What are online content mills and are they worth using?

A content mill is a service website that specializes in producing as much content as possible within a short amount of time. The content mill will connect clients with writers anonymously and take a percentage of the overall sale.

The Pay from Content Mills

Most content mills have a per-word rate, but some offer a rate based on individual projects. For example, when I began writing for Textbroker, I was making $0.014 per word. So, a 500-word article would pay $7.00.

As I was able to complete one of these within 15 minutes, I could net around $28.00 per hour as long as I had a steady flow of articles to write.

Fluctuating Workload

One of the biggest drawbacks to writing for content mills is the fact that the workload isn’t the most stable. On some days, there will be hundreds or thousands of articles available to write. On others, it may be completely empty.

When there is work available, you have to make sure you’re being ultra-productive to make the most money. As there are thousands of authors grabbing those articles as well, it all comes down to who can write the fastest.

Ghostwriting Isn’t for Everyone

The anonymity of content mills means you’re a ghostwriter. This means that you are unable to accept credit for any article you sell to a client. They have full rights and can put their name as the author.

That also means you can’t use any of those articles as samples of your work for private clients. Since someone else’s name is on the article, you cannot prove that you wrote the piece.

Creating a Career from Content Mills

I was able to make enough money writing for content mills that I was able to quit my full-time job at the school district in 2013. However, I was using Textbroker, WriterAccess, and Fiverr at the same time. Then, I would bounce back and forth and pick up jobs as they were available.

The trick to using a content mill full-time is dedication and motivation to write all day long. In my case, I was averaging between 6,000 and 8,000 words per day and grabbed every order that piqued my interest.

Michael Brockbank
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