Make $2000 a Month Writing for Content Mills

Many writers are looking for ways to make more money. And, if you’re one of them, you may be wondering if it’s possible to make at least $2000 a month writing for content mills.

The answer is yes, it is possible to make that kind of money. But there are a few things you need to know to do it. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to start making money writing for content mills.

What are Content Mills?

First, let’s talk about what exactly a content mill is. A content mill is a website or company that pays writers for their work. The sad truth is that usually, the pay is relatively low, but there are a few exceptions. The reason they’re called “mills” is because the work is often treated like it’s coming off an assembly line.

Why Do Content Mills Have a Bad Rap?

Many experienced writers view content mills with a bit of disdain. This is because, in the past, there have been a few mills that have treated their writers very poorly. They would often pay them very little and would require them to work long hours for little pay.

However, things are changing. There are now a few mills that are treating their freelance writers well. They’re paying them a fair wage, and they’re giving them reasonable deadlines.

But first, let’s look at some of the reasons why content mills tend to be looked at poorly.

Associated with Scams

One of the reasons content mills have a bad rap is because there are a lot of scams out there. It can be hard to tell the legit ones from the scams, and that’s led to a lot of freelance writers getting ripped off. The way that content mills can scam writers is by promising them a lot of work, but then not giving them any. Another way they scam freelance writers is by asking for writing samples or a test article but then not paying for them.

Low Pay

Another reason that content mills have a bad rap is that the pay rate is often low. This is especially true for the newer mills. They may only be paying their writers $1 or $2 per article. However, there are a few mills that pay more than that. The trick is to find the ones that do so that you can make a good income for your online writing.

Unreasonable Deadlines

Another thing that content mills are often criticized for is their unreasonable deadlines. A lot of mills will require their content mill writers to turn in articles within a very short amount of time. This can be difficult for even an experienced writer, and it can often lead to them feeling overwhelmed as a freelance writer.

Poor Quality of Writing

Another reason that people often don’t like content mills (otherwise known as content farms) is that the writing can often be of poor or low quality. This is because the writers are often rushed and they don’t have enough time to properly research and write their articles.

Lack of Feedback

Most writers I know want to improve their writing skills so they can improve their freelance career. And one of the best ways to do that is by getting feedback. Unfortunately, most content mills don’t offer any kind of feedback. This can be frustrating for a freelance writer, and it can often lead to them feeling like their work is being ignored.

Not Providing Steady Work

Another criticism of content mill writing commercial websites is the fact that writing jobs are not always consistent. This can be frustrating for writers because it can often lead to them not having enough work to make a steady income. When you’re only writing a few hundred words a week or only limited to social media posts, it can be frustrating, especially if it’s not enough for a living wage.

How to Find Legit Content Mills

So now that we’ve talked about some of the reasons why content mills have a bad rap, let’s talk about how to find the legit ones with worthwhile freelance writing jobs. However, sometimes to find the good ones, you have to search through a lot of bad ones first.

So let’s look at the different places you can find content mills to write for.

Google

The first place to look for content mills is on Google. This is because there are a lot of them out there, and you’re likely to find some good ones if you do a thorough search and comb through freelance writing jobs on a job board or freelance writing career site. A couple of examples of searches you could do to find content mills through Google are the following:

• content mills
• freelance content mills
• online content mills

However, the downside to finding content mills on Google is that there are a lot of scams out there. So it can be difficult to determine which ones are legit and which ones aren’t. That’s OK, though, because in the next section we’ll talk about how to differentiate between a good one and a bad one.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another place where you can find legitimate content mills. This is because there are a lot of them that have profiles on LinkedIn. You’ll need an account on LinkedIn to access them, but it’s worth it because there are a lot of good mills that you can find this way. I’d recommend signing up for job alerts that are in the writing industry so that whenever a new job is posted where the company is looking for writers, you get an email. This way you can apply right away if it meets the due diligence requirements I’m going to outline below.

One of the downsides to finding content mills on LinkedIn is that there aren’t as many of them as there are on Google. So the selection might not be as great. However, the advantage to using LinkedIn is that you can be a little more sure that the mills you find are legitimate because they have to go through a verification process to join the site.

That being said, just because content mills are using it to look for writers on LinkedIn doesn’t mean that they are a good one. So you still need to do your due diligence before applying.

Quora

Another place to find legit content mills is Quora. This is because Quora is a community of writers and professionals, and so it’s likely that you’ll find some good mills here that can possibly help with your freelance writing career.

The downside to using Quora is that it can be difficult to find the right answer to your question. This is because there are so many different writers posting on the site, and it can be tough to determine which content mills pay and which ones don’t.

Facebook

You can also find content mills on Facebook. However, the downside to using Facebook is that a lot of them are scams. So it can be difficult to determine which ones are legit and which ones aren’t.

The advantage to finding content mills on Facebook is that you can see if any of your friends have worked for them in the past. This can be helpful because you can get feedback from them about whether or not the mill is legitimate and if it’s a good place to work.

FlexJobs

The other place I’ve found legitimate content mills is the website FlexJobs. This is because FlexJobs is a site that specializes in finding telecommuting jobs, and so it’s likely that you’ll find some good content mills here.

Access to FlexJobs is not free. You have to pay for access but it isn’t expensive. There are three different plans you can choose from so pick the one that works for you. Personally, I pay for the yearly plan because I think it’s the best value for the money.

The reason I like FlexJobs is that you’ll find jobs that you won’t find on any other site. And the jobs that you do find on other sites, like LinkedIn or Google, can be verified because FlexJobs is a legitimate site.

