Updated Review of WiseGEEK: Rate Increases and My Experiences as a Writer

WiseGEEK is a fantastic website for freelance writers to earn upfront pay. I have been writing for them for almost a year and my first impressions of the site were great. In light of their recent rate increases, I thought I'd write an updated review detailing my experiences with the site, it's advantages and disadvantages, and any of the other details I left out in my first review.

According to the website, WiseGEEK "offers free and clear answers to common questions." The titles are often times in the form of a question, and are written in an encyclopedic style. All articles are written in the third person, similar to the way a Demand Studios article is written. I must admit, it takes me longer to write a WiseGEEK article than it does a DS article, and for less pay. I have found the site to be a great back-up, however.  

How Much Does WiseGEEK Pay?

When I first began writing for WiseGEEK, they paid a flat fee of $10 per article. Their titles are sometimes obscure and they expect a very high quality of work. The rates have recently been increased, however, and now titles are worth anywhere from $11 to $14 per article, depending on category or topic.

Before the rate increase, it was rarely worth my time to write for the site, as the articles take much longer to write than Demand Studios titles and the pay was far less. With these new rates, I think they make a great back-up source of income when the titles on DS in my areas of expertise dry up.

Payment Information

Your articles are edited in batches once you've written at least five. If you've submitted more than five before your editor gets to them, they'll all be edited at once if time permits. On average, it takes about 24 hours from the time my submitted article count reaches five until they are edited. After editing, I've always been paid within 3 days.

You can reasonably assume that you'll be paid within 4 days (at the most) after submitting five articles. In many cases, I've been paid within 48 hours. I suppose it depends on how busy your editor is at the time. Payment is via PayPal and because WiseGEEK doesn't pay via batch pay, you WILL be charged PayPal fees. They aren't much and you can deduct them for tax purposes if you want. I think it's a small price to pay for the fast turnaround, but you'll have to decide if it's worth it for you.

Advantages of Writing for WiseGEEK

I highly recommend WiseGEEK for freelance writers with strong writing skills. Here are some of the advantages of writing for the site:

• Quick payment. This is perhaps WiseGEEK's greatest advantage. Being paid within 3 to 4 days of submission is something we all appreciate, but only a very small percentage of sites pay so quickly. Payment via PayPal is also a benefit, as you'll have access to your money instantly.
  
• Strict Editors. WiseGEEK expects a lot from their writers, and I appreciate this. Editors are not unnecessarily nit-picky or rude, but they won't let sub-par work pass. Receiving feedback on your work is a definite advantage.
  
• Assigned Editors. You'll have a single editor assigned to you when you're hired by WiseGEEK. Unlike editors at Demand Studios, you'll get to know what your editor expects from you, reducing the number of rewrites. In my personal experience, I rarely get an article sent back for revision from WiseGEEK because I know what my editor wants. When an article is sent back, you can correspond with your editor as much as necessary until the article is fixed.
• Unlimited work. You can write as many articles as you want, and you're encouraged to write as much as possible. Your income is never limited, but you do have a cap on the number of articles you can claim at once, similar to Demand Studios. When I started, I was allotted a limit of 10 articles. After I stopped writing frequently, it was dropped to 6. I've heard that your limit can be raised if you write regularly. Once an article is submitted for review, you can immediately claim another title. Articles in review do not count against your limit.
• Articles don't expire. When you claim an article, it doesn't expire. As long as you write your minimum articles per month and your account remains open, you will keep the titles until you decide to write them. I currently have articles in my queue that I claimed in August of this year. This might be something the administrators aren't aware of, so it may change in the future if people begin to horde titles. It's best to write the articles as soon as possible after you claim them, I'd think, but you don't have to worry about losing a good title if you can't get to it for a while. 
• Large pool of titles. There are typically around 500 titles available to write at any given time and new titles are added daily. This isn't even close to the number of articles available on DS, but WiseGEEK doesn't employ nearly as many writers. There are always plenty of titles to choose from, although the topics aren't always the best.
• No exhausting references, resources and images. Demand Studios writers will understand why this one's on the list. While you are required to submit references for specific statistics, many of the articles require no references at all. I've written things like "How Do I Make Tacos?" and "What is a Kidney Bean?" and these articles don't need any reference. WiseGEEK also provides the image for you, so you don't have to worry with this either.
  

