Here’s a quick tip submitted by Mary:
I’ve been earning money by writing articles for TextBroker.com. It’s really easy to get started with them; you sign up with your email address and a password and then you have to submit a short writing sample. They “grade” your writing (Levels 1-5), and your payment per word is determined by your writing level.
As you submit more articles, your writing level can change based on what the editors think of your writing. I’m at level 4 (Level 5 is for “professional writers” only) and get 1.5 cents per word.
It’s not super fabulous pay, but I usually choose articles that are really easy to put together without doing much research, and I’m happy with the amount per hour I end up making (about $12/hour or so–though it obviously varies). I don’t think anyone would get rich writing for them, but it can provide a decent little bit of side income. -Mary
Find more Income-Earning Ideas here.
I’ve done work for Textbroker and they are a quality organization. Some of the writing requests are a little offbeat, but, if you can find something to write about that won’t require a ton of research on your part, it’s a good system to be a part of.
I have been writing on Textbroker since March of 2011 and you can read my journal at http://www.squidoo.com/earningmoneywithtextbroker if you want to read more about my, mostly all positive, experience.
I know this blog has many international readers. Textbroker only accepts writers from a few countries. I’m in China but am a US citizen. They questioned this when my IP address from my application showed I’m not in the US. I snapped a photo of my DL and passport and emailed it to them. No problem. Getting paid was trickier as the w-9 has to be snail mailed into them. I printed and signed it, mailed to my sister in the US and she sent it on to them. Took a few weeks, but worked out.
I’ve been writing for Textbroker since March and can easily earn $300-400 a month when I have the time to write. I’m at level 4 and can’t seem to pass the tricky grammar test…but I’ve written well over 200 articles, been asked to write a dozen direct orders and never had a problem with them being rejected. Occasionally I get asked for a minor revision.
I’m excited for their new weekly payouts. Oh, if you are overseas and try to join (but are American) they will notice your IP address and email you to verify that you are a US citizen. I got around it by taking digital photos of my passport and DL and then emailng them. Getting my W-9 to them was more tricky since you have to mail them a copy. I just mailed it to my sister and had her mail it to them from her US address. I missed two payout periods I think, but since the money is stuck in the US anyway, it really doesn’t matter.
The “Terms of Service” say that you may be subject to third party fees, fees from using the platform, etc. Are there fees that I would need to worry about? I don’t want to be spending money to make money.
This is a great tip – I’m going to try it out and see how it works! I feel like if I could get in the habit of writing for one hour in the morning (and getting up a little earlier), that would offset all my daily expenses, which would actually help my budget a lot!
Did you have to fill out a w-9 and give out your social???
Yes, you do have to fill out a W-9 and give your SSN. If you earn over $600 in a year they will send you a 1099 for tax purposes. Textbroker is a large company that has been around for a while and I know many women that have filled out a W-9 (including myself) for them without any problem.
Interesting! Thanks for the info
When the instructions say to do 300-300 words, does that mean your article has to be exactly 300 words? Are there samples somewhere on the website that we can look at to get an idea of what they want?
If you write over the limit of what they will pay for, you just don’t get paid for those extra words. I typically will write 10-20 extra if it ends up being that long and I can’t cut out other bits. I’ve never had any complaints and it would take more of my time to edit down than worry about giving them a few extra words.
One time I did have a client who wanted it to be no more than 400 (their highest limit) but then later in directions asked for it to be 430++ words! That was weird. Later they did revise their directions and paid up to 450 words.
Thanks. Are there samples on the website? I can’t find any. I don’t know what they are looking for. Are we supposed to say “According to genericwebsite.com, blah…blah…blah.” I would assume we are supposed to give credit to our resources. Right? How much research do they want? I sure wish I could see a sample! I’m ready to get started.
Can I ask what y’all have submitted as samples? I enjoy writing, but haven’t written much since college, so I’m not really sure what to submit. I’d really like to sign up, though.
They gave me some examples. I chose to write about what there is to do in my city. 🙂
I don’t think this program is for me 🙁 I’ve been looking around for awhile and my brain doesn’t think this way. LOL The descriptions are so vague and I just don’t understand how to even get started.
Some more info about TextBroker (TB):
– The articles you write are sold to the clients who request them. You lose rights to the articles and often do not know where they will be published. With the kind of topics that TB has to write about, I’m fine with selling the articles outright.
– You do not receive a byline in many cases (I have one client who gives me a byline, but that’s rare).
– The articles range from 100 words to 2,000+, but most are 200-500 words.
-Topics are all over the place – product reviews, medicine descriptions, career advice, website reviews, press releases, website content, etc.
– Many of the articles are for Search Engine Optimization, and there’s a lot of freedom about the content, as long as the keywords are used.
– You are independent, self-employed, and TB doesn’t take out taxes. If you make more than $600 in a year, they will send you a form at the end of the year with your earnings on it.
