Online writing companies can be a great way to get your freelance writing career off to a fast start. You can quickly build a portfolio of samples, learn online writing techniques and make some quick money. It should come as no surprise that at every writing company there are different ways to find success.
The problem is that with each new company that you start working with you run into the learning curve. You have to find your way around the site, figure out how it works and learn the specifics of maximizing your revenue. That can cost you a lot of time and energy. The goal here is to reduce the amount of time necessary to become a success at each of these companies. I’m starting with Textbroker.
Textbroker uses the sample you submit to set your beginning ra2e between 2 and 4 stars. The 5th star is an in-house promotion only. Your rating will determine which assignments you can complete. The average writer is hired at a level 3.
You can read the entire review of Textbroker so I’m not going to rehash that. I will assume that you have joined the company and are ready to get started. This means that you have completely filled out any profiles or biography section that is recommended or required by the site. In the case of Textbroker, there is a rather detailed profile. Until you have completed this step you aren’t ready to start. Once you are ready, head to the assignment area on your Dashboard.
What the rating means to you
Click on the assignment tab and scroll down the list of topics. What you are seeing here is a topic list and across from that you will see the number of available assignments for each star rating. You cannot complete assignments that are rated higher than you are but you can complete those that are lower. This is important and can be used in your favor.
I’ve written at length about not over writing. In a nutshell, that means not writing a $500 article for $50. You want to meet and slightly exceed the expectations of your clients. If they are paying for a $50 article, give them a $51 article. On Textbroker, you want to always write above your star rating. So if you are a level 3, strive to write at a level 4 caliber even when writing a level 2 article.
Every single article you write will be rated by the editors. The first 5 need to be done as quickly as possible so you can have your account block lifted. As mentioned in the Textbroker review, you may write one assignment at a time. After you finish it you may select another. For a new writer, you hit a block until those articles have been rated by the editors. After the block is lifted this is no longer a consideration. Your articles will be rated and the average of the last 10 will determine your overall rating. Consistently writing above your level will result in an increase in level and the opening of better assignments.
If you have been consistently hitting the level 4 mark and completed at least 10 assignments at that level, you can request a bump to a level 5.
Team writing
Joining a team makes it possible to earn money from additional assignments that may be at a higher rate than your classification allows. Most teams are topic based and have a minimum rating rule. Find a topic you like and, if you meet the minimum rate required, submit a sample if requested. You should hear back in a few hours.
Outstanding work is rewarded at Textbroker by an invitation to become a member of an Expert Team. Similar to the regular teams in how they work, these teams are comprised only of 4 and 5 star rated writers. They average per word pay for Expert Teams is 5-10 cents per word, depending on the team.
Once you are a member of a team, always check there first for assignments. Then go to the main assignment board.
It’s largely a numbers game
The more articles you write consistently well, the higher your rating. To get this number up as quickly as possible, write the smallest articles you can find. There is nothing in your rating for word count. The client scores you on how well you did meeting their criteria. The editors look for the mechanics and their scale doesn’t change based on the level you are writing. This means that you can grab a few level 2 articles, write them quickly and, once they are rated, get a score bump.
When you are a level 3 or lower you want to write only those topics that require no research and that you can complete quickly. You are not being paid enough to do research so don’t take articles that require any.
Private clients
The bonus in taking the lower level articles and writing them quickly is the ability to build a reputation. The faster you build your reputation, the sooner the private clients will come knocking. Quite a few clients test the Textbroker system and use it to find a freelance writer for the times when they need one. They put out what amounts to a paid sample request. You write the article and if they like it they add you to their list of favorites. Then when they need a real article written they contact you directly.
If you click on the tab for Account you will find an option for your profile. On the first page that comes up you will see an option for a per word writing rate. You can change this as often as you like and set it as high or low as you choose. The average for a new writer is around 3 cents per word. The more experience you have the more you can charge; anything more than 15 cents on this site will typically price you out of range.
Here is exactly how you put that information to work
You now have all the information you need to become a success at Textbroker. Now it’s time to put it all together.
Start by having a writing sample already copied into your clipboard. You will see why in a second.
The first time you visit the site as a writer log in and complete your profile. The whole thing should take no more than 10 minutes. While there set your direct client rate. Submit it and click on the assignment tab.
Scroll down the list and find a small article that you can write quickly. Click the claim button and write it. Hit submit and repeat. Do this five times and your block will kick in so you are done here for at least a few hours.
At the top of the page you will an option for Team Orders; click on this. You might want to bring your lunch or a snack; you are going to be here for a bit. Go down the entire list looking for teams to join. When you find those where you meet the criteria, paste into the writing box your prepared sample and hit submit. Do this for every single team you find. Once you finish with that, you are done until the first 5 articles have been rated; you will be sent an email when this happens. You will also be sent an email for each team that accepts you.
As soon as the block is lifted return to Textbroker and click on the Assignment tab and then on Team Orders and look for the tab that says “my teams.” This is a list of all of the teams that have accepted you. Always start looking for assignments here as they generally pay better. If you find something, claim it and write it. Repeat as necessary.
If you don’t find any available orders go to the Assignment main page and find assignments there. Remember, you want to write 5 more as quickly as possible because your rate is based on the average of the last 10 accepted articles.
Pay close attention to the mechanical details of what you are writing. Make sure the copy is error free. You want to keep writing articles until you have hit level 4. If you come in to Textbroker at a level 4 you need to have a minimum of 10 articles accepted and rated level 4 before you can request movement to level 5. At that point you will be given a proofreading test and once you pass the test your body of work will be evaluated. This is the main goal here because it’s at levels 4 and 5 that the real money exists, the best teams and Expert Teams are available. Levels 2 and 3 exist only to hone your writing and get you to level 4.