While the payment is different, I don’t personally see a huge difference between, say, my work for Tonic.com (I’m paid a monthly fee to blog regularly about science topics) and my work for Examiner.com (I’m paid a residual fee to blog about education) and my work for About.com (I’m paid a flat fee plus incentive to write and blog about autism).

In all three cases I’m writing “content” on a regular basis for a site that collects blogs/articles, uses SEO/web 2.0 as a marketing tool, and pays me as a freelancer. My guess is that, on an hourly basis, Tonic.com is the best fee — yet About.com is by far the best exposure, and Examiner.com offers the most writerly freedom.

Meanwhile, I’m negotiating with a corporate client who’s interested in having me write a blog on green issues to help position her business as “green.” I’ll probably be paid a per-blog-post fee in that case. Her site isn’t a “content site,” but won’t I be writing “web content?”

You see so many ads asking for “web content;” just trying to wrap my brain around what that really means!

Lisa

Thanks for stopping by and offering your comments.

Sorry for the late response – I wasn’t around over the weekend.

Some sites like Suite101, b5Media, About.com and Examiner are the equivelent of a blog or online column. Users are chosen for their expertise in a particular topic and they write about that topic as often as directed (in their contract) and receive either a flat fee or residual payments based on traffic.

For sites like Wisegeek, Demand Studios and LoveToKnow, writers choose from a pool of available titles and write articles around those titles based on the website’s guidelines. They’re generally paid per post.

Corporate sites hire writers to create content for two reasons – the first is to bring in search engine traffic and the second is to create interest in their product or brand.

For a site like CNN, they hire journalists much in the same way a newspaper hires journalists.

I hope that helps?

Deb

My recommendation has always been to use content sites as a springboard to better opportunities, or to use them to supplement the income. I don’t think it’s my way or the highway and I don’t think everyone needs to suck it up and write for content sites. I don’t even think writers should write for content sites forever.

My point is to have an open mind and realize times have changed. When I started in publishing (20 years ago, heh) there was outrage over the writers who wrote for free or a byline to gain experience. I make the same comparisons to content sites today.

Anyway, I don’t know what else I can say about this that hasn’t already been said. Use content sites, don’t use them, it’s all about choices. Do what’s best for you.

Yo Prinzel, pay the writer.

I say, do whatever works for you, as long as it does work for you. Personally, I am more gratified and typically better paid (although not always) for writing traditional by-lined articles for various publications. Is that all that I do? No. Am I open to new things? Sure. But part of why I became a writer to begin with is so that I could tell other people’s stories. Yeah, yeah, it’s sappy, I know. I just find a lot more personal satisfaction in writing that allows me to do that, so that’s what I seek out. But I am not going to criticize someone who finds that writing short SEO articles for, say, Demand Studios or some other client, works out best for them. After all, I wouldn’t want that person to tell me that I shouldn’t pursue what I want to do, would I?

1. content for a “content site” (Helium, Examiner, Suite 101)
2. content for site like About.com which pays differently/expects more
3. content for a corporate site (marketing material etc for the web)
4. content in the form of articles for a news/feature site (CNN.com)
5. content in the form of a personal blog that’s monetized (eg Deb’s blog here)
6. plain ordinary writing of whatever sort that winds up on the web
7. writing for big sites like Huffington Post

Are these all “content?” And can the term “content” refer to what’s in a book, magazine or newspaper — or is it a web-only term?

Lisa

Thank you for stopping by and offering your thoughts.

First, I want to offer you kudos for keeping it real. Those of us who have been with you since your Write for Cash days know you have been using these sites for years.

Second, I want to thank you for your transperancy. You don’t accept money from Demand and pretend not to. You are vocal about your affiliation and you have my respect. Places like ProBlogger and Media Bistro also receive money from Demand but I don’t see the same indignation.

Third, I want to thank you for not getting all outraged and acting as if web content sites are the root of all evil. You worked for many years for web content sites and to all of a sudden express outrage them would be hypocritical on your part. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s people who wrote for these places and now that they have no use for them consider them to be the worst thing for freelance writers. Your partnership with Demand Studios makes sense to those of us who have been with you since day one.

I imagine it takes a lot of money to keep a resource like FWJ going. I’m assuming you pay host fees, technical fees and your writers. To not accept sponsorships wouldn’t make good business sense. I attended a Media Bistro event in NYC recently and Demand Studio was the sponsor. Everything at that conference was Demand this and demand that. Demand Studio was pimped front and center by Media Bistro. I don’t see anyone kicking up a big fuss or threatening to boycott Media Bistro. I don’t see anyone calling Media Bistro names or questioning their credibility.

I also know you don’t expect writers to work for content sites forever. Thanks to you, I started with Write for Cash and LoveToKnow and took my experience to a higher level. I used the tips from your blog to land higher jobs. I won’t turn my back on content sites because I may need them again some day.

Thank you, Deb. Thank you for your honesty and guidance all these years.

You write the most amusing posts. You are encouraging people in a race to the bottom, while professional writers are urging them to strive for the top.

I have to laugh about your assertions about writing for the web. Three of the last four articles I’ve written are for the web. All pay between 50 cents and $1 a word. Not a post. A word.

I’m so tired of hearing people trying to tell us “old-schoolers” things have changed. Oh yeah? Then why am I still get assignments that pay hundreds and thousands of dollars? Why am I editing books for major international organizations?

If someone was foolish enough to buy into the things you write, they would be led to believe all that is out there are venues like Demand Studios, Helium.com and Examiner.com. That’s not the case. But if that is the land you and other “writers” want to play in, that’s where you will always stay, while the rest of us will continue in our much more lucrative ventures.

Writing as a whole has changed, creating more opportunities and more competition. Which is okay. When it comes down to it, in the long term, talent, skill and a good work ethic are still rewarded.

I must be “old school,” because I’m not even sure what that neologism means. Low pay is not simply an issue between a writer and a business. Businesses are required to pay minimum wage, which varies by state in the U.S. Piece work does not exempt an employer (of employees or contractors) from minimum wage. The gigs you are defending are illegal.

Want to know about grant writing? Hands-on science education? Autism? I’m your gal. I can write you a “how to build a vinegar-and-baking-soda volcano and 15 minutes, and it will be great. I can provide you with an “elements of a grant proposal” piece in the same amount of time.

Of course, if you want me to write about a topic that is new to me, and include quotes from top people in the field, you’re asking for something completely different. In that case it could easily take me 8 hours. But that’s not what Demand is looking for. They want how-to’s, lists, and the like.

Lisa

The really sad part about Demand is their relationship with Livestrong. And the fact that writers are encouraging other writers to go the Demand route, when they could do sooo much better.

And sorry — but I cannot agree that folks who write for Demand are true professionals with real skills and training. Some of them are probably really great writers, but that does not make them professional writers. If they were indeed business-savvy pros, they would know that Demand is taking advantage of them. You’ve certainly heard how profitable the company is? So sad. And for the new freelancers out there — please know that you don’t have to take this mistreatment just because you need clips and experience. There are sooo many other options. For real. Demand is a scam.