Disadvantages of Writing for WiseGEEK

While writing for WiseGEEK has numerous advantages for the freelance writer in need of upfront pay, there are also a few disadvantages you might want to consider.

• Minimum article requirements. You must write a minimum of 10 articles per month in order to keep your account active. I almost lost my account this month because I haven't kept up with the minimum for the past 2 months. If you allow 3 months to pass without meeting this minimum requirement, your account will be closed. WiseGEEK is very choosy about hiring, so if you do get in, don't let your account become inactive!
  
• Strict editors. WiseGEEK has very strict editors and they don't hesitate to tell you exactly what you're doing wrong. I've listed this as an advantage and a disadvantage. I believe writing for the site has improved my writing tremendously by bringing common mistakes to my attention. However, you'll need a thick skin if you aren't a perfect writer. :)
• Obscure topics. The titles and subjects of available articles are quite dry. I've written about tools, science and manufacturing, which are topics I would never choose for myself. They are often easy to write with a little research, but be warned that the topics aren't the most exciting or fun to write. 
• No suggesting titles. When I first started writing for WiseGEEK, we could suggest titles and be paid $10 for each one accepted. They accepted almost everything. I never had an accepted title rejected. This was great because you could easily write on the topics you knew well. They removed this feature from the site, however, when they began offering a greater number of titles to claim.
• PayPal fees. You'll be charged PayPal fees when you're paid. Unlike Demand Studios, WiseGEEK pays each writer individually, and you'll have to eat the fees. It's no staggering amount, so don't worry too much. Paying the fees actually insures that we'll be paid sooner. If the company switched to paying in batches so we could avoid fees, they may only pay once per week or worse, once per month.
  

How to Apply for WiseGEEK

WiseGEEK isn't always hiring. You'll have to check with them to see if they have positions open. There is not really a formal application process. Check the WiseGEEK FAQ's for more information. Scroll down until you see the question, "Can I Write for WiseGEEK?"

You'll need to email the person in charge of hiring writers with writing samples. Make sure to put the samples in the body of your work. Use your best Demand Studios "About" articles if you're a writer there (remove the subheads first), or use your best informational-style articles from other sites. Remember that WiseGEEK style is encyclopedic, so don't send blog posts as samples. You might want to check out some of the articles on the site for an idea of what they're looking for.

UPDATE: Since the time of this writing, WISEGEEK has updated their application process. Please visit the WiseGEEK job page to apply.

What to Expect After Applying for WiseGEEK

After submitting your samples, you'll be contacted within a week or two. I believe it took about a week before I was contacted, but it may vary depending on the number of applications they receive. If they liked your samples, you'll be given access to the writer's dashboard where you can claim three articles. These three articles will be your test articles and don't be surprised to receive extensive feedback after submission.

If the editors think you have what it takes, you'll be asked to submit a second batch of three test articles to make sure you can incorporate the feedback from your first batch. If they feel that you accurately addressed any issues the editors had with your writing, you'll be hired and given full access to the titles. If not, you'll be paid for the test articles and politely "let go."

Once you've been hired, you'll be assigned an editor, although you won't really know who they are until your first batch of articles are edited. You can begin writing as many articles as you like after this, and the staff is always a mouse-click away if you need any help. The dashboard is pretty straight forward and I don't think I've ever needed to ask any questions. If you do, however, there is a built-in contact form on your dashboard.

You'll receive emails if you receive a rewrite and when you're paid. You don't receive notification when your articles are accepted, but you can check your dashboard anytime. There have been times when I was out and didn't receive a rewrite notice, but I was still paid for a small batch of articles instead of having to wait for all five to be accepted.

This is one of the most highly recommended sites on my blog, and they are now the second highest paying content site, aside from DS. If you're a strong writer with experience writing web content, give WiseGEEK a chance. I keep them as a back-up and several times the site has provided me with money to pay bills when things were slow at Demand Studios.

Are you a writer for WiseGEEK? Do you have any experiences to share? I'd love to hear from you.