The Content Authority, a site that operates similarly to Textbroker, is hiring freelance writers to create content on a variety of different topics. While the site pays on the lower end of the scale, it might be a good starting place for beginning writers looking to get some experience in web content writing. The site pays weekly and the requirements for acceptance don't seem very stringent.
According to the website, they're looking for writers with a strong grasp of the English language who can write well-researched articles, follow detailed writing requests, and are willing to be paid weekly for approved articles. I'm sure the weekly pay will draw many people, but consider the pay structure before you make a decision.
How Much Does the Content Authority Pay?
Payment information is not listed on the website before you apply, but according to this post on the WAHM forums, the site appears to pay based on a tier system similar to that of Textbroker. You'll gain access to the higher tiers as you produce more work that the site deems high-quality. The lowest pay rate (on the lowest tier) is $1.40 for 200 words, and the highest pay rate (on the highest tier) is only $15.00 per 1,000 words. You'll have to decide for yourself if this is worth your time.
On the plus side, the site claims to pay weekly via PayPal. I have not written for The Content Authority personally, so proceed at your own risk. I can't say for sure if they pay on time. Please leave a comment if you have more information about the site's legitimacy and payment practices.
How to Apply to the Content Authority
Visit the writer application to apply for a writing position. Here, you'll be asked for your basic information and a writing sample of 150 words. The application appears to generate a random topic for your sample, so if you don't like the suggestion, just refresh the page until you get one you like. After submitting your application, you'll be contacted by the site if accepted (or not). I have not applied for this site, so I'm not sure about wait time after submission. Good luck!
Do you have experience with the Content Authority? I'd love to hear from you!
15 comments:
I submitted my application 3 weeks ago and I still haven't heard from them.I wrote a 400 word sample on the topic 'Freelance Art'.
I received their reply today.They will give me a probationary period to assess my writing skills for the first 5 articles after which I will be officially their writer or not.
Hi. I've written for The Content Authority (TCA) sporadically over the past several months and I can tell you that they are the real deal, as far as my experience with them goes. On the plus side, they pay weekly (I was never not paid), although they recently added the condition that you must have at least $25.00 in your account for a pay-out. They sometimes run contests when there is a backlog, e.g., write 5 articles and get one entry into a drawing to win $50.00. The editor is very friendly and helpful. On the down side, yes, the pay is low. Hope this helps!
Marianne
P.S. Willow, I love your site. It has been so helpful. Thanks!
This site is indeed the real deal. I have been writing casually for them for several months now, and I have a friend for whom The Content Authority is her primary source of income. They pay weekly and on time, but you must make a minimum of $25 to receive your payment for the week. Otherwise, you must wait until you do reach $25, and then it will be sent to you in that week's payment.
I have some writer friends who do not have experience in web content writing. Been encouraging them to write SEO too but having experience on this one can really help increasing their market value compared to having just blog writing as an experience. Will definitely let them know of this.
I have been writing for TCA for awhile now, and I really enjoy it. i'm a tier 4 writer (which is a level you do not mention in this post). Tier 4 work actually pays $.03/word, which is one of the highest amounts for work like this. What I love about the place is that there is always work available. As we all know, freelancing comes with its ups and downs. TCA gives me a bit of consistency when outside work is low, and that I love.
I also absolutely adore the staff there. The lead editor, content manager, and owner are always more than willing to help, despite the thousands of writers they have on the site. They know me by name, which is more than I can say for some clients in the past.
It only took me about a month of work to get up to tier 3, and I probably could have progressed sooner if I had just asked. That's how I bumped up to tier 4 :) I've been freelancing well over a year and a half now, and I must admit that this is one of my favorite places to write for.
I make most of my money through direct orders on the site. Basically publishers get my work in after they place an order, and they like it enough to mark me as a "favorite writer". they then drop articles for me to do personally, bypassing the generic drop area where anyone can write the articles. I get paid $.015/word for each of these, and most of the time I do not have to do much research because I've already written for the person. I can make a couple grand or more in a month this way if the orders are there, on top of work I do outside the site.
