As a freelance writer there are countless resources around the internet where you can earn an income for your specialty. Here at The Write Stuff Pen and Paper I am continually working to bring these to your attention. The latest and greatest from our bag of tricks is Textbroker.com.
Textbroker.com is a wonderful writing resource that many freelance writers have discovered to earn more income. One of the nicest things about Textbrokers.com is that you don’t need to be a professional writer or be an expert in any particular field of study or course of study. They do have extremely high quality standards for their assignments, but that merely says that they have extraordinary excellence in writing from their authors. If you feel that this describes the kind of work that you already produce, they may be for you.
What is Textbrokers.com?
Textrbroker.com has been in business a little more than five years and has German as well as American branches. There is also a sister site of Textbroker.co.uk.
The Textbroker site has more than 60,000 authors that are members. They are responsible for putting approximately 30,000 clients that request specific articles with writers that are searching for work. Textbroker receives approximately 10,000 orders per month and a number of writers advise they have no trouble finding work for income.
Joining and being a member of Textbroker.com is free of charge.
What is the work?
The variety of work on the site is astounding. Clients put in orders for articles that range from “what are the health benefits of green tea” to “how to install a ceiling fan at home”. Writers can choose what to write about. Many writers will go with something familiar with or a have a lot of experience or background in to start. This will generally make the work easier and production faster.
When a writer completes the registration form with Textbroker.com they are asked to complete areas of expertise to try and match them with the best OpenOrders they have available. There are 52 different areas of expertise to select from with no limitation on the number to choose when applying with the website.
Work is first come, first serve for Open Orders. However, there is enough work available that there generally isn’t a lot of hassle or haggle for the work available.
A client can request different word counts for each assignment. Some are 500 words while others may be 1000 words. There are a number of articles for 300 words.
Payment
Orders are either displayed for a set price per word on the assignment list (Open Orders) or if a client likes a writer’s work they can request a writer specifically with a DirectOrder that pays a higher rate of pay. This is typically where a writer earns more for their work. Get the most money for articles while working within a client’s budget is the best tactic for getting payment for a Direct Order. In addition to adding a writer to a client’s direct order list a client can also blacklist a writer which means the writer is barred from receiving that client’s orders posted to the site.
A writer is assigned a star rating for their article quality. Two stars are generally where every Textbroker writer starts with the site.
Quality- and payment-rates at Textbroker
Article Quality payment per word payment per 500 words
2 stars: legible 0.7 cents 3.50 USD
3 stars: good quality 1.0 cents 5.00 USD
4 stars: excellent quality 1.4 cents 7.00 USD
5 stars: professional quality 5.0 cents 25.00 USD
Writers will begin work at the lowest price available or 2 stars. As a writer’s work improves so will payment for the OpenOrders. A writer’s star quality ranking is determined by the work provided, client feedback and editorial reviews. A client receives the full copy rights to the article.
When working directly with clients for DirectOrders, writers set their own price for the work. DirectOrders will generally start at .015 cents per word or $1.50 for each 100 words.
Note=Textbroker’s has a commission fee of 30% for DirectOrders which is added to a client’s final price.
As soon as a client accepts an article or Order, writersare paid. Payment is made directly to a writer’s account with the website.
PayPal payments are made each week and writers can request a payment made when their balance reaches a minimum of $10. Payments made Monday through Thursday at 11:59PM PSM will be paid by the end of the day Friday.
As an independent contractor with Textbroker.com, a writer is solely responsible for all taxes due from income earnings.
Support
Support for writers is 24/7 via email and phone calls are taken weekdays during normal business hours of 8:00 to 4:30 PST.
All writers have their work reviewed by the editorial staff that holds degrees in language and English studies. Feedback is provided for each article submitted before being forwarded to the client. They do have a blog forum available for tips and technique information.
If writers have any questions for the client while working on assignments, they can communicate directly with clients through the Textbroker messaging or IM system.
Disadvantages
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->A writer cannot begin work with Textbroker until payment information and a written application of sample work has been completed.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->The tax information can be completed online, but you must print and return your tax form and information
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->PayPal is currently the only form of payment for Textbroker.com
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->A writer must be a US citizen to work for Textbroker.com at this time
However, there is a sister site, Textbroker.co.uk that accepts English writers from all over the world. You may qualify to register with the sister site if you are not a US citizen. Verify the writer requirements for the sister site
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Professional writers, editors or authors will not automatically receive a five star rating. Though, if you have written at least 5 to 10 articles with a continuous 4 star rating you can request an upgrade to a 4 star rating.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Many writers have complained they have received an article returned from editorial staff members several times for changes to be made before forwarding completed articles to a client. This can cost valuable time with meeting deadlines and receiving payment. Additionally, this will cost a star rating opportunity which is money in a writer’s pocket.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->You must submit an application for acceptance to the site of up to 250 words. According to Textbroker they will typically only reject applications for obviously poor grammar and spelling or article information was heavily taken from another source that was not your work (plagiarism)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->After submitting a writing sample or application a writer will be permitted to write five articles. After five articles your account will be locked to assure you have access to all levels of writing.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Article rating can take up to a week when you start writing for the website. Although, locked writers are considered priority for article review and will have their articles reviewed as priority
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Authors will start at a 2 star rating. Writers that see their article returned for errors will affect your star rating. You can actually be reduced to a 1 star rating. Many of the open articles may be set for articles that are designed specifically for higher rated writers such as 3 or 4 stars. However, the majority are for 2 star authors.
There are actually no complaints that can be found online regarding this particular site. A number of positive reviews can be found from both writers and clients.
Positive reviews
This is a review from the client and writer perspective of the site. http://www.imreportcard.com/services/text-broker
This is a review from a client with Textbroker that investigated the site and provided a review from the other side of the coin. Great information http://www.searchengineoptimisation.org/textbroker-com-review/. The client is more than satisfied with the work for a number of reasons.
this video outlines finding writing jobs with Textbroker.com and some great details about similar sites
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