most of these articles are written haphazardly and are published with minimal editing. Goodbye, creative writing. Goodbye, proper journalism. The result is a proliferation of crap content that clogs Google’s search engine.
In my opinion, these are all but teething pains. Eventually, an effective content quality system will be developed. Good old law of supply and demand will smoothen things out. Quality will win over crap (please Mr. Google!).
When ecosystems change and inflexible institutions collapse, their members disperse, abandoning old beliefs, trying new things, making their living in different ways than they used to. It’s easy to see the ways in which collapse to simplicity wrecks the glories of old. But there is one compensating advantage for the people who escape the old system: when the ecosystem stops rewarding complexity, it is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future. – Clay Shirky
5 Excellent Reasons to be a Freelance Article Writer
While some writers perceive the proliferation of content mills as a threat, for Virtual Assistants and online entrepreneurs, this is an excellent opportunity. No, it won’t make you rich over night. It might not even be a viable long term strategy. But if you are in the process of establishing your Virtual Assistance Business or if you are in the process of molding yourself into becoming a better writer, then freelance article writing is a good stepping stone for you.
Minimal Entry Requirements
For most content mills, a journalism or communications degree is not required. Neither are clips or previously published articles. Gone are the days when your diploma dictates your career.
The only requirement for content mills are as follows:
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Sample writings.
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Your resume/cv that illustrates your competence in your chosen topic
Writing is a skill that can be easily learned. So it doesn’t matter if you are not good in writing now. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t have the journalism background. As long as you are willing to learn how to write good web content, you can become an article writer!
Paid Learning Experience. Free Critique
I recently joined and got accepted into Bright Hub. My primary reason for joining is to hone my writing skills and get some constructive feedback from editors. On-line writing workshops costs $250 to $900 per subject. With Bright Hub, I don’t need to pay. Even better, I get paid. Sure there are lessons in the workshops but these are mostly out of books which you yourself can buy at a fraction of a cost. What you are paying for really is the community and the editorial critique. Something you can get out of the content mill communities.
Do note though that not all content sites have an editorial structure. So make sure to check this out before you join. About.com and Bright Hub have good editorial structures.
Credibility Booster
For most Virtual Assistants, article writing is part of the job. Well written articles published in reputable content sites are a good addition to your resume. This assumes though that the content site you are writing for has good credibility. I will probably think twice about writing for eHow. But that’s just me. A lot of prolific article writers do make money on eHow.
Simply because you are being paid $10 doesn’t mean you are confined to writing a $10 worth article. When you write a $10 article, potential clients will see you as a $10 writer. Write your article as if you are getting paid $500. When you write a $500 article, potential clients will see what you really are capable of and then they’ll be in a better position to commission you a $500 gig! Make it a habit to always strive for excellence; irregardless of how much you are getting paid for.
Excellent Exposure & Traffic
Yes you can write solely in your own blog but you’ll have to wait forever for google to index it. Writing for content mills is a smarter way to generate traffic and gain additional exposure. Eventually, some of the traffic will flow back to your own blog.
Supplementary Income
Most paid content sites pay $10-$20/article upfront. Then you get monthly residual income of $1-$3 per 1000 page views. Not all have the same rate structure so make sure you check this out. Reported earnings varies widely from $100 to $1500 per month. To get an estimate of your earning potential, estimate the number of articles you can write in a month then multiply that with your upfront pay. Layer a residual income with the assumption of 1000 average page views.
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Assuming you can write 1 article/day | 25 articles/month
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Your upfront pay will be (25 x $10-$20)| $250-$500/mo
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Plus your revenue share (25 x $1-$3)| $25 – $75/mo
In the first few months your income will be negligible. But as you article base grows, so will your income. Just to share with you some feedback with regards to potential earnings.
Positive reviews for Suite 101 Suite 101 Monthly Earnings
Suite101 $1400/mo ‘Tis the Season: Celebrating Holiday Articles with Mary
Not to dampen your spirit, but bear in mind that for every 1 successful freelance article writer, there are thousand others who are barely making $100/month. If you need money to pay for mortgage now, this is probably not the best option for you.
If you are a Virtual Assistant from Asia … A lot of Virtual Assistants accept 40 hour, full time jobs for $200-$400/mo. If you are in a similar scenario, you should seriously consider writing instead. You can get the same amount of money, or more, as long as you write 1-2 articles/day. You don’t need to work the graveyard shift. And you don’t have a boss to attend to. More importantly, you’ll have excess time to do other things that interests you.
Things You Should Know About Content Mills
Lifetime Revenue Stream
Most content mills try to lure freelance writers at the promise of lifetime residual income. As long as your article remains in their database you will get a share of the ad revenue. Here’s how the calculation goes. If you write 300 articles every year, for the next 3 years, you will have a passive income of $900-$2700/month. Cool!
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Write 1 article/day, for 3 years | 900 articles
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Revenue share (900 x $1 or $3)| $900 – $2700/mo income
Technically it is correct. But do note the underlying assumption here is that your article will continue to generate substantial page views. If you are writing low quality how-to articles this will most likely be wiped out off the face of google search. If the article is not evergreen, it will most likely be outdated, and similarly, will be wiped out off the face of google search. The very nature of the topics being written in most content mills inherently conflicts with the promise of a lucrative long term passive income.
The content mill business model is so new, we don’t know yet what will happen. Even with the google age factored in, there’s no guarantee that the page views can be sustained. Worse yet, the content site can simply decide to delete your articles if there’s too much crap on their database (like ehow did during their infamous eHow sweeps). Don’t anchor all your hopes on the future revenue stream.
You Can Write Whatever You Are Passionate About
You can write what you are passionate about, as long as what you are passionate about falls within the pre-approved list. Most content sites will pick out long tail keywords with high searches and minimal competition and post this list for everyone to see. You are then free to pick a topic from this list and claim it as your own. Most creative writers find this very stifling. You need to be flexible when writing for content sites. A lot of your content may come from research, and not necessarily out of your knowledge, or current expertise. If you want to be able to pick your own topic, make sure the content site you are joining allows pitching. Bright Hub allows pitching. Others may be less flexible.
Being a freelance article writer at the content mills may not be for everybody. But for those who genuinely likes to write and are looking for an easy entry, a learning experience, and at the same time a supplemental income, then freelance article writing is for you.
Never before in our history is an individual presented with so much career options as we are being presented now. Technology has enabled it so. Sure there will be bumps along the way, as we revolutionize our systems and processes. But as long as we continue to develop ourselves, we will continue, not only to survive, but to thrive in our new environment!
I imagine … A truly creative society: Each person moves from project to project, from gig to gig. Global Voluntary Communities of Interest, rather than corporations, provide the bedrock upon which we stand. Learning never ceases. Self-reliance is the norm… Each career consists of numerous “mini-careers”, with time-outs along the way. The cubicle slave is dead; long live the Free Agent! – Tom Peters, Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age
I would love to hear your experience, whether positive or negative, on writing for the content mills. Do drop a comment below. Thanks!
Author: Online Business Manager. Former FP&A & Service Excellence Manager at a fortune 500 MNC. With over 14 years of Corporate experience. Dropped out of the cubicle nation due to an entrepreneurial itch. Process & Productivity Addict. Loves GTD, MindMap, Brian Tracey. Simple. Approachable. Evangelist of Virtual Assistance Excellence! Do visit 1 Online Business Manager | 1OBM.com 