That being said, not all of the jobs on FlexJobs are content mills. So you need to be careful and make sure that the job you’re applying for is a content mill before you apply (and still do your due diligence).

Content Mills and Due Diligence

So now that we know where to find legitimate content mills, let’s talk about how to determine if a mill is good or bad.

The first thing you need to do is look at the company’s website. This is because you can get a lot of information from the website about the company. You want to look for things like the following.

The Company’s History

You want to find a company that has been around for a while. This is because companies that have been around for a while are more likely to be stable and not disappear overnight. Additionally, a company that has been around for a while is more likely to have real clients and will tend to hire highly skilled writers with real life professional experience.

Who They Are (i.e. What Do They Do?)

It’s important to find a content mill company that is clear about who they are and what they do. This is because you want to make sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into before you apply for writer access.

A lot of times, content mill companies will try to lure writers in with the promise of high pay, only to find out that the company doesn’t pay that much. So make sure you know what the company does and how much they pay before you apply and definitely before you do any online writing work for them.

What Kind of Culture Do They Have?

You also want to find a company that has a good culture. This is because you’re going to be spending a lot of time writing for the company, and so you want to make sure that it’s a place where you feel comfortable working.

One way to determine the culture of a company is to read reviews about the content mill company. You can find reviews about companies on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed.

Another way to determine the culture of a company is to look at its social media accounts. This is because content mill companies will often post about their culture on their social media accounts.

What Are Their Values?

It’s also important to find a company that has values that you can align with. You want to make sure that you’re working for a company that shares your values.

For example, if you’re a maverick, you might want to find a company that is disruptive and values innovation, and that plays by its own rules when it comes to the content authority niche

The next thing you want to do is look at the job posting itself. You want to pay attention to things like:

• The job title.
• The job description.
• The qualifications they are looking for.
• The salary or rate of pay.

This information can be helpful because it can give you a good idea of what the job will be like.

For example, if the job posting is for a “content writer”, you can expect that the job will be to write content for a blog post, or a few articles for search engines, similar to what a content strategist might do.

If the job posting is for a “copywriter”, you can expect that the job will be to write copy from story ideas to help customers take action.

If the job posting is for a “ghostwriter”, you can expect that the job will be to write content that will be published under someone else’s name, such as writing a book.

You also want to make sure that the salary or rate of pay is something that you’re comfortable with. You don’t want to apply for a job and then find out that the pay is less than you expected.

The last thing you want to do is research the company. You can do this by doing a Google search for the company name. This will give you a list of results that you can then click on to learn more about the company.

You can also research the company by going to their website and looking at their About Us page. This is a good place to learn more about the company’s history and culture.

How Much Can You Make?

Now that we’ve covered all of that, let’s talk about how much money you can make writing for content mills.

As we mentioned before, content mills vary in terms of pay. Some content mills will pay you per word, while others will pay you per article. And some content mills don’t pay very much at all.

So how much can you expect to make?

Well, it depends on a few factors, such as:

• The company you write for.
• The type of writing you do.
• How fast you write.

Generally speaking, you can expect to make anywhere from $0.01 to $0.05 per word. So if you write a 500-word article, you can expect to make $5-$25.

Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule. For example, some companies may pay you more if you write a particularly good article. Or, some companies may have bonuses that they give to their writers.

But as a general rule, you can expect to make $0.01 to $0.05 per word.

How Much Time Will It Take?

Another thing to consider is how much time it will take you to write an article. This is important because you want to make sure that you’re making enough money to justify the amount of time you’re spending writing.

Generally speaking, it takes most writers about 1 hour to write a 500-word article. So if you’re being paid $5 for a 500-word article, then you’re making $5 per hour, which admittedly is not very much at all.

Of course, this will vary depending on how fast you write and how well you know the topic you’re writing about. But as a general rule, it takes most writers about 1 hour to write a 500-word article.

That being said, there is a way to increase the amount of money you earn per hour.

Using AI Software to 10X Your Writing Speed

One of the best ways to make more money writing is to use AI software to 10x your writing speed.

There are a few different AI software programs that you can use, but my personal favorite is Jasper. I use it to write all of my articles, and it has helped me increase my writing speed tremendously. That means if a 500-word article takes a typical writer one hour to write, it usually takes me about 10-15 minutes. That means that instead of earning $5 an hour, I’m earning at least $30 an hour, thanks to Jasper. That’s a lot better per hour rate.

If you’re not familiar with Jasper, it’s a software program that uses AI to help you write faster. Basically, you type in what you want to say, and Jasper will help you say it better and faster.

I’ve been using Jasper for over a year now and I can honestly say that it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made. Not only has it helped me increase my writing speed for content writing and writing articles, but it has also helped me improve the quality of my writing.

If you want to learn more about Jasper, you can check out their website here. You can even get a free trial if you’re interested in trying it out before committing.

Pros and Cons of Writing for Content Mills

Now that we’ve gone over all the basics, let’s talk about the pros and cons of writing for content mills.

Pros

• You can make decent money.
• If you use AI software, you can make a lot of money.
• You can work from anywhere in the world.
• You can set your own hours.

Cons

• The pay is not always great.
• You may have to write a lot of articles to make a decent income.
• Depending on the setup, you might not get a byline on the articles you write.
• You might not be able to make a full-time income.

So there you have it! That’s everything you need to know about writing for content mills. If you have any questions, let me know. And if you’re interested in trying out Jasper, be sure to check out their website here. Thanks for reading!

FAQ – Make Money Writing for Content Mills