You’re searching for sites where you can submit your writing and earn money. Hmm, this one looks promising. You go to sign up and…bam!
They only accept writers based in the USA.
What a slap in the face. Some sites don’t even bother to tell you ahead of time, so you waste precious minutes filling in a multi-page form. And then it’s, “Oh, by the way, we need your social security number (or tax ID, bank info, US-only address)…”
I happen to be a US citizen, but it turns me off when the application process for a writing site is unreasonably fussy. It’s just not worth the hassle. QualityGirl, for example, demands a W9, address, and phone number – all for the privilege of a measly $12 to $25 per article.
What’s an International Writer to Do?
You need to submit your writing to sites that pay through Paypal or wire transfer. Unfortunately, finding these sites is time-consuming; you sometimes have to wade through pages of FAQs to find out how a site pays its writers.
To save you some time, I’ve put together this list of 7 recommended sites for international writers. I’ve only included sites that pay a fair wage or where the revenue share has the potential to earn you a nice little passive income. Textbroker, for instance, didn’t make the cut because of the offensively low pay. All of the sites here pay $15 per article and up, or are revenue sharing sites.
Writing Sites that Pay Per Article
1. Constant Content
Business model: Flat fee per article.
How it works: You write about anything that takes your fancy. Customers browse the content library and purchase articles from your portfolio. Customers also make specific requests, and you can choose to write articles according to their specs. Lots of freedom, but you do have to follow formatting guidelines and meet a high quality standard.
How much you get paid: You set your own prices. Articles typically sell for 5 to 10 cents a word and can lead to ongoing private requests from customers. CC takes a 33% commission.
How you get paid: Paypal or wire transfer.
When you get paid: Twice monthly or once monthly (your choice).
How to get started: Sign up here, read my article about about how much money you can expect to make at Constant Content, or follow my step-by-step guide to get started.
2. The Wittery
Business model: A marketplace where content seekers and writers meet.
How it works: Content seekers post jobs and writers pitch their services.
How much you get paid: You negotiate directly with content seekers to determine the appropriate fee, payment terms, deliverables and job specifications. The Wittery says, “We suggest $50 USD as a minimum fee per piece.” They also say, “As a general rule of thumb, where a writer member quotes under $50 USD for a 500 word piece, we would have concerns about the quality of article that would be produced for that fee.” In a world where too many people think $1 per article is the norm, I found this utterly delightful.
How you get paid: It’s up to you and the content seeker to agree on a method. Paypal is typical. Some writers use an online escrow service. The Wittery recommends asking for deposits and milestone payments when appropriate.
When you get paid: Again, you determine this on an individual basis.
How to get started: Sign up here. You will need to include a sample. From what I understand, it can take about 2 weeks for approval. I haven’t applied to write for The Wittery, because I don’t think I’m very funny. But if your words have a way of making people chuckle, give The Wittery a go.
3. Matador Network
Business model: An interactive online travel magazine, which includes a network of eleven content-specific blogs all interconnected through the Matador Travel Community.
How it works: Your accepted articles are published on one of the blogs in the network.
How much you get paid: $25 per 800-1000 word article.
How you get paid: PayPal.
When you get paid: Upon publication.
How to get started: You need to create a free profile and become a member of the Matador community. Only members can submit work. The more active you are in the community, the more likely that your articles will be accepted. Go here for more information.
Writing Sites Where You Can Earn Passive Income
4. Infobarrel
Business model: Revenue share.
How it works: You sign up and publish your work on the site.
How much you get paid: You earn 75% of Google Adsense ad impressions generated by your content. You can also include self-serving links in articles (for example, a link to your own blog). As with all passive income, it does take a lot of writing before you’re earning substantial income. I’ve just recently joined Infobarrel myself but I’ll post an earnings report after I’ve uploaded a hundred or so articles.
How you get paid: Your earnings go directly into your Google Adsense account. Adsense pays by check or electronic funds transfer. Check their list of supported countries.
When you get paid: Google Adsense payments are made once monthly.
How to get started: Sign up here.
5. Hubpages
Business model: Revenue share and affiliate commissions.
How it works: According to the website, “Hubbers (HubPages authors) earn money by publishing their Hubs (content-rich Internet pages) on topics they know and love, and earn recognition among fellow Hubbers through the community-wide HubScore ranking system.”
How much you get paid: You earn revenue through Google AdSense, Kontera, and the eBay and Amazon Affiliates program. How much you make depends on how many hubs you create and how popular your topics are.
How you get paid: PayPal, electronic funds transfer or check.
When you get paid: According to the terms of whichever revenue programs you choose.
How to get started: Sign up here.
6. Triond
Business model: Revenue share and affiliate commissions.
How it works: Your content is published on one of Triond’s websites according to its topic. Your content generates revenue from several sources, such as display and contextual advertising.
How much you get paid:50% of the revenue generated by your content.
