The WMF Archives: Another Content Mill Story

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Another Content Mill Story

6:00 AM

By Pam Houghton

I hooked up with a writing contractor a little over a year ago to write 750-word articles for a web-based information provider. The hierarchy looked like this, with writers at the end of the supply chain.

Web-based, information provider wannabe (aka, content site), that contracted out to...
Publisher of educational materials, that contracted out to...
Start-up contract writing outfit, that hired...
Low-cost writers

Even though writers were only paid $22.50 per article, I was excited that I didn't have to chase down work. Plus, I was in transition from full-time corporate work to freelance, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra experience on the resume.

Rather than receive assignments, writers "claimed" stories in a database. The topics were as varied as cosmetic dentistry and GED classes to careers in dance and employee benefits. Even though writers were at the bottom of the food chain, we were populating a website that would be the go-to site for everything-there-is-to-know-in-the-world.

Knowing nothing about my first topic (and wanting to provide in-depth knowledge), I spent ten hours researching, finding credible sources and links to include in the article, and re-writing much of what I found on the Internet so it passed "Turnitin", the software program that makes sure work isn't plagiarized.

The editors loved it. I felt like their golden girl!

The next several stories passed muster too, but I wanted to boost my speed. Plus, we were required to increase our output to five stories a week.

I gave it my best shot, but I couldn't research and write that fast and churn out decent articles. My stories started to sound like gobbledy-gook, even though I convinced myself they made sense before I submitted them.

Needless to say, my once "golden" status tarnished quickly as a few articles were kicked back for revisions, and in a couple of cases, total re-writes.

Judging from e-mails sent to writers on the project (from the editors at the little contract firm), the content site was unhappy with the overall quality of the articles. It seemed there weren't many writers who could meet the standard of write well, write thoroughly, write fast - for $22.50 an article.

Though I think their intentions were good, the little company that hired me didn't realize what a challenge it would be for writers to create high-volume, high quality content at such a fast rate; and on topics where they had little expertise. Thus, they initially bid too low on the project, and could not afford to pay writers a fair wage.

After the project ended, I was offered an opportunity to work on another. I passed.

Labels: content mills, Content Mills Week, paid freelance writers, Pam Houghton, pay rates

10 comments:

Sheila Ruth Siler said...: Thank you for sharing this information. I am enjoying your column a lot, and am following a fascinating thread about content mills on LinkedIn that you posted. As a "newbie", I appreciate the sharing of your knowledge.; February 20, 2010 6:46 AM
Pam Houghton said...: Sheila- you are welcome! I am glad you are enjoying the columns.; February 20, 2010 8:04 AM
Alyssa Ast said...: Great information Pam.; February 20, 2010 10:28 AM
Life And Death said...: It's a horrible thing for a writer to have to choose between quality and quantity. Often, to pay the bills we foresake some of the quality for the quantity and only later realize we have also foresaken our reputation as a writer.; February 20, 2010 11:32 AM
Pam Houghton said...: Life and Death (aka Kat!) - I was fortunate - I was collecting severance pay at the time and could afford to experiment with different types of writing gigs. However, if I had to support myself or a family?? Couldn't be done...; February 20, 2010 11:54 AM
CynthiaK said...: Very helpful to read what has worked and what hasn't for writers. I've also been fortunate to be off with my children for a few years and decided to launch myself as a freelance writer during this "trial period" to see if I could make it work. I haven't felt the same pressures as someone trying to develop quickly and effectively as a well-paid writer.

That being said, having maintained contacts in industry before I left work has helped me generate some business and I haven't had to delve into the world of content mills. Such an interesting topic, though. I'm really enjoying reading posts on this site!; February 20, 2010 1:23 PM
Pam Houghton said...: Thanks Cynthia! That's a great point about maintaining industry contacts after you leave work. You never know when someone you previously worked with might be the boost you need to turn your career in a new direction. Never burn bridges, I say!; February 20, 2010 1:35 PM
Arlene Hauben said...: Really interesting story. I have never been able to write fast unless it is a personal memoir type piece. I worked for a PR firm a few years back and they expected me to write about 15 press releases a day. I was dripping with sweat.; February 20, 2010 3:55 PM
Carol Tice said...: I feel like the missing information a lot of writers don't have is that you can write as a contractor and still be well-paid. I wrote through a contractor on a 26-article package and made $10,000 recently. I write pretty easy articles through three other contractors at $100-$300 an article. People need to stop the mentality that $20 an article is some kind of going rate. It's only the going rate in the new online content slums...out in the real corporate world, you can still make a good living.

And as you found out, just because the pay is cheap doesn't mean you can necessarily do it quick...sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

Great post --

Carol Tice
Make a Living Writing blog: How to Successfully Blog; February 21, 2010 1:01 AM
Pam Houghton said...: Arlene - that's funny - "dripping with sweat."

Carol - I like your examples of well-paid, reasonable contract writing for corporations. That's what we should shoot for. Thanks.; February 21, 2010 3:27 PM

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