Article Writing: Schemes And Scams

If you are at the stage in your freelancing where you are considering writing articles for pay, it may prove helpful to take a look at online article writing opportunities.

If you've visited job boards for freelancers, you will have no doubt noticed postings that seek article writers. These often will offer ridiculously low pay rates and, in return demand flawless work. Often, you'll read: "spelling mistakes won't be tolerated." You'll be required to insert keywords and will need to research and produce articles that usually run around 500-700 words.

The real insult is that pay rates may be $3.50 per article, $2.00, or, in the worst nightmare of a scenario, $1.00 per. I recently saw an advertisement where the poster stated that he was only willing to pay $1.00 per 500 words or $1.00 per page and that only those who were serious needed to apply. (I found myself questioning whether he was serious.) To top off the lunacy, he wanted 10-20 articles produced daily! What an article mill!

Hmmm . . . let's see, most of us can produce approximately 2-4 well-researched, written, edited and proofread articles per day. Even if you are a virtuoso at the keyboard and can produce 10 articles each day, you would be paid $10.00 for your efforts, which would translate into a grand total of $200.00 per month.

Another so-called opportunity is the revenue share. At first blush this sounds good. You produce articles and receive a percentage of sales generated by your content (which includes a link to a site that sells a product). You are told that you will receive your revenue share each month.

I would not agree to this unless you have a signed contract stating that you are entitled to this share and that it will be ongoing. As well, you should request some verification of the number of items sold. You have no way of knowing if a site has sold 300 or 3 (generated by your link) and the difference in what you get paid could be significant.

Writing articles for low pay rates isn't always a bad idea. It can help you to cut your teeth on online opportunities, sharpen your writing skills, and add to your resume. In the long run, though, it pays to be cautious.