Have you found online the term “content mills” or “writing mills” and were wondering what it meant?
This is how a content mill describes itself: “A content mill, also known as a ‘virtual factory,’ employs inexpensive writers to produce articles, press releases, blog posts and other web copy on demand.
In exchange for bringing in clients who pay for content or hire freelancers, content mills obviously keep a portion of the fee which represents their profit.
Content mills are not to be confused with freelance writing websites, which offer their own benefits, advantages, and disadvantages.
What exactly are content Mills?
A content mill is a slang term for a business, website, or marketplace that pays really low fees to writers in order to create cheap online content.
In fact they typically take advantage of young writers who are just starting out and need experience.
That’s the reason why they’re able to offer such low prices for content – they are paying their writers extremely low, sometimes as low as $4 per article.
Is content mills legit?
Of course they are, though don’t expect to receive a superbly written article.
Remember though that in order to guarantee a number of articles, they have their writers churn out multiple content pieces daily.
This means your article will be written by a completely different author – one who is not specialized in your niche.
If you’re just starting out in the freelance writing world, this might be a great way to get some cheap content articles that can be used to enhance your SEO skills.
Though stay away from them if you’re looking for something properly written and high quality.
How much do content mills pay?
Content mills pay extremely low fees for their services even as little as 1$ per article in some cases.
It’s common that they’ll even hire writers with no experience, which is another reason why they’re able to pay such low rates.
In most cases, the content mills will tell you – upfront- how much they pay for a thousand words, and how fast you need to churn out articles.
Can you make a living writing for content mills?
That depends on where you live and your living expenses though some people write for content mills while maintaining a full-time job.
It’s perhaps not something you should rely on unless you really need the extra cash to make ends meet.
There are, however, some content mills that pay $5 per article – though these are very rare to find.
Is UpWork a content mill?
No, Upwork is not a content mill if you asked.
UpWork is like a regular freelance website where you can find different clients and write for them – though these are typically copywriting clients.
It’s completely up to you how much you charge for your services, though UpWork is definitely not a content mill.
How do you write a content mill? (10 tips)
So in case you were interested in applying for a job writing for content mills, here are some tips you should follow:
1. Do not expect high pay rates or a decent wage – this is not the market for these.
2. Know your niche well and write articles in a hurry, not taking more than 30 minutes – 1 hour per article.
3. Check the market and research where you should apply so you can find the best content mill jobs in your niche – better if they pay more.
4. Create an account and show samples of your work, for this you should write articles that are similar to the type they’re looking for.
5. When applying, make sure you follow all the instructions and requirements in order to increase your chances of getting hired.
6. Stay away from content mills that don’t pay for their services, they are just trying to suck your time and steal it.
7. Check whether your article passes Copyscape, and make sure you change the titles and the names of the sources to not get flagged.
8. Do not copy-paste entire articles, even if the content mill won’t find out.
9. Do not spam different content mills with more than 10-15 articles, you’ll get banned.
10. Follow all the instructions and requirements of the content mill to increase your chances of getting hired.
Conclusion:
So here were some tips for freelance writers who want to get jobs writing for content mills.
If you stick to this guide, there should be no problems when applying for these types of gigs.
Remember that this is not your average freelance writing gig, you should expect to write cheaply and very fast.
Though there are some content mills with decent rates – these are very rare cases.
Hope this helped, good luck with your freelancing gig!