Textbroker is a great way to start out when you’re first looking to freelance as a ghostwriter or content developer.
Generally, there’s a lot of freelance work out there, if you can find it. Many sites like Upwork, promise the concept of getting some side jobs but honestly, the effort either isn’t worth the payout, or it’s incredibly spotty trying to find actual work.
Textbroker (which I have written about before in my post on how I make money from home) is a great site to reliably get work, allowing you to pick and choose from a categorical list of writing assignments, ranked in terms of ability, from 2-stars to 5-stars. The higher your rank, the better money you’ll make per word, and the better opportunity for work you’ll have. The great part of this website is that it puts the control in your hands – you go through the list of available articles, read the instructions, choose one that fits, and then write it within the allotted time frame. Once it’s submitted, the buyer has 3 days to accept or send the article back for revisions. Once it’s accepted, you get the payment into your Textbroker account (linked to a Paypal account), and you can cash out, once per week if you so desire.
Textbroker Review
Start at Textbroker.com – this is the easy part. From there, click “I Write Content”. This will prompt a sign-up page and you’ll fill in the logical components. When you get to the “expertise” section, this is where you want to focus on your own personal knowledge and strengths. The best way to maximize profits with TB is to pick articles that you are well-versed in, because the less you need to research a subject, the faster you can crank out quality articles and move to the next one. I suggest picking 5-8 subjects (or less if necessary) that you find to be ones you can rattle off information about pretty easily.
Initial Quality Prompt
Once logged in again through the registration link in your email, you will be provided with a prompt. This prompt, which should be between 120 – 250 words in length, will be the basis of your initial score on the site, and will therefore both impact your rate of pay and the quality level of articles you have access to complete. Make sure you do your BEST writing here – don’t rush, and maybe even get someone else to proofread for you. This step is critical to getting good assignments!
Approval and Beyond
Once you’re approved, check out the listings and find something that appeals to you, and start writing. Be certain you adhere to the guidelines and keywords, as missing these will get articles sent back pretty quickly. Textbroker’s rating of your writing is based on the last article you wrote, so never slack on the quality.
Tips of the Trade
- Don’t write fluff – make sure every sentence conveys information, but do it in an interesting way.
- Don’t use filler words – it’s readily obvious and will most certainly anger the client. You don’t want to risk having your article rejected all together!
- Find a niche you can write about easily, but also focus on one that has a lot of requests. I got my start doing quick blurbs for eBay listings. It only paid about $3/article, but each one took me all of five minutes.
- Stay away from clients who offer very vague instructions. Believe me when I say it’s not worth your time to message them for clarification.
- I would suggest avoiding articles where you need to add photos, links, or do a lot of extra work besides writing. Again, this just bogs you down and adds a technical element that’s not worth your effort.
- Go to the “Assignments” tab and sign up for some TeamOrders. These are groups you audition for (through another prompt) that have regular work of a similar variety. I made the most money through finding teams whose content was quick and easy for me to write.
- Make sure you update as much of your profile as possible. This enables clients to “direct order” from you, which is personally requesting you for an article. Direct orders pay more (I suggest charging 2.5-2.8 per word for direct orders, of which Textbroker takes .8/word), and are another avenue for increased revenue.
- Along those lines, if a client leaves you a great review, don’t hesitate to message them directly and let them know you appreciate the feedback and that you’re open to direct orders; this is a great way to build connections and move towards freelancing through a site of your own.
It can be a slog sometimes, but Textbroker is honest copywriting work that is consistent and pays reasonably well. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for remote, online work with minimal time investment.
Have you tried out Textbroker before? Tell me about it in the comments below!
The tip about avoiding photos and links is KEY. Time is money here…
Absolutely!! It can be tricky to find articles worth your time, but then there are opportunities to make great money in just a few minutes. Just have to keep an eye out 🙂
This sounds very intriguing, Amber. I’d like to try it when I cut back the hours I work at my ‘real’ job.
Molly, I can attest to the efficacy of Textbroker. I made about $1,000 between early December and March of this year (2016, I mean), and that was on an EXTREMELY part-time basis. It’s not a ton of money, but if you devoted more time to it, you could probably easily pull in part-time job or better money from it.
Thank you for this, Amber, definitely going to look into it.
Hope it’s as successful for you as it has been for me! 🙂
I’d never heard of this site. Excited to take a look at this site, I’ve been wanting to increase the sites that I write for!
It’s a great way to make extra money without becoming a full-fledged ghost writer (which does pay better but takes more work). Good luck!! 🙂
I love this article. I did not know about text broker, so you definitely gave me a good tip. Thanks
You’re so welcome! 🙂
Definitely gonna check this out. Thanks for sharing ?
You’re so welcome, Ciara! 🙂
Great article! I’ve just recently been approved by textbroker and to be honest I’m a little overwhelmed. You’ve given me some guidance on what to look for. Thanks!
Textbroker seems to actually be a shady company from what I know. I am working on a review to release on the 18th that shows some of the shadiness.
I’m curious as to your experience. I’ve been working with them for nearly three years (both as a writer and as a client) and have never had any problems. My husband makes thousands with them every year.