– My favorite part abotu TB is that when a client puts in a request for an article, TB holds the company’s money for that article. Clients can’t reject any article outright – they have to request a revision. If a client expects too much or changes what they say they’re looking for, TB will intervene, and you’ll still get paid. (This hasn’t happened to me, but I feel more confident knowing that TB has the final say.)
This is great information. Thanks for sharing it. Can someone give some ideas on what they write about? And how long their writings are or can be? I am just trying to make sure I completely understand.
The articles requested depend on the client. When a client needs web content or a blog post, etc they post their request through Textbroker. The topics are all over the board in a number of different categories.
They move fast! Within minutes I had my score. And within a few hours I’d written two articles and had them accepted!
Thanks! I submitted my sample. We’ll see how it goes 🙂
Sounds interesting! For those of you who have worked with them, do they send out w2 forms at the end of the year or is it similar to other freelance gigs in which you are responsible for tracking your income and taxes as a self-employed person?
I just signed up, but it’s my understanding that they don’t withhold taxes. You would be self-employed.
Couple of quick questions for anyone who can answer. Do you get byline credit for the articles you write? And will you know where on the web your articles are being published (in case you’d like to compile writing samples of your work)?
this is in their terms of service.
‘3. The author waives any moral or personal right to be named as the author of his/her texts or articles.’
Thank you for posting this. I have been looking for away to help out as I am a stay at home mom. I love to write so I can’t wait to get started.
I have been writing for textbroker for a while now and really like them. I have never had a request for revision, denial, etc. You can make as much as you decide to put into it. I am certainly not getting rich, but I have made anywhere from $50 to $300 a month and for a stay home mom that is a GREAT way to add to your family’s income.
Hello,
I was just wondering if there are any other online jobs such as this that you or anyone may know of? Thanks for any and all feedback!!
Tracey….
Thanks soooo much for this tip! Its perfect for me to try right now while I’m a full time college student and could use extra funds along with extra practice with written assignments!! Is there anywhere that I can read tips and get help with being a textbroker writer from someone who does it?
I appreciate the info too – I love finding legit opportunities to work from home!
What are they doing with the articles you are writing? Are they for a website or something?
Textbroker is kind of the middle man here between the author and the client so they don’t technically do anything with the articles — the person you are writing for does and Textbroker takes a cut of the money. You can also sign up as a person that needs content just as you can sign up as a writer. A lot of the articles are for blogs/websites that need content and for SEO purposes.
I just signed up and submitted my article. Waiting to see what my rating is. I am nervous because I have never done anything like this before. I guess the nervous part is because of transferring money online..
Textbroker was one of the first sites I ever did freelance writing for. They are superb in every way. While I agree that the pay is not magnificent, it’s still not that bad either and it’s a good way to get your feet wet if web writing is something you really want to get into doing.
Thanks for the information on this!
If I am reading the site right you are giving up the copyright to your own work. It says that the company that buys your work then owns the copyright to it.
That’s pretty typical if you’re writing for hire, either freelance or for a company. The person who pays owns it. It’s even true if you write guest posts for free for some blogs; your compensation in that case is exposure/experience.
I have been writing for Texbroker for the last couple of months. You can make $12-15 per hour depending on what kind of articles you write and how much research you need to do. Sometimes it is difficult to find chances to write but other times there are some. It is an easy way to make some extra money without alot of effort and at your own pace. In October, they are going to start paying weekly instead of twice a month.
I love TextBroker! I’ve worked for them since April and can average $300-$600 extra a month from my writing (while I have a full-time job elsewhere). You pay rate largely depends on your writing level, but you certainly don’t have to be an English major to obtain Level 4 or even 5. I’ve found the editors fair and easy to work with. I also enjoy proofreading on the site, and I’ve developed a couple of my own clients that send their articles directly to me (for a higher pay rate).
New – Textbroker now pays via PayPal every Friday (beginning in October).
Brooke, is it possible to just proof for them? I’m not a great writer but love proofing. 🙂
I can vouch for Textbroker as well, and I really like that there is no minimum…you can write when you feel like it and choose what to write. They do pay twice a month, directly deposited into your Paypal account.
What sort of things are you asked to write? How does this work when doing taxes (stating how much you’ve paid that year, paying taxes, etc.)?
Hmmm….I tried textbroker, but I found the editors were suuuuper picky! Since the editors are all different, they all have different kinds of comments on your writing. You fix one thing for one person, and then the next article someone else doesn’t like it. It was difficult to keep up w/ such inconsistency in expectations. I’m glad you had success w/ it though! Maybe its just not for everyone, I guess.
I can never find anything to write about on Textbroker so I stopped even trying. Glad you can do it though!
Dang! That is good income. And there is little cost. No babysitters, gas expense, clothing/lunch expense.