Jan 13 2009
Helium and HubPages are looking for writers — who don’t really need money
I remember the predictions: The Internet is going to be a boon for freelance writers. Just look, everyone said, at all the new markets for writers it will bring.
Well, the Internet has been around for some time now, and I certainly don’t see too many writers — a few, maybe, but not many — getting rich from it. Instead, I see a lot of writers pumping out a whole lot of online content for not nearly enough dollars.
That’s been the problem with writing for most Web sites. Sure, they need writers, but they’re not willing to pay much, if anything, to them.
I was reminded of this when I stumbled across two online job postings, one for HubPages and another for Helium. Both were looking for writers. And both promised payment.
For writers unfamiliar with the sites, both are filled with short, blog-like stories written by freelancers. Problem is, the payment — at least the vast, vast majority of it — comes from things such as page views, ad clicks, etc.., In other words, writers will earn pennies from their stories.
One writer who posts on HubPages mentioned that she made $210 so far for the 120 stories she’s written. She seemed excited by it, and thought it proved that the site generated income for writers. Well, $210 for 120 stories is pretty awful pay. Unless this writer was able to pound those stories out in half a day, and if she could do that, I’d hate to read those stories, then she’s getting ripped off.
If you’re trying to break into freelance writing, avoid sites like Associated Content, HubPages, Helium or Constant Content. Never agree to write for payments based on Adsense clicks or page views. Most times, you’ll get nearly nothing for your efforts. Better to approach your local paper. At least then you’ll get paid something. It won’t be much, but it won’t be pennies per story, either.
3 Responses to “Helium and HubPages are looking for writers — who don’t really need money”
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I agreed with the first part of your article, but then you went on into territory that you don’t seem familiar with and lumped some sites in there that shouldn’t have been included. For US residents, Associated Content pays upfront for articles, as well as paying an extra bonus based on page views. It’s fair to include AC in the low-paying group only if you specify that it’s true only for non-residents. As for Constant Content, this site serves as a middle man between writers and buyers, and allows you to set your own price. It’s acknowledged as one of the very best sites for writers who can come up to the site’s quality standards.
Like you, I don’t consider that Hubpages writer well paid. But for people who really don’t write very well, some of these sites are probably paying them more than they’re worth.
I agree with you about all of the sites you mentioned, except Constant Content. There, each article is vetted by a human editor, and is only accepted if it is of a high enough quality standard.
As a writer, you can set your own prices for each of your accepted articles. My highest payment so far for one article has been $250 and I have sold several others for around the $100 mark. So, it is possible to make decent money writing for Constant Content, as long as you are a good writer.
What I like about Constant Content is that you don’t have to spend lots of time marketing your articles. You can just put them up for sale on the site and pocket the money when they sell. Sometimes an article sells within minutes (seriously!) and sometimes it takes some time for them to sell - last week I sold an article (for $100) that I’d written over 2 years ago.
I wrote a few pieces for Helium several years ago and still haven’t reached their minimum payout of $25 - and I probably never will! I don’t have personal experience of the other sites you mentioned but also don’t have a desire to join them as I would rather write articles for Constant Content that will eventually sell for a decent amount.
Thank you for the information on hubpages. I wanted to check them out as I recently heard about them.
www.wantingtowork.today.com