Need more freelance work? A leading content mill just stepped up to the plate to help freelancers in an unusual way.
If you’ve been thinking about chasing content mill work as a freelance writer, now might be the first time in content-mill history to consider it.
Why? For every day of the shelter-in-place orders around the world, the demand for high-quality, well-written, and engaging content keeps rising…something content mills haven’t always provided.
But that’s about to change.
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve done a thorough assessment of our platforms,” says Content Mill Consortium spokesman Westley Roberts. “We need to do a better job at compensating freelance writers and helping our clients hire great talent. And that time is now.”
The plan, spearheaded by one of the top content mills in the industry, outlines changes to improve rates and connect freelance writers with quality clients, says Roberts. But there are also some unusual requirements the plan includes to help the best freelancers rise to the top.
Ready to move up and earn more? Here’s what you need to know.
The COVID-19 content mill shake-up
So what are the unusual requirements the leading member of the Content Mill Consortium plans to roll out?
Documents obtained by an insider at the Content Mill Consortium from a source only known as “Ryan,” describe the changes one leading content mill plans to implement, beginning today, April 1.
If you want to write for content mills in the COVID-19 climate, here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Work for pennies. Struggle, get by, barely make ends meet writing…like a poor farm boy. It’s a way to prove yourself, earn your stripes, and maybe even have extra left over to buy bread, says Roberts.
- Never get bylines. Even though many ghostwriting gigs pay top dollar, you can ghostwrite for content mill clients for dirt cheap. Play it safe. Do all the work and let someone else claim your byline and control your future. The trouble is you start to believe the lies that you’re “friendless, brainless, helpless, and hopeless!”
- Rarely deal directly with clients. Why not do the dirty work for the middle man and get paid in scraps? You could, but it never ends well. It’s kind of like drinking from a glass filled with liquid and poisoned with iocane powder.
- Race-to-the-bottom bidding. It seems like everybody else is doing it, so that must be the way it’s done. Well, it’s not. Doing freelance work this way is like punching your ticket to the fun-house called The Pit of Despair. When you ask your client for a raise, all you’ll hear is maniacal laughter and the mocking repetition of the word…”interesting.”
Wait, what? Content mills aren’t rolling out the red carpet and paying freelance writers pro rates?
Nope…Happy April Fool’s Day from Make a Living Writing.
The proven way to find freelance writing clients
If you’re serious about moving up and earning more as a freelance writer, stay away from content mills.
Sure, you might find the rare client that pays pro rates there. But most only offer a soul-sucking existence, pay pennies per word, and treat you like an unemployed giant in Greenland or a poor orphaned boy desperate for revenge. And that’s no way to live.
The proven way to find great freelance writing clients…Reach out. Network. Introduce yourself. Market your services. Connect with editors and marketing directors in your niche. The more you do this, the closer you’ll be to storming the castle and earning pro rates.
Need help leaving the content mills? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
Evan Jensen is the blog editor for Make a Living Writing. When he’s not on a writing deadline or catching up on emails, he’s training to run another 100-mile ultra-marathon.
