FWJ is pleased to announce a partnership with Demand Studios
This is a sponsored post.
As you may have heard, Demand Studios and Freelance Writing Jobs have entered into a partnership. In return for Demand’s sponsorship, I’m spreading the joy at conferences, this blog, and across the social networks. Contrary to the grumblings of a couple of writers, my support of Demand Studios isn’t a new thing. I’ve been singing Demand Studios’ praises for well over a year now. I feel they’re perfect for new writers who are looking for a place to start, and, also, an easy way for established writers to supplement their income.
Back to My Humble Beginnings
Those of you who have followed FWJ since the beginning know I once wrote for a website called “Write for Cash” before launching a successful blog and getting into the social media space. WFC was a lot like Demand Studios. We logged into our dashboard each day, picked the jobs best suited for us, wrote, submitted and waited for the love from our editors. I credit my clips from WFC for helping me land my newspaper column. Most of the articles I picked had to do with saving money and thanks to those clips, I was selected to write about frugal living on a regular basis for an area newspaper. I think this is why Demand gives me a warm, fuzzy vibe. It takes me back to some good times. It reminds me of my humble beginnings.
Writing for Demand Studios
I signed up for Demand Studios a couple of years ago, though I never actually wrote for them. I was intrigued, but didn’t have the time for any new projects. Still, I supported Demand and posted links to their gigs often. Some people question my support of Demand Studios, and I can understand why. If you look through this blog over the past few years, you’ll notice I’m not happy with many content sites because I don’t like the way they treat their writers. However, Demand Studios is one place I recommended to the writers in this community from the get-go. They pay higher than average content site wages, treat their writers in a respectful manner, and they have a strict hiring policy, which means quality content. I can appreciate and respect that many writers wish to receive hundreds of dollars for their articles. However, it might interest you to know many highly paid freelance writers also write for Demand when they’re in between clients or would like a little extra income.
When we began discussing a possible partnership I revisited my Demand Studios account. I felt I couldn’t endorse them properly without making sure they were, indeed, a good place for freelance writers to work. I’ve been writing for Demand for the past month or so, and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s exactly like my old friend Write for Cash, right down to the ..umm...interesting article titles.
If you’ve thought about writing for Demand Studios but wasn’t sure about how it worked or if it was a good opportunity, let me take you through the process. Really, it couldn’t be more user-friendly. Simply sign up and upon approval read the guidelines, pick your articles and write within the allotted amount of time. Yeah, Demand has a lot of rules and guidelines, but this also ensures clean, thoughtful, well-researched content. There are reasons for “the rules”. Demand Studios provides content to several different clients and articles must be created and formatted accordingly. They expect the best from their writers because their clients expect the best from them.
About Those Editors…
Now, I read comments on various forums and blogs about rejected articles and how editors must be biased. I can’t say I’ve had this experience at all. What I have noticed is that the editors at Demand Studios are strict. Because of this, I’m taking more care with my writing. My sentences are tighter. I’m re-reading my work and self editing. I lost a lot of that when I began blogging full time, and it’s good to get it back. I find myself thinking as I write.
Yeah I had to rewrite a couple of articles, but not for anything bad – I made some silly mistakes. I didn’t include my references, which every article must link to. This is something else I appreciate about Demand Studios. Writers are held accountable. They can’t just Google and post. Our editors want to know how we came upon our information and to provide links to our references. I, for one,appreciate knowing where writers find their sources.
Every writer has access to some stats. Our stats tell us how we did. We’re scored on our writing and our research. It’s also noted how many articles are rejected. Plus, our editors leave comments on our articles so we can get an idea of why we scored as we did. I know some writers don’t love this feature, I find it to be quite the motivator.
Payment is made via PayPal every Friday. For writers who appreciate the regular cash flow, this is indeed a perk as most content sites pay once per month. The process is like clockwork and it’s very rare to hear a freelancer complain about lack of payment. I only write a few articles each week for Demand, but I like that little something extra each week.
Why Now, Deb?
