Million Ways to Save - Latest Comments

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:47 -0000

It's crazy crazy. I remember one of the articles that I had - they requested that I use the keyword 200 times in a 600 word article (or something obscene like that). I ended up writing the article as I was going to do and then putting their keywords at the end of it 200 times. I was thankful that TB didn't ding me for it.

*smiles* I SO in favor of writing awesome content and sliding away from SEO junk - but admittedly, it makes a living.

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Niki — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:52:29 -0000

Hi Emily. Thank you for this site! It is helpful for those of us new to TB. I was reading through the threads and came across an observation concerning the use of numerous keywords in short articles. I had to laugh because my 3rd client requested the plural form of their keywords used 17-19 times in a 530 word article. I am fearful, though the client accepted my article immediately, that anyone who reads it will wonder just how few brain cells are left rattling around in my noggin....I am submitting my 5th article today. I guess we'll see, eh?
Thanks again,
Niki

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:56 -0000

It truly makes me wonder what will happen after the new Penguinator takes the stage - the traditional SEO articles still work to some extent, but they pale in comparison to social interaction and people who care about the topics involved.

I think that writer instruction forms is a perfect idea! You're just kinda thrown into the pot without a second thought -- it took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on.

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:23:54 -0000

You're absolutely right - it's crazy, but as long as there are people from all over the world who are willing to accept this type of treatment, the place will stay around. Honestly, as long as people are willing to accept the two star quality articles on their internet, this place will stay in business.

For the record, I SUCK at self editing. I'm really amazingly bad at it, which is one of the reasons that I never became a five star writer. :) I figure that you've found some other pools to play in, too?

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

jayne — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:08:41 -0000

:) lol. I realize this is a year later, but am thoroughly enjoying this whole thread!

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

jayne — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:07:06 -0000

Thanks for sharing that! It makes me feel a lot better about the "broken" editorial system they use (their high and mighty editors who do not write "high quality" blogs, thank you very much!)

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

jayne — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:04:49 -0000

LOL! So true to all of that!

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

jayne — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:03:46 -0000

I am in absolute agreement about the comma usage. Textbroker writes that it wants accurate writing, but surely goes against this rule when tossing out the serial comma.

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

jayne — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:01:37 -0000

Thank you for writing this!

I love that Textbroker wants high quality writing but doesn't want to pay for it. I wish I could be an editor for them, because the editor passes all responsibilities onto the writer, such as proofreading, copy editing, and re-reading (in addition to writing for one penny per word).

Really my greatest pet peeve may actually get them into hot water. They never asked how much the writer charges for his or her writing. Textbroker may actually be treading on thin ice as far as IRS compliance goes. Just my personal opinion. So, one day would not be surprised to see them backpedal off the "high quality for pennies" and ask us our actual pay rate, and pay their portion of taxes.

Only at a job do you get told how to do the job, what system to use to do it, and are told how much you are going to get paid. Contractors get to set a rate, and pay their own self employment taxes. So, how come I am paying the taxes; getting paid one penny per word, while expanding my "job" to include self editing?

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Victor Theremine — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:40:20 -0000

Textbroker is "almost but not quite." You never get a sense of stability there, since one errant comma can ding you into the Twilight Zone. I spend more time proofreading than research and writing combined. Something ain't right. I honestly and truly wish editors would stop foisting their work onto writers like they are some kind of self-appointed Comma Gestapo. Writing for the web is NOT about stylistics. That is why the publishing/media industry is sinking into the tar pits of history with the other dinosaurs. And journalists are now whoring term papers to spoiled parasites.

Anyway, TB needs several things - first, to get rid of the ding system and to reward loyalty and give a sense of stability for writers. Second, raising the writer rates or offer more tiers at REAL pay rates for REAL writing. Third, to force editors to edit and not gatekeep, and let writers write and not also edit - *without due compensation*. Bulk copy for bulk rates. Period.

Third, UPDATE ITS BIZARRE, VISION-KILLING, USER-HATING ARCHITECTURE, A$$-CREEPING SERVERS, AND RIDICULOUS SEARCH FUNCTION.

Fourth, HOW ABOUT WRITER INSTRUCTION FORMS FOR THE CRACKHEAD SET?

Of course, TB does not have to do a thing. In which case, it will become a self-correcting problem as there are numerous new writing providers cropping up that heed Google's clarion call to quality. Textbroker can cling to its bulk writing philosophy and suffer its impending doom.

