Some writers swear by content mills, while others avoid them at all costs.
Content mills are a place you can make fast, easy, guaranteed money. The writing is simple and the work requires little research. Most writers, despite being paid $2-15 per article at content mills, can make an “easy” hundred dollars a day, sometimes more. When I wrote for Demand Studios, many writers reported making $300 a day just from DS alone. At a content mill, you have little say in the editorial process and you usually give up full rights to your work. Basically, this means you could get paid really quickly, but your payments are low compared to what you could make writing for yourself and marketing your work alone.
Private clients typically pay $15 and up for an article. Some sites pay a flat rate of $20-50 per article accepted. Many magazines do this, as well, although the payments are typically much higher – $75 for a short article and upwards of $1,500 for a feature article. The biggest downside to writing for private clients is that the pay isn’t as consistent or as quick as you would receive with a content mill. For example, a magazine query could take months to hear back from and months after that for you to receive your pay. Content mills usually pay once a week, although some content mills, such as Demand Studios, payout twice a week.
If you plan on becoming a writer for the long-haul, I’d recommend mixing up your work. There’s nothing inherently wrong with writing for a content mill, but remember that most people don’t respect the type of articles you’ll write as much as they would respect an article published in a printed magazine or professional website. The other thing to remember is that content mills don’t last forever. Demand Studios is one example of that. For a few years, writers had hundreds of thousands of available titles to write, but seemingly overnight the titles vanished. Anyone who relied solely on Demand Studios as a place of work was basically forced to quickly find other clients to write for or forced to join the job search for a typical desk job.
The best way to make money as a writer, in my opinion? Diversify. Write books, write articles, write for private clients. Do a little bit of everything. Get good at a few things and certainly have your area of specialty, but the more clients and places you have to work, the “safer” your income will be when it comes to having dependable income.