So now you’re asking yourself, “Is Deb only singing Demand’s praises because they have a partnership going on?” Well, yes and no. If you look back you can see I’ve been recommending Demand for almost a couple of years now. However, as I promised transparency, I probably wouldn’t have dedicated this entire post to them if we didn’t enter into a partnership. You know me by now, though. It’s very rare I do endorsements and sponsored posts. When I do, I offer an honest review. If something sucks, I’ll say it. If I didn’t believe in Demand Studios, you wouldn’t be reading this today.
What can you expect from this partnership?
You’re probably wondering how the partnership between Demand and FWJ will affect the FWJ community. I hope it’s for the better. I’m going to be attending conferences on Demand’s behalf to talk to you and other writers about the Demand experience. I hope to meet as many of you as possible and welcome new writers into the FWJ community. Consider me Demand’s Ambassador of Freelance Writing and Social Media. You can also expect a Demand Studios “Tip of the Day” right here on the FWJ blog, plus first dibs on job openings at Demand.
I know many writers who invest several hours a day writing for Demand Studios. Many of them earn betweetn $2,000 and $3,000 per month. That’s not a bad thing. Again, Demand Studios may not be for you, but for the writer just starting out it can lead to an amazing career. I should know. A site just like Demand Studios did wonders for mine.
Do you think you could convince them to hire non-US writers and editors? I saw the copyediting job posting for them and tried to apply, but they only hire US residents (I’m Canadian).
I agree Sabrina. I’d like to write for them as well but as a Canadian can not. I know it has something to do with the tax law but I’m not sure exactly what. The should start a Canadian version!
I have much higher paying clients, but I love DS for the weekly pay and because the articles are so short! I don’t feel as if I am slaving away on the same darn piece for days and days.
I wish I could convince them to hire me. I applied less than a month ago and less then 12 hours later received an email saying they had no work available for me.
@Karel – I ran into a similar problem. I applied a year ago and was told my application was accepted and I needed to send them my tax info. So I did so and then heard nothing and would only get a message stating they had no work. I finally asked what was going on and was told they didn’t have my tax info, so I resubmitted it and upon doing that was told that the first article I’d turned in had been plagiarized and that I was not being accepted as a writer. Only, I’d never turned in an article in the first place, so I had no idea what was going on.
When I emailed them again to find out what was happening as I’d never turned in any work. I was told it was a computer mix-up and to resubmit my tax info. At that point, I gave up and told them to cancel my account. They informed me that they do not delete accounts and that all I could do was switch my SS number to all zeros. I tried that and it told me it was an invalid SS number. At that point, I changed my deleted my address, and put in all 4s for the SS number which it did accept.
Some have had incredible luck with Demand Studios, but I wasn’t one of them.
I have them on my “list,” too. I guess you have to do what you have to do to put Kraft Dinner on the table. I hate to see writers supply the equipment, talent, time, and energy, while someone else makes the money.
Hi folks, the good news is that Demand is looking into the possibility of hiring international freelance writers. I’m told they should have news regarding this is another month or so.
Thanks all for weighing in!
D
International freelance writers? Let me guess–this isn’t going to boost rates.
Not sure what this comment is getting at. I think it means international writers lower the standard (?).
Like US writers there are both excellent and poor international writers. There are US ‘writers’ who speak and write in inferior English.
If Demand chooses to remain US only that is their right. It’s not your right to inflict a narrow, unbalanced and uninformed attitude onto hardworking and capable international and US writers.
PS By “on my list,” I mean my list of places that don’t respect writers and offer embarrassing pay. Or what they should be embarrassed to offer. Some of the jobs pay a few bucks–when did you last offer someone $5 to do something–someone over age 6, that is.
I love Demand Studios. I usually average what I consider to be a high rate for my articles (over $400 for some clients) and I am a published author. Yet I *still* keep my account with Demand Studios. Why? Because I can pick up an extra $150 any time that I want to. They pay quickly too.
Unlike many clients Demand Studios does not care if you write for them one week and not the next. So, when I have the time, I write for them, and when I don’t, I don’t worry about it.