Cheers : )

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Maxwell E — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:48:09 -0000

Hey, just found this article and I'm pretty new to textbroker myself. I've seen a lot of different reviews for this site and seems like for the most part I've found them to be pretty positive. I would say the site is in fact probably tailored more towards beginning writers hence why the pay rate is lower, though where I've come from in the job world, this site with enough efficiency in article completion definitely is a step up from that, so I guess I just can't complain about that, key becomes the speed at which you complete your articles which as you get more and more comfortable with them definitely increases. Seems like from what I'm saw in the open order pool there's actually very few 2 star articles and a lot of 3 and 4 star articles available, which that just might be one of those things that changes over time and can fluctuate a lot depending on the client base I guess. As for the serial comma, I don't really like that either, but it's small enough for me that I'm willing to make the adjustment.

The only things I really got a beef with are numbers 3 and 5, and 3 more so because they have definitely gotta find a way to speed up the rating after you complete your first 5 articles, no reason it should take weeks to get done. I'm 50/50 over article ratings being client-based. Going back to the statement about the site being tailored more towards beginning writers, they probably wanted to ensure that those just starting out in the writing world weren't gonna find themselves at the mercy of clients who might be out to take advantage of them by having full control over whether or not they accept the article. Plus if they had any beef with textbroker and payment issues, they might unfairly slap the author with a 1 star rating even if he didn't deserve it, so that's probably why the site editors choose to control the author rating. On the flip-side that doesn't help an author who's gotten such good feedback from clients that he can't get paid better because the site won't see his rating at any better.

Anyone here know anything about demand studios? I've heard that site pays higher than textbroker.

Re: I have DUMB goals

Emily Hunter — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:20:16 -0000

Thank you for commenting! SMART goals just never made sense to me as far as day to day. I mean, you can broaden them out and in the A section, there's an expected breakdown, but still. :) What kind of goals do you have?

Re: I have DUMB goals

Christiano Kwena — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 04:37:33 -0000

You are on the right path, according to me, with dumb goals. Keep on the spirit and I think will will achieve a lot more than you would have, if you stuck with smart goals.

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Ian Johnson — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:55:18 -0000

In response to SteveT's comments about the 32 articles in a row with a 3 rating after having submitted hundreds at 4, well, that happened to me as well. However, in my case, I wrote well over 600 articles with a 4 grade on all of them over a two year period, only to be hit with 50+ articles in a row with a grade of 3 in a single batch review. Now, most might assume that I am exaggerating the 600 articles number; but I'm not. Seriously, 600 in a row were rated 4 and then 50 in a row rated at 3. It's not possible unless something changed.

I do agree that they use the ratings system to reduce excess writer opportunities and costs. I also think that there are different applications of the AP style guide from one editor to another.

It's unfortunate. I simply can't write for such a low amount and enjoyed grabbing one or two articles every other day. The AP style guide has serious flaws and the example about the Oxford/Serial comma is spot on.

Than you for the post.

Re: Find Your Passion: Create a New Income Stream

Heather Allard — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 09:52:35 -0000

Thanks for sharing 10 Multiple Income Streams You Can Create, Emily! Much appreciated. :)

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:01:52 -0000

Hey, sorry for responding so late -- it's been one heck of a ride recently as I told Danny. Thank you very much for commenting. No, it's not you at all. TB is crazy weird about commas, and that's one of the things that they'll pin you against the wall for. I hate to say that because of my experience with them I've become hypercomma'ated. Thank,you,again. :) (just kidding - bad use of commas gets me too. )

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 19:58:49 -0000

It's awesome that they got back to you about the missing money -- they are usually reasonable about money issues -- and I'm sorry that it took me forever and a day to write back. Holy cow it's been a time. :) Thank you for your comment and your follow up!

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 19:57:37 -0000

First of all, thanks for responding, David! Yeah, that kind of hold on the articles wouldn't have been so bad were there not money on the line. When I did mine, IIRC, it took about a week for them to get to it, so I'd expect something to come up tomorrow.

The good articles, the ones that will really get your brain pumping, are in the 4 star category (if it's still the same) -- the 3s are crap articles about building furniture or SEO work for profit systems and junk like that. And.. I can't think of anything to say about hyperpigmentation - almost makes me want to start an SEO campaign to rank for it. :)

Here's hoping that they love you!

--Emily

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

David Vallance — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 17:46:07 -0000

It's very interesting for a new-boy to read the perspective of someone established in the industry. The rating time frame is of particular issue since I am currently on my 5-article hold and have been for around a week now. The annoying thing is imagining the flow of articles passing by in the knowledge that you could and would write about them, I stooped to an article on hyperpigmentation for God's sake!

