5 Content Mills Like Textbroker That You Can Try!

Are there any other Content Mills like Textbroker?

Content mills have been labelled by many writing critics as the sub-basement of the writing world. 

Low pay, unreasonable clients, and low skilled writers are three of the more common complaints about content mill websites.

But despite the critics, content mill writing has been an acceptable way for many non-professional writers to make some extra money by pursuing their interest in writing.

You likely won’t retire doing content mill writing, but with a basic writing skill level you can explore a path to gradually making more money over time.

Many people are familiar with Textbroker.com because it is one of the longest running content mills that have provided writers with the opportunity to make a few bucks along the way.

Here are 5 alternatives to Textbroker for you to consider to start you on the path to writing riches! (sort of).

Note: A couple of these mentioned aren’t actually content mills, but are freelancing platforms — nevertheless, these are good alternatives to consider, which could lead to higher pay and long-term working relationships with clients.

Useful Posts:

• 10 legit ways you can make money writing online.
• 6 ways you can make money writing product reviews.

Hirewriters:

Hirewriters has a number of unique features about it – some good, some bad.

On the good side is that you can line up jobs and get to them according to your schedule.

With Textbroker; you take a job, then have to complete it before taking another job.

Hirewriters lets you keep your writing queue full and this means that you don’t lose out on potential jobs just because you’re in the middle of another.

Another perk is clients can pay you bonuses if they really like your work, up to $20.

On the downside there is a penalty assessed if you miss a job deadline.

Miss too many deadlines and you will find your skill level taking a hit.

From one perspective, it is what entry level writers expect from a content mill: do the work, on time, with an acceptable level of quality, and you will get paid for your efforts.

If you’re keen on a Textbroker alternative, this is a decent option to check out.

Upwork

This isn’t a content mill, it’s a freelancing website – but somewhere you can still be paid for your writing.

For those new to the online writing industry, Upwork is the merger of two former content mill competitors: Elance and oDesk.

Both had solid reputations in the industry, but it may speak volumes about how things really work when competitors merge.

While this isn’t a “content mill,” in the typical sense, again it is a place where many people hope to pay a small amount for written work.

It has one of the better reputations with those that do work with content mills and there is the opportunity to meet new clients and go for higher paying gigs in time.

On this platform, writers usually bid for available jobs, and clients base their decision on the offered price and the resume of the writer.

This can make it difficult for new writers to get a foothold, so patience is required.

Still, Upwork is one of the most popular websites for new writers and some writers do manage to demand decent pay for their efforts.

As a Freelancer, it shouldn’t be overlooked.  

If you have a solid profile set up, you can also get clients approach you for work directly.

iWriter

iWriter has a pretty negative reputation from writers themselves and the quality that is produced has been criticised by many.

On the writer end of things, it functions like most content mills, where clients post their jobs and asking price and writers have at it.

One of the important differences with iWriter is clients can, and often do, ask for one hour turnaround time.

So if you compare it to say Hirewriters, you can forget about scheduling your own writing assignments.

It’s like fast food takeout through the drive through window.

A lot of clients seem to complain about the quality of the writers, so if you are a competent writer – you could be favorited and then be asked for personally and build up a client base.

A great difficulty that many people find with iwriter, is getting your first jobs. 

As you start off at an entry level and there can be a limited amount available at this stage.

You can pay to do a course at iwriter that will propel you to a higher level, where more jobs will be available.

However, that course currently costs $199 and with the low pay, it would take you a long time to recuperate that investment.

Fiverr:

Again, Fiverr like Upwork is not a content mill – it’s a freelancing platform.

Fiverr is a great platform, but the quality of writing you can find here is often not good.

If you’re a good writer, you may be able to charge more of a premium and do well.

Fiverr is an online freelancing platform and so, it’s really a *content mill,* in the usual sense.

However, it’s similar in the small amount you can get paid just starting out.

The potential client with a content mill sets the price, and it doesn’t take into account any research or rewrites you may have to do.

(More on the general issue of rewrites later.)

But with Fiverr, the idea is to offer writing, (and many other services) for a small price, which is technically what a content mill does as well.

The difference is, as you progress at Fiverr, you have the ability to add “gig extras,” and charge much more.

There is a lot of competition on Fiverr these days, especially for things like Freelance writing.  So, you’d have to make an effort to really stand out.

It’s been said that people who have a video of themselves discussing their particular service, have a far greater chance of success.

So, if you aren’t camera shy – this would be a very good idea.

You also have the ability to charge different prices depending on things such as, the length of the article.

So, you could charge $5 for just 300 words and then people would need to purchase additional gigs for more.

You will need to price your skills competitively at first though, as Fiverr is very much dependent on customer reviews.

You will want to get some good reviews at first and build your reputation from there.

Joining Fiverr is completely free and, unlike content mills, you don’t need to complete any tests to get started.

Writer Access

One of the unique features of WriterAccess is when you go to their home page you find a series of downloadable e-books giving advice to clients about what they need to get the best deal.

This is actually just covert advertising, but for clients who are looking for cheap writing there is no reason not to give the freebies a gander.

Writers can get a clue from this, since if a website is telling clients how to get the cheapest price, what does this tell the writer about the price they can expect to get paid?

Who Pays The Most?

OK, this is a question that has neither a simple nor an easy answer.

The best and most honest answer is – it depends.

It depends on the number of times you have to rewrite an article, if at all.

It also has to consider if you can make money above and beyond the base rate, which is usually $.01 per word or less.

Here, the total for writing 500 words at $.01 would be $5.

Yet at the Beginner levels in many content mills you will be getting paid $.003 or three tenths of a cent per word.

That can be downright discouraging.

It’s not unusual for clients to ask for a rewrite or editing your original work, and that will but into your actual pay rate.

For example, if you agree to do a job for $5 and it takes 1 hour, you earn $5.

But if the client requires changes and those changes take you an additional 30 minutes, then you actually make $5 for 90 minutes of work or $3.33 an hour.

Some content mills give every writer a second chance for the client to accept the job via a rewrite.

Others do not, which means you can spend an hour of your time expecting to make $5 and end up with $0 and a grumpy attitude to go along with it.

With freelancing websites, you can set your own fee and so, of course you can make more with those overall.

Is Content Mill Writing For Me?

Practically speaking, it will take months or even years for you to reach a decent level of income from content mills, if you can ever do it.

But it is a good way to try and improve your writing skills, beyond knowing the nuts and bolts of spelling and grammar.

You can get a wide variety of jobs, everything from blogs to content pages for websites to public relations releases to product descriptions that will be found on Amazon and other high traffic websites.

You may not be famous but it is very likely you will find your work out on the web somewhere.

How many people can say that?

Here are a few types of people who are likely to benefit personally and financially from going down to the content mill:

• People who like to write as a hobby
• Those who have been told they are good writers and aren’t doing anything about it.
• English majors.
• People who like expressing their ideas.
• People who casually come up with product reviews or descriptions in their minds
• Crossword puzzle lovers (it’s about the words)
• Poetry writers (yes, there are content mills that ask for poetry content – believe it or not!).

The most direct advice is…. To simply try.

You won’t know until you try, and you can make a little bit of money for trying.

If you find out your writing skills are above the average writer out there, then you can put the pedal to the metal and see how fast and far you can go with your newly discovered talent.

Someone once said to me, “If it were me, I would want to know.”

Ask yourself how you would respond if someone said that to you about writing for content mills or anyone else.

Then you have your answer.