Overall, it's really not a bad place to be in the slightest. It'll beat the pants off any work you'd get on oDesk, GetaFreeelancer, or something along those lines. Consistent availability of articles and a great staff to work for. Sounds like the perfect formula to me :)
-Heaven Stubblefield
Hey, do they hire international authors?
I recently ordered from The Content Authority and it is simply ridiculous as they scammed me of my money.
They took 10 days to get back to me and their customer service person, Faith, said I was being very unpleasant that my hard earned money was in their account and was MISSING!
I called PayPal to see whether the money had somehow been reversed but they confirmed that The Content Authority still had my money.
So, the owner Shawn then emails me a one sentence apology less than 7 words long and ordered Faith to credit me back with my $10.
I just went to see whether I could really order anything from them. My account is disabled.
Fantastic job - they've taken my $10, say I'm being unpleasant when I'm curious to know why my money has disappeared when I hadn't ordered anything, and now my account is disabled.
I started with TCA about a month ago. Personally, I love them. The work is fairly easy, especially the rewrites, which can be done in less than 5 minutes. It's easy to move up tier levels if you're a good writer and they pay weekly as promised.
I have been at TCA since April or May and boy has it changed! In the early days, there were so many articles that needed to be written, a person could sit at his or her computer and work until satisfied. Now, it is a struggle just to make the minimum payout. I can't say for sure, but I have seen seven titles for the exact same keywords vanish in a matter of a minute or so. Multiple user accounts? It would appear that way.
TCA needs to crack down on this and verify the first and last names of people, as Paypal will accept multiple email addresses. Otherwise, I've gone from easily making $35 a day with TCA down to $10 a day (if I am lucky).
I started with TCA back in late November and have done work for them on and off. They do pay as promised, so no problem there. In order to make any real money with them, you have to be willing to grind stuff out -- if you're too much of a perfectionist and spend a lot of time on research, you'll wind up making about a buck-fifty an hour.I wouldn't count on them for my primary source of freelance income (I find that jobs from places such as The Creative Group are more lucrative and they also pay weekly), but TCA is great for a fill-in-the-blanks job and would also be a good way for newbies to break into the copywriting business.
Hi, I was just wondering how old you have to be to write for The Content Authority. Do you have to be 18? Thanks!
TCA do pay even if it is low. For Indian writers payment is sufficient because after currency conversion the amount is decent. It is one of the few sites that accept international writers. Occasionally TCA runs out of jobs but most of the times jobs are available. It is my only source of income. I make about $300 per month.
It is first time that I hear from a Level 4 writer here. I have been denied Writer Level increase by TCA citing my poor grammar.
It seems strange that someone can do a rewrite in 5 minutes. It takes me 30-40 minutes to do the same for a 300 word article.
@Jeanie, If you have a paypal account that works, you can write for them, no age restriction (more or less). Just make sure you are abiding by any laws in your country and you will be fine. I am not sure about people using multiple accounts, I think the orders just vanish anyway. I usually make 20 bucks a day, and I'm on tier 3, so thats only a few articles a day. @skworld, you were refused an upgrade to tier 4? Even so, I would dread working on a tier 4 article, as it would just be a waste of time. Cheers all...
Just for added verification on the site, I have recently started wiring for them. I am a SAHM who hasn't done much writing in over a year and thought it was a good place to get rid of some of the rust my writing has! The pay is low, yes, but the jobs are simple enough and you can earn a decent amount casually. I agree that the staff are super nice. I emailed the editor on tips on imorving my writing as I havent written in ages, and she was more than helpful and understanding. I haven't had my first payment yet, but should be getting about $30 from only a small amount of work done. I do agree with skworld that it takes me a good 20 min to do a rewrite to my satisfaction, but that might just because I need to warm up a bit more!
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