The WMF Archives

By Angela Atkinson

Welcome to the second installation of The WM Freelance Connection's exploration, investigation and discussion about "content mills." Check out our other content mills week posts here.

We're starting off the week with an interview we conducted with Jeremy Reed, the Senior Vice President of Content and Editorial at Demand Media.

Though Demand Studios says its not a content mill, it's often labeled as such by industry critics. In the following interview, Jeremy Reed (pictured here) shares his thoughts on the critics, the rumors and what Demand Studios is really all about. Special thanks to Wadooah Wali, Senior Director of Communications at Demand Media for help in facilitating the interview.

The Interview

WM: What is Demand Studios?

JR: Demand Studios is a publishing platform and professional freelance community that has created more than 1 million original articles and videos.

WM: How exactly does Demand's process work?

JR: We created our platform with the intent and need to grow Demand Media’s owned-and-operated vertical websites like eHow.com, LIVESTRONG.COM, Golflink.com, etc. We set out to create content that would help readers solve problems and get good advice. But, we also needed it to be a sustainable media model in the digital age.

We knew the life of a piece of online content was indefinite, so we focused on creating evergreen, “news that you can use,” quality content. Two quality attributes we focused on were being responsible and being relevant to the reader. We are responsible in that we follow the editorial rigor (e.g. copyediting, fact-checking), roles (copy editors/fact-checkers) and pertinent quality steps (e.g. plagiarism checks; workflow that allows for rewrites; etc.) of traditional media.

But then, in terms of relevancy, we harnessed our knowledge of what we knew people were looking for online and served them relevant, quality content. We do this for text content and video content. Some steps are different, but many are share, such as qualifying all creators, following established guidelines, and reviewing every piece of content before it is published.

WM: Who owns Demand Studios?

JR: Demand Studios® is the content production and publication service of Demand Media. Demand Media enables individuals to put their passion, experience and available time into producing articles and videos for the Web and beyond from a virtual workplace.

We are one of the Web’s biggest and fastest growing online media companies and we set out to improve the consumer experience with content and social media tools. From the very beginning, we wanted to create an entirely different kind of media company and each month we make it possible for millions of people to engage in conversations and form passionate communities around relevant content.

WM: How is Demand Studios different from content mills?

JR: Our CEO Richard Rosenblatt recently penned a company manifesto, which put forth our guiding principles for the world to see. About the kind of content we create, he wrote “content that solves problems, answers questions, saves money, saves time and makes people laugh.”  Regarding content mills comparisons, I think it is unavoidable when you are doing the volume of articles and videos we are for many different destinations, each with its own style requirements and voice.

When I was working in print, both for magazines and newspapers, we followed similar editorial workflows. But with scale and with being online, also comes the benefits I didn’t have in those traditional environments. For example, because we have more than 5,000 active, qualified, rated, categorized creators on any given day, we have the benefit of getting the best people to do their best work at their ideal hour(s) in the day.

We also benefit from the social media tools that surround our more than 1 million pieces of published content. We know what is working, what is not working and we use that information to make our content more responsible, more relevant and ultimately, improving our overall quality.  

WM: How many writers, copy editors and film makers work with Demand Studios?

JR: Last month, we had more than 7,000 active professional freelance creators who live in more than 200 markets across the U.S.

WM: About how much would you say an average Demand Studios writer makes each month?

JR: Averages are hard, because each freelancer works as much or as little as they need to work based on their needs and the types of assignments they choose. But on average, our active writers make $22-$25 per hour.

WM: Are there limits to how much a writer can make? 

JR: We set out with a mission to make sure the quality writers that we let in would have more work, not less work, as we grew the company. We currently have more than 150,000 available assignments at DemandStudios.com. Writers know exactly how much they receive based on the assignment of their choosing. We pay twice weekly, meaning that once written and approved by copy editors, writers know exactly how much they will be paid and when. As someone who freelanced for many years, that’s very important in the uncertain world of freelancing.