How you get paid: PayPal, check or Western Union money transfer.
When you get paid: Monthly on the 15th of the month for earnings you have accumulated up until the end of the previous month.
How to get started: Sign up here.
7. Type-A-Mom
Business model: Revenue share.
How it works: First of all, you have to be a mom to write for this site. After signing up, you apply to be a writer for the site. You can also apply to be an editor.
How much you get paid: 100% – yes, 100%! – of Adsense revenue on your articles. It doesn’t get any better than that!
How you get paid: Your earnings go directly into your Google Adsense account. Adsense pays by check or electronic funds transfer. Check their list of supported countries.
When you get paid: Google Adsense payments are made once monthly.
How to get started: Again, you must be an actual mother. Sign up here.
I want to help you find your calm center and experience travel with courage, curiosity and compassion.
Thanks for the list.Very useful for international writers like me.
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antonia Reply:
October 31st, 2010 at 11:06 am
Glad I could help!
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I have a question: I’ve been on Helium.com for about 4 years, and suddenly, they expect every writer to cite sources and provide links to them. I write by the seat of my pants, only to topics I know and that interest me, so my “sources” are my memory. I strongly believe that if a reader questions an author’s credibility, it is his or her responsibility to confirm whatever is written. Are there any sites that don’t require citing sources?
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antonia Reply:
April 19th, 2011 at 6:36 am
Yes, but they don’t usually pay very well. For example, revenue sharing sites like Infobarrel don’t require writers to cite sources at all. The problem with using your memory as a source is that it’s not always accurate and can’t be verified by the reader independently.
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antonia Reply:
June 23rd, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Angel, have you tried the other websites I mentioned above?
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Because of the very nature of my style of writing, I don’t make much, anyway. We’re talking about $600-700 a year tops. I realize many freelancers can and do make 10 or even 20 times that much or even more, but the only way that can be done is to do constant research on such exciting titles as “The styles of Mud ancient Aborigines used to build huts” or “How to nurse domesticated Guinea Pigs back to health.” I refuse to write to stuff that doesn’t interest me, nor am I willing to do research on something I know nothing about. This is too much like doing homework in school or writing a term paper. It stifles creativity and individuality as well. The way I see it, the problem with citing sources is that the writer is simply re-wording someone else’s work and then giving them credit to avoid plagiarism. However, when using your own acquired knowledge, including facts you may have learned 40 years ago, it enables much more personable and uniquely-written material. I have no problem with citing something if I’m not sure and need to look it up, but if I already know a fact to be true, I find it ridiculous to have to support whatever I say.
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antonia Reply:
April 20th, 2011 at 7:25 am
Hmmm, not sure why you say “giving them credit to avoid plagiarism” is a problem
– that’s a good thing! Think about how you’d feel if someone reworded your ideas and passed them off as their own. On the other hand, you might not mind at all – lots of writers are starting to uncopyright their work, including Leo Babauta and Steve Pavlina.
Sometimes people think they need to cite every little fact, and that’s not the case. If it’s info that any encyclopedia includes, like “Canberra is the capital of Australia” you never need to cite a source. If it’s something like “X number of guinea pigs die of cancer per year” then you would just add “according to the Guinea Pig Foundation” (or whatever your source is). Citation in informal or web writing doesn’t need to look like an academic paper. I think of it as a way to respect your readers and gain their trust. You may find it ridiculous to have to support what you say…but does your reader find it ridiculous to be expected to take your word at face value?:)
Regardless, since you’re not writing professionally (i.e. as a primary source of income), do whatever feels right for you. It sounds like you love writing and are having fun, and that’s the most important thing. Thanks for the comments Pat and take care.
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Let me begin by saying that I’d LOVE to be a professional writer. I just know I never will with my style. Here is what Helium seemingly requires now, and all of a sudden: Even if we say, “According to so-and-so….” we must place a hyperlink to prove that so-snd-so said what they said!
What I meant by the problem of avoiding plagiarism is that so many freelancers simply re-word other stuff, give the original author credit where it’s due and then put their own name on it and get paid. To boot, their butts are now covered. That in itself is a good thing, but is this not the same as writing a term paper? Where is the creativity and originality? To me, plagiarism should only be defined as someone copying a piece word-for-word.
And finally, no two authors’ definitions of just what “common knowledge’ is will be exactly the same, and this is precisely why source-citing should NOT be mandatory.
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Thanks to Google penalizing content sites where online freelancers are paid by placing such articles lower down the list in the search engines, every writing website’s revenue share is down. Some were far lower-paying than Helium to begin with as well. Some people have had luck promoting their stuff on Twitter, but I haven’t a clue how to do this, nor do I have the time to try to figure it out.
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Superb post, I have been searching it madly. Could you please reply something more about #2 the wittery because I think that suits me very much. What type of sample I should send?
Any other sites that give independence like CC or Textbroker(it is available only in USA now)
RSS is still
Thanks
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