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

ynnad — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:04:51 -0000

for the record, textbroker did make the missing payment to me...so, no more complaints...

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Danny — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 04:05:25 -0000

Hi all, I will add my own TB experience here. My problem is I had my payment sent to a paypal that was not verified and could not withdraw the money. (My mistake) My recourse was to refund the money to them. I did this. After a bit of discussion with paypal and melissa at author support, plus some emails to show the refund took place, I was told the problem was going to be sent to accounting and in 1-3 business days I would get the money minus a $5 fee. No problem. We are at 9 business days and counting and no one writes me back when I ask about the money. They still pay me at my working paypal for writing I do but the one refunded payment is in limbo.

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Alanik22 — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:02:08 -0000

I am so thankful for this article. I was demoted from a 4 star to a 3 star for my commas, and for the life of me I could not figure out why. The clients rated me highly for my articles. Every 3 rating from TB had me scratching my head and cursing, haha. I thought I was going insane. Seriously, I'm glad to know it wasn't just me. :)

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Emily Hunter — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:01:22 -0000

Heya, thank you for commenting on my site. I never really realized that there were so many folks out there who'd been burned by Textbroker until I wrote this article.

For some reason, i thought that the bulk grading, and the 'in it for them' thing was just a unique thing - that the slow grading, that the fact that it doesn't matter that the clients love your work -- maybe they were just picking on me. I know that I'm horribly wrong.

As far as other sites - you could go to iwriter.com as one of them. They have the same sort of setup, and while I have my complaints about them, one of the biggest ways that they set themselves apart is that it's overall customer opinion which gets you the stars. The site gets its money either way, just like Textbroker, but you can send your clients whatever they want, as long as they like it.

The pay is not as good, though. You're getting paid less than a penny a word in most cases, and there's a high ramp up period. You can only go up in level after you've done 30 'crap' articles. I managed to get mine out of the way fairly quickly because I got in on a good deal with someone. Another site is The Content Authority -- they're fairly sleazy looking, and they have a ramp up, but their higher levels give you more than textbroker.

Those are the two that I can think of off hand that have the same sort of format. I've been tempted to write for Yahoo/Associated content, but they're very picky about what they take, and I never figured out the knack. :)

I hope that that helps you out a bit. Good luck!

Re: Why I Left Textbroker

Spookedamethyst — Sat, 26 May 2012 13:10:25 -0000

I have been a writer with Textbroker for almost two years now. There are many, many things wrong with Textbroker's system. I am normally a level 4 writer on their site, but I have recently been receiving a lot of 3's and am almost sure that I will be booted down one of these days. Textbroker's rating process is atrocious, to say the least. They have two editors on staff and both of these editors have very different views on how a level 4 article should look.

It's so different, in fact, that I know when I get the "good editor" for the month. I'll receive almost all 4 stars from the good editor, while the other one will boot me down for small reasons. It has gotten so bad that my recent rating was booted down because I used the word "really" in an article. The editor told me that the word "really" was a filler/fluff word and that it wasn't indicative of 4-star quality. For instance, instead of writing "There are good tools available at the local hardware store", I wrote, "There are really good tools available at the local hardware store". For this, I received a 3-star rating despite the fact that the client loved my article.

The ratings are also very bipolar. I was booted down two months ago because I started a lot of my sentences with "Many people," and I was told that I should not do that. I changed my writing style and began alternating the term "For many," in a lot of my articles and was actually told by my editor that I should have used the term "Many people," because it would make more sense. Bipolar much? You just told me not to use that term and now I'm supposed to use it!

In all, I completely agree with you about Textbroker. I am trying desperately to find other content writing sites to work for because I know that Textbroker is not stable enough to work for. Their rating process and system needs a serious overhaul. They need to stop treating 4-star writers like the higher paid 5-star writers. I also agree with you as far as them trying to keep their pay-outs down.

If you know of any other sites like Textbroker, I would love to hear from you! Textbroker doesn't realize that many people, like myself, are providing for their families with the money they make on the site. To boot a person down because of using the word "really" in an article is just downright nasty. If I get booted down, I risk not having the money I need to pay my rent. I guess they simply do not care about this and using one filler/fluff word is reason enough for them to boot me down and risk my financial security.

Re: Writing Advice for Non-Native English Writers

AvgJoeMoney — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:41:43 -0000

Great tips here. I'm not sure how I missed this article. I've never heard of My Language Exchange. I'm going to check it out.