WM: What do you say to the industry critics who insist that Demand Studios is a low-paying content mill that simply exploits writers to make money?

JR: It is tough to hear industry critics complaining about the pay. But, it is contradictory to what we are seeing and hearing in our community. And as I pointed out earlier, it has grown to almost 10,000 people in a short amount of time. We’ve created a loyal, qualified community of professional freelancers, because, I believe, we’ve only improved and grown opportunities from month-to-month. We will continue to roll out new opportunities that benefit our best, proven creators, giving them opportunities to make more money and get their bylines on credible, respected publications.

WM: The industry has been buzzing about Demand Media lately. Any other rumors you’d like to clarify?

JR: I think our Manifesto captures it all!

WM: How do you feel about other content sites which more closely fit the content mill description?

JR: Anyone who is trying to create quality content and a sustainable media model for both the publisher and the creator, I support. 

WM: Although some in the industry criticize Demand's business model and treatment of writers, there seems to be a very different opinion among many freelancers who work or have worked with DS. What do you hear from the DS community?

JR: Our community of professional freelancers is telling us two things (loud and clear): They want a sense of stability that comes with guaranteed work and they want to grow their careers.

WM: Besides regular freelance work, does Demand Studios offer support to writers as they work to grow in their careers?

JR: As Demand Studios continues to grow and we get to know our community better, we're learning about their passions outside of creating content for us. In a forum thread, we asked contributors to tell us what they thought about working with us. We compiled a few of their answers in Why Demand Media Works for Me. And on our Facebook fan page, many of our creators mentioned their creative pursuits.  

We understand that one of the benefits of freelancing is that your schedule is your own and we felt that it was important to provide the opportunity to pursue and feed that passion, so we responded with a monthly grant program to help them do just that. 

WM: Anything else you’d like to tell The WM Freelance Connection’s readers about Demand Studios?

JR: Demand Studios provides assignments to more than 7,000 qualified professional freelance writers, editors and filmmakers located across the U.S. who are able to work at their own pace, on their own time and still have guaranteed income on a weekly basis. Without a regular commute, the freelance community is also helping the environment and saving money in the process.

Many of our freelancers are happy making a full-time living off of Demand Media assignments – as we’ve removed the “hustle” from freelancing that allows them to focus on what they love to do and cut out all the hassle associated with pitching ideas, finding assignments, chasing down payments, lather, rinse and repeat. Each day we offer more than 150k new assignments available at www.DemandStudios.com.

Can freelancers do this if they need to make $100k per year?  Certainly not yet, but we are always working to innovate our model that certainly includes compensating out professional freelance community for their time, their loyalty and their talents. As our business grows, we absolutely plan to ensure that we share our success with our freelance community.

With leadership, praise and innovation come a few punches. Demand Media is completely redefining how online content is created, and this innovation is completely changing the economics of media.  And, this scares people.  Some have said some bad things about the freelance community we’ve built together and the quality of our content. Though I have respect for writers and journalists who research and profile the company, I respect the thoughts, opinions and needs of our creator community more. 

Ultimately, I care more about keeping our active, passionate and talented community happy. And, as I remind myself and others here in the office, we will continue to do that by listening and reacting to them, first and foremost.

More About Jeremy Reed

SVP, Content and Editorial, Demand Media

Jeremy oversees content production for Demand Studios, which feeds Demand Media's owned-and-operated sites including eHow.com and LIVESTRONG.COM, as well as third-party partners like YouTube. Demand Studios is one of the largest producers of Internet-ready content on the Web today, with a library of more than 170,000 videos and one million articles. Previously, Jeremy was the vice president of content at Citysearch.com and has written about books, music, business, arts and travel for many publications including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Austin Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman. His publishing career also includes stints as the managing editor of Detour magazine and as an associate production manager with PRIMEDIA Publishing. Jeremy holds a B.S. from Texas Wesleyan University.

Interview With Demand Media SVP of Content and Editorial, Jeremy Reed