DS articles are fast and easy to research. I love that they are edited because even the best writers need editors.
All in all I have been very happy with them. Especially when I have clients that are slow to pay and I want to supplement my income.
Thanks Deb, for turning me on to them, it has been very beneficial for me and I hope they are around a long, long time.
For those who are interested, the $150 dollar amount comes from the 10 article-at-a-time cap. Ten $15 articles = $150 paid via Paypal a week later.
If there’s a ten article-at-a-time cap and the highest pay is $15 per article, how is it possible for some writers to make $2,000 – $3,000 a month?
Hi Kendra, Writers can claim up to ten article titles at a time. As soon as they write their 10 articles,they can choose 10 more.
Actually, as soon as writers complete one article they’re welcome to choose another, they just can’t have more than ten claimed article topics (unwritten) at any given time.
It’s great to see the new partnership but I’ll re-iterate what other’s said….i wish they’d hire “foreigners”! The new garden writer position is perfect for me as I’m a professional tv gardener with my own company, but alas, as I live in the UK I can’t work for them :\
Pity. Good luck to those who can!
Hi Geoff…Look for this to change soon!
Any signs of this changing soon? Thanks!
TY for answering my question, Deb. Also, reading it again, it sounded like I was being snarky. It was an honest question born of confusion. LOL. Thanks again.
Deb, I appreciate your support of Demand. Even before the sponsorship, your support of the site encouraged me to check them out for supplemental income. I’ve been wary of content sites due to the many stories I’ve heard, and my own experience with non-paying clients. Anytime you point us toward a reputable, dependable resource is a good thing. I’ve been writing for them now for a little while, and have found them to be exactly what you’ve said. Thanks for all you do!
Hey, Even i am experiencing same problem with DS.. I am an indian and they only accept articles from US nationalties… I really want somebody who can persuade them to allow NON- US residents to contribute ..Thanx
I’ve started writing for Demand Studios. It seems to be hit and miss. I’ve written some really good articles which were asked for re-writes. The re-write info was vague and then the article was rejected even though I did my best to comply with the re-write instructions. This has happened twice, most recently yesterday. It’s discouraging to spend the time to write and then re-write and have it rejected. I’ll still continue to write for them, but I don’t see how people can make 2k a month.
Hello! Had a burning question about DS, and I thought you may be able to answer it. I just started with freelance writing and would love the stable income/experience. But when I submitted my application (with a link to a posted article I authored on another site) I got a response saying that they just didn’t have any topics/work in my area.
Now, I can totally take them saying “No”. Or even if they said to reapply with different material. But they didn’t. They just said they didn’t have any available topics/work for me. So do I spend the time and trouble to reapply with a different article? What “topics” are they actually looking for?
Thanks so much…
I feel I do have the ability to write and can do a decent job I would like to take this up as a career option and pursue it with all my heart and soul. I wound if you could help me by pointing out leads some of my poems are on http://www.poetry.com
Hi
Just a quick question on any updates regarding Demand Studios working with international writers. Any ideas as to if and when they will accept non-US residents?
Thanks
Hi,
I was wondering the same. I’m in the U.K and have been regularly checking but it seems Demand Studios aren’t accepting international writers still. I wondered if anyone knew if they are still planning to (soon)?
Hi everyone, I have never actually written anything for an outside source. When I tried to apply I noticed that I needed to include my resume. Should I even try if I do not have any freelance experience? Please help…
Thanx
Aileen
I applied to DS recently and was told there was no work available for me. I understand that there are standards which I may not have met, but it strikes me as unlikely that I do not meet the requirements for this site. I won’t go on about my qualifications, but I have been working for respectable publications for a decade as both a journalist and editor. To be rejected by a site where the majority of contributors seem to be high school students and illiterates is insulting.
Emoge, don’t feel bad. You’re not missing anything. Out of 10 articles submitted, 10 of mine came back for revisions. They were all very simple things that the editors could have easily fixed. Their editors are lazy and incompetent, and seem to enjoy trying to make writers miserable for no reason.
With so many revisions required, you end up making so little it’s just not worth it.